Scenario: The Silent Teammate
You’ve been assigned to a group of four for a major class presentation worth 30% of your grade. The professor formed the groups, you didn’t choose your teammates.
Your group includes your close friend, who you’ve worked with before, and two students you don’t know well. From the start, one of those students, Taylor, hasn’t responded to emails or texts about meeting times. After several attempts, the group moved ahead without them. You, your friend, and the other teammate divided the work, wrote the paper, built the slides, and practiced together.
On the day of the presentation, Taylor shows up right before class starts. They walk up to the front of the room and stand with your group during the presentation - but don’t speak or contribute. Afterward, they smile and say, “Great job, team.”
After class, your friend says quietly, “Let’s just leave it. It’s not worth the drama.” The other teammate looks irritated and says, “We should tell the professor - it’s not fair.” Everyone’s looking at you to decide what to do.
Discussion prompts:
What’s your immediate reaction?
What assumptions might you be making about Taylor—or about your friend?
Before you decide what to do, what else might you want to understand?
How could curiosity guide a more thoughtful next step here?