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

DEFINITIONS

WHAT IS A TEAM?

• 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)

Oxford Dictionary (2012)

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.

GROUP WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION

TYPES OF GROUP WORK

group

discussions in

tutorials

group projects

group discussions in

lectures

reading groups

informal study groups

group posters

group presentations

group

reportssimulations

‘crit’ groups

lab groups

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)

EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

Process

Roles Culture

EFFECTIVE

TEAMWORK

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.

TUCKMAN’S STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

contractingconflict

collaborationcelebration

GROUP DEVELOPMENT – STUDENTS TODAY

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

GROUP DEVELOPMENT – A DECADE AGO

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

Process

Roles Culture

EFFECTIVE

TEAMWORK

RESEARCH CONTEXT

Research on effective teams

Contribution of the individual to the team

Belbin’s research

People have preferred roles

Situation dependent

All roles are equally important

Key roles for success

Source: Belbin, R.M. (2004) Management Teams: why they succeed or fail, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. See also: www.belbin.com

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

PROJECTS AND ROLES

Ideas

SUCCESS

ResourceInvestigator

Plant

Co-ordinator

Shaper

Implementer

MonitorEvaluator

Specialist

Completerfinisher

Team Worker

Optimal solution

Clear goals, objectives

Work

EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

Process

Roles Culture

EFFECTIVE

TEAMWORK

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

There may be differences in gender, age, ethnic and social backgrounds, educational history, motivations

for studying, communication preferences, skills, learning styles ...

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.

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)

44% of business students agreed that working in groups has helped them to learn more about different

cultures

73% agreed that working in a group exposed them to

different perspectives about the subject

CULTURAL NORMS

Greetings

Forms of address

Touching

Eye contact

Personal space

Time keeping

Emotion

Silence

Body language

Relationships

Communications

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

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)

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.