12 Communication and Teamwork
This chapter focuses upon a model student team (Sam, Jennifer, Ken, Fred, Sandra) and their struggles to figure out how to work as a team in order to accomplish an assigned project. The project with which they are tasked is the same project students must complete in Activity 12.1. The chapter begins with an overview of teamwork and the different skills that successful teamwork requires. A profile of a strong team player is shared and the 11 most commonly used team roles are shared, along with the performance criteria for each. Teamwork is then discussed as a process: Define team mission, Build team, Create plan, Implement plan, Assess team performance. Examples of several of the steps are provided by the model student team, with an effective team intervention performed. Students are then given explicit information about team interventions. The chapter continues to follow the progress of the model student team, now focusing on communication skills and the Communication Methodology. The methodology is presented along with a discussion and example application of each step by the model student team. Students receive a full page of tips for delivering a presentation and are given a rubric, Performance Levels for Oral Communication. The model student team shares their Recorder and Reflector Reports (forms to track and assess team performance) and the chapter closes with the topic of diversity. Students are encouraged to respond to the diversity of the model student team, and how that team might strengthen their own performance with respect to appreciating diversity.
čRelated/Helpful Faculty Guidebook modules
čKnowledge Table for Chapter 12
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Ch 12 Teamwork and Communication |
Concepts |
Processes |
Tools |
Context |
Way of Being |
| Teamwork skills | Team process (methodology) | Team roles and performance criteria | Team of model student characters | Communicator | |
| Interventions | Communication methodology | Tips for delivering a presentation | Profile of a strong team player | Team player | |
| Communication skills | Levels of communicator | Sample recorder’s report, and reflector’s report | Achiever | ||
| Diversity | Recorder report | ||||
| Reflector report | |||||
čOnline Resources for Chapter 12: http://www.pcrest2.com/fol/ch12.htm
čNotes on Chapter Content
Table 12.1 Teamwork Skills
This brief exercise helps students begin looking at the model student team from the perspective of the teamwork-related skills that the members exhibit. Assessing the teamwork performance of the model team will help students become familiar with the skills and performance criteria that they will later use to assess their own performance while working within a team.
Table 12.2 Profile of a Strong Team Player
This short exercise, based upon the Profile of a Strong Team Player (Table 12.2) is geared toward helping students appreciate that though they may not be comfortable with working in teams, they already have skills that are potential strengths in the context of a team or teamwork.
Table 12.3 Team Interventions
It is a common tendency for students who are faced with a teamwork situation that begins to break down, to disengage and withdraw from participation in the team. This exercise aims to help students consider an empowering and active alternative: intervention. Students are encouraged to consider their own team experiences where a positive intervention occurred.
What Do YOU Think? Oral Communication Levels in Action
This exercise is predicated upon students having had nearly a semester's worth of exposure to and use of rubrics. In every previous case, when a rubric was presented, it was accompanied by a demonstration of the levels of the rubric in action. In this exercise, students are formally tasked with finding and citing examples of each level of the Oral Communication Rubric. They should feel free to use nearly any source/example that they can substantiate through answering the "Why?" prompt. The only examples off limits are the course instructor and their classmates. Students will typically find this a fun and engaging exercise and will tend to enjoy sharing their findings in a class-level discussion.
Critical Reflection How Did They Do? Assessing Written Reflector and Recorder Reports
Students have been practicing SII Assessment since Chapter 1; this exercise allows them to put their assessment skills to use in assessing the Recorder's Report and Reflector's Report as generated by students on the model team.
It is critical that students come to understand that they are assessing the reports (i.e., how well those reports capture the SII Assessment model), not the specific information in those reports. It would not, for example, be appropriate for an "Area of Improvement" on the Reflector's Report to focus upon citing additional strengths of team members. It would, however, be appropriate to note that the "Area of Improvement" for Fred on the Reflector's Report uses the term "weakness" and is an evaluative or judgmental statement. It does not give any thoughts for how Fred might improve his performance. In other words, student assessments of these reports are intended to strengthen the reports.
Assessing an assessment is a fairly high-level skill and instructors may find that students benefit more from turning this exercise into an in-class discussion, where the whole class generates the "Instructor Feedback" for the forms.
What Do YOU Think? Team Diversity
This exercise requires students to consider the model student team from the perspective of diversity. Some of the obvious points of diversity are gender, race, age, ethnicity, experience, disability, and learning style (as cited in the online resources, individual student pages). Note that there are few obvious occasions where the team was weakened by an inability to accept and work with diversity, but students may well perceive slights or oversights. The team does tend to be a kind of inkblot; some students may well be predisposed to perceive problems with gender, race, or age bias (to name just a few). This is absolutely fine, as students are asked to provide helpful suggestions for how those tendencies in the model team could be counteracted. Do not attempt to have students justify their perceptions; it is far more critical that they generate and share positive suggestions.
čActivities
| Activity 12.1: Exploring Team Roles | In-class: Steps 1-6, following class: presentations & reports | Spans multiple class meetings |
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This activity gives students the opportunity to explore, select, practice, and present information about team roles. Though it is a somewhat complex activity, the instructions are very clear and all resources the students will require are provided either in the text or on the online resources site. You should plan to allow a minimum of an hour for teams to work together to prepare their presentation. Keep in mind that the more time is allowed for this, the more likely it is that the team will have time to explore actually assuming team roles, rather than reporting on the roles as theoretical information. An alternative approach would be for the teams to be tasked with a) completing Steps 1 through 6 in one class period and then b) meeting to coordinate their presentation outside of class (thus tasking them with taking the initiative to arrange, schedule, meet, and work as a team without instructor supervision or the structure of a classroom environment). The presentations would then take place during a later class meeting. Students will work in teams of 4 or 5 members and brainstorm a list of occasions where teamwork is more useful than individual working alone. From that list, they will select the 5 team roles they feel to be most critical. Those roles will be assigned, by the team, to team members. Once roles are assigned, the team will begin working on their presentation which should consist of:
The model team within the chapter explores these concepts, giving students hints and ideas of how to proceed. You should be prepared, when facilitating nearly any part of this activity, to be tapped as a resource to help students understand team roles and their responsibilities (performance criteria). Once the presentations have been delivered, individual students should answer the Critical Thinking Questions and complete an SII Assessment of the team's performance. Teams will then meet again (this step need not take more than 15 minutes) to synthesize the individual SII Assessments into a Final SII Team Assessment.
Critical Thinking Questions
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| Activity 12.2 Team Logo Competition | In-class: Activity except Report | 1 class period + report |
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This is a fun and very creative activity where teams must create and enter their team logo in a 'design competition,' as well as submit two characteristics of a good logo. Additionally, each team will answer the Critical Thinking Questions (as a team) and submit a 2-page team report about the team's performance during the activity. This activity requires students to focus upon the dynamics of their team, as well as the process of working in a team. Instructors should feel free to require that teams complete the 2-page team report outside of class, as all other portions of this activity can be successfully facilitated in less than an hour. Logos should be judged in-class, with instructors tabulating the voting results and announcing the winning logo. Critical Thinking Questions How were the team roles decided upon and selected? Which roles were most important to the success of your design and why? Which roles were least important and why? Were the roles important for your team design because of the role itself or the person performing the role? Why? What are the three most important features of your design? What is your anticipated score? What changes in your logo might improve your score? What do you think is the optimal team size for this particular project? Why? |
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| Activity 12.3 Team Design Competition | In-class: Activity except Report | 1 class period + report |
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Note that this activity requires that additional resources be provided FOR EACH TEAM that either instructors may bring, or assign students teams to bring to class: 30 sheets of recycled paper, roll of transparent tape, corrugated cardboard (several large pieces), pair of scissors, calculator. Instructors will also need to have a tape measure or ruler on hand, with markings in centimeters. Teams are tasked with building a tower, using only cardboard for the base and up to 30 sheets of paper (with tape to hold the pieces of paper together and affix the base to the tower). The towers will be scored by the formula included in the activity:
Scores should be calculated in-class, with instructors tabulating the results and announcing the winning design. Each team will answer the Critical Thinking Questions (as a team) and submit a 2-page team report about the team's performance during the activity. This activity requires students to focus upon the dynamics of their team, as well as the process of working in a team. Instructors should feel free to require that teams complete the 2-page team report outside of class, as all other portions of this activity can be successfully facilitated in less than an hour. Critical Thinking Questions
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