The Effects of Group Work in my Bayan Community

Throughout this semester, in both my English and PD class, group projects has always been a central theme to our learning. This take on learning forces all of the members from one group to accomplish an assignment together. I learned that even though you are able to do something on your own, it is much easier when you have a group.

Communication is the key to group work. I was able to learn to split work between my group members so that everyone's strengths are being put to use. Upon working with other people, I formed stronger connections to people in the classroom, which is beneficial in tackling down a college course. Specific to this classroom, you become a true Bayan, and in a sense are welling to help all of your brothers and sisters pass the class. And knowing that you have acquaintences in your class which have become friends makes you feel that much more secure. In a sense, we begin to form Kapwa, the Filipino value of togetherness.

No other class I have experienced has been anything close to my Bayan classes. Everything is done as a group in my Bayan. We are teaching eachother through our group projects, and sharing and transfering knowledge through working together. Meeting out of class to accomplish group projects takes school into our personal life, which is key to forming closer relationships. I have personally become closer to the class as a whole, but particularly to my group members. And as we rotate groups, and begin to work with new people, new connections are formed, and sooner or later, the whole class is even more inter connected.

In the end, the importance of a class is what you get out of it. In my Bayan not only do I learn the class material, but I get to take the relationships I built out of the class and into my life. For example, someone with the same major as me is most likely going to be taking similiar classes, and so helping eachother out would be a wise effect of out Bayan class. And so, everything revolves around creating friends which is a major asset in college.