UNIT 3 Effective Teamwork · 1999-08-26 · Unit 3: Overview Unit 3: Overview The activities in this unit are designed to help students develop an understanding of the nature of teamwork

Teaching objectives

This unit has a number of learning activities during which the students will:

• begin to understand the nature of teamwork• consider the characteristics of effective groups• build relationships conducive to good teamwork• experience group-centred interaction• reflect on these group experiences• assess the effectiveness of their own team behaviour and that of their co-workers.

UNIT 3

Effective Teamwork

Unit 3: Objectives

Unit 3: Overview

Unit 3: Overview

The activities in this unit are designed to help students develop an understanding of the nature ofteamwork and what contributes to effective teams. The approach is to allow the students toexperience particular team problem-solving situations and to reflect on individual and groupbehaviour in relation to outcomes.

Summaries of possible activities to be used in this unit

(i) Teamwork problem 1 - “The Strange Malady Mystery”In this activity the whole class becomes involved in sharing and pooling information, of whichthere is a great deal. Each student must play a part in solving the overall problem. They maydecide to elect a leader - or not - but they must work together to eliminate and sift all theinformation they have and which together is required to conclude what caused the strange malady!The experience throws up aspects of effective group work to be developed in the unit.

(ii) Icebreakers - “Call my bluff”It is clear from the study of group dynamics and from the analysis of effective teamwork that it is agood idea to formalise the first stage of teambuilding. There is generally a difficult initial periodwhen team members need to get to know each other and to break down barriers in order to alloweffective team work to occur. An icebreaker activity provides a gentle opportunity for everyone tocontribute and to allow team members to become more comfortable with each other beforeembarking on a team task. This activity draws attention to the importance of taking time to buildgood working relationships. A team exercise should follow an icebreaker activity.

(iii) Teamwork problem 2 - “Drug Synthesis” ExerciseThis activity involves students working together in a group to solve a given problem whichrequires information to be shared, clarified and organised before progress can be made. It providesthe opportunity for the students to reflect on their effectiveness as members of a team.

(iv) Evaluating the quality of work - Peer and self assessment.The students are required to give marks/grades to their own performance and to that of theircolleagues. The self and peer assessment in this activity has a number of purposes. It gives thestudents experience of making, and maybe receiving value judgements, it allows the tutor to getassessment information about the students and it forces the students to reflect about their ownprogress. It is essential that the students have practice at assessing their peers in this way prior tothem being asked to carry out assessment that will contribute to course marks.

Tutor Notes for Unit 3LEARNING ACTIVITY (i):

Teamwork problem 1 - 'The strange malady mystery'

Summary

In this activity the whole class becomes involved in sharing and pooling information, of which thereis a great deal. Each student must play a part in solving the overall problem. They may decide toelect a leader - or not - but they must work together to eliminate and sift all the information they haveand which together is required to conclude what caused the strange malady! The experience throwsup aspects of effective group work to be developed in the unit.

Time, resource and material requirements

The time required for this activity is about 45 minutes. In preparation for this exercise you will needto photocopy the three mystery exercise game card sheets (attachments (i)1, 2 & 3) onto thin cardand cut out to produce 27 information cards. An OHP will be required and OHTs of attachments (i)4,6 & 7. The students will need page 17 of the workbook (attachment (i)5).

Suggested teaching activities

This activity is a whole class activity and needs about 10 or more students in the group to workeffectively. Interaction is easier if the students move into a circle. Deal out all the 27 informationcards (make sure you do not give out the answer card!). Some students may receive 2 or 3 cards,depending on the numbers in the group. Show the scenario information on the OHP (attachment (i)4) and read through it aloud to the class and make sure that they know what they are doing. Thenlet them get on with the problem.

It is important that you step back and leave the group to work out how to start. Don't leave the room,but observe the students as they negotiate their way through the problem. You might note down keythings that happen eg. who got things moving? Who was playing a supportive role? Was everyonecontributing? These will help you prompt students during the review exercise later. Also it will helpyou start to build up your own profile of the students - their individual strengths and weaknesses.

The students may wish to use the black/whiteboard or ask for a flip chart/large piece of paper. Theymay elect a scribe/leader. Resist the temptation to interfere or make suggestions! After areasonable period, (you will have to make your own judgements here about how much the studentsare getting out of the exercise) invite the group to give you their answer. Do not allow things todrag - interject with comments such as "You have 5 more minutes to come to your decision."

Since the purpose of the exercise is to throw up aspects of groupwork, the review exercise is crucialand should be tightly structured. Ask the students to, individually, consider the reflective questionson page17 of the workbook (attachment (i)5 and to record their thoughts in note form, in preparationfor a plenary discussion involving the whole class.

Unit 3: (i - a)

Lead the discussion, drawing out the aspects of effective teamwork which have been exposedthrough their experience of the ‘Malady’ problem. In particular you are looking to highlight theneed for an ‘ice-breaker’ to get communication going, the need to bring together and organise all thedata, the way the group decided to run itself eg. with a leader or democratically, the responsibility ofindividuals to share information and to encourage others to contribute. These aspects are summarisedon the prepared OHT (attachment (i)6) and will be explored further in the next activities in this unit.

This activity can end by relating the above conclusions about the principles of effective teamworkto the characteristics that managers in industry and commerce have identified as being those mostcommonly observed in successful working groups. An OHT with this information is provided(Attachment (i)7).

Attachments: game cards ; page 17 of workbook; 3 x OHT sheets.

Unit 3: (i - b)

3. You are a local physician onDrambui. You tested all 300 patientsfor S.T.D. Only Lonino has S.T.D.

5. You are a Drambuian named Jomo.Your seven-year-old daughter is blindand unable to walk or talk. You beganto notice her symptoms in April, 1972.

From: "Developing Effective Classroom Groups" Gene Stanford/Pam StoateCopied by kind permission of Acora Books (ISBN 0 9516660 0 2)

The Strange Malady Mystery Cards (1)

1. You are an investigator for theWorld Health Organisation. Youhave learned that contributions tothe cerebral palsy fund of Drambuidoubled in 1972.

Unit 3: Attachment (i) 1

2. You are an investigator for theWorld Health Organisation. You havediscovered that the mercury levels intuna fish near Drambui are very high.

4. You are a friend of Jomo's family.You know that his daughter fell on herhead when she was a few months old.

6. You are an investigator for theWorldHealth Organisation. You have leamtthat a British paper mill was started inDrambui in October, 1972, and usesmercury in its process. Tle mill dumpswastes into the water.

8. You are a Drambui Islander whoknows that Drambui Islanders considertuna sacred and don't eat it.

10. You are a Drambuian named Moni.You began suffering from severenausea in March 1972. Next, you haddiarrhoea attacks and your skin turnedlead-coloured.

12. You are a member of the WorldHealth Organisation who has discoveredthat the United States tested twoH-bombs in 1969 about 200 miles fromDrambui.

14. You are a member of the WorldHealth Organisation investigating team.You have found through research that inSweden, the USA and several othercountries, wheat seed is treated withmercury to reduce spoiling.

16. You are a medical specialist with theWorld Health Organisation. You knowthat the symptoms of syphilis (an S.T.D.)can include blindness, incoherent speech,and paralysis.

18. You are a medical specialist with theWorld Health Organisation. You knowthat cerebral palsy is caused by damage tothe brain before or during birth.

7. You are a Drambui islander namedRev. Kova. You know that sexual activityamong the young people of Drambui hasbeen rapidly increasing and a lot oftourists have recently come to yourisland. You suspect that incidence ofS.T.D. is increasing.

9. You are a friend of Moni. You knowthat Moni worked during 1971 in anatomic energy plant. An accidentoccurred when he was there that releasedsome radiation.

11. You are a Drambuian named Lina.You had a baby in November, 1972,who was born blind and retarded anddoes not seem to be developingnormally in other physical respects.

13. You are a member of the WorldHealth Organisation investigating team.You have learned that the islandersimported wheat seed from Sweden in1971 and 1972.

15. You are a medical specialist with theWorld Health Organisation. You knowthat symptoms of atomic radiationsickness include nausea, faintness,diarrhoea, and sometimes the skin turnsa leaden colour.

17. You are a World Health Organisationspecialist in farming. You have discoveredthat some farmers feed wheat seed to theirpigs instead of planting it.



19. You are the oldest living Drambuian.You remember an ancient legend whichstated that a strange white-skinned peoplewould bring horrible diseases to yourisland. You maintain that the only hopefor the Drambuians is to get rid of allforeigners.

21. You are a Drambuian Islander and afriend of Lonino. You know that Loninois a vegetarian and does not eat any kindof meat or fish.

23. You are a medical specialist withthe World Health Organisation. Youknow that mercury has been used as atreatment for syphilis.

25. You are a Drambuian who knowsthat ham is a favourite food of all theislanders.

27. You are a member of the WorldHealth Organisation who knows thatsymptoms of cerebral palsy are lack ofmuscular coordination and speechdisturbances.



20. You are a Drambuian Islander namedKoreko. In April, 1972, you becamecompletely blind and are now havingdifficulty speaking and walking.

22. You are a medical specialist withthe World Health Organisation. Youknow that symptoms of mercury poisoninginclude convulsions, problems in walking,visual problems, including blindness, anddifficulty in speaking.

24. You are a Drarnbui Islander namedLonino. You know that in January, 1972,you developed convulsions, and andbecame unable to speak clearly, walksteadily, or write steadily.

26. You are a Drambuian Islander namedRoga. Starting in June, 1972, you began tohave dizzy spells, headaches, and tremors.In October you began to have troublespeaking clearly.

Answer: The epidemic was caused bymercury poisoning produced bycontaminated wheat seed fed to pigs.

THE STRANGE MALADYMYSTERY

“An epidemic has broken out onthe island of Drambui. Over 300people have been stricken with astrange disease. The World HealthOrganisation has asked all of youto work together to try to find thecause of this epidemic. The card(s)each of you has received indicateswho you are and what informationyou possess. Work together as agroup to decide what has causedthe 300 people to become ill.”

OHT 1Unit 3: Attachment (i) 4

The Strange Malady Mystery

Mystery exercises like this are useful for giving you practice in the skills ofgroup organisation and interaction. They also give insight into the kinds ofresponsibilities that each member must assume if a group is to work togethersuccessfully ie. the interdependence of group members.

Consider the activity in which you have just been involved and focus on how the group wentabout organising the task. Use the following questions to guide your analysis:

Was it easy to get started? Did you feel comfortable to contribute initially?

Was there a formal leader? If so, how did a leader emerge? Was a formal leader needed?

Did you lose time getting organised? Could you have approached the problem more efficiently?

Were all members involved in solving the problem?

Were any obvious efforts made to ensure that all were involved in the decision-making? Did you notice whether anyone clearly encouraged someone else to contribute?

Did everyone listen to each others clues?

How did group size affect performance?

How did you behave as part of the group? How much did you contribute to the final outcome? Could you have improved the overall performance of the group? Were you satisfied with your role in this group?



Effective team members need to:

• create opportunities for the team to gel

• decide how the group will run itself

• organise information and plan strategies

• contribute

• encourage others to contribute

• listen to others

• communicate clearly

OHT 2

Over the last 20 years, more than 2000managers from all over the world have beenasked to identify the shared characteristics ofsuccessful teams. The following characteristicsare those most commonly cited and observedin winning teams in industry and commerce:-

Successful teams have:• an effective leader• a common objective• well motivated members• well-run meetings with a clear decision-making system

Unit 3: Attachment (i) 7OHT 3

Tutor Notes for Unit 3:

Summary

It is clear from the study of group dynamics and from the analysis of effective teamwork that it is agood idea to formalise the first stage of teambuilding. There is generally a difficult initial periodwhen team members need to get to know each other and to break down barriers in order to alloweffective team work to occur. An icebreaker activity provides a gentle opportunity for everyone tocontribute and to allow team members to become more comfortable with each other beforeembarking on a team task. This activity draws attention to the importance of taking time to buildgood working relationships. A team exercise should follow an icebreaker activity.


This activity should take about ten minutes. There are no extra material requirements.


Explain to the students that it is a good idea to take time to develop relationships between groupmembers before diving headlong into a team task. This is particularly important where a group isworking together for the first time and initial introductions are required. Icebreaker activities can beused to break down barriers and to get things moving.

The “Call my Bluff” icebreaker is a lighthearted activity to encourage group members to shareinformation about themselves, and helps to build the trust needed to develop relationshipsconducive to good teamwork.

First you should divide the class into working groups of 4 or 5, avoiding friendship groups.Now ask the students to jot down (or prepare mentally) three statements about themselves, two ofwhich are true and one of which is untrue. They will be asked to make these statements to the restof the group. The others will be asked to work out and decide, as a group, which of the statementsis the fabrication.

It is important to ensure that the students see this as a non-threatening, light-hearted exercise inwhich they do not have to give too much away about themselves! The best way, therefore, to startis by giving an input yourself first, for example:

I play badminton once a weekI was born in EnglandI play the bagpipes

Ask the class to guess which of the statement is untrue: ask for shows of hands and count them up.

Give the students a few minutes to prepare their own statements and then ask one student fromeach group to volunteer to start. Remember to keep it light-hearted and not to let it drag on. Stopthe exercise when all the students in the group have had a go.

Attachments: None

LEARNING ACTIVITY (ii):Icebreaker

Unit 3: (ii)

LEARNING ACTIVITY (iii):Teamwork problem 2 - Drug synthesis exercise

Summary

This activity involves students working together in a group to solve a given problem which requiresinformation to be shared, clarified and organised before progress can be made. It provides theopportunity for the students to reflect on their effectiveness as members of a team.


Allow approximately 30 minutes to solve the problem and a further 15 minutes for the reviewactivity. In preparation for this exercise you will need to photocopy onto thin card, and cut to sizea set of information cards (Attachments (iii)1- 6) for each group of 4/5 students. You will need anOHP and an OHT of attachment (iii)7. The students will require page 18 of the workbook(attachment (iii)8.


This section has two parts, a team exercise and a review activity.If this exercise follows on from the previous activity - the icebreaker - the students should already bein teams of 4 or 5.

Tell the students that you will be giving them data and some general information which they willneed to sort through,as a group, to arrive at the solution to some problems. Tell them that they will bereviewing the activity afterwards to allow them to reflect on how effective they have been asmembers of a working team.

Hand out the Team Instructions to each group, together with a set of information cards (Attach-ments (iii)1-5). Make sure you do not give out the solution card! (Attachment (iii)6). Allow the teams30 minutes to produce the answers. You should leave the students to work on the task. You maylike to make it competitive by throwing out the challenge "Let's see which group can come up withthe right answer first!"

As each group finishes, provide them with the correct answer (Attachment (iii)6). You may needto hurry up the remaining groups, if they are slow completing the task. If a group is really struggl-ing at the end, just give them the solution but make them consider carefully, in the review exercise,why they were having problems.

Show the students the OHT summarising the criteria for effective team members (attachment (iii)7).Ask them to note that the icebreaker activity allowed them to meet the first bullet point - createopportunities for the team to gel. Ask the students to reflect on their own behaviour and thebehaviour of their co-workers as effective members of a team, using the OHT as reference eg. Howwell did they contribute, share, listen to others, communicate, organise etc? Their thoughts can besummarised in the review activity in the workbook on page 18 (Attachment (iii)8). This can be usedas the basis for peer and self assessment - see next activity.

Attachments: Information cards for photocopying; page 18 of workbook; OHT of criteria for effective team members


Unit 3: (iii)

Unit 3: Attachment (iii)1

Drug Synthesis Problem

Team Instructions.

You are a group of research scientists. You have been asked by yoursupervisor to provide details of a particular step in a drug synthesis.She has asked for the answers to the following questions:

· What is the relative molecular mass of the starting material?· How many moles of starting material were used?· How much (g or mL) of each of the other reagents was required?· What were the conditions (temperature and time) of the reaction?· What yield of the final product was obtained?· What was the main contaminant in the final product?

You have been provided with a series of cards; each card contains information to helpyou answer the questions above. Not all of the information given need be relevant toanswering the questions.All the substances described are identified simply by their molecular formulae.No other information is available.You have 30 minutes to answer all the questions.

1.

CH2Cl

2 is a solvent and 60mL were used in the experiment.

2.

8.97g of the starting material was used.

3.

Substances are often identified by their Rf values.


5.Table of elements.

Element Symbol Relative Atomic Mass

Hydrogen H 1Carbon C 12Nitrogen N 14Oxygen O 16Sulphur S 32Chlorine Cl 35.5

4.

The other reagents used in the conversion of the starting materialto the product were; C

4H

10O

3

C7H

10O

4S

6.To work out the amount of a substance in moles that you have,divide the mass in grams, by the relative molecular massof the substance.

7.The relative molecular mass of a substance is the sum of therelative atomic masses of all the atoms in a moleculeof the substance.

8.In this reaction, for each mole of starting material,10 moles of C4H10O3 were used.


9.

The mass of final product obtained from the reaction was 3.76g.

10.

The Rf value for a substance is equal to the distance travelled fromthe starting level along the TLC plate by the substance, divided bythe distance travelled by the solvent also from the starting level.

11.

In this reaction, 2 moles of C7H

10O

4S were used for each mole

of starting material.

12.

The density of a substance is equal to its mass divided by its volume.

13.The yield of a reaction is equal to the amount of pure productobtained divided by the amount of starting material from whichit was made, both given as moles and expressed as a percentage.

14.

The reaction was stirred for 7 hours.


15.Trimethyl orthoformate, C

4H

10O

3, is a liquid in the

temperature range of this experiment. It has adensity of 0.968g mL-1.

16.The molecular formula of the starting material is:

C17H17NO4

17.

Different compounds travel different distances up a TLC plate.

18.

The reagents were mixed together at 0oC and the reaction wasallowed to warm to room temperature,

19.

The molecular formula of the final product, (-)-cephalotaxinone, is:

C18H19 NO4

.


Thin layer chromatography, TLC, is a method of analysis. A spot of solutionof a small amount of a substance or a mixture of substances is placed, andallowed to dry, on the bottom of a glass plate which has a thin layer of silicacovering it. This plate is then placed upright into a shallow bath of solvent,which slowly soaks into the silica and moves up the plate. It carries the substance(s) with itand the distances moved are different, and are distinctive, for each different substance.Mixtures of substances separate out on the plate and can be identified by the Rf values ofthe various spots.

20.

21.

Subsequent purification showed that the final product obtainedfrom the reaction was 95% pure by mass.

22.

The following results were obtained in the TLC analysis of thefinal product of the reaction:

Distance travelled by the solvent front 7.00cmDistance travelled by spot 1 5.00cmDistance travelled by spot 2 2.50cm

23.

Rf value of the starting material 0.36Rf value of the final product 0.71Rf value of reagent C4H10O3 0.54Rf value of reagent C7H10O4S 0.03


Drug Synthesis Problem

Solution.

• What was the relative molecular mass of the starting material?299gmol-1 (cards 16, 5 and 7)

• How many moles of starting materials did you have?0.03moles (equal to 8.97/299) (cards 2,5,6,7 and 16)

• What quantity of each reagent was required?- 31.8g or 32.9mL of C

4H

10O

3, [10 molar equivalents relative to the starting material =

10 x 0.03 = 0.3moles = (0.3 x 106) or 31.8g = (31/0.968) or 32.9mL]- 10.4g of C

7H

10O

4S, [2 molar equivalent relative to the starting materials = 0.03 x 2=

0.06moles = (0.06 x 190) 10.4g] (cards 1,4,5,6,7,11,12,15 and 8)• What were the conditions of the reaction?

Mixing at 0oC, warming to room temperature and stirring for seven hours(cards 14 and 18)

• What yield of the product was obtained?38% [ (0.95 x 3.76)/327 x 100/0.03] (cards 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 19, 21)

• What was the main contaminant in the final product?The main contaminant is starting material, (Rf value 0.36.) (cards 3, 10, 17, 20, 22, 23)

This game was created by Leo Dudin & Jamie Older

Effective team members need to:

• create opportunities for the team to gel

• decide how the group will run itself

• organise information and plan strategies

• contribute

• encourage others to contribute

• listen to others

• communicate clearly


The Drug Synthesis Exercise

Review

Consider the activity in which you have just been involved and reflect onyour own behaviour and the behaviour of your team members. Focus onhow effective you were as members of a team. Use the following questionsto guide your analysis:

How well did you contribute?

Did you and others willingly share information?

Did you listen to what each other had to say?

Did you consciously make any effort to encourage others to speak?

Did you communicate clearly, both verbally and non-verbally?

Did you help organise the information?

How could you have improved your behaviour in this situation to have become a more effective member of the team?


LEARNING ACTIVITY (iv):Evaluating the quality of work: peer and self assessment

Summary

The students are required to give marks/grades to their own performance and to that of theircolleagues. The self and peer assessment in this activity has a number of purposes. It gives thestudents experience of making, and maybe receiving value judgements, it allows the tutor to getassessment information about the students and it forces the students to reflect about their ownprogress. It is essential that the students have practice at assessing their peers in this way prior tothem being asked to carry out assessment that will contribute to course marks.

Time, Resource and Material requirements

This activity will take no more than 15 minutes - less if students have already received input on therole of peer and self assessment. Each student will require a peer assessment sheet (attachment (iv)1).


Do this activity immediately following Activity (iii), the drug synthesis exercise. If this is the firsttime the students have been asked to carry out peer and self assessment, the tutor should give a briefpresentation about the necessity of this form of assessment on this type of course. You might use thefollowing justification:

Firstly, they are supposed to be learning group skills in these activities. The only people who knowhow well they are learning are their working colleagues. Hence the need for peer assessment.Secondly, being aware of one’s own strengths, weaknesses and improvements is a vital element ofskills development. We all must learn how to make value judgements on work done: we need tomake realistic judgements of our own efforts. Hence the need for self assessment. Finally, makingvalue judgements about others work is a common requirement. Teachers do it constantly and it isrequired regularly in any line-management system.

This exercise gives the students probably their first experience at assessing themselves and others.They will not find it to be a comfortable experience. Many students 'cop out' by simply allocating thesame grade to everyone, including themselves. Don't worry about this at this stage. Later they willrealise the importance of assessment and of peer feedback and will do it realistically.

Trials have shown that students become much more discriminating as they become less anxiousabout the activity and more experienced at giving judgements on their performance and that ofothers. It is important that the students have practice at peer assessment before they are asked tocarry out an assessment that has real significance.

In this particular instance, the students are asked to assess the performance of themselves and theirco-workers as effective members of a team following the drug synthesis exercise (see learning activ-ity 3(iii) ). In fact this peer and self assessment could follow any group task.

Unit 3: (iv - a)


Give each student a peer assessment sheet (attachment (iv)1) and ask them to assign grades to eachteam member to reflect their competence. We have found the I, IIi, IIii, III, Pass grading scheme towork well. The students have a well-ingrained idea of what these grades mean. Also, the sheetexplains in general terms the requirements for each grade. You could draw their attention to theseexplanations. You might decide that it is best on this first attempt at peer assessment that these gradeswill be 'for your eyes only'. This will make it less threatening for the students. Do look at the resultsand keep them for future reference, perhaps for assessment or for choosing teams for theassignment tasks.

Collect in the forms and briefly explain that next time the self and peer assessment will be for real.Often the students become withdrawn and silent after this activity.

Attachments: Peer/self assessment sheet Unit 3: (iv - b)

Peer and Self assessment.

Please use the degree classification scheme - I, IIi, IIii, III, Pass (see below) to grade the quality ofyour own and your colleagues contributions to the work done. Use all of your understanding of howgroups and individuals in them operate to facilitate the group task, to arrive at an overall judgementin each case.

Names Grade

Self ………………………………………………………….. ……….

Name ………………………………………………………….. ……….

Name ………………………………………………………….. ……….

Name ………………………………………………………….. ……….

Name ………………………………………………………….. ……….

************************************************************************

The degree classification applied to the quality of effort put in by individuals could be as follows:

I = excellent in all respects, difficult to improveIIi = very good in all respectsIIii = good in some respects, but only adequate in othersIII = adequate in some respects but could be improved in most othersPass = not very good and could be improved in most respects.

The exact quality of work which produces a I, IIi, IIii etc, will depend upon the particular activity which the group hasbeen involved in. You should make a judgement from an overall impression based upon how each individual contributedto the work, and what you know about how people can help (or hinder) group work. Use the criteria above as a guide.

Unit 3: Attachment (iv) 1

Documents

UNIT 3 Effective Teamwork · 1999-08-26 · Unit 3: Overview Unit 3: Overview The activities in this unit are designed to help students develop an understanding of the nature of teamwork