WEEK 7: LEARNING WITH AND FROM OTHERS

Quotation of the week:

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Henry Ford

UNIT AIM: This unit aims to train learners to

 Understand the importance of teamwork spirit in learning English

 Develop skills of working actively and effectively with and from others

Task 1 (Brainstorming)

In groups, brainstorm answers to these questions by noting down into the space provided

1. How often do you work with your peers (friends)?

2. Do you prefer studying independently to studying with others? Why?

Task 2 (Reading)

Read the following passage on “Small group work”. Then fill out the reflection questions
(that follow) on what in this reading passage you agree and/or disagree with.

SMALL GROUP WORK

Educators agree that when students work in small groups, they tend to understand the subject
matter more thoroughly. Small group work transforms the class into supportive learning
teams; the group keeps students energized, motivated and provides support to complete
complex tasks.

Group work helps students explain, summarize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate an
aspect of the subject matter. Group work also helps students practice essential social, problem
solving and communication skills needed for success in the workplace. In addition, groups
serve as forums where students can personalize their learning experiences and identify and

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correct misconceptions and gaps in understanding. Planning and organization are necessary for
groups to be productive learning mechanisms.

What makes an effective group?

Students are frequently asked to complete assignments in groups. While working effectively
with others can be a very productive and satisfying experience, it can also be a very
challenging task.

For groups to be effective, members need to work together to complete a task. The way group
members relate to one another and perform a variety of roles is known as the dynamics of the
team. It is not just the individual members who determine the group dynamics; the means of
communication they use also has an impact. Members of a group may have to relate and
communicate in a number of ways: face-to-face as a whole group, through phone links, via
email or other electronic communication, or a combination of these. When groups are
ineffective it is often because they lack focus. The dynamics of the group may be poor,
allowing some people to dominate while others contribute little. Where communication is poor,
things don't get done. Time spent unproductively can be very destructive and lead students to
feel angry and disillusioned.

Why work in groups?

By working in groups you gain experience and understanding about how tasks are often
undertaken in the workplace. The successful completion of a group assignment usually means
that you have mastered many very important skills, particularly communication, analytical and
interpersonal skills, which are highly valued by employers. The abilities to listen, question,
persuade, respect the opinions of others, help, share and participate are of lifelong value.

Establish guidelines

It's important for a group to establish an agreed set of protocols or ground rules for the way
they behave and interact with each other. This might include respecting what people say, not
talking behind their backs and encouraging open discussion.

A good group will capitalise on the strength of each member. Members of effective groups
take on different roles to make sure the team runs smoothly and the goals of the group are
achieved. Someone should be delegated to take on a leadership role and be responsible for

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guiding the process. It is important to communicate about how to equitably allocate who does
what in the group. The group might sort out roles according to their strengths, academic skills,
preferred way of working or preferred roles. Decide on specific tasks and allocate these to
individuals. Remember that because many tasks are interdependent, members of the group
must work in a coordinated fashion. (Word count: 517 words)

Adapted from http://cte.udel.edu/TAbook/groups.html

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What points (from the reading passage) What points (from the reading passage) your
your group agrees group disagrees

Task 3 TEAMWORK SKILLS

The 10 Essential Teamwork Skills

1. The Ability to Listen
If a team of people in any group are going to work well together, it is important to listen to one
another's ideas. Too often in a business setting, you have a group of people simply waiting for
their turn to speak, not paying one iota of attention to the persons on their left or right. So it is a
good teamwork skill to have the ability to listen

In order to assure that everyone is being listened to and considered, have the group speak and
expand on each individual's idea(s) once they have finished their speech.

2. Check Your Ego

This isn't saying abandon your ego all together, because that isn't healthy. But leaving your ego
at the door temporarily is a very important team work skill. The reason this is so essential is
because there is always someone better than you at something, no matter how brilliant you are.

For example, if you have a room full of distinguished biologists, physicists, chemists, and
psychiatrists, as soon as the discussion falls out of their area of expertise, they defer to the
individual with the most knowledge on whichever subject is being discussed. In any teamwork
environment, this is a must.

3. Critique
By critique, I mean constructive criticism. Be able to give others constructive criticism and be

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able to listen to others critique your ideas and work. There shouldn't be any offense taken to
constructive criticism. You all want to succeed, and this is a vital step in doing so.

4. Delegation
When I was in military boot-camp, there were a number of chores we had to have done by the
end of the day. Clothes folded, wall lockers arranged, floors spotless, boots nice and shiny,
weapons cleaned, loose strings clipped off of our uniforms. We quickly discovered that we
were all good at specific tasks. So, what we did was delegate each of these specific tasks to
teams of 4-5 men who were better at them than the rest. The end result was of higher quality
and it was done more efficiently. We became a well-oiled machine.

This same mentality must be applied to teamwork. Delegate roles to those who do them best.

5. Show Respect
The truth of the matter is that not everyone is going to like each other all the time. There might
even be people in your group that you really can't stand. Guess what? That doesn't matter. You
are there to conjure up ideas and complete tasks. Show equal respect to each and every person,
and work to your best ability.

If you and another person happen to be paired up and can't stand each other, you can still put
that aside for a couple of hours, treat each other civilly, and complete the tasks at hand. You
may even overcome the dislike toward one another.

6. Be Helpful
This is simple.If one of your teammates does not understand an idea, discussion, or task that is
being completed, take the necessary time to explain it to them and work with them. There are
no weak links when everyone helps one another. Some take longer to learn than others, but that
doesn't mean that they are of less intelligence. In fact, it has been shown that some slow
learners are much better at specific skills once they learn them.

If at a company meeting someone asks a question because they don't understand, don't frown at
them. Just answer the questions patiently and concisely.

7. Question One Another

"Question everything" is an intellectual endeavor everyone should partake in, and this applies
to the workplace, classroom, or anywhere else where there are ideas coming together.

If someone brings up a topic of discussion and a solution to this topic, question them.
Respectfully question, don't badger. Rather, ask them how it will work, why it will work over
the long-run, and how everyone else can implement the idea.

8. Participation
Everyone has to pitch in and carry their own weight. Quite frankly, some folks prefer to work
alone rather than in a team environment. They're introverted, shy, nervous, or have bad anxiety.
It is important to bring these people out of their shells. Oftentimes the quietest person in the
room is the most reflective and does the most in-depth thinking.

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9. Rational Debate
Rational group debate is very important. There can't be any biases, and it is even better if there
are data to back each argument. But these ideas have to be fact-based. If you are proven wrong,
that's a good thing as it gives you new ideas and a new foundation on which to build. Ideas
built on falsities are the equivalent to a house of cards waiting to get blown over.

Bad ideas are bad for teams. Spirited, friendly, rational debate is where facts come forward,
ideas are born, and quality rises to the top.

10. Set The Right Environment

Try to make the space in which your team is assembled as comfortable, relaxing, and inviting
as possible. This means comfortable chairs, coffee, drinks, pastries, and other refreshments.
When people feel taken care, calm, and relaxed, their ideas flow more freely. If one is a team
leader, the environment is of utmost importance. You do not want your team to be tense and
with frayed nerves.

Remember, no one wants to create ideas and come up with plans of action in an environment
where their heads are throbbing and necks feel like piano wire.

There we have it. 10 of the most essential teamwork skills one can possess. Utilize these
techniques and your chances of success will sky-rocket.

Task 4 Read the characteristics and qualities of a good leader, then give an example for
each charisteristics.

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Task 5 YOU REMEMBER – IT WORKS

You might choose to work in a group rather than individually for many reasons. Some of the
reasons include practical experience while others highlight why group work might provide a
better learning experience:

 In group work, you can draw on each group member's knowledge and perspectives,
frequently giving you a more well thought out paper at the end or a better
understanding of the class material for exams, labs, etc.

 You can also draw on people's different strengths. For example, you might be a great
proofreader while someone else is much better at organizing papers.

 Groups are great for motivation: they force you to be responsible to others and
frequently, then, do more and better work on a project than you might when only
responsible to yourself.

 Group work helps keep you on task. It's harder to procrastinate when working with
others.

A WEEKLY MINI – PROJECT

Demonstrate the key to success and/or failure in working in groups. Justify with specific
examples and evidence.

Students are also encouraged to search from various sources for further information about the
skill before and/or after the lesson, and then carefully note them down in the Weekly Journal.

USEFUL STUDY RESOURCE FOR FURTHER STUDY

Search this web link:

http://www.merlinhelpsstudents.com/resourcecentre/studyguide/groupwork.asp

- END OF CLASS ACTIVITIES -

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