Team Work and Cooperation in Learning

Team work How did your team work go? What worked? What did not work?

Lets Brainstorm What is needed to make a team work?

Successful Team Work All members must participate All members must commit to the work Members must communicate Members must respect each other Teams must have enough time

Misuses of Group Work Students may pay more attention to procedures than to learning Misunderstandings may be supported and reinforced Socializing with friends may come before learning Students may pick a leader and shift dependency to that student Social loafing may occur Ex. One student letting the others do the work

Things to consider To be a good listener To cooperate in constructive feedback To respect differences of opinion To support judgments with evidence To appreciate diverse points of view (gender, culture…) Disagree without put downs See controversy as opportunity not a problem

Benefits of team work Can boost self confidence of students Invites students to build closer connections to others and to learning Calls for ingenuity, inventiveness, flexibility, adaptability to change Prepares students for workplace teams