Why Teams? - The Benefits
This Page: The General Education Requirement | The Modern Workplace | Deeper Learning
The General Education Requirement
Teams are found throughout the modern workplace, so much so that the Penn State alumni recommended that the Penn State undergraduate educational experience include more teamwork experience. As a result, the General Education program now encourages General Education and other courses to include a collaborative or teamwork component.
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The Modern Workplace
No matter what profession you choose, more than likely, you will be asked to contribute to a team. Teams are found in many modern workplace environments in fields ranging from engineering and health care to journalism and foreign policy.
More than ever employers are looking for ways to combine individual talents and harness the synergy of a high performance team. Some of the specific benefits include:
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Complete large-scale projects - Many projects in the workplace are too large or too complex for one individual to complete alone. Imagine trying to build the Golden Gate Bridge all by yourself!
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Develop More Solutions - Different people looking at the same problem will find different solutions. A team can review ideas and put together a final solution which incorporates the best individual ideas.
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Detect Flaws - A team looking at different proposed solutions may also find pitfalls that an individual might miss. The final solution is that much stronger.
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Build Social Connections - Working on a team allows you to interact with your colleagues much more than sitting in neighboring cubicles - or lecture seats - would.
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Deeper Learning
Team work allows you to experiment with real world issues and problems instead of memorizing dry facts. Team projects at Penn State have asked students to:
- Develop a sample marketing plan for a cable TV network
- Create a Web site about Penn State written in a foreign language
- Write and present sample weather forecasts
- Design mobile robots
- Manage a hypothetical hospital
- Write online mystery stories in French
Team work also gives you a chance to connect with your fellow classmates and learn from them. While working on a project, you will hear new ideas and even get a chance to articulate some of your own.