Although collaborative work is promoted as a way to practice real-world teamwork, these assignments, more often than not, fail to do so
I have never been a huge fan of group work, especially when I was randomly assigned members to work with. I'm sure many students also feel the same about group assessments. Although unpleasant, they were more manageable in high school as if need be, we as individuals had the time to carry an entire assignment and avoid facing the consequences of working with others who may not meet the work ethic of others.
However, in university, there is truly no time to carry out an entire project without it impacting your performance in other courses. In university, group projects are intended to be completed through collaboration between students because they are often weighted heavily and are too large to manage on your own. Group projects are also typically high-stakes assessments, which forces students to rely on their peers even when the quality of work produced can be a hit or miss.
The most common reason behind implementing group projects to a high degree within university courses is that it prepares us for collaborative efforts in the workforce. Although the reasoning behind this may have good intentions, the execution of group work is done poorly.
I will admit that some courses have a better way of implementing group projects than others but they all have their flaws. As a result, group projects in university fail to provide an accurate representation of what collaboration looks like in the workforce, defeating the purpose of group work altogether.
For example, you may be putting in a certain level of effort compared to your groupmates because you're working toward a particular goal. However, because their goals for the project don't match yours, you could find yourself doing more work to achieve this goal.
You may also start completing the work earlier on to seek feedback for improvement and often find yourself prompting your groupmates to contribute their fair share. It can be very tricky to navigate this in an academic setting.
Within the workforce, collaboration seems to be much easier as there is more to risk when not contributing your fair share. For example, you may have meetings with human resources, miss the deadline, causing repercussions for the company, lose privileges and in extreme cases, get fired from your job.
Collaboration in the workforce puts forth real consequences aside from the poor grade you might assigned in university; you can even lose potential references for future jobs. However, the challenges of working toward a common goal are lessened in the workforce because everyone has signed up for the same job and is working to accomplish the same goal.
Unfortunately, this is not the case with group projects at university. Many individuals have varying goals and work ethics which make it difficult to create harmony and success. Everyone working at their own pace to achieve their unique goals can be especially difficult when you aren't familiar with your other members and don't have adequate ways to contact them, which is not something that happens in the workplace.
The aim of group work in university is well intended, but the execution of it in courses requires rethinking. We need to find new ways to truly mirror collaboration in the workforce, without hurting student grades in the process.
Perhaps individuals should always be able to choose their groupmates as individuals are more likely to work with others who share similar goals and work ethics. These shared similarities also exist in the workplace, as you often work with co-workers you know on a project.
Another modification could be to have the project adjusted based on the peer evaluations students anonymously provide each other. This method may not be implemented in the workplace. However, the credit for doing a certain aspect of the collaborative work, especially when helping others, usually does not go unnoticed.
Overall, the current framework of group projects is not reflective of collaboration in the real world, causing frustration and an unequal division of work. Instructors need to rethink current group project assessment methods to better prepare students for the real world.
By: Maryanne Oketch
One of the reasons I chose to enrol at McMaster University was for the diversity that the school claimed to offer. Coming from a predominantly white secondary school, I was excited to attend a new school. I was hopeful that I would make connections within my program and maybe gain a support system consisting of people that could relate to the experience of being Black in academia.
When I entered the integrated science program in 2016, I was disheartened to realize that in my year of entry, I was the only student in my program that was Black, alongside two other individuals with mixed backgrounds. Within the week, this dropped to two, as one person switched out. Within the month, it then became clear that the two of us were not just the only Black students in our year, but in the whole four-year program.
This lack of Black peers created a feeling that I had to be the best of the best, and when I couldn’t reach that goal, I would withdraw rather than reaching out. This caused damage to my grades, reputation and relationships with my peers.
It is a well-known fact that there is a disparity between the Black population and our representation in higher education. This gap can be seen more in supplementary-based programs that McMaster offers, and my experience unfortunately is not an isolated one.
Multiple students from different programs stated that the lack of Black students in their programs made them feel like there were few people who could relate to the struggles that come with being Black.
There was also another complexity that I did not consider — the fact that there are more Black women in academia than Black men. One health sciences student, upon realizing that they were the only Black man in their whole year, experienced feelings of isolation.
In addition, a justice, political philosophy and law student was the only Black man in their program, and though he is friends with Black women, he notes that it is not fully the same.
Regrettably, the issues that stem from the lack of diversity do not just have interpersonal effects, but also affect the learning experience. A student in the arts and science program said that there were times when a professor or student would ask a question that pertained to race, and the question would seem pointed at them, the only Black student in their year.
This student can also recall a moment when a professor made a comment about how some students may be used to hearing racist jokes, and then locked eyes with them, creating an uncomfortable situation.
Another former arts and science student had a class where a classmate attempted to defend slavery, and a professor who taught a class about oppression but refused to use the term “racism”. The student states that they never felt challenged by the program, and felt that they had to do the challenging rather than their instructors. This was due, they say, to the structure and instruction of the program being catered to their affluent white peers and not to them.
The catering of programs does not seem limited to just arts and science but can also be seen in McMaster Engineering Society programs. A student within the program switched out after one semester due to the lack of actual inquiry in the program, but a focus on the marks received.
When a peer in their program stated that "the disadvantaged [in Hamilton] aren't doing enough for the more privileged to help them," the professor did not immediately shut down this false and insensitive statement, but instead was complacent. In addition, the structure of the program encouraged students to repeat the same statistics because that is what is needed for a good grade, and not because the students wished to learn more about societal issues.
If multiple Black students in different years and different programs are saying the same thing, there needs to be some sort of change to support these students when they are in the program. I am not suggesting these programs change their selection process, because this lack of diversity is a systemic issue, and I do not have the knowledge to provide suitable solutions to help mitigate the effects.
Regardless, if McMaster strives for diversity and does not have the necessary structure to support the diverse students that they already have, then their efforts are just a baseless claim to obtain more money from a diverse group of students.
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Students from the Bachelor of Health Sciences program welcomed Prof. Stacey Ritz with a performance of the restructured lyrics to Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacey’s Mom” this past Welcome Week. The McMaster alum joined the Bachelor of Health Sciences faculty as the new Assistant Dean on Sept. 1, replacing the faculty’s first Assistant Dean, Prof. Del Harnish.
Prof. Ritz has an extensive background in science and health, with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Ph. D. in Molecular Immunology, Virology and Inflammation, both completed at McMaster. She then went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Immunology and Allergy from the University of California and has more recently finished a Masters of Education from the University of Western Ontario.
Prof. Ritz not only knows her way around McMaster, but she also knows her way around the Faculty of Health Sciences. In the past she has been a first-year Inquiry professor and co-developed and taught a fourth-year course in “Science, Culture and Identity.”
“I was in the environment where the BHSc program was starting and evolving and so it was really interesting to me because I had always loved teaching, I had loved being a TA, so seeing the way that the inquiry pedagogy was being used in the classroom from the faculty perspective was really valuable,” she said.
“The year one inquiry facilitators had a breakfast together early one morning every week and talked about what was going on in the classroom ... It helped me understand what I wanted to be as a teacher.”
A lot has changed since Prof. Ritz last saw the McMaster campus, namely the size and spread of the faculty, which includes the addition of the program’s specializations. On the other hand, leaving the Northern Ontario School of Medicine , where she worked from 2010 to 2015 as an associate professor, was like leaving behind her family.
“It was a really special experience to be involved in a brand new medical school, and building it from the ground up and seeing it come to fruition. I would have been happy to stay there for the rest of my career,” she explained.
Yet Prof. Ritz knew that her time with Health Sciences faculty was unfinished, and she has many plans for the future.
In order to look towards the new, Prof. Rtiz is turning to the old – the current faculty in the program, many of whom have been at McMaster for years.
“It is exciting to see teachers who are so excited about teaching, so committed and interested. I really want to capitalize on what their insight has been in terms of what the program needs.”
The goal is to gather their input on what they value in the current state, where they can see improvements or what direction they would like to see the program go in.
Prof. Ritz hopes to gain an appreciation for the essence of the program without shaping it with her own ideas – at least not yet. She is wary of colouring other people’s perception and is holding back in order to see how her vision combines with those of existing faculty and students.
Her predecessor in the role, Prof. Del Harnish, was outspoken about the need to assess the value of grades, an aspect of education the Prof. Ritz wants to continue looking into.
“We need to think about what we can do as educators so that getting good grades and learning deeply and well and in a satisfying way match up. If you have a system where what you want for students and what you are assessing students for isn’t aligning well, they are going to [focus] on the assessment. It is always a challenge to look at the hidden curriculum of what your assessment is doing.”
When asked about someone who inspires her, Prof. Ritz names her grandfather.
“He is 90 and although he never graduated from high school, he is one of the most educated people I have ever known. He is the absolute paradigm of what it is to be a self-directed learner. At age 90, he has learned to cook, he is trying new cuisines, he is writing a new book. I think a lot of people could learn from his example in terms of what it means to tap into your own curiosity.”
In honour of our 85th anniversary, I spent two days this week going through archived issues of The Silhouette looking for content for our special edition.
The last eight and a half decades have been host to quite a number of important international events, changes to campus and the university’s structure, and my personal favourite: controversial and no holds barred Silhouette journalists.
While flipping through pages, I came across an editorial from Aug. 30, 1968 by then Editor-in-Chief, Albert Cipryk. The article was from a Welcome Week preview issue and was titled “Should ivy walls a prison make?” Already from the title, you can guess that this guy was about to share some takes. A section of the article read:
It would be nice to put out something to make you laugh and say what a groovy place Mac must be and I can’t wait to get there because it says right here in this paper that kids don’t do nuthin’ but smoke pot and drink coffee and give the Kampus Kops a ruff time after all what the hell am I leaving home for anyway if it ain’t goin’ to be fun.
No, Virginia, it’s not quite like that. The articles inside have a definite purpose. They are for you to read and digest. Hopefully they will incite thought. Hopefully they will let you know that the ivy walls can house a prison, and intellectual bloody stalag.
I will be the first to say that this is phrased a little bit abrasively (likening the university to a prisoner-of-war camp was a tad harsh), but these words bring up an important point. The Silhouette is not just a newspaper that advocates for all of the university’s (and the city’s) plans, it is the voice of informed and educated students who wish to hold their university accountable for its actions. These articles hope to incite thought and serve a definite purpose, even if it means facing a few harsh Twitter mentions every now and again.
Looking at old issues it became clear that the paper is a time capsule that houses the wisdom that students wish to impart on their future counterparts, and is the only historical archive of the university from a student’s perspective.
So take this article as a reminder that you are responsible for inciting change at your academic institution, and The Silhouette can be your canvas. If you have something to say, say it before these ivy walls begin to tell a different story.
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Portable battery
Not sure about you, but I always find myself frantically looking for an outlet. I use my phone quite a lot, and the battery life often struggles to keep up with my social media life. A great way to prevent unnecessary frenzy and stress is to carry around a portable charger. This way, whether you’re in lecture or in between classes, your phone will always be fully charged and happy.
Good book
Although school days are often filled with meetings and classes, it’s important to find some down time to unwind and chill out. Whether you’re a Kindle fan or a paperback fiend like myself, having some leisure reading material in your backpack is always a great idea. Read it during lunch, read it in between classes, read it on the bus ride home—you’re always learning, but in the best, self-directed way possible.
Snacks
You’re filling your backpack with quality goods, so why not fill yourself with some as well? You never know when you’re going to get a little hungry between classes. Instead of the usual sugary granola bars or greasy bag of snack-sized chips (is the bag half full, or half empty?), it may be a good idea to have a CLIF bars or kale chips as replacements. Not only are these tasty alternatives, they’re also considerably healthier. Your body is a temple—if you want to have a great year, treat it with great stuff!
MUJI Stationary
We often stray towards places like Staples and Walmart for back to school supplies when, in fact, there are options for both higher quality and better value. One of my favourite stores right now for all things lifestyle is the Japanese retailer “MUJI.” MUJI is a leading power in minimalist goods, with their notebooks and stationary as prime exemplar of their unparalleled skill.
Moleskine Agenda
My agenda is the most important item in my backpack. While the convenience of devices nowadays has downgraded traditional agendas from necessity to novelty, I continue to enjoy the physical comfort of writing down my schedule with a pen. Available in various sizes, textures, and shades, the Moleskine agenda is my personal favourite with its supreme quality and no-fuss design.
Laptop
For those who are fortunate enough to have a laptop, you may find yourself unable to leave the house without it. While many people prefer writing in notebooks (it’s scientifically proven as the best method to retain information due to muscle memory), laptops are great for efficiency and containing all of your information in one, organized place. Laptops are also great for down time, as you can virtually do anything with them (from watching Netflix to getting ahead on assignments).
Headphones
Sometimes, people can be overwhelming and we just need to tune the world out for a little bit. Some students also prefer working in the library while listening to their own music. Whatever your reason, having a pair of headphones in tow is never a bad idea. If you’re looking to invest in a pair of quality headphones, check out Bose.
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Hartley Jafine, who facilitates a theatre class at McMaster, talks candidly about his own academic experiences.
A video series collaboration between four undergraduate students: After Office Hours.
Videography & editing by Karen Wang.
How well do you know your professors outside of class? After Office Hours is a student-produced video series aimed at demystifying academia. Over the summer, a group of four undergraduate McMaster students interviewed professors from different faculties about who they are and why they do what they do.
In addition to the project's website, videos from the series will be posted on www.thesil.ca/videos every Tuesday beginning Oct. 22, 2013.
