The very first week of IMK I was paired up with a person I have worked with in every single graduate course I have taken, and another IMK student. With the added advantage of having the only German speaking FIU student, I figured working with the IMK student to be a breeze, it wasn’t. Apparently she had already achieved the number of points she needed in order to pass for the semester and was completely unconcerned with the outcome of the assignment. Luckily, I had the other partner and we were familiar with each other’s work habits. Needless to say if both my partners had approached this first assignment with that kind of enthusiasm, come time to present FIU and IMK students alike would have been treated to an amazing display of Cuban bravado.
The second week I was paired with what I feel was one of the brightest IMK students. She was witty, spoke excellent English, and an incredible work ethic. She was constantly in touch with me and eager to meet to discuss the assignment. It helps that she was convinced she was going to present that Friday. Our partner however was the exact opposite. As she had presented the week before, my other partner was a ghost. Aside from the day in which the assignment was handed out, I never saw her again. After completing the assignment and emailing her the final product, she decided Fridays were better suited for sleeping and pulled a no show at the Friday presentation and left me and my partner empty handed. Lucky for me I did not have to present and her lack of presence did not affect my grade or my partners.
So up to this point if you had asked me what I thought about working with IMK students, you would probably have needed to censor the answer. But the problem is not with the students per say. The problem actually sits with the system in which the IMK students are working within and the point system in which they satisfy their course requirements. For starters, the students at IMK must fulfill the course requirements for each semester through acquiring points per presentation. The presentations are graded on a number of factors but do not provide a system of accountability to determine which students performed and which students coasted by. Additionally, once students have acquired the necessary number of points needed to pass the semester, unless paired in a group with a dear friend, they simply shut down. Therefore, the unfamiliar FIU students immediately shift into one of two reactions; 1) they stress out, take on more of the work load, and in some cases complete the assignment by themselves. 2) They complete the work equally with the remaining group members while simultaneously holding a grudge with the individuals who did not contribute.
However, there were examples of the perfect scenario. One in which all three group members contributed equally. One where each group member chose to participate in the aspects of the assignment they felt their talents were best suited. One where every aspect of the presentations was executed well and on time. This was my experience with my third and final assignment, and coincidentally we were the first group to present. We scored well and we were all satisfied with the level of work we had each handed in. But the unifying factor in this scenario was that each of my group members NEEDED to present, were anticipating presenting this particular week, and required a score of 7 or higher to fulfill their course requirements. Final conclusion; there is a reason people work hard and it is not motivated by the joys of working in groups. It is motivated by money, by recognition of achievement, and by the allure of achieving excellence. Remove that dangling carrot and the motivation runs from the person faster than a döner eaten at 3 A.M. after a night of heavy drinking. The system is flawed and should be revised.
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