Introduction
Collaboration is a skill that is used throughout everyone's life. The purpose of collaboration is to bring everyone's ideas and thoughts together to come up with an amazing end project. This is especially very important in school. While working with groups to accomplish school work, collaboration is a necessary skill.
Task
Our goal is to teach everyone about how important collaboration is in school and how you can achieve it by respecting others.
Process
- Ways to improve collaboration in school...
- Before starting the project, set group expectations regarding everyone's tasks and group morals.
- Make a list of everyone's ideas and try to combine and remove ideas so the group has one agreed topic.
- Make a table of group members tasks for the day/week and once someone's task is complete, they are able to check it off. This shows how everyone has equal work and completes their tasks.
- Make a google chat so when you are at home, if there is last minute ideas or tasks to complete, you can let your group know.
- How to know if you improved...
- If everyone is getting along and group reflections receive positive feedback, you know that your group expectations were met and valued.
- If everyone in the group is satisfied with the information presented and the way it is presented and if everyone incorporates their ideas, the teacher will see the whole group is informed about the topic.
- If everyone's tasks are checked off by the end of the project, then you know that everyone contributed to the project.
- If you see that the chat was used to inform the group about tasks, the google chat was a great tool to use in order to get information to other group members.
Evaluation
Bobby…
Bobby is a freshman who attends FHS. In his biology class, a new project was introduced and the teacher paired him up with three other people he didn’t know. Everyone in Bobby’s group has different ideas on how to present this new topic. Bobby is frustrated and does not know what to do… and the project is due before next class. He needs to think of a way his group can collaborate to finish this project on time and with good information. What should Bobby do?
How to improve…
A good technique that Bobby could use would be to make four separate columns. Each group member could fill in their own column with the information they want to present and the way they want to present it in front of the class. Then, all four of the group members could sit down together and think of a plan that incorporates everyone’s ideas.
How to know if they improved…
After the presentation is finished, if everyone in the group is satisfied with the information presented and the way it is presented, the team collaborated to make this project happen. Also, if the teacher notes something about how everyone is well aware of the information being presented, he knows they collaborated.
Stacie…
Stacie is sitting in her World History class when they are told to pick groups of three for a project on Ancient Rome. Stacie decides to go with her two best friends, Veronica and Julie. As they start to work, Stacie realizes that Veronica and Julie are expecting her to do all of the work and not contributing to the project at all. Stacie is afraid that the project is not going to be finished on time. Stacie needs to come up with a way that each group member will be doing the same amount of work and no one will be slacking. What should Stacie do?
How to improve…
A good method that Stacie could try is to make a table of all the responsibilities that need to get done along with the group member's name who is in charge of that portion. Each class, the girls can discuss what they have done so far and what they still need to get done. As each responsibility is finished, a check mark can be placed by it indicating that the group member in charge of that portion has finished that part and is ready to move on. Also, each day they could make a group reflection about how they worked and how much work they got done.
How to know if they improved…
If the project is finished on time, and there are check marks for all the responsibilities, the team has collaborated in a way that helped them to finish the project on time. Also, Stacie could look back on all the reflections her group wrote and see if overtime the reflections get more positive.
Conclusion
Overall, collaboration is a useful skill that can not only relate to school, but to everyday life.
Credits
Michaela Gain and Mel Toetz