When teamwork goes wrong...
Most of the reading I have done this year has supported the view that children will learn best when working collaboratively (or cooperatively - I really need to find out the difference). But what happens when group dynamics do not work?
I recently experienced working in a group where most of my team mates where happy to improvise for the presentation, were very self assured and did not feel they needed to plan. I personally cannot work that way. The final result was okay, but I always need the logical process of planning, rehearsal and then fine tuning - it is the perfectionist in me I suppose. But what does this have to do with teaching?
In my situation I began to get very frustrated and eventually I had my own mini-meltdown. It was at that point that I began to think: this is what happens when we force children to work with others that they may not get on with or think in a different way. And I can still remember being in similar situations as a child - a very long time ago.
What will this mean for my own practice? Maybe not much, but it will make me think when children have a mini-meltdown during group work. Is it because of who they are working with? It is again looking behind the symptom and reaching for the reason.
Phillips et al1 (2007) undertook some research with science 'teams' and discussed the issues that arise from working in 'groups' and how to avoid them. They reported that groups most often developed issues when there were more than four members - some participants can then get away with winging it, and relying on the other. The optimum number of team members was three because the work could be shared but not avoided. Some other considerations were the backgrounds of students - or basically personality clashes; and terminology. It was discovered that when groups were referred to as teams the dynamics changed as there was a goal for the team and it unified the 'group' of people to one aim.
My main points to remember:
Individuality - we are all individuals! We will not always get on with everyone and it can sometimes be challenging, even as adults, to work with others who process things very differently to yourself.
Be mindful of terminology - using the term 'team' can make a huge difference to how a group of children will work together.
Optimum numbers - the optimum for working together is three, maximum four - less places to hide from work and forces team work
​SMART Target: Learn more about co-operative learning by the start of year 2.
Phillips, M., Gildensoph, L.H., Myers, M.J., Norton, C.G., Olson, A.M., Wygal, D.D., Tweeten, K.A. & National Science Teachers Association, Arlington, VA 2007, "Investigative Labs in Biology: The Importance of Attending to Team Dynamics", Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 23.