Teamwork

Submitted by Leecy Wise on Fri, 12/28/2018 - 20:39
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Way back in the 90's, when President Bush initiated the SCANS project, apparently all major employers in the US at the time were consulted.From reports at the time, employers claimed that the one skill that new employees were missing and that colleges were not addressing was......... yes, teamwork! We face many challenges integrating teamwork into our activities. How do you do it?

Take a look at this wonderful seven second clip. What do you think? Leecy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9xx9xHAqc8 – The power of teamwork

Comments

Hello Leecy and others,

The Power of Teamwork is a pithy 7-second video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9xx9xHAqc8 –  It would be a great prompt for a  "What's teamwork?" writing assignment.

We tend to think of teamwork at work in the context of work-related problem-solving, and we should, but work-related team written communication is often important too. At some jobs, for example in manufacturing, some might think team writing isn't important. It often is. For example:

  • Your shift is ending, and there was a problem with one of the machines you are responsible for. You need to let the person responsible on the next shift know the details of what's wrong, and you won't see her. You need to leave a note, possibly hand-written, but most likely on the company in-mail system. For this you will need not only skills in clear, complete writing of an explanation of a problem, but also computer skills such as word processing.
  • You wake up feeling ill. You decide you must take a sick day. You must sign in from home to the employee email communication system to contact your supervisor and and you will need to explain in writing why you will not be at work, when you believe you may return, and what the person who will take on your work responsibilities may need to know.

Another writing assignment, for students who are working, is to first discuss in small groups when writing is important at work, and then from their own experience, individually or as a group, write about when they need to write at work. Their writing assignments can then be shared with the class and discussed. The objectives are to improve clear and complete work-related writing, and perhaps to learn more about when writing might be important in a work setting - both for those who work, and those who may want to learn more about what work requires in their community, town or city.

David J. Rosen

 

 

Thanks for your wonderful examples of writing requirements in the workplace that ask two or more people to work together to accomplish a task. I hope we have more writing examples shared along that line!

Until I became a SCANS trainer back in the 90's, I resisted teamwork in my writing and other classes for the same reason that most students and teachers resist it: teamwork can seem unfair. Sometimes, one person will do most of the work and others slide in on their efforts.

I started focusing on “smart” collaborative activities/teamwork in my courses after one of my early mentors emphasized that people have to be trained to perform in unfair workplace situations. The boss often  doesn’t care how the work is accomplished or who puts in most of the effort. What is important is that the work be done well and on time. Those charged with completing the task either do it or not and are either rewarded or penalized together accordingly. How do readers here implement and grade different types of collaborative assignments? Can you share resources?

In addition to listing several Basic (Academic) Foundational Skills, which itemize work-related writing abilities, SCANS lists six Interpersonal Skills among its work Competencies, which deal with teamwork. As David pointed out, team writing can contribute significantly to meeting those requirements, as follow:

  1. Participates as a Member of a Team. Works cooperatively with others and contributes to group with ideas, suggestions, and effort.
  2. Teaches others. Helps others learn.
  3. Serves Clients/Customers. Works and communicates with clients and customers to satisfy their expectations.
  4. Exercises Leadership. Communicates thoughts, feelings, and ideas to justify a position, encourages, persuades, convinces, or otherwise motivates an individual or groups, including responsibly challenging existing procedures, policies, or authority.
  5. Negotiates. Works toward an agreement that may involve exchanging specific resources or resolving divergent interests.
  6. Works with Cultural Diversity. Works well with men and women and with a variety of ethnic, social, or educational backgrounds.

Leecy

Being a team leader, or team member, is a critical skill. However, when I assign projects to my class that requires group work - the inevitable grumbles and groans begin - and my answers remain the same... Yes, you need to work together! Yes, everyone must do their share. Yes, participation is important. I'm sure you've all either heard the same student comments - and said many of the same responses. 

So, why do some students resist collaboration or working together? I found this article insightful: A Psychologist Finally Explains Why You Hate Teamwork So Much. So, I've learned to discuss responsibilities associated with work and to work peers and then we discuss personality preference and team roles. 

I'm curious to hear how you address the 'reluctant team participant"?

Sincerely, 
Kathy Tracey

Kathy, I agree with some of the opinions shared in the article you referenced, : A Psychologist Finally Explains Why You Hate Teamwork So Much. However, I wonder about the statement, " ambitious people are naturally competitive." I work a lot with Native Americans in the Southwest and grew up in a culture that shares their preference for working collaboratively. I have found many ambitious and highly successful people who are not competitive by nature. What do others here think? 

In my view, the success of collaborative/group activities among adults depends on the answers to several questions:

  • What is the goal for working collaboratively? Is it to accomplish a task? Develop leadership? Encourage sociability? Share different knowledge held by each individual? The types of assessments for  student performance in groups depends entirely on the purpose of the activity. That's why I love rubrics. Students know exactly what is expected of them in a group.
  • How much time is allotted for the activity? It is essential that groups start working and end on time. At first, students become very anxious about timing, but after a couple of trial runs, they get right to work and end up with great results.
  • How independently is each group expected to work? Do groups share info with one another? Does the instructor participate at all or oversee what is being done? Those questions need to be clarified prior to group activities.

Those are just a few issues that have contributed to group success among students in my experience. What other issues or questions would you add or delete from that list? Leecy

 

Hello Leecy, David Kathy and all, I love this 7 second video. I am planning a collaborative learning project for next week. The learners will do some online research together and then present their findings to the class. I now want to start the project with this video. I'll invite students to jot some notes about what they see, and then share their ideas in small groups before we discuss the implications of teamwork for the collaborative project they will engage in with their classmates. Thanks for sharing the link!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP 

Thanks for sharing this activity, Susan. I really hope you will return here and provide some feedback on how it all went. I suspect that you will report great success. Waiting to hear. Living in a competitive dominant working environment, we have much to learn about "the other way!" Leecy