Sometimes school can feel like a really solitary endeavor. Writing papers and reading chapters are usually done solo. But teachers at all levels of formal education also assign group projects or presentations. In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger talk about the pros and cons of learning solo and of working with a group –  both in school and beyond. Ed acknowledges that yes, teachers are assigning more and more group projects these days than before.  He says he even will fashion some group assignments for his students to do. Ed and Jennifer discuss the good that can come out of having students work together (they actually have to talk to each other, right?!) as well as some of the pitfalls of team work (what do you do about the one person in the group who just won’t work as much as the rest of the team?). Listen on for their discussion and to get the the solution to last episode’s “classic” puzzler about why manhole covers are round.

This episode was recorded Aug. 10, 2017.

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