TEAMWORK

Overview For Teachers

TEAMWORK: The ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with others toward a common goal or success of the team; participate appropriately as a team member by assisting others or requesting help when needed; handle criticism, conflicts, and complaints appropriately; demonstrate leadership; relate well to others; take an interest in what others say and do in order to build relationships; contribute to the group with ideas, suggestions, and effort; the ability to participate in group decision -making.

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PURPOSE: Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of teamwork and being a team player in the workplace. In addition, the objectives listed below should be met.

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OBJECTIVES:

 Ability to be a great team player in different aspects of life

 Ability to recognize the different roles that are required for a team to be successful

 Ability to understand that team work and collaboration isn’t always easy

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OVERVIEW:

This module concentrates on teaching students the importance of teamwork and being a team player. The key to teamwork is collaborating and cooperating with others in many different settings. Teamwork and being a team player is not only a skill that is used in sports, but it’s also very important in the workplace. The ability to work well with others is a skill that will bring success in the future . In addition, students will have an opportunity to gain an understanding of the importance of teamwork by participating in various activities designed to stimulate thought and discussion.

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TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?

What does teamwork look like in the classroom or in school in general? A great way to answer this and get things going is through engagement with the students. Ask your students these questions:

1. What does teamwork look like in class?

2. How does being a team player affect other students? Example: Co-workers, classmates, teammates, etc.

3. What does teamwork look like within your learning?

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RELEVANCY OF TEAMWORK:

Employers look to recruit employees who are great team players and are able to work effectively with others. Many companies and businesses expect co -workers to collaborate on projects and assignments so having these skills is beneficial to being successful in the future.

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LESSON:

Personalities and Teamwork
Time Allocation: 20  minutes
Materials/Resources: paper, pens/pencils, computer (students - optional), random objects students can use for the activity in the
Anticipatory Set

ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

 Put students in groups of 5 and have them stand in either a circle or a straight line. The goal of the group is to
pass the object all the way around the circle/all the way down the line without dropping it. Each team member
will be given a number from 1-5 and each number will corresponds to the body part they will be allowed to use
to pass the object to their teammates.
  o 1’s: Feet
  o 2’s: Knees
  o 3’s: Elbows
  o 4’s: Right hand
  o 5’s: Left hand
 Students will stand in numerical order and will pass the object to the next person. The first team that
successfully passes the object to everyone in their group without dropping it is the winner.
  o If the object is dropped, the group must start over.
 Have 3-4 races and then have students answer the follow-up questions for a short class discussion.
  o What was difficult about this activity?
  o What was easy about this activity?
  o How well did your team work together?

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WATCH THE VIDEO:

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

Tell students: teamwork is important in many different aspects of life, especially the workplace, but it’s not
always easy. You may find that you struggle to work with other people for unknown reasons and you also may
struggle to find a solution. It’s important to realize that everyone is different – especially in the way that we
engage with each other. Today in class, we are going to figure out how people with different personalities can
successfully work together.
 Have students write down 5-7 personality traits/strengths that they possess that they believe make them
unique.
  o Examples: out-going, confident, friendly, funny, etc

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

When finished, have students find a partner and have them compare the personality traits they wrote down.
 Then, have them write down how they can use their individual strengths to work together towards a common
goal.
  o The common goal could be a class project, winning a game on a sports team, etc. Let students decide
      what the common goal is.
 When they are finished, have each pair combine with another pair of students to create a group of four.
 Then, have each group of four compare their personality traits/strengths and then write down how they can use
each person’s individual traits to work together towards a common goal.
 When finished, have groups share what they discussed, each person’s personality traits, and how they would
work together towards the common goal they chose.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Have students complete a self-reflection online (Edmodo, Google Form, etc.). They will answer
this question for their self-reflection:
   o What’s one thing you learned in today’s lesson about teamwork?

 Non-Technology: Students will pair up with another student to share their thoughts on the lesson. Then, they
will report out to the class during the discussion one thing they learned from their partner about the lesson.

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ETHICAL SCENARIO--Optional (if not using, skip  to "review and closing")

The Ethical Choice Scenarios have been developed to provide teachers with the ability to make the material applicable to real-life and relevant to the students. Within this guide, directions and prompts for the teacher will be in BLUE for ease of facilitation.

READ THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO OUT LOUD TO THE STUDENTS: 

NO CELL PHONES ALLOWED
You’ve been assigned a group project in your history class and you get put in a group with classmates that you don’t
really know. For this project, your teacher has forbidden you to use any technology to find the answers – you must rely
on your group members’ collective memories, your textbook, and any notes you have previously taken. You are the type
of person that doesn’t mind working with new people because you usually end up taking charge of the group. You enjoy
delegating tasks to others and monitoring your group to make sure the work gets done on time. You sit down with your
group and everyone introduces themselves and you start discussing the group project. You immediately start assigning
tasks to different people and thankfully everyone agrees, listens to you, and gets to work. A few minutes go by and
something catches your eye from across the room. You realize that other groups are secretly using their phones to
research their projects. Then, others in your group start noticing this as well. One of your group members takes their
phone out of their pocket to start using it and you immediately tell them not to. Your group starts getting upset and
frustrated with you because they believe that since everyone else is using their phone, they should be able to as well. As
the group leader, what do you do? Do you stick to your guns and forbid your group to use their phones and to follow the
teacher’s directions, even if that means you may be at a disadvantage to the other groups or do you give in and let them
use their phones? You are an extremely competitive person and you hate feeling like your group is going to have the
worst project of the whole class because you followed the directions? What do you do?

ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (display them to the class if necessary)

1. How many of you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?

2. What are the possible options for you in this situation?

3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

4. What are possible positive or negative consequences for your group?

GUIDED DISCUSSION: ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION AND HOW THEY
ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS.

NOTE 1 : To help facilitate discussion, share any personal experiences you may have encountered with this same sort of issue.

NOTE 2 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ Whose actions do you control in this situation?”

NOTE 3 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ What values do you think are in tension here, why is it an ethical dilemma?”

CLOSING DISCUSSION: ASK THE STUDENTS , “ WHAT DOES YOUR DECISION TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR TEAMWORK SKILLS ?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

To end the lesson, share the following quote with the class.
   o “Unity and strength...when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
             –Mattie J.T. Stepanek

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CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on their ability to be a good team player and to collaborate with others . This lesson will give students the opportunity to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses as a team player and how these can affect their team overall.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS:

-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from watching the movie clip. They would also benefit from having the closing questions posted with a projector.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the communication within their team during planning and the activity.

-Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners will benefit from the movement associated in this activity.

-ESL: ESL students would benefit from working with a partner on this assignment in case they have questions or need clarification.

-At-risk: At -risk students will benefit from the constant engagement in this lesson that will encourage them to stay on task.

-Advanced: Advanced learners could benefit from helping other students write down their schedules, or by assisting ESL or At -risk students who may need additional help .