Working in a group

Team Dynamics and collaborative method

    In webinar 2, group 4 talked about team dynamics and collaborative methods or practises and how they can be used in teaching. The topic gave rise to discussions regarding how people collaborate with one another in a group. Carlos discussed various phases of group development how you give importance to what other members of the group propose and at the same time propose what you have to offer and thus create a balance. Ideally, this should be the case that everyone considers group work to be a collective responsibility and does their share of work but unfortunately this does not happen always. 

    In this regard, Pablo shared a very good example from his teaching experience that in some cultures, people are looking for a leader to take decisions for them and to tell them what they are supposed to do. This is not how a collaborating group works; everyone is expected to take responsibility of their own learning and play their part in the group discussions and lesson planning. So that when the final product is ready, you could feel pride in taking the ownership of the thing that you created together with your group.  

Image source: 1024x638 Group Work Clipart (clipartmag.com)

Why Groups?

        In case of contact teaching where you meet the people (teachers and class fellows) on regular basis, so it's natural to talk to people, make friends and discuss problems. But when it comes to online learning, it is necessary to have a small group or inner circle with whom you discuss, plan and interact and thus feel part of a community and group. The idea of making students plan together in small groups is very thoughtful on the part of the mentors as being in the group reduces the feeling of isolation and introverts like me can also survive. 

Initial feelings

        For me, a group is like a little family, who has same goals for the activities and the members are supposed to help each other in overcoming any shortcomings, to fill the gaps and thus to progress and grow together. When we started planning as a group for our very first webinar, I felt excited and thrilled as I was looking forward to getting to know more about the group members, learning new things from them and sharing ideas with them. As a team/group, we are thousands of miles away yet connected through technology and are able to do things together, lend support to one another and thus project unity. The feeling that if you fail to understand something or to do something, there are people who would share their expertise with you and have your best interest in mind, was overwhelming. 

    Initially, working as a group, by taking into account the schedules and availability of group members was working fine. Yes, we were facing challenges and hurdles but working together we were navigating well. We had our first group meeting on Tuesday, 6th September 2022. It was our first-time meeting Fatima as she was not present for the start-up days on campus. Though I talked to her on call through WhatsApp, but I too was seeing her for the first time. That day, we mostly talked about how we are going to proceed further, what materials to consult and how to share our knowledge. Exploring Teams further and looking into how it functions, we practiced sharing screens and recording the meetings. We decided on a shared online space e.g., a folder in Google Drive to drop in any related materials that we can find about the topic and go through it individually and later discuss during the meetings. Further means of connecting with one another are:

• WhatsApp group for easy access
• Teams shared group for group meetings
• Teams messenger for sharing pictures/links during meetings

    Yes, sometimes in a group there is a chance that people have contrasting ideas or techniques and ways of doing things but as adults and future teachers we can overcome these differences by debating about them, discussing them and finding solutions. Sometimes your schedules are contrasting, or the time difference plays its role, but the group dynamics demands to solve the problems by sharing ideas and discussing. We try to keep in touch as much as possible and inform others about any individual progress or setback that we face. A very useful idea that helps is recording the group meetings for those who are away for one reason or another. The person who is away should listen to the recording, give his/her feedback about what others did and share own ideas about what could have been done differently and that too with some time to spare. 

    Again, thinking about priorities and the degree of importance given to a group task may vary among individuals as people may have different goals regarding the outcomes of this course. Although the group meetings are not supervised by the mentors, but we are all adults here who have voluntarily signed up for this program; so, we have to make a special effort to find time from our busy schedules for the group meetings and tasks. 

    In the end, I would say that despite all the challenges, I am thankful that I have met these amazing people who have helped me grow and I love working with them in a group. I have learned a lot from my group members and working closely in a small group has resulted that our chemistry has improved a lot and we have created a safe space for us to talk, share and discuss work related or otherwise matters. I would say that this technique of collaborative learning is proving beneficial in promoting intellectual growth and wellbeing.