Monday, February 7, 2011
Partners
Have you ever had the moment where you feel awkward asking a classmate to be your partner? Well, when I was in high school I had a teacher that explained this perfectly. Anytime we had to choose partners he would say "Start the odd mating ritual that is high schoolers picking partners". I find this interesting because students feel so weird going out of their zone (their desk, computer zone, etc) to ask for help, even if it's required. I think maybe people are afraid that they will be rejected? Other than that there are the students that just run to the people they know will say yes, their friends or common allies. Thoughts and ideas on this?
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Oh I hope you hear from more people, as people picking group members fascinates me as a faculty member. Since we do so much group work at Cascadia, I see this phenomena every term.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprises me is how many people will just pick whomever is at their desk to partner up with, without any discussion before hand about do their styles match, do they care about getting a high grade, what are their work/school schedules, do there share any interests as far as what their choices for the project, etc.? I guess it does come down to it is easier to just pick the person next to you, rather than walking around and interviewing each other- yet when so much of your grade rides on a project, I would recommend asking a few more questions or at least writing a team contract so you have some agreements in place when cruch time comes.
In my case, I thinks I just choose always the closest person to me because is convenient. Even that I might not even know them, but you have to take the risk. I do like working with classmates that want to get good grades because that makes me work harder. Any way Cassi you are a good person and who is not going to want to work in group with you :)
ReplyDeleteI always find it awkward when a teacher tells us to get into groups. I usually just pick people that are at my table or the closest person next to me because it is easier and then I don’t have to move across the room to work. I think that this is why a lot of students do this too. I like when I get a group that everyone wants to work and get things done. I liked how your teacher called it “Start the odd mating ritual that is high schoolers picking partners” haha.
ReplyDeleteI always pick my friends in the class because I think its easier to work with them. For example, it is easier to plan time outside of class with friends to do the project because you already know what their schedule is and what other responsibilities they have outside of class.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree with the idea to pick a person who cares about their grade and will do their fair part. That way I do not have to do all the work by myself :).
I always tend to be a leader in a project so I try to find the people who need a little bit more help because then I know I'm helping someone else do well as well as myself. I don't work on my own much because I enjoy working with other people.
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