Your courses will often have at least one group assignment during the semester, if not many more. To be successful you will need to be able to work effectively with your classmates, international and American.
Certain disciplines in particular, such as business and the sciences, place a lot of emphasis on the importance of collaboration, which is a “real world” skill you will use in your future employment. Whether you are hired to work in a laboratory at a pharmaceutical company, as a computer engineer, or as a partner at a law firm, you will probably be in a team of people who each contribute their own skills and talents to the overall group.
Group work can be challenging. How do you make sure your voice is heard? How do you decide who will do what? How do you keep a pushy classmate from domineering a project? How do make sure someone else’s poor work doesn’t influence your own grade? Your professors assign group projects in part because they know they want you to learn how to navigate these difficulties. Learning how to contribute your own ideas to a larger project is an essential skill that you will need after you graduate.
Group work can be challenging, but when successful it is also extremely rewarding. In the best circumstances the project will allow you to bond with your classmates, and the experience will give you the chance to get to know American students better than you would have otherwise.
Click here to see an example of a group assignment.
Even outside of group work assignments, challenge yourself to interact as much as possible with your classmates, American and international. Don’t be afraid to start a conversation before or after class with someone sitting next to you. The better you know your classmates personally, the more comfortable you’ll feel raising your hand in class, and the more they’ll listen with respect to what you have to say.
On the flip side of the coin, however, keep in mind that if a homework or class assignment is not designated as group work, you are expected to complete the task entirely on your own. You should not share answers with other students unless the instructor has indicated that this is appropriate. Otherwise you could be charged with committing academic misconduct.
