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Love teamwork. Not a fan of group work... What's the difference?

3/8/2015

1 Comment

 
I love teamwork, especially sports. But to be honest, whenever I’m at a workshop and the facilitator asks the participants to get in a group, my inner self groans. Yet I don’t let this stop me from setting group tasks for my students! Why? Because I know that we learn better in social situations. And I know that the strong students will learn more from explaining things to the weaker students. And I know that the output of the whole should be greater than the sum of the parts. But clearly these things aren’t enough to create the enjoyable learning experience that’s intended.

So I know why it's good to work in a group, and these same benefits apply to teams. But what’s the difference?

While out cycling the other day (when I do my best thinking) I had a bit of a light bulb moment. It comes down to the cliché – there’s no I in team. Ok, so it may appear there’s not one in group either, but I’d like to propose that it’s an insidious invisible I.

A team has a common purpose or cause that they all buy into, and this creates cohesion. Team members join together to reach a goal that they chose. Conversely, I think that a group is still just a bunch of individuals. A group may have one or more of the following critical differences:

-          Purpose or goal is not identified;
-          Members didn’t choose the purpose or goal;
-          Members don’t believe in the purpose or goal

The other thing that I think benefits teamwork is the appeal to competitive natures. When we are competitive, we are striving to achieve our best. When we are at our best, naturally it’s more enjoyable.

But what’s the ‘so what factor’ for me? I want to optimise the level of learning and enjoyment that my students or workshop participants experience. Subconsciously I think that I incorporate many of the good aspects of ‘team’ in the activities I set. But I can certainly do more. And I'm going to remember these points and test out my theory next time I create a team activity.
1 Comment
TopEnd Tweets link
17/8/2015 05:43:21 am

Some of us are also naturally introverts and having to get into groups can be a bit uncomfortable. - Of course, that's no reason not to do it, and honestly sitting in front a power point presentation for 90 minutes is a brain freezer! Interactive on various levels is best!

Something we've found works well when in a group is having a clear directive of what is required, and clear roles. Sometimes (perhaps as a challenge) the roles are not clearly defined and the group goes through a 'storming process' so to speak. - Often as a result of those things you listed - different understanding, no ownership of the goal & lack of belief in purpose.

Also we've found ice-breakers where we break down into pairs or do an activity as a group usually helps get us prepared for break off group work.

Great Read, thanks for taking the time to share the link with us :)

Lou - TET Team

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    Karen Joyce

    I'm a remote sensing scientist with a keen interest in research and active learning

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