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Jessica's picture

When I kept on cooperating,

When I kept on cooperating, both Serendip and I won 30 gold coins. When I resorted to cheating occasionally, I ended up with more coins than Serendip but still less than what I gained when I cooperated. And when I kept cheating, I initially had more than Serendip, but ended up with the worst result because Serendip also decided to resort to cheating. Cooperating led to the best result!

I agree that a win-win situation in class is possible. If only professors put in time & effort, students aren't going to gain as much as they would've if they had put in some time & effort to learn, and vice versa. However, when both professors and students put in effort into making the class go well as possible, the class really is going to turn out productive (like our class! :] ) As for the thinking out loud, I honestly started out thinking it wasn't going to benefit me because my idea is out there for anyone to take, but it turned out that it helped me to defend counter arguments since people who disagreed with me pointed out what's wrong with my idea from their point of view. It also helped me to strengthen my argument when people who agreed with me commented on it, further expanding the argument. I don't necessarily think it works all the time with anyone, it takes a certain environment with cooperative learners (i.e. Bryn Mawr? haha).

I'm not sure what the question meant by grading @ semester's end, but I think grading is a bit harder to talk about because the amount of effort students put in might not necessarily match up with the level of performance in class. So it would really depend on what the professor defines win-win situation to be. A student can put a lot of effort and time but get an okay grade, not necessarily the best one. It would be nice if the grading's based on the effort though!

Another win-win situation in my life might be my extracurriculars. If I decide to make time to pursue my interests other than classes, then I would benefit tremendously by gaining distinct hobbies and becoming a unique, interesting individual. More importantly, my life would be much more enjoyable! At the same time, Bryn Mawr would benefit by having me in the school because I would increase the diversity and expand what I might be able to do as an undergrad and later as an alum (and possibly enhance the reputation). Hopefully I'm on my way there... haha :)

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