Group Speak

Facilitating Communication during Collaboration

How we’ll roll• 15 minutes of me talking stuff (if

you don’t interrupt with stupid questions)

• 30 – 35 minutes of you doing stuff (and yes you will have to move and speak to more then one person)

• 10 – 15 minutes of questions (or if you don’t then you can go early and we can continue our beautiful connection through social media)

• Or about another 30 minutes if your on my bus back to Happy Valley (actually I just added this to demonstrate what crap PowerPoint was)

Collaborative Learning

• I am skeptical of most activities described as ‘collaborative learning’

• Why I believe most of the research regarding the success of ‘collaboration’ in both the work and learning is very uneven

Collaborating for Learning

• Collaboration predates homosapiens & probably language

• It is the oldest learning platform

• “selfish gene vs. the altruistic gene” – The Social Conquest of Earth (2012) Edward O Wilson

Primal Design

• The absolute success (not the degree of success) is dependent on the collaboration (active) of all; not cooperation (passive)or strategic compliance (exploitive)

• Social loafing is immediately evident

• Learners understand the relevance of collaboration in the success of the task

Learning is an outcome

• Is the acquisition of the skills and/or knowledge (to be assessed) essential to the completion of the task?

• Will those skills and that knowledge be acquired by all equally or distributed throughout the group? (essential/preferable/Ideal)

Then you’ve got to ask . . .

• Is collaboration the right learning platform for what you’ve got to teach?

2 Outcomes

Creative (Open/Disruptive) Efficient (Closed/Sustainable)

Harvard Economist Clayton Christensen

3 Modes

There will still be dragons

• If you know that collaboration is right to meet the challenges of your department/school or the learning needs of your students then proceed . . .

Tracking Study HBR July 2012 Alex Pentland

• Patterns of communication were more significant then all other factors combined – personality, domain knowledge, experience, IQ and EQ

• Trackers & video observations with no sound - predicted

High achieving teams . . .*

• Speak and listen in equal measure• Speakers face all and their discussion and

gesture are energetic• Members connect equally with each other not

just with or via team leader• Members carry on back channel conversation

within the team (focus issues)• Members periodically break to explore outside

the team (balance/off task)*Energy, Engagement, Exploration

Into the black box

• No overriding theory of ‘Collaboration’

• Education, social, psychology, business & game theory

• Process, outcomes, personality . . . Focus on teachable behaviors

• 27 dispositions that are either task, social or dysfunctional oriented

Confidence is domain specific … and EQ is a domain

• We are far more generous of social underachievement then we are of domain ability

• Reflection of our own social competence – innate and learnt – just like domain ability.

• So expect more . . . of yourself and your learners

Your undertaking . . .generosity

• You will need to speak• You will need to coach• You will need to be honest

about what you see & hear • You will need to be

considerate of the feedback received

• There is no domain knowledge needed in this task so you are all equally rubbish at it . . .

The right energy

• Energiser is aware and creates the right energy for the task at hand.

• Sometimes they lead with energy

• Sometimes they inspire/motivate energy in others

• Bull in a china shop; walking a dog; chasing the tigers tail

Set the energy for the task

• Divergent thinking so we need a warm up . . .

• What it isn’t• What it could be?

(Paired) – scale, reorientation

2 Roles

Player – in the moment Coach – looking for patterns

Ritual of the Chair

• Have a pulse that build to a crescendo (136bpm)

• Call & Response• Belief that it will have

impact• Exploits shape (floor

plan)• Non-naturalistic use of

body & voice

Out-of-the-boxer - Divergent

• Innovative, inventive, creative, original, imaginative, unorthodox, problem solving, spontaneous.

• No filter – why do we block – crazy, rude, unoriginal

• Amazing is little bits of average put together in a different way

Ritual of the Chair

• Have a pulse that build to a crescendo (136bpm)

• Call & Response• Belief that it will have

impact• Exploits shape (floor

plan)• Non-naturalistic use of

body & voice

Active Listener

• Receptive to others ideas and draws out details and depth through open questions. (Who, what, why, where, how, when)

• Hold on the why

Out-of-the-boxer - Divergent

• Innovative, inventive, creative, original, imaginative, unorthodox, problem solving, spontaneous.

• No filter – why do we block – crazy, rude, unoriginal

• Amazing is little bits of average put together in a different way

Ritual of the Chair

• Have a pulse that build to a crescendo (136bpm)

• Call & Response• Belief that it will have

impact• Exploits shape (floor

plan)• Non-naturalistic use of

body & voice

Active Listener

• Receptive to others ideas and draws out details and depth through open questions. (Who, what, why, where, how, when)

• Hold on the why

Shaper - Divergent

• Recognises patterns and connections between ideas. Builds complexity and clarity through combining and adding to other’s ideas.

• “Yes, and . . .”

Explore

• Coach your group partner – process and content

Reality Maker - Convergnet

• Takes the developing ideas and starts to shape them towards the end product. May also stretch ‘reality’ to fit developing ideas.

• “That’s great, but we’ll need some changes to make it work”

• Consensus, negotiate, vote, trade off – objective outcome

Explore

• Coach/discuss with a team or coach peer what you are finding challenging and potential solutions

Polisher - Convergent

• Refines and finishes the group’s ideas with great attention to detail. Works well under pressure of time.

• “That is still not as strong as it could be, lets practice it again”

• End before you finish

Just do it

Evaluator

• Critical thinker who reflects on the actual outcomes of collaboration. Will recognise and motivate patterns of success through feedback and reflection.

Assessment vs. ‘Evaluator’

• Process• Product• Skills & Knowledge

demonstrated through either/or Process & Product

As we attempt . . .

We need more . . .

Questions