Team-based learning holds great promise for preparing students to do well in academia and the workplace, not to mention as a student in cooking competitions. It is a teaching method that requires students to assume some responsibility for the course material, and in the process help themselves and one another to learn. In addition to learning the course objectives that are established by the instructor, students can learn the secondary objective of how to work effectively in a team.
However, it has been my experience that students cannot simply be placed in teams to accomplish course objectives without guidance from the instructor. Students initially dread the idea of working in teams because their previous experiences with “group projects” have been truly unpleasant. For example, I once asked 53 undergraduate students to anonymously write down what fears and concerns they had about working exclusively in teams to accomplish the course objectives in one of my courses, especially when their grade would be tied principally to the performance of their team. The basic fears that students had of working in teams was a) having to deal with slackers or lazy team member, b) over-controlling members or perfectionists, c) being able to meet outside of class due to schedule conflict, d) poor cooperation or member conflict, e) puncutality of members to scheduled meetings, and f) the desire to work alone and not part of a team.
I have found that one of the best ways to calm the fears and concerns of students is to have them establish a team charter once they have been formed into teams. To begin the charter exercise I have the teams write down everything they did not like about working in teams on projects in previous classes. I then emphasize that they are now empowered to develop a charter that eliminates the problems of past teams and establish a mission for the team that they can accomplish together. In the team charter, I require the students to properly address the following elements:
1. A team name that unifies the members in a positive manner.
2. A team mission statement that is as focused as possible using one that is considered one of the best and authored by John F. Kennedy prior to the first manned mission to the moon – “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.”
3. Clearly defined jobs with a job description that will organize the team to accomplish its mission and complete the required assignments and activities that are found in the course syllabus.
4. Code of conduct that will establish team values such as honesty, integrity, being prepared for meetings, and so forth. The team also establishes a disciplinary procedure to deal with those students who violate the team's code of conduct, which may include the termination of members.
5. Conflict Management and Resolution. Each team is to spell out the procedures it will follow to handle the conflict that may arise between teammates during the course of semester (possibly through a conflict mediator).
Once I have reviewed and approved a team’s charter, all members are required to sign it. Once signed, the team charter has the full weight of my course syllabus. Team’s may add, modify, or delete items in the charter as the semester progresses as long as all teammates and I are made aware of the changes.
In sum, team-based learning holds great promise for preparing students to do well in the classroom and kitchen, as well as the world of work that awaits them upon graduation. I have found that team-based learning is far more effective when the students are prepared to work together as a team to ensure they effectively accomplish course objectives and earn the grade desired by the majority of the team. The team charter is one such tool that will increase the probability that students will embrace, as opposed to dread, the notion of working in a team. For more detailed information on the team charter please send an e-mail to Mlalopa@fooded.org
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