PGM0120 Research Skills & Personal Development

Team work and group dynamics

Language & Learning Centre

John Morgan

Effective Team Work in Self-Managed Groups

Focus: Managing team work processes through an awareness of group dynamics and cooperative learning

Aims of teamwork through self-managed groups

Team work processes
Strategies used for team planning and project-based writing Case studies of professional team work for writing and communication development in multi-level project groups

Cooperative learning
Basic principles

Group dynamics
Stages in the life of the group Group behaviour Possible strategies for group communication

What makes a team?

What experiences do you have of teamwork?

Were your experiences generally positive or negative (or a combination)?

What factors do you think influenced the dynamics and cooperation of the group?

Review of team work processes

Parallel working: jobs are divided into sub-tasks.

Sharples, 1999: 171

 Sequential working: jobs are done in sequence, passing work along the line to other group members.

Sharples, 1999: 171

 Reciprocal working: people work together on all tasks.

Sharples, 1999: 171

Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning is based on a mutual charter idea within the group that promotes the idea that each individual should provide an equal contribution to group work.

Involvement within the work of the group can vary from individual to individual according to their abilities.
An equally proportional number of hours may be put into each task, but if each task is not recognized as being equally important it may lead to disagreement as to who is doing the work.

Key elements of CL
Positive interdependence Team formation Accountability Social skills Structuring (methods of teamwork) and structures (content organisation of tasks)

Academic achievement in CL
Through
involvement in planning strategies decision making activities taking more responsibility for their own learning increasing independence students benefit in further studies and working life.

Group Dynamics
Argyle (1969) categorized 4 stages in the life of a group
forming storming norming performing

Heron (1989) identified a fifth stage

mourning

Forming
This is when a group first gets together. People tend to find out about each other, consider purposes, brainstorm ideas and possible structures for tasks and consider their own roles within the group. This is usually a very sociable time in the life of the group.

Storming
As the group begins to settle in and individuals get to know each other, they may start competing for status and role in the group. Disagreements occur and where some members may try to assert strong opinions or leadership tactics, others may withdraw. If tensions are not mutually dealt with at this stage, they tend to disrupt group communication and activity, and most importantly, mutual respect for the roles of members. To reach stages (c) and (d) conflicts need to be resolved.

Norming
After the more tense stage of storming, the group usually begins to settle as members have found a common approach to the task that all agree upon or accept (this is where unsettled conflicts can be problematic as they will probably reoccur later). Action plans begin to emerge and people find space to begin working on tasks.

Performing
This is the stage when the group achieves optimum efficiency and work gets done. At this stage it is important to know the team work strategies you are working with (Sharples, 1999: 71) that will best utilize the expertise of each member. It is also useful be aware of time spent on each task through a log or diary, so that possible conflicts do not reoccur.

Mourning
Having satisfactorily got through the group tasks, if the group has been successful in working together, despite initial tensions and conflicts, we often see members sad to leave each other. This is where mutual respect and achievement is felt most significantly. Future individual tasks may seem more mundane in comparison and in feedback it often comes through that this has been a very memorable task in comparison to others. Often sub-groups form from the larger groups to continue with personal or professional development interests.

Group Behaviour: Know Your Group

Participation Who are the high/low contributors and are they aware of it? Who are the silent people in the group? How is their silence interpreted? Is it constant, dissent, or fear? Who talks/doesnt talk to whom? Are there any reasons for this? Is there a rigid contribution hierarchy? Is there a gender bias? Are there any other forms of cultural bias?

Group roles Who takes which roles in the group and are these roles beneficial to the group dynamic or inhibiting? Is there a rebel? A bully? A timekeeper? A critic? A scapegoat? Others? Are there any necessary reasons why group members would adopt these roles? Can these roles been made positive through group interaction patterns or team work processes?

Decision making
Is it autocratic or democratic? Does anybody impose their decisions on others? Is there any proposing, consulting or supporting? Is there any negotiating, bargaining or compromising? Are some peoples proposals always accepted where others are ignored? Do some people abstain from decision making? What is the effect of these behaviour patterns on the group? Are there any reasons why they continue to occur? What needs to happen for change to take place?

Group atmosphere What is the atmosphere within the group? How does it affect morale? Is it friendly and congenial or tense and sluggish? How is the atmosphere maintained? Do any group members attack or withdraw rather than relate constructively? Are they dependent on one or two members to achieve a task, or do they support one another? Do people pair off or develop cliques or sub-groups which destroy the unity of the group? Is there any sense of collective achievement or fun? Do members harmonize and pull together or are they uncoordinated?

Group norms and rules

Does only one person talk at once? Do others actively listen? Is it acceptable for some members to be late for meetings? Is it permissible to talk about feelings in relation to what the group is doing? Is conflict between group members avoided? Does any member find themselves mediating in compromise between other members? Are decisions only made by a leader? Is too much initiative resented? Do all group members copy work to each other in case of being absent from planning meetings? This is essential for harmonious group work as unscheduled difficulties are inevitable.

Possible Strategies for Group Communication in Meetings

Circles are more democratic the rows with a front table. They allow good eye contact and exchange. Circles for initial planning are better without tables (which can be used defensively or aggressively), but where plans need to be drafted the opposite is true.

 The round is done in a circle and involves each member making a short but equal contribution to the discussion. Time sharing is important here. This can lead to a later group consensus after all members have contributed. This helps where some members may be reserved or quiet for any of the reasons listed in negative group dynamics.

 Active listening is essential. It sometimes takes practice as we are often conditioned to interrupt and assert before a speaker has finished. If this happens we are thinking on our own agenda instead of listening to the speaker. Some ways of practicing this are:
Looking at the speaker Sitting quietly Doing nothing but listening Asking no questions and making no comments until the speaker has finished Being able to summarise what you have heard without embellishment

 Brainstorming can be used to generate ideas quickly. A whiteboard or blank sheet of paper is useful. Words can be randomly written down and categorized later.

 Posters can be made as visual aids to planning and subject organization. They are motivating and may be useful in presentations, or just for revision purposes.

 Cross-grouping exercises are useful in all areas of team work as sub-groups may be researching individual aspects of the task. It helps with the synergy of the group and with knowing what each member or sub-group is doing. This is especially useful when some members may be absent from some meetings.

 Dynamic learning cycle indicates activities have no end point, but provide platforms for formulating continuing aims: Identify aims do activities evaluate activities review content and processes formulate new or continuing aims repeat cycle

Discussion
Are you/will you be involved in any team-based work or projects during a) your current study (Masters or PhD)? b) your current or future professional activities?

 What significant factors do you foresee as major influences in the outcome of your work? Considering the fact that not all team members may be aware of the processes at play in a team project, would it be difficult to use any of these ideas if or when things get complicated?

Bibliography
Argyle, M. (1969). Social Interaction. Tavistock Press. Heron, J. (1989). The Facilitators Handbook. Kogan Page. Kessler, C. (Ed.) (1992). Cooperative Language Learning: A Teachers Resource Book. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents. Olson, R.E.W-B, & Kagan, S. (1992) About Cooperative Learning in Kessler, C. (Ed.) (1992). Sharples, M. (1999). How We Write: Writing as Creative Design. London: Routledge.