Prompt
You are one of four students on a capstone project worth 40 percent of your final grade. One teammate, Daniel, has missed five of the last six meetings and has not finished either of the two sections he agreed to write, so you and the other two have been doing his share. The project is due in four days. The other two tell you they plan to give him the lowest score on the confidential peer evaluation, which will lower his project grade by a full letter. That evening, Daniel messages you privately. His mother has been seriously ill since February, and he has been driving three hours home every weekend to look after his younger brothers. He asks you not to tell the others, because he does not want their pity. How would you rate Daniel, and what would you do?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Empathy and compassion
- Professionalism and integrity
How to approach this question
This MMI station tests whether you can be fair to a struggling teammate and honest about his contribution while keeping a confidence he asked you to hold. Name each person's stake: Daniel and his family situation, your two teammates who've done extra work, your own grade, and the integrity of the peer evaluation. Separate two questions, which are how to rate his work accurately and how to support him through a hard time. Consider options such as encouraging Daniel to speak with the professor himself about an extension, or helping him contribute in the four days left. Explain how you'd talk to your teammates without revealing his private situation. When you're asked for an exact account of his work, stay truthful about what he did while pointing him toward the people who can take his circumstances into account.
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