Team Building

1. Team Building

2. Why Do an Activity ? • It’s different • You must put forth effort (active learning) • It values relationships as much as content • It is the intentional ‘cracks’ between agenda items • It is a way to reflect by talking to colleagues who understand what you do • Sharing craft knowledge

3. What an Activity is NOT • It does not ignore any person in the group • It is not a ‘sit & get’ • It is not passive learning • It will not allow you to sit silently – you must speak your assumptions and learn from the discussion (trust & reflection). • It’s not easy

4. Why ‘Conversation’ For most learners (especially educators) conversational interactions are critical.

5. … printed materials, videos, web pages, just don’t do enough. As educators, we need to ask for clarification, ask for elaboration, and see information presented in other ways to gain a deeper understanding of the material…

6. What happens if there is no relationship or conversation?

7. Learning is not a spectator sport. We do not learn much just sitting and listening to lectures, memorizing assignments, and spitting out answers. We must talk about what we are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply that to our daily lives. We must make what we learn part of ourselves (Chickering & Gamson)

8. ..a Dialogue? By dialogue, we mean discussion – real discussion in which questions and ideas are exchanged with each other. Dialogue has been shown to improve student achievement in both reading and writing. This research conducted at the National Research Center on Learning & Achievement

9. We learn - 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see & hear 70% of what is discussed with others 80% of what we personally experience 95% of what we teach someone else

10. We learn - 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see & hear 70% of what is discussed with others 80% of what we personally experience 95% of what we teach someone else

11. SLC Relationships Fullan……..Relationships Barth……..Collegiality Murphy….WFSG Hord…….Learning Communities Comer: School improvement is rooted in child development, human development and relationships.

12. SLC Relationships Whole Faculty Study Group Teacher Team Activities Department, Grade Group, Building Wing…. Committees Friday at…

13. SLC Why Relationships? Relationships = Involvement Involvement = Commitment (ownership) Commitment = Success

14. Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. M.Mead

15. Culture • Barth…you can tell more about a school from the relationship of the adults then anything else. • Teachers working together. • Teacher efficacy. • What will a new teacher learn about your school’s culture?

16. SLC Research (and experience) tells us there are only two ways to improve schools * Get better kids * Help teachers get better

17. Why do you teach? M A G I c School Leaders Are Teachers Too.

18. We learn - 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see & hear 70% of what is discussed with others 80% of what we personally experience 95% of what we teach someone else

19. Last year at P.S. 209, a K-8 school in Brooklyn, New York, principal Howard Leibowitz asked each teacher to select a quotation that would be printed in large type, laminated, and hung over the classroom doorway. "Initially, many teachers thought this was a hokey idea," teacher Elyse Hunt told Education World, "but it caught on quickly. Teachers -- and students -- eagerly read and sometimes pondered the meanings of those quotations." Leibowitz encouraged teachers to initiate discussions about the quotations, added Hunt. Teachers reinforced them in a variety of ways. "The greatest value I see in this project is that it encourages deep thinking in children who are already grappling with complex issues," Crossley concluded.

20. Galileo – You can’t teach a man anything – you can help him find it within himself. Everyone is ignorant …only at different things. Will Rogers Education is when you read the fine print – experience is when you don’t. Pete Seeger

21. Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe. HG Wells I do not know what weapons will be used in WW III – but in WW IV they will use sticks and stones. A. Einstein Lord Brougham – Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave (1778).

22. Everyone is ignorant …only at different things. Will Rogers Education is when you read the fine print – experience is when you don’t. Pete Seeger Swedish Proverb Those who wish to sing, always find a song.

23. "When a teacher calls a boy by his entire name, it means trouble." ~Mark Twain I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about - - besides homework.  ~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann" It's easy to make a buck.  It's a lot tougher to make a difference.  ~Tom Brokaw

24. Dr. Mark Springston has recently completed (spring 2005) research indicating that teaching team skills through team building games works! • Mark conducted an experiment with 294 (99 teams) first year college engineering students at Virginia Tech.  • This large group of students was divided into two smaller groups and on a Saturday morning in October 2004 Mark worked with half of the group for 3 hours, leading them through a series of experiential team building activities  

25. After lunch, the students (all of them) were placed in teams of 2, 3 or 4 and then assigned a technological problem to solve.  It was challenging, taking four hours to complete. • And the results?  Dr. Springston reports that group sizes of 2 and 3 experienced little or no benefit from the "treatment" HOWEVER, the teams of 4 that received team training did EXCEPTIONALLY better than the groups of 4 that received no training. 

26. "Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Txes M&A Uinervtisy, it deosn'tmttaer in wahtoredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olnyiprmoetnttihng is taht the frist and lsatltteer be in the rghitpclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitllraed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamnmniddeos not raederveylteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe." It’s magic

27. Five Issues to Be Considered in Teambuilding Darwyn Linder, Department of Psychology & Susan Ledlow, Instructional Innovation Network, Arizona State University A strategy that can help groups develop into real teams is teambuilding, “the process needed to create, maintain, and enrich the development of a group of people into a cohesive unit.” Teambuilding exercises are very important in the development of teams that will work together for an extended period of time on a complex project or a series of activities. Teambuilding is not a silver bullet for fixing dysfunctional teams, or assuring that all of your teams will work well. But, teambuilding exercises can be helpful in developing effective teams, if they are selected to enable teams to explore the five critical issues identified in this outline.

28. Cohesiveness This term refers to the attractiveness of group membership. Groups are cohesive to the extent that membership in them is positively valued, and members are drawn toward the group. Roles and Norms All groups develop a set of roles and norms over time, whether or not these are explicitly discussed. Norms are the rules governing the group Communication Effective interpersonal communication is vital to the smooth functioning of any task group. Goal Specification It is very important for group members to have common goals for group achievement Interdependence This is the issue of how each team member’s success is determined, at least in part, by the success of the other members.

29. Born to a middle-class family. His parents were concerned that he scarcely talked until the age of three. He often would build tall houses of cards and hated playing soldier. At the age of fifteen he quit high school disgusted by rote learning. Entered the Federal Institute of Technology graduated with an unexceptional record.

30. Geo. Clooney Demi Moore Halle Berry Angelina Jolie Bruce Willis Elton John

31. J Lo Jennifer Aniston Julia Roberts John Lennon Robert De Niro Jimi Hendrix

32. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.  ~Carl Jung Children will Listen

33. What’s the reason for the last 15 slides? Building relationships with teachers models for them, and demonstrates to them, how and why to build relationships with students. We build relationships through team building and conversation.

35. Lets have some fun