Kate, I have a great exercise that I borrowed from David Green, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University. The "Four Corners" exercise comes from Sylvia Hurtado at UCLA and can be found in Therese's (2009) book, Teaching What You Don't Know. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Here's a brief overview of the exercise:
1. Put the following four signs up in different corners of the room: Talk a lot; Wait until I have something to say; Mostly listen; Take a contrary position.
2. Read out the four corners and ask students to sit at the table nearest to the sign that best represents the way they engage/behave in teams/groups.
3. Ask the students in each corner to discuss WHY they tend to engage/behave this way and WHAT bothers them about being in groups/teams.
4. When questions have been answered (about 10 minutes), have students in each corner report out to the other students in the class. I tend to write the reasons and pet peeves on the board for all to see.
Talking with the students about communication styles has been enlightening. For me, it helps me understand students and why they tend to clam up or contribute in class. In fact, I've learned that the mostly listen group, tends to learn more. The challenge for this student is to learn how to share that knowledge. This exercise raises awareness of the need for students to self-manage in teams. I also use this information to create diverse teams (balance students who tend to talk a lot, mostly listen, contrarians, and wait until I have something to say). I have also noticed that students tend to have more empathy and support for each other in the team and class after I do this exercise. This is particularly helpful for ESL/International students who "mostly listen" because they cannot keep up with the fast pace of the English language. With respect to changes in student behavior, those who tend not to talk or talk too much contribute far more or less than they would without this exercise. The contrarian, which is a rare breed in my experience, is valued, rather than frowned upon. The majority of students, those people who typically wait until they have something to say, tend to speak up earlier and take on leadership roles within the team rather than abdicating them to the "talk a lots", who will gladly assume any and all leadership roles!
All in all, I find it a very useful exercise for avoiding dysfunctional team problems.
Yvonne
Yvonne D. Harrison, PhD
Assistant Professor, Public Administration and Policy
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
University at Albany, SUNY
518-442-4001
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-----Original Message-----
From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katie Alexander
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 12:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: dysfunctional team
Hi everyone,
I have a dysfunctional team and I'd like some advice. We just finished our first application exercise of the semester. Four out of five team members approached me after class to talk about one of their team members. They are frustrated because this team member immediately dismisses everything they say. He went ahead and reported during the application exercise with the answer he wanted rather than what the rest of the team came to consensus on. After that he stopped contributing completely and remained silent for the rest of class with his head on the desk (the other team members must have ostracized him). Apparently his behavior is already extreme and this is the third week of class. I'd like to intervene immediately and create a positive experience for everyone involved and make sure all students are respecting the contributions of others. Any suggestions?
Best,
Katie
Katherine Alexander, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychology Department Founders Hall: 431 Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 10-12, Wed 11:30-12:30 & by appointment
College of Mount Saint Vincent
6301 Riverdale Avenue
Riverdale, NY 10471
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