In my first discussion, I talked about my students working in teams and how they were surprised at the quality of work and how much could be accomplished when working together. I would like to complete my series of thoughts on that note…
Perhaps it is the psychology of life. Students are simply young adults and even adults are often fearful of unfamiliar territory. As adults, we tend to depend on ourselves because we have developed a survival plan within ourselves. Actually, that same plan began to develop in our childhood and we continue to nurture it throughout life.
Young students are taught to sit in straight rows, to not look at someone else’s paper and to not share answers or be guilty by association. Now, all of a sudden, we change the rules. Can you imagine the confusion within their minds? A paradigm shift must be made. I truly believe the Ford PAS curriculum works to implement this shift because it stays true to the belief that two heads are better than one. So many people try a teamwork activity and abandon ship because “it doesn’t feel good”. It doesn’t feel good because it is a bit foreign—not because it is not a good thing. Keep working in teams and the familiarity will come and the winners will be your students.
Do I think students benefit from teamwork activities? Absolutely, without a doubt. Adults are expected to excel in a team environment to succeed in the workplace. We must make the shift. What are some of the benefits of teamwork? First of all, a team environment is much more productive and produces a higher quality product—the team simply has more than one perspective. Second, a team environment allows relationships to develop and the key to a successful organization is healthy relationships. Third, students have more fun in teams. Granted, they may feel uncomfortable at first, but as their comfort level increases, they will begin to have fun and make connections to the world of work and the expectations of adulthood.
Everyone, including students, wants to produce a quality product. As human beings, we want to please! Just this past week in my classes, a team assignment was completed. As everything came together, the participants were so proud of their accomplishment. As a matter of fact, one young lady was astonished at the results—she just couldn’t believe what she was seeing! An individual effort would probably not have been as rewarding.
Parting Thoughts
Thanks to all who have tuned in during the past four weeks. I have truly enjoyed sharing stories and learning about your classroom and students. Keep up the good work and let’s all make this world a better place to call home. We can’t change them all, but we sure can help one or two.
Last week, we discussed the role of the students in a teamwork activity. Equally important is the role of the teacher. Perhaps just as students are uncomfortable working in a team environment, teachers feel many of the same emotions.
Psychologically, facilitating team activities removes the powerful position of the teacher. I can remember when I first started my career, I envisioned what being a good teacher really meant—always knowing the right answer, and maintaining complete control (that usually meant a very quiet classroom). As an adult, I realize those were my childhood perceptions of a teacher, not necessarily reality. Facilitating a teamwork activity with 20-30 students is anything but quiet and there is a very real possibility that the teacher will not have all of the answers. My thoughts on that one . . . . . let’s get over it my friends: we are human beings trying to prepare young people for the real world—which will include chaos and unanswered questions.
I will get off of my soapbox and discuss my strategies for facilitation. First, get away from your desk and move around. Talk to the students, ask them what they are doing, thinking, writing, etc. I often find myself being the devil’s advocate—take the opposing viewpoint to see if the students believe in their answer and defend it. Always praise their efforts and keep them involved.
Obviously, it is impossible to get to all teams at the same time; make your rounds and talk to each team. If a question arises that you think will affect the entire class, announce it to everyone. Encourage and empower teams to think independently and remind them that when we are actually employed, our supervisor does not hold our hands every day.
Enough from me. What are your strategies when working with teams in your classroom? What are your challenges?
Greetings Ford PAS Family!! I have really enjoyed getting to know you and your teaching style through the blog comments and our online discussion. Thanks so much for your thoughts and ideas on the topic of teamwork. I think teamwork is a hot topic in the classroom and worthy of additional discussion.
First, let’s talk about the attendance issue. Clearly, I think we would all agree that student absenteeism is a huge obstacle to overcome. Many of you have wonderful ideas such as student/parent contracts, additional work for the student, reduction of grade, etc. As teachers who have to generate grades, we all use a combination of these tactics and some work better than others. As in anything, trial and error will usually lead you to the most effective approach for your students. The one thing that I want to stress is the underlying reason that we are teaching students to work in teams—Teamwork is the #2 skill needed in any workplace and we are being challenged to develop our youth into the productive adults of the future. I constantly tell my students that a degree will get them in the door, but skills will get them promoted and determine the number of 0’s on their check.
Second, a big challenge when teaching teambuilding is the whole idea of teaching individual responsibility or accountability within the team. First, I am not sure that high school students really understand “how” to work in a team. Kim Hostelley, a Ford PAS teacher from Berea High School, had a great idea—she has her students make posters at the beginning of the year that illustrate team norms. Many years ago when I taught Math, I attended a cooperative learning training and I learned to assign roles to the students in a team:
I have used these same roles for many years (you know what they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”). Students seem to do better when they have a direct obligation and know what to do. Obviously, students have other responsibilities depending on the project—everyone works towards solving the problem.
Additionally, research shows that teams of three to five work best. I know this may be difficult in a classroom of 35 students and limited space, but if possible try to limit teams to six or seven. If your team is larger than four, you could add a reader and/or let more than one student serve as encourager. As many of you know, rotating teams and roles is a great idea. Students need to learn to work with all types of people and should learn to adapt to all of the roles.