Team Learning at a Distance a conceptual and practical

Team Learning at a Distance: a conceptual and practical guide Glen Gummess, MA.Ed. Dec. 15, 1999 Introduction The formation and successful performance of learning "teams" is an issue that's tough enough for students in a traditional classroom to handle, let alone distance learning students. For students who are brand new to online learning, they may not "have a clue" as to what makes a successful learning team, and on top of everything else they are just busy trying to orient themselves to this new experience and keep their heads above water. I know; I've been there, as both an online student and instructor and as a team member. And I can assure you: It can be done, very successfully. The purpose of this document is to lay out some of the fundamentals of forming teams at a distance, explain what makes them succeed or fail, and provide a few practical guidelines that will make this teaming experience work for you. However, keep in mind that this is not a "free lunch" issue. The only one who can make a team successful in any learning environment, traditional or online, is you. That entails a tremendous amount of responsibility on your part, both as a leader and as a follower, and the willingness to assume whatever role the needs of the group require. Underlying all team dynamics is a powerful glue whose absence will lead to a collapse and breakdown of the whole team structure; it is a glue known by one self-explanatory word. That word is trust. Read on. The rest of this lecture consists of the following: I. II. III. Relevancy: Why do teams form in the first place? Team dynamics: A. What makes a team work? B. Stages and Milestones of team development. How do we do it? A. The first step 1. Dealing with time and space. 2. Essential information. B. Later steps. 1. Two important forms of communication and their importance. 2. Forming checklist. 3. Storming and norming resource list. IV. V. 4. Performing tasks. In Summary, there is no free lunch Online Bibliography Relevancy: Why do teams form in the first place? Teams are good. They are good for the organization and they are good for the individual (i.e., the worker). They produce results. They produce profits. They produce learning. They make a business competitive. They ward off failure. They work for the benefit of all concerned. Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) had it right: It is an "all for one and one for all" world. The Three Musketeers were ahead of their time. These days, team performance is what it's all about. Just take the word of former editor of Industry Week, Perry Pascarella, for it: Today, companies no longer need to prove that teams can generate great gains in productivity and quality... They widely employ, special-project, cross-functional, ad-hoc teams to find ways to cut costs, develop new products, realign production processes, and engage in all sorts of problem-spotting and solving activities. ("Compensating Teams," Feb. 1997) Reflections from the real world:     Great Lakes Castings Corp, Ludington, MI, was able to boost product sales per employee by 50% over a six year period (1992-98) by turning its manufacturing processes over to teams rather than filtering everything through an overloaded supervisor ("Great Lakes...," Feb. 1999). The periodical, Industry Week, considers successful teaming a criterion for being considered a top 100 Best-Managed company because "The only way companies can stay ahead is by unleashing the full creative power of people at all levels..." (Caudron, Aug. 17, 1999). Xerox has been able to stay ahead of the photocopying industry curve by identifying several critical success factors with teams, underscoring the enhancement of organizational learning and adaptability that results from self-managing teams (Wageman, Sep-Oct. 1997). And there is improved communication and tracking of clients' cases when teams are formed, as small business has discovered through the implementation of teams (Maynard, March 1997). So, is it not surprising then that team collaboration is not only encouraged but is compulsory in college studies? Especially if a college, worthy of that distinction, professes to put its graduates to work in today's real world? In the real world of downsizing and corporate re-structuring, learning to work in teams, as well as building a portfolio of marketable skills, puts real meaning into the phrase: job security. Team Dynamics Let us proceed with the argument then that the capability of individuals to form teams is essential to attainment of a self sustaining lifestyle in contemporary society. Given that, what constitutes a successful team? Let's take a look. What makes a team work? Teams that succeed demonstrate the following positive characteristics. They:        Enhance performance through closer attention to the customer/client. Enhance individual and organizational learning. Enhance employee ownership and commitment to shared goals. Provide a basis for organizational or corporate incentives that reward teams, ranging from financial stipends to perquisites of all kinds including options for day care, telecommuting, flexible hours and even site based fitness centers! Produce clear, shared objectives. Produce effective and efficient procedures and processes. Form constructive relationships. o Solve group problems. o Develop high conflict resolution skills. o Become intuitive to individuals' strengths and weaknesses. o Trust each other. o Undertake constructive self improvement. o Identify closely with the group. o Accomplish a tremendous amount of work. (List synthesized and derived from a number of sources: Civil Engineering Online {CLEO}, Wageman, Pascarella, Caudron and Morgan-Kayhoe). Stages of Team Development and Milestones Borchers (1999) provides an interesting online survey of different theories as to how teams form. The theory that seems to be most widely used is Tuckman's: That of forming, storming, norming and performing. To this sequence of four stages, add a fifth: adjourning. All things come to an end, I suppose, especially teams that are formed for the purposes of completing a project: such as an assignment in a course! Were we to more closely examine Tuckman's model, we would see what specifically happens at each stage of development. (The working model for these phases is a team of 2-5 members.) FORMING It's "get-acquainted time." Members "feel each other out," and discover what joining the group means. Members may experience high emotions, or intellectualize. They may investigate or explore the nature of the task that led to the group being formed, or simply wander off in different directions, going off "in tangents" so to speak, as they get to know each other better and attempt to define the task and seek ways to accomplish it. They may share each other's stories; their accomplishments and celebrations. Leadership is necessary for functioning groups, and will start to emerge. New members start thinking of Milestone themselves as belonging to a group. STORMING This difficult stage involves the process of sorting out the roles each member will play in making the team successful. Conflict ensues, and very possibly resistance to the team approach. If the team crashes, it will happen at this stage, especially if pecking orders, complaints and/or unwarranted criticism dominate. The members need to practice active listening skills, become empathetic to each other, negotiate, and manage conflicts. If the team makes it through this stage, all will be stronger for the growth, and the growing pains. Members develop the ability and skills to listen to each other and Milestone resolve major issues. Or, they don't. NORMING The team gains confidence, individually and collectively, as the members emerge from the "storming" process, having defined the norms that they will abide by. They accept each other's roles, and idiosyncrasies. Friendships are fostered as they express feelings appropriately. Morale is high. Boundaries are set and honored. Formerly competitive relationships become cooperative. Techniques for managing conflict are automatic. Goals and objectives of the group are better defined. Leadership is solidified. Milestone Team ownership; "we are a team." A leader emerges. PERFORMING The team produces the goods. Not all teams may reach a stage of high accomplishment, but the best case scenario is that the team will diagnose and solve problems, develop solid working relationships, and most of all: Build Trust. The team becomes an independent entity composed of interdependent individuals who get things done. Problem solving occurs with flexibility and creativity. Groups that reach this stage achieve effective outcomes and will Milestone maintain excellent group relationships. This table is synthesized and derived from a variety of sources including: CLEO, Fox, and Sleeth. How Do We Do It? Well, then. We've devoted our attention so far to the conceptual foundations, mostly, of how and why teams form and why they work. We've also addressed the stages that teams go through as they attempt to achieve their goals and objectives. Now it's time to turn our attention to the what issues. What do you do, as students-at-a-distance, to form functional and effective teams? This section will hopefully provide some concrete answers or, perhaps, ideas to help you undertake this challenge on your own, individually and collectively. Again, the model of 2to-5 member teams is in effect, here. Good teamwork relies so much on communication that the one overarching rule that must never be broken is this one: Be Timely. The first step (dealing with time and space) Whether your team is composed of members of your own choosing or by designation from the instructor, you still have to "meet" for the first time. Since you are students-at-a-distance you face the twin barriers of geography and time in getting together for the first time. How do you overcome these barriers? First of all, if all of you live near each other, say within 30-60 miles or so, the tool for overcoming the time/geography barrier is probably sitting in your garage, or parked alongside the curb near your home. However, some or all of your members may be much more widely separated, across whole states and time zones conceivably. And so, the solution isn't so elegantly simple as making sure the gas tank is filled. And unless you are all possessed of enviable sources of wealth, I doubt the airlines will be doing much business with you. Therefore, you have to rely on technology. If you meet the minimum hardware and software requirements for being a student-at-a-distance you certainly have access to a computer, an internet connection, and have a world wide web browser and e-mail package at your disposal. There is another criterion: You must know how to use these tools proficiently. Are you as sure about how you use these tools as you are in riding a bicycle? This narrative presumes that you are. Therefore, the first step is to contact the rest of the members of the team. You need to obtain from them "name, rank and serial number" types of information. In other words you need these essentials: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Their name. Email address. 2nd e-mail address, if available. Home phone. Work phone. Cell phone, if available. Address (street, city, state, zip) INFORMATION: o Does anyone in the group have conference calling capability? o If yes, may we use that capability to get all of us on the phone at the same time and share the cost? o If not, what other means of communication devices do each of us have to connect with each other? The team members' timely response to each other with this information must take place rapidly, within two days turnaround time; three days max. The next steps For ensuing contacts, there are generally two forms of communication to keep in mind: Asynchronous (at your own time and pace) communication, and Synchronous (at the same time as everyone else) communication. Ideally, you need both. The universal, ubiquitous telephone is the classic example of a synchronous communications tool. It means you "reach out and touch someone" and that someone has to be there at the same time in order for the connection to succeed. The advantage, clearly, is the ability to brainstorm on-the-fly with spontaneity and to engage in meaningful dialogue, as well as to simply socialize. Asynchronous communication means "you reach out...." and wait. If the reply is timely, communication can be successful. The quicker the reply, the better in my view. The classic example of asynchronous communication is e-mail. It's almost as universally accessible and ubiquitous as the telephone, and its chief advantage is that it gives the author to reflect and to compose a response that touches all the bases that need to be touched. If the members of the team log on to the internet and use their e-mail frequently, it may even simulate the appearance of synchronous discussion, although not quite. Nevertheless, it can be very fast. Another major vehicle for asynchronous communication is the threaded discussion forum on the World Wide Web. These forums enable all participants to post and reply to each other's comments and see both a logical sequence and history of the discussion in one environment viewed by way of the computer screen. The discussion forums in your online course are exemplary of this type of communication. In any event, your next encounters will start all of you on the process of "forming, storming, norming and performing" that has been elucidated upon at some depth. The online links at the end of this document should provide you with plenty of insight as to what constitutes effective teams and team dynamics. The case study by Agnew, Gummess and Hudson (1998) may prove to be even more enlightening as to how the members used the technological tools to accomplish a complicated assignment: the creation of a multimedia project for the World Wide Web. Here's a checklist of things you'll want to find out during the "forming" process. Any essential information items about each member that have not been already obtained in the first step, the initial contact. A brief introduction by each member about him/herself. Should cover: o Professional interests. o Personal background. o Special skills, knowledge and abilities. Of particular interest may be:  Ability to write web pages.  Ability to upload web pages to a local internet service provider.  Advanced skills in configuring a computer's settings and managing files.  Access to a digital camera.  Image creation and conversion capability.  Writing talent and ability.  Keyboarding speed.      Researching ability (to make bib cards, cite sources using APA style, etc.)  Library skills and knowledge.  Any specialized knowledge of a particular software that may prove to be of use in the team effort. (e.g., ActivStats wizardry if you're in the statistics class. Or, the ability to save an Excel spreadsheet as an "html" file and upload it to the web.). If the meeting takes place synchronously, over the telephone or in-person, designate someone to take notes or "minutes." This person must type them up within 24 hours and distribute them to each member upon completion. A list of technological resources owned or accessed by each member (this is critical!). o Type and age of computer. o Speed of internet connection (e.g., 56K modem. 28.8 is the bare minimum required). o Browser and version (Netscape 4.0 or up is preferred). o Word processing software (Microsoft Word is recommended). o Other types of software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Clarisworks or Appleworks, Windows Paint, other imaging software that makes GIF or JPEG images, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, "HTML" authoring software such as Adobe Page Mill, Hot Metal Pro, or Dreamweaver. Netscape comes with "Composer" in version 4 and above). o Fax machine o Scanner. Distance and availability to the nearest academic library for each member of the team. You may have to do research.  During the "storming" process and later, "norming," you'll be dealing with so many intangible issues that there is no particular way an allencompassing "checklist" can be of use to you. This is uncharted territory and you'll have to wade through it. Just keep in mind that you're "all in this together," and maintain a "can-do" tone throughout this upheaval. I find it helpful to borrow quotes from sources that have served some inspirational purpose. One quote that comes vividly to mind is from Gene Kranz in Apollo 13 (1995), portrayed by actor Ed Harris: Failure is not an option! Nevertheless, it might help further things along if you work toward achievement of the following if they are applicable: Select a nickname for your group. (The "A" team or whatever). If one of you has the skills to create and upload web pages, make a web page for your group! Use it to document a history of your group's progress, especially pointing out successful milestones along the way. Designate a scribe to keep all milestones and deliverables together in a file maintenance system. Decide upon a schedule for completion of milestones and deliverables. Send that schedule to everyone in the group. Upload it to the web if deemed appropriate. Share each other's information and knowledge. Brainstorm ideas and identify which ones must be researched. Each of you can go to the library, find citations to support your research. The scribe should collect these citations altogether and make a bibliography that should be shared with everyone right away. Use each other's geographical setting to the group's advantage. For example, if you are creating a Powerpoint presentation, one of you can "audition" it or field test it with a live group. Another one of you can design an evaluation instrument, such as a survey, that will measure the presentation's success. That survey will be given to the audience participants. The findings are then shared with the entire group. Use asynchronous communication (e.g., e-mail) for regular ongoing communications that discuss work or solve problems. Again, be timely. Use synchronous communication (e.g., phone) to mark major milestones in the project's development, or to just celebrate completion! Apply each other's ingenuity to the task creatively and never, never never give up. Remember, this is a learning experience. This is the place to make mistakes, and to learn from them. Failure may not be an option but there will most likely be memorable ones along the way to success. The failure to learn is truly the one that is most tragic; don't let it happen.            The performing stage is the one where all of the previous problems have been worked out, but there are occasions when you may recycle through some "storming" and "norming" phases as your project or series of projects evolves over the life of the course. Nevertheless, as a performing entity you will be producing deliverables for your instructor. These may be assignments or more detailed and ambitious term projects. Some of the techniques mentioned above still apply as they lead to the submission of the deliverable: the specific and tangible product that the instructor requires. Now that you have all clarified each other's roles and responsibilities, each of you should have a certain task to perform. Do it. Each person responsible for a component of the deliverable shares that component with the rest of the group, perhaps as an e-mail attachment; perhaps as a posting on the Web. There is sufficient trust now to invite and welcome constructive criticism. Egos have long been aside for "the good of the cause." The components of the deliverable go to the scribe. S/he collects them all and produces one deliverable-- the project report, the research paper, the Powerpoint presentation, or whatever it is. The deliverable is sent in "draft" form to each member of the group who reviews it. Evaluations from each member come in, asynchronously, and-as the need indicates-- synchronously. Revision takes place. Final version is drafted and reviewed... one more sign-off. The deliverable is turned in. You celebrate!          In summary, there is no free lunch The formation and dynamics of a team of learners is not so cut-anddried as it's been made out to be in this treatment, especially for learners-at-a-distance. Knowledge of each other's skills and resources is pretty important in furthering this inherently creative process toward fruition. And it's the sharing of that knowledge and building of trust that this whole work is centered upon. It just doesn't happen overnight. Collaboration does not work well automatically. Students must learn new skills and behaviors to be effective team members. These include delegation skills, interpersonal skills, consensus building skills, and time management skills. Sufficient time is a critical component to team success.... Through team interaction, individual members build relationships with other team members. Trust seems to be a critical component to team success. (Day-Ryan, Gummess and Papineau, 4/30/96). It's been my experience as well as that of others who have collaborated online, that if a team's members embrace and commit themselves to a shared vision and, most of all, enjoy a spirit of camaraderie and trust, then it doesn't matter what tools are used for collaboration at a distance. Conversely, no tools, synchronous or asynchronous, will work to achieve group objectives if the participants fail to trust each other. Nevertheless, if vision-sharing, shared commitment, and trust exists, then the resourcefulness of the team and its members will inevitably find new ways and new technological tools to make collaboration at-a-distance achieve excellence. Online bibliography      Agnew, Janet; Gummess, Glen; Hudson, Mike (1998). "Copyright Bay: A Case Study in Online Collaboration to Design Educational Multimedia for the Internet." [Online]. Available at http://dns1checs.NMSU.Edu/checs_98/papers/coprbay.html. A PDF copy (345K) is also available at http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/coursedevelop/Teaming.PDF (requires Acrobat Reader, freeware). Borchers, Tim (1999) Group Development [Online] Moorehead State University. Available at http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/groups/devgroup.ht ml. [Dec 15, 1999] Caudron, Shari (Aug. 17, 1998). The Only Way to Stay Ahead. Industry Week. 247(15). 98. [via Infotrak online, 12/15/99] CLEO (Aug 6, 1999). TLC - Group Development. [Online] Civil Engineering Online, Monash University. Available at http://stressed.eng.monash.edu.au/cleo/teaching/subjects /learning/bridging/team3.html. [Dec. 15, 1999] Day-Ryan, Gummess and Papineau, 4/30/96) Students Working At A Distance In Conventional Classrooms: The Difference In Outcomes On Team Projects. [online] Available: http://www.checs.net/checs _96/distance.html . Note: the image links are missing.       "Great Lakes is Teaming with Productivity" (Feb. 1999). Foundry Management and Technology. 127(2). p.112(4) [via Infotrak online, 12/15/99]. Maynard, Roberta (March, 1997). A Client-Centered Firm's Lesson in Team Work. Nation's Business. 85(3). 32. [via Infotrak online, 12/15/99] Morgan - Kayhoe: Team Development. (19971998). Available at http://www.morgankayhoe.com/teamdev.html. Pascarella, Perry (Feb. 1997). Compensating Teams. Across the Board. 34(2). p. 16 (7). [via Infotrak online, 12/15/99]. Sleeth, Randy (1999) Team Development Summary Sheet. [Online] School of Business; Virginia Commonwealth University. Available at http://felix.vcu.edu/~rsleeth/TeamDevelopmentSheet. html. [Dec. 15, 1999] Wageman, Ruth (Sep-Oct 1997). Case Study: Critical Success Factors for Creating Superb Self-Managing Teams at Xerox. Compensation and Benefits Review. 29(5). 31. [via Infotrak online, 12/15/99] For further reading:        Consulting Skills- The Trainer's Role In Building Successful Teams Group Development Groupthink Leadership - The Tuckman Model - Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing Leadership Copyright Bay, A Case Study in Successful Team Development at a Distance Cooperative - Collaborative - Teams Gummess, Glen (12/15/99). "Team Learning at a Distance: A Conceptual and Practical Guide." [Online] Center for Instructional Delivery, University of St. Francis. Available at http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/lpapers/teaming.htm.