Learning Notes POD —IDEA Center

POD —IDEA Center
Learning Notes
S e p t e m b e r
2 0 0 6
Michael Theall, Youngstown State University, Series Editor
Laura L. B. Border, University of Colorado, Guest Editor
IDEA Learning Objective #5:
“Acquiring skills in working with others as a member of a team”
Donna M. Qualters, Northeastern University, d-qualters@neu.edu
Background
Research on active learning demonstrates the
efficacy of having students engaged in the process
(1). Chickering & Gamson’s “7 Principles” (2)
extend this notion to include fostering cooperation
among students and using active methodologies to
incorporate students’ diverse talents and styles of
learning. On-going research, and the National
Study of Student Engagement (NSSE), are
beginning to document the value students perceive
from working together. The shift in higher education
from teacher-centered to student-centered learning
has shown that the role of the teacher has shifted
from dispensing knowledge to becoming the
architect of the learning environment. This definition
goes beyond the facilitator role, to one that
encompasses the ability to create environments
where students can develop skills and attitudes that
go beyond acquiring and critically evaluating
knowledge. Concurrent with this research is the
emerging study of communities of practice (3),
which illustrates how collaboration improves
practice and assists participants in reforming
information that extends individual and group
knowledge. These are powerful arguments for
employing active and team-based learning in
classrooms.
Aside from the pedagogical rationale for teams,
there are additional factors that support the
importance of helping students acquire the skills
needed to work together effectively. First, the
research on the millennial students (those born in
the early 1980’s who are now in our classrooms),
has clearly documented that these students value
working together, and that they were educated in a
system that increasingly used collaboration and
team work for learning. However, their experience
may not have explicitly included the acquisition of
collaborative skills in the various disciplines (4). A
second factor is the reality that as we move to a
more global environment, students will be working
more frequently in team-based settings that may be
virtual as well as real. Lastly, as interdisciplinary
knowledge and research become more prevalent,
learners will need the skills to work and
communicate with partners who are not familiar
with the disciplinary language and practices that
learners bring to the workplace. Effective teams
capitalize on their diversity and become stronger as
a result.
In addition, IDEA research has found that objective
5 is moderately related to student progress on a
number of other objectives, including 8. Developing
skill in expressing myself orally and in writing; 9.
Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas,
arguments, and points of view; 10. Developing a
clearer understanding of personal values; and 12.
Acquiring an interest in learning more by asking my
own questions and seeking answers. These
relationships are more complex and they suggest
that the interactions of team work have positive
effects on communication skills, critical thinking,
and inquiry about ideas and opinions.
Helpful Hints
Through carefully crafted and executed team work
activities, students can gain the necessary skills to
function effectively in a rapidly changing world of
technology, knowledge management, and
cooperative practices. The research on effective
teams provides several useful strategies. Here are
a few. Many of them correspond to the three IDEA
methods:
Method 5 Formed teams to facilitate learning
Method 14 Involved students in hands-on
learning
Method 18 Asked students to help each other
understand ideas and concepts
These are most closely related to student
acquisition of team skills and focus on team
organization, engaging students actively , and
helping students to understand that they can learn
from each other.
“COMET” your teams (5). COMET is an acronym
developed by Stone & Qualters (5), and its purpose
is to guide team process. C represents Clearly
defined goals, assuring that teams understand the
reason for using teams for learning and for work. O
refers to Open communication, stressing the skills
needed to communicate effectively. M refers to
Member involvement, eliciting equal commitment
and participation by all. E refers to Education,
ensuring that members understand the talents and
skills that everyone brings to the team. T is the
most important element, representing Trust,
helping teams to build interpersonal trust, and to
identify and remedy difficult situations.
Carefully choose the task for teams. Keep course
objectives, content demands, and learner skills in
mind, and match the task to the situation. Team
work is often very productive when the assigned
tasks require higher level thinking skills. Tasks
should require students to think critically, challenge
each other’s assumptions (with appropriate
feedback skills), explore topics beyond their
existing knowledge, and when possible, provide
opportunities for creativity. Tasks that are more
concrete often do solidify current knowledge, but
are not as effective in helping students to
reformulate what they already know into something
deeper and more complex. Nonetheless, such
tasks may be appropriate for introductory courses
where mastery of basic content is critical.
Carefully plan team size and composition.
Research suggests optimum team size of three to
five individuals (6).The make-up of teams can be
student-chosen or teacher-constructed.
Considerations in team make-up should include:
the maturity level (more mature students tend to
work well in teams of their own choosing);
presence of the skills needed to complete the task
(often diverse skills are needed to be successful);
and the proximity and availability (especially if team
work will require many out of class meetings that
cannot be accomplished on-line or via other new
technologies).
Take the time to prepare the team BEFORE the
work begins. Students often feel they “know” how
to work in teams just because they have been in
them so often during their secondary education.
But time and energy invested in some simple
techniques enhance team work. Begin with team
building exercises such as having members state
their goals for the team apart from those of the
instructor; develop, agree, and sign off on a set of
expectations and team guidelines, (for example
clear language on how the team is going to handle
a non-participant); assist the team in determining
the roles that will make the team function and how
these roles will work, how leaders will be chosen,
whether leadership will rotate, and who will act as
recorder/scribe.
Educate teams ABOUT teams prior to starting. The
more students know about the characteristics and
qualities of successful teams, the more positive
their experience (7). Making students aware of the
stages of development (forming, storming, norming,
performing) and the issues that arise in each stage
will help teams understand that the difficulties they
may encounter, are normal and can be resolved.
Take time to have students identify elements of
successful and unsuccessful teams from their past
experiences. This meta-activity will make them
more aware of issues to attend to in the current
team. One author suggests that the case be made
that dealing with team difficulty is not only
essential, but also an ethical and moral
responsibility if the team is to function and achieve
its goals. Rather than ignoring behaviors or
refusing to get outside intervention, the team
understands that holding team members
accountable is not “ratting out” a member or
violating team privacy, but a mature approach to
ensuring a functioning team (8).
Demonstrate feedback skills and give assistance
on conflict resolution. Providing students with tools
and methods for frequent feedback increases the
chances of success for the team. The use of an
observer role that rotates among team members is
one tactic that provides neutral feedback to the
team on how it is functioning and what potential
areas of difficulty might be. Another tactic is to
discuss the elements of effective feedback and
then have learners practice giving feedback to
team members, particularly if that feedback
contains criticism. This is best done prior to the
team beginning its actual work. A third possibility is
to have an on-going record (virtual or real) of the
activities of the team, the assigned tasks, the
deadline dates, and the rate of completion for each
member.
Provide a written guide for student teams.
Elaborate and well-written guides are available on
the web (8) and in the literature (9) that can easily
be adapted to most situations. These guides
enhance team preparation, provide tips and tools
for team success, and contain assessment and
monitoring mechanisms to help the team stay on
track. Developmentally, it is important to have more
detailed guides for introductory courses where
students are not only new to the institution, but
often new to each other and to college-level work.
Use technology to enhance team interaction.
Having team work sites on course management
systems allows teams the ability to interact more
frequently when apart. These sites can also include
both private spaces for team usage and public
spaces for classmates and faculty to view on-going
work. It is even possible for visitors to offer
constructive assistance at the publicly accessible
locations. Websites also allow students to work
more efficiently given their learning and life styles,
but there is one caution: not all students are ready
for the level of independence that these systems
allow. Teachers have to monitor website activity,
encourage active participation, and most important,
respond to student questions and concerns. A
major advantage of course management systems
is that they provide a single, central location for all
documents and tools the teams may need to
complete the assigned task (10, 11).
Successful group work requires careful preparation
and preparation requires time. While it may seem
that preparation and training use “valuable class
time,” the payoff is in improved learning and class
time saved (6, 12, 13). For example, when students
collaborate in class or virtually, they must engage
in the analysis of materials and ideas and they
must share their thinking with one another. These
activities are beneficial in their own right because
they contribute to deeper understanding, but they
also lessen the need for repetitive presentation of
information in the classroom. Time can thus be
spent on deeper coverage and integration of
course material.
Assessment Issues
Assessment is one of the most challenging tasks in
team-based learning, yet it is not impossible. The
question which most often arises is whether to
grade students separately (which can seem
counter to the purpose of forming teams), or to use
a single grade for the team (which can lead to
frustration among hard-working students if other
students do not contribute). A combination of both
is often the most productive way to grade, and
incorporating peer evaluation is almost essential if
a teamwork mindset is to evolve (12).
Teams have been shown to work more effectively
when there is “positive interdependency,” that is, a
mutual understanding that each team member
must rely on other members to complete the work
successfully (13). This would argue for a single
grade for the summative measurement of a team
product, thus creating a common goal to do well on
the assignment. To assure that there is full
participation and that the interdependency is
positive, there must be on-going formative
feedback regarding team progress. There are a
number of ways to accomplish this. It is often
helpful to have team work occur in class, thus
allowing direct observation of team behaviors.
Utilizing tools such as the Analysis of Team
Behavior chart (14) lets you observe the
interactions of the teams while they are at work,
and provide feedback to improve the skills and
interaction of the team members.
Interacting personally with teams is also essential.
While teams need space to develop self
sufficiency, a periodic check to ask questions, to
determine understanding of the goals/tasks, to
identify stumbling blocks, and to provide occasional
guidance suffices to monitor the team’s progress.
Carefully planned teacher interventions provide a
model for students to do their own self-monitoring
in the future.
As mentioned above, having teams keep logs,
minutes, weekly reports (individual and/or
collective) or task lists available allows on-going
assessment of the team’s progress and timely
intervention if needed. This work also demonstrates
that functional teams track their accomplishments,
tasks, participation and outcomes. Reflective
writing assignments encourage self and team
assessment and include opportunities for recording
affective components or results of team work. This
kind of writing can alert teachers and students to
interpersonal or other problems early enough to
allow correction.
As in all forms of assessment, clear grading rubrics
(15) should be provided and explained prior to
starting the project. If a single grade and
appropriate on-going feedback are the methods to
increase positive interdependence, then clearly
delineate the criteria used to assess the team’s
success in a single grade. If using a combination
method, clearly outline which items are collectively
graded and which are individually graded and what
criteria will apply to each aspect of the grade. Is the
grade just the final product, or are some of the
formative tools being graded as well? Is there an
opportunity for individual feedback? If there is a
final project or presentation, is the whole class
participating in the grading and what tool will they
use? Are reports and documentation being graded?
Is peer rating a part of the grade?
Essentially, grading team-based learning involves
general principles of good grading. There must be
clear expectations about the project and about the
team. The amount and type of feedback that will be
provided must be clearly outlined as well as the
criteria that will be used to determine the grade(s).
In addition, be sure to create the space to provide
non-graded, qualitative feedback on team progress.
It is important to create an open climate in the class
where students see the instructor as a partner who
will not only evaluate their work, but provide ongoing formative assessment. Individual team
members need to grow continually and to develop
teamwork skills in order to achieve personal
success.
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
References and Resources
(1)
http://www.active-learningsite.com/bib1.htm#Recent provides an
extensive bibliography. Retrieved September
20, 2006.
(2) Chickering, A.W., & Gamson, Z.F. (1991).
Applying the seven principles for good
practice in undergraduate education, New
Directions for Teaching and Learning, 47. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
(3) Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice:
Learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge,
MA: Cambridge University Press
(4) Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2003). Millennials
go to college. Great Falls, VA: American
Association of Registrars and Admissions
Officers and Life Course Associates.
(5) Stone, S., & Qualters, D. (1998). “COMET, a
tool for team work. In Teaching for tomorrow:
Preparing community physicians as
educators. Worcester, MA: University of
Massachusetts, Community Faculty
Development Center.
(6) Rassuli, A., & Manzer, J. (September/
October 2005). Teach us to learn: Multivariate
analysis of perception of success in team
(15)
learning. Journal of Education for Business,
80 (1), 21-27.
Page, D., & Donelan, J. (January/February,
2003). Team-building tools for students.
Journal of Business, 78 (3), 125-132.
Teamwork – A practical guide for students.
Drexel University. Retrieved September 20,
2006 from
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~mitcheje/Team
work/
Buckenmyer, J. (November, 2000). Using
teams for class activities: Making course/
classroom teams work. Journal of Education
for Business, 76, (2), 98-104.
Federman Stein, R., & Hurd, S. (1999). Using
student teams in the classroom: A faculty
guide. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.
Weigel, V. B. (2002). Deep learning for a
digital age. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Michaelsen, L., Knight, A., & Fink, L.D.
(2002). Team-based learning: A
transformative use of small groups. Sterling,
VA: Stylus Publication.
Millis, B., & Cottrell, P., (1998). Cooperative
learning for higher education faculty.
Phoenix: American Council on Education and
Oryx Press.
Border, L. (1997). Further notes on group
behavior, rapport, trust, and etiquette,
National Teaching and Learning Forum, 6 (5).
7-8.
For example, see Rubrics. Monmouth
University. Retrieved September 20, 2006
from
http://its.monmouth.edu/facultyresourcecenter
/rubrics.htm
Related POD-IDEA Center Notes
IDEA Item #5 Formed "teams" or "discussion
groups" to facilitate learning, Todd Zakrajsek
IDEA Item #14 Involved students in 'hands-on'
projects such as research, case studies, or 'real life'
activities, Virginia S. Lee
IDEA Item #18 Asked students to help each other
understand ideas or concepts, Jeff King
Additional Resources
IDEA Paper No. 38: Enhancing Learning - and
More! - Through Cooperative Learning, Millis
©2006 The IDEA Center
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