Group Work In American Politics

Before taking American Politics, I had very mixed feelings on the subject of group work. I could see both it’s highlights and weaknesses, with past ones leaning towards the latter. Most of this group work had occurred pre-high school education and was usually very polarized towards one individual's personal work ethic. If one or two individuals failed to do their part, the project itself would progress at a normal rate and the timeline for completion would be more compact than the preferred alternative. Highschool itself included very few group projects with the exception of the occasional collaborative presentation.
I have never had a class that focused so much on a team oriented teaching experience. When teams were chosen at random and …show more content…
It’s a wonderful thing to come to class, ask a close peer an opinion and be able to discuss it to the point where a conclusion can be drawn from it. Having a team full of members who want to be there and participating was also a very great personal help. I did my best to come in everyday with everything read in detail, but often times information can easily be lost overnight. Having others with even more detailed notes, or just perhaps an alternate understanding, leads to a much more fulfilled classroom experience when it comes time for discussions that occur post-group …show more content…
Raphael is obviously very interested in both American and world politics. Sometimes he would not have such a working knowledge of the material meant for class, but could draw inspiration for discussion from outside sources. However, his ability to realize that his own personal views and opinions might not be shared by all members of his group is one of his shortcomings. Often times, Raphael would jump into a large group discussion and stand as a representative of Prestige Worldwide without consulting others or stopping to say that the opinions he was expressing were not that of the group but his own. Sometimes his own opinions on a matter, like dissecting opinions of Supreme Court Justices, would overpower those of the group during discussion. If I could ask for one improvement anywhere in the group experience, it would be for Raphael to be more considerate towards viewpoints outside his own, and to work on achieving a group attitude. Having to deal with such a problem almost daily can be a very unpleasant in a group setting. One could hope that this is felt by other members of the class, and from discussions outside of class, this seems to be the case within the group