By eevenden
Halló aftur! (Hello again!)
This is week has been a bit more hectic than usual with exams and projects due. As a result, I have been thinking a lot about the types of homework and assignments I receive while at GW compared to the University of Iceland, and how different types of work reflect cultural values and harness different types of skills in students (and future employees). No need to remain vague, let’s get to it!
One of the biggest differences I have noticed while here in Iceland is the emphasis on group work and presentations. Three of my four classes have a group project (or multiple) over the course of the semester. And, many of these projects require us to present our information in front of the class for 15-30 minutes. For one of my classes, we have to present current articles on sustainable energy topics every week and go through a serious “Q&A” session each time (with actual questions, not just awkward silence until the professor says “okay, thank you” and you can sit down). Many of the other exchange students have noticed this, and we have joked that it’s the “Nordic culture of cooperation.” However, this joke became reality this Friday when I had a group exam in Glacial Geology.
“What is a group exam and what is the point of it,” Americans may be wondering (that’s certainly what I was thinking). Our group exam consisted of 18 multiple choice questions. Each question had multiple potentially correct answers, and it was our task to identify every correct answer. For every wrong answer, we also lose a point. This was all a bit confusing at the time, but our professor began the exam by saying, “this exam is meant to facilitate discussion and be an exercise in cooperation.” I could almost laugh at how fitting that statement was, but have also been mulling it over ever since. (And I guess it worked since we talked ourselves silly in circles about each question.)
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