Teamwork
In many occupations today teamwork is as highly sought after as individual skills. We have many teambuilding techniques (though I'm always looking for more)but my immediate question is how can we measure a students ability to work in and with a team and just how much of the grade should that represent? I'm of the opinion that a students level of participatiion and professionalism should count just as much if not more than their score on some multiple choice quiz. But how to accurately measure such a subjective trait, thats the question at hand.
Yolanda,
I like this strategy a lot. I am a big user of student groups as well. I see real benefits from students learning how to solve problems and work with others in settings like this.
Gary
Hello All;
Teamwork is very important in the job as well as in the classroom. One of my requirements is a group project. The group is comprised of 4 students, and I emphasis how important it is for the group to be in sync and flow together as a group. I do inform them that I will grade individually if I feel that it is necessary. I do not think it is fair for the ones who worked hard on the project vs the ones who hardly showed up for practice. They have 2 months to work on the project, and after they have chose their groups, each week, I ask who has been working on their projects. I also give them time in class, and I have a study day for them as well. I do this because, in making the presentation, you can tell the unpolished vs the polished students, and it shows responsibility and commitment to their group.
Chef,
To me a professional kitchen is equally a place of learning as well as a career. Being an Executive Pastry Chef in the hotel industry for twenty five years and having a staff of fifteen, there was only one way to be successful. It's called TEAM WORK !
As an Instructor or Pastry Chef it was not difficult to see who was or is part of the team. Retention of a student or lose of an employee is costly, we must be able to motivate and to do so in a positive manner. I have found that over the years to help retain and motivate employees was not by trying to be there friend but through teaching them. It was done on a individual and group(team) basis. Group training was always more rewarding for them as well as myself.
Learning a new skill or improving on a old one was only part of the focus, they never realized it but most importantly they were developing their social skills. How to comunicate, understand, help and to respect one another. A good foundation for a team. Danny Malone
I have found team evaluations on each other's participation a great tool for this. Anyone not pulling their own weight is judged harshly by their peers in most cases.
Hi Dianne,
A strategy for assigning students to groups and group work is to break down the assignments to the point that each member of the group has to contribute to make the project successful. By doing this it is easy to see what students are carrying their responsibilities out and those that are not. This way students are graded on their own work and do not have to "carry" those that contribute. This method adds some peer pressure so the students that aren't working as hard or are laying back. The key is to be able to evaluate each student's work as well as the collective work of the entire group.
Gary
I think one of the greatest challenges in building teams to create a successful outcome, whether in the lab or classroom, is the consistently weak student. For when we grade the outcome--we are "punishing' the strong students and humiliating the weak student. I am constantly trying to catch success from these weak students--but when grading is involved it becomes a challenge to be fair to the strong students. On the job these weak team members eventually are let go--but we are here to ensure they complete the program. Any ideas?
Jamie,
Your point about competition sometimes creating a lack of team work among the whole class, is a very good one. Jack makes a very good point about shuffling the deck among groups. I feel that it is very important for students to understand the game plan. We should be very concise with directions and reasoning we give them in the very begining of our classes. By using this mind set we can leave room for healthy competition.
Very nice discussion on the subject of teamwork. We, in essence, have four separate teams trying to achieve the objective du jour in our practical lab. How do we get those four separate teams to become cohesive and create an entire classroom teamwork? There is sometimes the element of competition which is usually healthy, but can sometimes create a lack of teamwork among the whole class.
Chef Bill,
I feel that pairing students with strong teamwork skills with students that are not as strong in that area will draw out the latter student and give them the confidence that they need to be a part of the team. I agree that being a team player is essential in the classroom as well as in the work place and grading a students skill level in this area should be given more weight than just a written quiz.
Hi Jack,
You make a number of good points about using groups and how to form them. I know this information will be of help to others.
Thanks.
Gary
I have found that one key to success in team building in the classroom environment is incorporating some of the diversities mentioned in this unit into the composition of the teams. As an example, mixing in age, ethnic and learning background experience into the mix of the teams. Additionally, frequent reshuffling of the deck in team composition helps me to avoid students falling into bad habits, especially where the older, non-traditional students are concerned.
Chef Bill,I feel that an Instructor must understand his/her class and the different needs of the indivisual student and then set the following class objectives:
What is the goals/task of the team?
What are the indivisual assignments of each member? (must be assigned by the instructor) Explain to each team member the task at hand and their accountability to complete the task. Set a time frame and your level of your expectation.
Follow up on their progress, correct/praise. Record their level of competency.
Appoint a team leader.
Rotate team members tasks.
Grading should be based on a scale of 1- exceeds, 2- meets, 3- needs to repeat the task. Teamwork should have the highest grade weight in the participation grade and should be 50% of the total grade for the class.
Hi William,
Don't have a clear cut answer to your question. You ask a very good question that is the core to future career success. The ability to get along with and cooperate with fellow workers.
In my work with corporate America I have found that many companies have developed assessments that help them to identify individuals that have strong potential for cooperative work, professionalism, and team building. The Gallop Corporation has the Perceiver Interview and Strength Finders as two such devices.
A company MICubed (Multiple Intelligences Cubed) has developed an assessment to identify the three most frequently used intelligences by individuals as they process information and develop relationships. The website address is www.micubed.com. The resulting profile enables instructors and the students to analyze and plan for ways of offering instruction and developing group activities.
In my courses participation and professionalism points are awarded throughout the course phase and I keep the students informed about how and where they will receive these points. The points are the same as those given for a major quiz.
Gary
