Group work often gets a bad rap with many recalling frustration over unequal effort, last-minute submissions, or awkward silences during meetings. At SCU, associate professor of communication Chan Thai transforms group projects from frustrating academic exercises into test runs for real life.
In every course she teaches, students are assigned to a quarter-long team. Their goal? Learning how to negotiate, communicate, and collaborate in the messy, unpredictable world that awaits them outside the classroom.
“I really feel like that in the real world, everything is like a team project,” Thai says. “Even trying to figure out a schedule or a date night with my husband requires negotiation.”
It’s the mindset she brings into her classroom. Students don’t just get assigned to a group, they build one. From day one, they’re asked to define how they’ll work together: What’s your working style? What stresses you out? What kind of communication do you need to succeed?
If that sounds a lot like onboarding a new team at work, that’s the point. Thai’s approach mirrors the realities of modern workplaces, where collaboration is ongoing, hybrid, and often chaotic. Students practice the art of speaking up, adapting, and resolving tension—skills directly transferable to professional life.
Former student Sarah El Qadah ’26, now chief of staff of SCU’s Associated Student Government, gained valuable experiences she applies in her current role. “Her class honestly just allowed all the concepts to really stick, because I was able to put them in practice rather than just learning them from a book,” she says. “You’re working with people who maybe you don’t get along with, or aren’t compatible with in terms of skills. But it also just helped me be a leader.”
Thai’s philosophy was shaped by her own experiences. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she often did more than her fair share. “It felt like I was being punished for caring about doing a good job,” she says. But graduate school was different. One of her professors encouraged open conversations about each team member’s strengths and weaknesses.
Thai doesn’t shy away from conflict either. She embraces it as part of the learning. When a student comes to her with a group issue, she doesn’t provide a fix. “I’ll ask: What do you want to do about it? That’s real life. Your boss isn’t always going to step in,” she says. “You have to decide what matters more: the quality of the work, your energy, or your time.”
These kinds of micro-decisions, including negotiating deadlines, redistributing roles, and setting expectations, prepare students for the workplace. If you’re managing a team and or collaborating across time zones, Thai believes it all starts with clear, intentional communication. “Negotiation doesn’t have to mean conflict,” she says. “It can mean honesty. It can mean asking for what you need.”
“She very much saw us as adults,” El Qadah adds. “We were responsible for holding each other up, and not her. Having her as a guiding hand is great, but we were the ones that had to be there for each other and be accountable.”
Peer evaluations reinforce this mindset. Inspired by her husband’s experience at Google, where feedback from coworkers impacts raises, Thai includes end-of-quarter peer reviews to reflect real-world dynamics.
To Thai, a successful team isn’t the one that gets an A. “It’s a group that’s taken the time to figure each other out, who trusts one another, and can adapt when things don’t go as planned,” she says. “Often, the teams that take the time to figure each other out, end up earning the best grades.”