Simon and Elanor,
Yes, allowing and supporting the teams in self-management has been my goal
and practice. When they are lawyers, they’ll have to find solutions on
their own. In the past, I have only intervened when the team as a whole
has an issue and invites me to meet with them to brainstorm ways to
resolve a conflict that they haven’t been able to resolve on their own.
(That has happened once, when a student expressed a concern that voicing
issues in the team did not feel safe, and I offered to meet with the team
to help facilitate a safe discussion.)
In this case, though, Elanor, asking jeff may be a good choice.
~ Sophie
Sophie M. Sparrow
Professor of Law
University of New Hampshire School of Law
[log in to unmask]
603-513-5205
On 10/20/14, 4:19 AM, "Simon Tweddell" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Elanor,
>
>I¹d want to encourage the team to find ways of managing difficulties
>themselves first before intervening directly. I think these are very rare
>occurrences with the vast majority of teams self-managing without
>difficulties.
>
>Simon
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Simon Tweddell BPharm MRPharmS FHEA
>Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice
>Curriculum Development Fellow
>Centre for Educational Development
>University of Bradford
>Bradford
>United Kingdom
>BD7 1DP
>Tel. +44 (0)1274 235241
>Email. [log in to unmask]
>Twitter: @simontweddell
>Skype: simon.tweddell
>
>Accredited Consultant-Trainer in Team-based Learning
>
>
>
>
>
>
>On 19/10/2014 22:21, "Elanor Withnall" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>Is it too simple to ask Jeff if there is a reason he is not
>>participating?
>>Elanor
>>
>>Simon Tweddell wrote:
>>> Sophie,
>>>
>>> I was asked a similar question by a colleague using TBL in another
>>> discipline a couple of weeks ago. I¹d not had this problem before so I
>>> had to think about it for a day or two and discussed it with a
>>> colleague. Here¹s what we came up with:
>>>
>>> 1. Write an impromptu, discipline-related task (as an application
>>> exercise) that challenges the teams to solve a similar problem, but in
>>> the workplace i.e. looking forward to a time that they are in practice.
>>> This task might include others tasks as well but build in an
>>>appropriate
>>> problem e.g. a colleague in the work team that isn¹t pulling their
>>> weight or a client that won¹t engage or talk during a case
>>> review/hearing or a case that demonstrates the need for all team
>>>members
>>> to pull their weight in the workplace. A 4S case that challenges the
>>> teams to come up with a solution might create some useful class
>>> discussion afterwards and provide the team with some ideas. Jeff might
>>> even come to realise that actually the workplace is all about teamwork
>>> and reflect a little on his behaviour to date?
>>>
>>> 2. Consider using the ŒJeff Case¹ you describe below as an application
>>> exercise when introducing students to TBL for the first time in the
>>> future. Setting the teams a similar challenge about how they would
>>> engage with and challenge a possible ŒJeff¹ in their team will create
>>> some really useful class discussion and acts as a kind of preventative,
>>> pre-emptive strike in case there are any possible Jeffs out there. If
>>> someone isn¹t engaging later on in the course, then the teams might be
>>> able to draw on this discussion and handle this themselves, possibly
>>> just with the phrase Œcome on, talk to us, don¹t be a Jeff!¹ Deep down,
>>> no one really wants to think that they are being the ŒJeff' in their
>>>groupŠ.
>>>
>>> Hope this makes sense and good luck with Jeff!
>>>
>>> Perhaps you could share with the Listserv how and if this problem is
>>> eventually resolved?
>>>
>>> Best wishes
>>>
>>> Simon
>>>
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Simon Tweddell BPharm MRPharmS FHEA
>>> Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice
>>> Curriculum Development Fellow
>>> Centre for Educational Development
>>> University of Bradford
>>> Bradford
>>> United Kingdom
>>> BD7 1DP
>>> Tel. +44 (0)1274 235241
>>> Email. [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>> Twitter: @simontweddell
>>> Skype: simon.tweddell
>>>
>>> Accredited Consultant-Trainer in Team-based Learning
>>>
>>>
>>> From: "Sparrow, Sophie" <[log in to unmask]
>>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>>> Reply-To: "Sparrow, Sophie" <[log in to unmask]
>>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>>> Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 19:56:41 +0000
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]
>>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>>> Subject: Team dynamics problem
>>>
>>> Greetings TBL colleagues -
>>>
>>> I could use some advice.
>>>
>>> For the first time in the 8 years I have been using TBL, I have a team
>>> that is not working well. One of the team members (I¹ll call him
>>> Jeff-not his real name) does not talk to, make eye contact with, or
>>> engage with the team unless they are working on a tRAT. When they are
>>> engaged in team applications during class, he does not turn to face the
>>> rest of his teammates, does not contribute and does not listen to them.
>>> As with all students, he knows that team contributions count for 15% of
>>> the final grade.
>>>
>>> Context:
>>> This is a first year graduate US law course, and I am working with
>>>teams
>>> of 6.
>>>
>>> On this particular team, half the students have come straight from
>>> undergrad,and 2 of the others have worked for a while before coming to
>>> law school. Jeff is a bit older than the others, has a PhD in science
>>> and was educated in EU in predominately lecture-based settings. In his
>>> team he has voiced his dislike of all the assessments in this course,
>>> and said that he wished it were like some other law school courses,
>>> where the only grade is on the final exam.
>>>
>>> Students in this class have given and received anonymous midterm peer
>>> feedback (now 2 weeks ago). Several of the members of the team have
>>> several times come to talk to me about how to engage this student. In
>>> the feedback he received, Jeff was asked to participate more. That has
>>> not happened. The students had ideas about how to try to engage him
>>> more, and he has not been responsive. At this point, two of the
>>>students
>>> are very frustrated as they keep trying to get Jeff to work with them,
>>> but they are finding that they are spending a lot of time trying to get
>>> him involved when he appears to have no interest in doing so. They
>>>don¹t
>>> want to ³write him off² and not engage him during team applications,
>>>but
>>> they and I are not sure how best to handle this. A couple of team
>>> graded team applications are coming up over the next month, and we have
>>> 2 more tRATs to do.
>>>
>>> I am not sure how to respond to this situation, and would love your
>>> ideas and suggestions.
>>>
>>> Thanks much,
>>>
>>> ~ Sophie
>>>
>>> Sophie M. Sparrow
>>> Professor of Law
>>> University of New Hampshire School of Law
>>> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>> 603-513-5205
>>>
>>
>>--
>>Elanor Withnall, BVSc, MACVSc
>>Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
>>St. Matthews University
>>P.O.Box 30902
>>Grand Cayman, KY1-1204
>>Cayman Islands
>>British West Indies
>>+1 345 745 3199
>>+1 345 745 3130 (fax)
|
