ITC eLearning, 2/23/10
Carolyn N. Stevenson,
Professor, Communication Department,
Kaplan University
http://www.Kaplan.edu
“Teamwork is working together, even when apart.” As the company landscape has shifted to globally-diverse settings, the concept of virtual teams has gained the attention of professional organizations and corporations. Consequently, to help students cope in this new workplace environment, educators need to design and facilitate courses that focus on group dynamics and working in virtual teams. How can instructors design courses in virtual teams? How can they promote working effectively in a virtual group setting? What are some techniques for effective virtual group facilitation? How can instructors engage all of their students in these projects? Carolyn Stevenson will engage participants in critical dialog on strategies for designing and facilitating effective online group projects and virtual teams.
Notes:
Students typically don’t like working on group projects. They feel like maybe they do all the work, don’t accomplish what they want as an individual, etc.
How do you get online groups to communicate and collaborate in a virtual setting?
Organizing Virtual Teams
Project Design
- Communication (develop/determine how the comm. will flow)
- Virtual team member roles
- Clear instructions for students
- Instructor training
Project Design: instructor must develop a project that allows for professional collaboration experiences.
Communication: systems need to be established that encourages communications directed toward the team members. Think about your platform, provide space to communicate (asynchronous space). Not all students are available at the same time and place.
Roles: project needs to be organized around a set of team roles and responsibilities. Roles need to address both the talent and interest of the team members. Think of real world team roles (business models, etc..) Be flexible about what resources and technologies are used. Try and identify what each students talents are and capitalize on these.
Clear instructions: Try and reduce the level of anxiety with students engaging in student projects. Outline timelines for completion, clear grading instructions, steps required for completion of project, reassurance of equal distribution of workload. Try using checklists or evaluations through out the project for students to be assessed and receive feedback on their individual participation as well as group.
Instructor training: solicit instructor attitudes about working with virtual team projects. Willing instructors need to be assigned to these type of courses. Clear guidelines provided for the instructor and training on working with virtual teams need to be considered.
Challenges
Group membership: criteria needs to be established by instructors for managing group memberships.
Managing conflict: instructors need to establish guidelines for working with groups when conflict occurs. At times instructor may need to intervene to resolve group conflicts. One suggestion is to require the students to have a contract, what they will do, how they will behave, what is expected and to have them agree to this up front.
Anxiety: Instructors need to establish ways to ease anxiety and frustration expressed by students when working in virtual teams.
There are positive sides to teamwork.
- Lightens the workload
- People are on your side
- Accomplish more than one individual could
- Ability to attain uncommon results
Discussion/ideas:
- Rotate team member’s roles
- Have members name their teams (create a sense of identity)
- Have members define team roles
- Ask team to agree up front on modes of communication to be used
- Communicate penalties for lack of individual participation with team (ex: additional assignments to be completed)
- Explain “why” members are working in groups (define value of teamwork)
- Avoid domination of discussions by specific members in the team
- Consider asking students to take a preparation class or lesson module for group dynamics
- Instructor moderation of asynchronous discussions is recommended
- Consider cultural an gender differences in group dynamics
