One of the great things about doing a course with LBS is that class participation is very important. A lot of the time the class participation marks can range from 20% to 40% of the overall grade. It is a very good learning model because it means that your effort counts. A lot of people would be stronger in different areas. For example, there are some classmates that are much stronger with numbers. They tend to do much better at the accounting, data analytics, and the analysis business problems class. Whilst others are better communicators who tend to do better at the management communications class. Despite all coming with different levels of competence to the class, the great equalizer can often be class participation.
Class participation can mean different things to different professors. Some may say it is all about the effort and there is no such thing as a wrong answer. Most will also mark you down for ‘negative participation’. Maybe the question you asked shows you were not paying attention in class. Other professors want to make sure that your contribution is good when you are given the time to speak. Whichever way the professor chooses to mark the class participation, it is important to note that it is a very important contributor to the student’s final grade.
This leads to the topic and title of this blog, getting stuck and asking questions. You see, this open format that encourages participation also encourages students not to feel uncomfortable when they get stuck. Getting stuck is natural and the facilitators never hesitate to go back to go over a point that was missed. They would much rather you ask any questions that are on your mind earlier rather than later. This means that when it is time for exams, the student really doesn’t have any excuses for failing.
This openness to taking in questions is not just in class. The facilitators are usually very supportive outside of classes too. Never have I sent an email to a professor and did not get a response swiftly. It seems as though LBS has built a great culture and community of support. This does not mean that the work here is easy. The workload is still a lot and you are expected to complete it on time and to a high standard. It is the healthy balance of encouraging hard work and the openness to help you when you are stuck that makes LBS such a great institution of learning.
I have a few friends that have studied in LBS in the past. They all have good things to say about it. The alumni network is supportive, the faculty members are friendly, and the campus is beautiful. I think it goes to show that the best intuitions of learning are not the most pretentious ones. It is the ones that understand that learning is a constant journey and that everyone will need help and support sometimes. It is natural.
Determination to succeed