OBJECTIVES

2. OBJECTIVES In this session we will: • Learn about group work in higher education • Examine the typical teamworking process • Consider the roles which we can play in teams • Explore cultural aspects of teamworking

3. DEFINITIONS WHAT IS A TEAM? A collection of individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals. Oxford Dictionary (2012) • Two or more people • Specific performance objective or recognisable goal to be attained • Coordination of activity among the members of the team is required for the attainment of the team goal or objective • Larson & LaFasto (1989)

4. GROUP WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION TYPES OF GROUP WORK group projects group posters group discussions in tutorials lab groups group discussions in lectures reading groups informal study groups group presentations group reports simulations ‘crit’ groups

5. GROUP WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION WHY IS THERE GROUP WORK? • Can provide students with cognitive, motivational and social benefits (Biggs 2003) • Group work can be used to: • Encourage deeper learning (Jacques 1984) • Promote student autonomy (Freeman 1995) • Develop interpersonal skills (Biggs 2003) • Provide exposure to others’ points of view (Mello 1993) • Because employers want graduates with • teamworking skills (Boud et al. 1999)

6. EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Process EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Culture Roles

7. TUCKMAN’S GROUP DEVELOPMENT MODEL Forming Storming Norming Performing Mourning Bruce Tuckman Source: Tuckman, B. (1965) “Developmental sequence in small groups”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol.63, No. 6, pp.384-399.

8. TUCKMAN’S STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT Forming Storming Norming Performing contracting conflict collaboration celebration

9. GROUP DEVELOPMENT – STUDENTS TODAY Forming Storming Norming Performing

10. GROUP DEVELOPMENT – A DECADE AGO Forming Storming Norming Performing

11. EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Process EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Culture Roles

12. RESEARCH CONTEXT Belbin’s research Research on effective teams Contribution of the individual to the team Key roles for success People have preferred roles Situation dependent All roles are equally important Source: Belbin, R.M. (2004) Management Teams: why they succeed or fail, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. See also: www.belbin.com

13. BELBIN TEAM ROLES Shaper - drive to push things forward Coordinator - chairperson Plant - creative, imaginative Resource investigator - networker Team worker - maintains relations, efficient, good listener Monitor evaluator - logical observers, strategic, impartial Implementer - practical thinker Completer finisher - analytical, meticulous Specialist - brings expertise, skill and discipline

14. PROJECTS AND ROLES Ideas Plant Resource Investigator Monitor Evaluator Co-ordinator Optimal solution Clear goals, objectives Specialist Shaper Completer finisher Work Implementer Team Worker SUCCESS

15. EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Process EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK Culture Roles

16. CULTURAL DIVERSITY There may be differences in gender, age, ethnic and social backgrounds, educational history, motivations for studying, communication preferences, skills, learning styles ...

17. CULTURAL DIVERSITY GROUP COMPOSITION True or False: 73% of Business School students said that they preferred to choose their own groups rather than be randomly allocated. 44% of business students agreed that working in groups has helped them to learn more about different cultures • By engaging in culturally diverse groups, • students can develop awareness of other cultures • helps in considering other people’s viewpoints • can perform better academically than in culturally similar groups (Sweeney et al. 2008) 73% agreed that working in a group exposed them to different perspectives about the subject

18. CULTURAL NORMS Greetings Forms of address Touching Eye contact Personal space Time keeping Emotion Silence Body language Relationships Communications

19. CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMS • Clear, elevating goal • Result-driven structure • Competent team members • Unified commitment • Collaborative climate • Based on Larson and LaFasto (1989) • Teamwork, Sage: USA. The essence of teamwork lies in synergy – the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

20. CHARACTERISTICS OF INEFFECTIVE TEAMS • Talking not listening • Missing deadlines • Lack of delegation / direction • Lack of communication • Silent members • Dismissive attitudes • Argumentative/dominant members • Based on Kent University (2012)

21. REFERENCES Belbin, R.M. (2003) Management Teams: why they succeed or fail, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Biggs, J. (2003) Teaching for quality learning at university, SRHE: Buckingham. Boud, D., Cohen, R. and Sampson, J. (1999) “Peer learning and assessment”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 413-426. Freeman, M. (1995) “Peer assessment by groups of group work”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 289-300. Jacques, D. (1984) Learning in Groups, Croom Helm: London. Kent University (2012) Teamworking Skills, [online] Available at: www.kent.ac.uk [Accessed 1 June 2012]. Larson and LaFasto (1989) Teamwork, Sage: USA. Mello, J. (1993) “Improving individual member accountability in small group settings”, Journal of Management Education, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 253-259. Sweeney, A., Weaven, S. And Herington, C. (2008) “Multicultural influences on group learning: a qualitative higher education study”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 119-132. Tuckman, B. (1965) “Developmental sequence in small groups”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 63, No. 6, pp. 384-399.