Working in Groups *

1. Working in Groups* “People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defences, or the problems of modern society." Vince Lombardi (1913-1970), football coach for the NFL * Based on presentation by the College of Engineering, Ohio State University: clte.asu.edu/active/Teambuilding%20Workshop%20I.ppt and Ulearn unit on “Working in groups”, University of Surrey

2. Prior Student Experience • Team Membership • Sports • Clubs (e.g., Chess) • Team or Leadership Seminars • Sixth-form • Church Youth Groups

3. So… Why Teamwork? • Market and Industry Needs • Teamwork skills • Communication skills • Negotiation and Conflict Resolution • Responds to wider range of learning styles • It is part of learning a language!

4. Workshop Objectives • Why teamwork in Language in Society? • Overview of team organization and team performance; • Reflection and discussion of team characteristics; • Problems of working in groups; • How to assess group work; • To give you a chance to practice teamwork skills.

5. Team Organization • For complex projects, it is often useful to assign roles for members of the team. Chairperson: leads and controls meeting; sets agenda; makes sure that all members have a chance to speak Takes notes and creates a written record of what was discussed and what decisions were made in each meeting Secretary: Coordinator: keeps the discussion in line and on time; checks progress

6. Team roles • Go to Ulearn > Language Studies – Student Support > Programme + modules > Level 2 > LIN2002 Language in Society> Skills Development> Working in teams > Team roles. • Belbin’s team roles: task

7. Enhancing Performance Individual Performance +Assembly Effect - Process Losses. Team Performance

8. Team Working Agreement • A Team Working Agreement is a list of expectations each team has for its members. • These team agreements should be designed with your team in mind. • The agreement is effectively a contract you sign with all members. • You will be expected to abide by that contract.

9. Team Working Agreement – ground rules • Take responsibility for your own learning, actions and reactions. • Each member of your group needs to have input. • Come to meetings on time and absences in advance • Do not be afraid to respectfully challenge one another, but refrain from personal attacks -- focus on ideas. • Respect the opinions, feelings and ideas of others. • Circulate a draft of any write-up at least 2 days before it is due.

10. Violations of the Team Working Agreement: options • Group member will have a "time-out" period from the group and will be responsible for completing all work on his/her own? • Group member will not receive a grade for an assignment for which s/he did not contribute? • Group member will be responsible for a greater share of the next assignment? • After 2 ground-rule violations, a member can be expelled from the group permanently?

11. Issues To Address • Effective communication method • Participation by all members • Decision-making • Problem solving approaches • Management of conflict or differences • Responsibilities and conduct

12. Assessment • Group mark: ?% • Individual report on peer and self-evaluation: ?%

13. Peer Evaluation • Attends meetings; is on time. • Agrees to do a fair share of the assignments. • Completes assignments on time. • Attends class. Actively participates in team discussions. • Listens to other team members’ contributions. • Shows respect for other team members.

14. What it takes to be effective • Positive interdependence • All members of a team must share a common, realized goal • Individual and group accountability • Each member of the team must take responsibility for both his or her work and the work of the team

15. What it takes to be effective • Meaningful Interaction • All members do real work in a f2f setting • Teamwork skills • Effective communication, decision making, and conflict management • Group Processing • Periodic reflections on the progression of your work.