Interpersonal Development – Teaching and Learning Activity

2

Interpersonal Development

Working in teams

Working as a team member

(Students) work in teams in assigned roles, stay on task and complete structured activities within set timeframes. They share resources fairly.

Introduce a small group activity which requires students to work in teams for about 10 minutes. Describe the goal but give very little guidance.

At the end of the allocated time ask students to reflect on the effectiveness of the team and their roles within the team.

Suggested activities could include:

• designing a sequence of movements using a ball, a ribbon and a hoop
• designing a healthy sandwich
• creating a word crozzle/find a word
• building a house out of boxes.

Students in their groups/teams could use a PMI (Doc - 37KB) to discuss the positive, minuses and interesting things they noticed during the activity.
Students reflect on what they did well as a team and what could be improved.

Assessment for learning:

Teacher records observations of students participating in discussions.

Ask groups to share their reflections with the class. Collate the groups' responses.

Use the responses for class discussion to develop common understandings about the purpose of working in teams and the responsibilities members have within the team.

Brainstorm the behaviours required to have effective teams.

The responses could be collated onto a class PMI on butchers' paper or whiteboard for display.

Responses for the purpose of working in teams could include fairness, sharing, achieving goals, creating a product and having support and fun.

Responses for team member behaviours could include listening, taking turns and no put downs.

Key Questions:
What are some key roles in a team?
What are the skills required for roles in teams?

Brainstorm possible roles and descriptions that could be used when working in teams.

See Brainstorming and establishing roles for advice. Note: different teams may require varying roles. Suitable roles for this activity could be: 

• Leader (Manager)
• Fair Go Person (ensures everyone has a turn)
• Equipment collector (Resource /materials manager)
• Time Keeper.

Divide students into groups giving each group one role and ask them to discuss and record/draw what the role means.

Ask groups to share their ideas to the class.

Roles and descriptions should be displayed for student reference.

Re-do the original activity, assign students to each group and with different roles.

During the year students will have the opportunity to gain experience in the different roles and develop a range of skills.  

Discuss as a class the experiences of the students working in the team focusing on their roles.

Possible questions include:

• why were they successful?
• what made their role difficult?

Extension options include:

• students with the same role meet as a group to discuss their experiences in that capacity and report back to the class.

Ask students to reflect on their efforts in a role and the effectiveness of their team.

See the Taking a role in a team (Doc - 77KB) worksheet.

Assessment of learning:

Note student responses for identifying the skills and behaviours required in their designated roles.