Introduction Now that you know why you should be interested in collaboration, how do you do it? Many of you have probably been in a situation where collaborating didn't work out very well. Was the problem the project, or was the problem with the team? It could be that the problem was both. Knowing how to organize your team and the project can make the difference between a successful collaboration and one that fails. In this lesson, you will learn how to organize your team to maximize the potential that the team will be successful. You will also see how to break down the tasks of the project so that everyone is clear about what he or she needs to do. Figure 7.2.1. As a student, you're asked to collaborate on many projects in school. …show more content…
As a student, you know that your job is to learn everything given to you. That's easy! Your job is clearly defined, and you've been practicing it for years. But what do you do if you don't know what your job in a group is? For every single collaboration, the members of the group must know what is expected of them in order to be successful in the project. In many situations, the expectations are very clear. However, sometimes they are not. Let's say your teacher puts you in groups of four or five students and gives the class a project the group must complete by the end of the class. Do you recognize any of these situations? Everyone stares at each other and nothing gets done. Some students will start working on the project on their own while other students entertain themselves with something else. The group starts to decide how to complete the task, but two or more members fight over how it should be done and nothing happens on the project. Most of the members of the group start working together, but one or two members refuse to do anything--causing frustration in the group or causing the other members to ignore them. In all of these situations, either students didn't know how to work together, or chose not to do so. Know Your …show more content…
Every person in a group provides a piece of the puzzle that will make the project successful. If one piece is missing, the whole project will be incomplete. Know Yourself One of the important skills necessary for successful collaboration is for each team member to know him- or herself. Let's say you're assigned to a team. What are you good at? What can you contribute to the group? You may know that you don't make a good leader. That's okay! Not everyone has that particular talent. However, you may know that you are a pretty good artist and can help in that way. Or maybe you're very organized, and can help keep the group on track as a time keeper. Learning what you're good at and what you should avoid sometimes takes experimenting to see how you do. Be willing to try different things (and fail!) now, while you're in school, so that you can learn what natural talents you may have that may be make you successful later. Once you learn your strengths and weaknesses, be willing to share your strengths. Getting Your Team
gives us the example of the students seated in a room and then smoke was
Learning how to work effectively in a group situation is key to success in many professions as well as in social situations. Groups vary from each other based on the individuals that make up each group, all of us belong to various groups at one time or another. The roles that we fulfill vary from group to
suggests new ideas to solve group problem or new ways for the group to organize the task
One of the more important skills students will learn outside the classroom is teamwork. This quality can not be taught it must be learned by experience. Members will be on teams to compete in competitions. Students must learn the limits and strengths of their team member if they wish to succeed. This skill prepares students for the team work assignments which will be required in classes, as well as in everyday
The five stages of developing groups is an important part of the position. In many cases it is the relationships that a person will have with other individuals who will determine the best members to put into the different groups. As well, the different skill sets that individuals have are also an important part in placing group members together. The observation of the first groups placed together will be a good gauge in learning how some of the individuals work and observing how others work well together. The group size should be eight to 10 people to facilitate greater ease of equal participation among the individuals.
Working in a group to achieve a high quality group project can be one of people’s most difficult school experiences. Working in a group is tough because there is often someone who does not pull their own weight. “There are five stages to group development, adjourning, forming, storming, performing, and norming” (John & Wiley pg 166). Christine’s group from the Case Study the Forgotten Group Member is in between the Storming and Norming Stages. The Storming Stage “is dealing with tensions and defining group tasks,” while the Norming Stage is dealing with high emotionality and tension among the group members” (John & Wiley pg. 166). Christine and her group could have had better
In this class ninety percent of the students preferred to work by themselves than in groups; that showed during activity. Due to the fact we had a fire drill the class only had eight minutes to complete the square. As soon as we let the 3 period classes begin one person from each table snatched the puzzle trying to complete it on their own. This continued throughout the class. Each student from the group tried to complete the square on their own. Not once did the students work together at all. None of the tables completed the square in that class. By the end of the day out of all four classes only 3 tables completed the
The team is assembled and the task is allocated. Team members behave independently, with anxieties about inclusion and exclusion. Their time is spent planning, collecting information and bonding, with an apparent willingness to conform. This can happen whenever new circumstances occur within a group, or when new challenges or projects are set within established
Tuckman proposes that groups develop via five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally adjourning (Archee, Gurney, & Mohan, 2013a). The first stage, known as forming, involves clarifying the task and purpose of the group, and identifying boundaries of both the task and interpersonal behaviour (Archee et al., 2013a). For the presentation task we were randomly allocated into groups. This worried me greatly as I have struggled in the past with group members who do not contribute equally or see the task as important as other group members. To avoid this problem, the group collectively determined and agreed upon a number of ground rules. For example, we decided that all group members were expected to contribute equally to the presentation, all group members were expected to attend and contribute at all group meetings, and all group members would adhere to agreed upon deadlines. Having failed to do this in previous group assignments, this clarification stage
When doing so the other group members were active listener, by using their whole body verbally and nonverbal. Like facing the speaker and giving eye contact and try to avoided interruption. The group also acknowledges the thoughts of the speaker by giving constructive feed back. Due to the effectiveness of the group communication, we were able to build trust, respect and understand the issues and make decision for effective change. We illustrate this by coming together as a group one again to accomplish the goal we initially wanted to accomplish. Since the first organization that we had chosen was incorrect, so we had to make the necessary changes to accomplish our goals. The other effective feature is the purpose of the group. Kozier et al (2010) stated that the effective group purpose is when “goal, task, and outcomes are clarified. Understanding and modified so that members of the group can commit themselves to purposes through cooperation” (p.401). For instance, each individual was assign a task and knew what was to be accomplished. As group we all decided to meet at suitable day and time which was beneficial to all team members, because we could commit to the group and focus on what needed to be achieved.
Working in a group can be very difficult at times. Different people with different views may not always agree which one another. Throughout the various task I played the communicator. I made sure everyone was on track on what we wanted to do. I also made sure people was okay and happy in the role they was playing in the group. My group worked together in collecting ideas from one another and making it into one.
Teamwork is the backbone of effective communication and the crucial cog that keeps the wheel of successful project management turning. The role of teamwork in enhancing problem solving skills, cohesion, learning, and productivity can no longer be ignored. Proper teamwork plays an integral role in promoting the effective implementation and fulfillment of shared goals in a team project in a manner that is better and quicker. Team work also provides a solid platform on which team members can take on different responsibilities and contribute in ways that together makes the entire team an effective unit.
Most of the times when you try to look up on what a group is suppose to do most of the time it’s not that way. From my own experience I like to just go and see who I’m working with and what it is that we have to do. I like when a person likes to do their own work and is not lazy, that’s the only time I don’t want to work with groups. You can research some times and hope to find what you are looking for but not always is that what you have to do, because all you can do is just ask the other people how someone works and if that person is a good candidate to work with.
A group engages in certain processes that naturally occur when a set of individuals are working together. In the Orientation phase, the needs of group members are to be oriented to the task, that is, to define the task, specify issues, identify expectations, and explore the nature of the work. From this, members develop a common understanding of the group's purpose. In the Testing and Dependency phase, participants generally act as if they depend on the leader to provide all the structure. They look to the leader to set the ground rules, establish the agenda, to do all the "leading," while the group members acclimate themselves to the setting. Group members exhibit behavior to test what behavior is acceptable and what is not, and begin to establish boundaries, to consider themselves as individuals in relation to the group, and to define the function of the group and the leader. This phase generally concludes when there is general agreement that the goals are achievable and that change is possible--whether it be changing behavior, making a decision, or solving a problem. Organizing to get work done involves a number of group decisions. These include establishing work rules, determining limits, defining the reward system, setting the criteria for the task, dividing the work and assigning individual responsibility for particular tasks. As it relates to
Levin (2005) suggests that the idea of a team is to share the same objectives. This may not always be the case if team members have never met before and are not fully clear of the task set. This can lead to confusion between members and may mean that some team members are unwilling to be told by their peers what to do. This is an example on ineffective team work.