Working in Groups

1. Working in Groups Name of presenter

6. Aims of the session • Recognise how groups form and function • Identify the inter-personal skills developed through group work • Relate your knowledge of groups to team projects and other study groups • Evaluate your developing inter-personal skills and action plan for change

7. How is a group different to a team? • Reflect individually on groups you have worked in socially, academically or in a work situation • What made some groups feel like being part of a team? • Be ready to share your thoughts in one minute

8. Teams • Are a group of people who have specific task(s) or goals(s) • Effective teams will be organised • Members will have specific allocated tasks and roles: • leader/coordinator, coach/mentor, achiever, doer, thinker/reflector, timekeeper, note taker, progress monitor, finisher/completer, carer

9. Teams – Action centred leadership model (John Adair, 1986) Achieving the TASK Developing the INDIVIDUAL Maintaining the TEAM

10. Task orientated behaviour • Identifying aims, resources, people, methods for the task • Creating a plan to achieve the task • Seeking information/opinions – about plans, ideas • Giving information/opinions about the task • Allocating work responsibilities and resources • Checking performance against the plan and adjusting the plan if needed

11. Team building behaviour • Encouraging others towards the group goals • Enable effective internal communications • Develop collective maturity and capability • Maintaining group discipline, ethics • Harmonising – reducing tension and building team spirit • Problem solving –listening to others • Expressing group feelings

12. Individual needs behaviour • Recognising own skills/abilities and using them • Assisting and supporting individuals • Understanding team members as individuals, listening to them • Giving feedback to individuals • Withdrawing, being very quiet in discussion • Being aggressive/dominating communication

13. Stages in team/group development • Forming • when the group begins to discuss the task(s) and orientate towards a work plan • Storming • conflicts and tensions emerge when there are different working styles, differing expectations and different work ethics • Norming • beginning to develop mutual trust and effective ways of working • Performing • when effective work patterns are producing the required results

14. Action planning for team skills development • List the teams you currently work within (seminars, tutorials, fieldwork, project team, study group, peer learning group) • What could you do to make these teams more effective? Which roles would you like to develop? • Set some time targets and review dates • Complete an assessment on your team skills

17. Academic Skills Guides • Guides available are: • Learning styles • Reading academically • Writing effectively • Referencing your work • Getting the most from lectures • Working in groups • Giving a talk • Preparing effectively for examinations • Search strategy • Writing your dissertation • EndNote - software that helps you manage references • Approaching Mathematical Problems Systematically