Ellen Lupton, a notable designer, asks this evocative question in her essay of the same name. Read “Why Collaborate” and consider your own experience with collaboration. Here are some questions to help you write a short (150-word) response:
In your previous or current educational experiences, how have you been asked to collaborate?
What role do you want collaboration to take in your City Tech education?
What are Lupton’s main points about collaboration?
What benefits do you see in collaboration?
What drawbacks do you see in collaboration?
What other thoughts or concerns do you have about collaboration?
Do you have any questions about collaboration that you want to ask your classmates?
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My experience with collaborating is by far a great one. When teachers would assign projects and allow us to collaborate with other students, I always thought it made the class more fun and more motivating to do your work because you never want to be the person that contributes the least amount of effort and is looked upon as “useless”. The role that I would want collaboration to play in my City Tech education is that I would like collaboration to be mixed into the work. Not all of the work given should have to be done on your own, some aspects of work should allow us to collaborate with other students because it gives us a chance to engage with other students during this crisis and it makes the class more engaging. Lupton’s states how collaborating could be a joy when you have members who all have clearly defined roles and distinct skills but on the other hand, it could be frustrating when a few people are doing the heavy lifting and others are doing nothing. Benefits I see in collaboration is that when we are struggling on some aspects of the work, we have others to count on and people to help us however, a drawback for sure is definitely when someone isn’t doing their assigned role or isn’t listening to the team.
I have been asked to collaborate with other students to create presentations, assignments, etc. to present topics. In this collaboration, we all have to create content on the topic and then present it. I would like a role at City Tech for collaboration to be for everyone to do the work without other group members not having to tell them. I think Lupton’s collaborative point of view is that it’s wonderful to work together in a group as long as you don’t have a problem with other members and that collaboration should be voluntary on who you want to collaborate with. The benefit I see in collaborations is that you always learn something new from the other member, it makes the job easier and faster. The drawbacks I see in collaboration is when another member doesn’t want to do their job and the whole group should not pay for that.
I agree, when collaborating its a great experience when others work hand and hand to create the best work they can make together, but that all depends in the flow of the group you wont always have someone to get along with or the people in general in your group. The role in City Tech for collaboration should allow people to choose who they would like to work with. Its better to have someone that you know is going to help you with the project then to be put in a group the doesn’t do anything leave the work on you to do. Collaboration is suppose to be a team effort where we can learn and work together to become better, understand the project and each other.
In my previous educational experiences, I’ve been asked to collaborate by forming groups in class to work on a project or to work on a simple assignment. There have been many times where I have had pleasant experiences working with others, but there have also been times where it was awkward or just unproductive. The role I want collaboration to take during my City Tech education is for me to be able to work with others in my major to build upon my skills and others skills. When people collaborate with each other, they learn from each other and I want it to be the same way with me. One of her main points of collaborating is that she loves collaboration as long as she works by herself. This goes to show that a person doesn’t necessarily have to work with another person to collaborate. Some benefits I see of collaborating is that if you are working with another person, not all the work is placed on your shoulders. Also a lot of ideas are thrown around between collaborators and that is beneficial to build upon a main idea. A major drawback I see of collaborating with a person is that they may not put a lot of effort into a project and then you get stuck with all the work. Also people are shy and quiet sometimes and that could kill the brainstorming process. Overall collaborating is great if you work with the right people or receive ideas from the right people. No questions.
Thanks, Alvin, Jose, and Kevin, for collaborating with me on thinking about how we can use collaboration in this course. All three of you point out how no one wants to be forced to collaborate with someone who doesn’t do their share of the work. Kevin also pointed out that some people are shy or might have other reasons not to collaborate, which can in turn make the group’s work suffer. Jose suggests that students should have the flexibility to choose their groups rather than being assigned to a group of classmates. Alvin rightly points out how collaboration can add interest or excitement to the work. Unfortunately, it can be more difficult or stressful if you’re shy, making it less valuable for you and everyone else in the group.
My goals for required group work are to encourage you to learn from each other, to teach each other, and to share some of the responsibilities for time management, idea creation, and some research. However, your grades will be for your work, not your group’s work. I do think that the best work comes when we share ideas, effort, knowledge, and responsibility, so let’s try to leverage that to succeed this semester. Even if Ellen Lupton wants to collaborate by working alone (that’s a joke!).