buy custom Small Team and Group Paper essay

buy custom Small Team and Group Paper essay Modern work environment incorporates a great use of team work because of the higher level of effectiveness in performance that team work offers to the organisation compared with separate individual contributions. Team work has been given immense importance in research studies, such as by Tuckman in 1965 relating to the stages of team development and work. It is crucial to set targets of the team, organise teams, assign roles and measure performance of the team effort. The main reason behind using team work in organisations is to benefit from the different perspectives and insights that each member contributes to achieve the targets but working in a team is not an easy task at first. Business schools for this reason prepare their students to work in teams and learn to work out differences and make the best out of each others strengths. Working in teams has allowed our groups to achieve the target we were given quite effectively and successfully and we have found that working in a team is nothing like working individually on a project. But most useful thing that has come out of working in a team is to get a hint of how formal group work takes place in organisations which we all will be soon taking part in. Our team progressed which comprised of 5 members through the five stages of team development based on the team development theory of Tukman. The first stage of forming began as the group first assembled and sat down to discuss the presentation assigned. The topic and related information that each member had about it was jotted down. Each member was asked to self-evaluate themselves relating to the grasp of concepts and based on the strengths of each, the roles were assigned informally and tasks were distributed. The group members were asked to further explore the topic and bring back to the next meeting any disagreement or contribution they have. The next meeting was much more heated with several disagreements as members discovered some new ideas and strengths for which they required separate tasks to be assigned to them. It was then understood that in order to settle down the disagreements a strong leadership was required and the one with the most effective communication skills and leadership skills, based on previous personal experience in the school, one of the members was chosen to be leader. This was the second stage : storming, where arguments were settled. The leader allowed the group members to choose the sub topics themselvs, and a coordinator was chosen to transfer information and bridge all gaps among the group members and using minimum authority and avoiding strict control the members were requested to transform their ideas into writing and paper to bring to the next meeting. In the next meeting, the leader evaluated each members work, in the form of drafts of the subtopics of the presentation. He evaluated the actual strengths and weaknesses of each member based on their work. The member were clearly communicated the evaluation and based on the analysis of the drafts prepared by each member, they were assigned new tasks, that is the subtopics that they were found to be better at. This resolved all conflicts and the team came into harmony. This was the start of the third stage: norming. By the end of this meeting, the leader gave each member the sources to make use of for gathering the information and requested each to use others if necessary and complete the content required for the presentation. This marked the start of the fourth stage: performing. Members were asked to communicate with the coordinator, with each other and the leader at all times so as to help each other out, when needed. The leader communicated by now that these two essential components are to be kept intact and should be followed. Communication allowed social learning to take form among the members. During the perfuming stage, the members benefited from communities of practice theory of learning. Lastly, it requires a practice. The practice implies the performance to achieve the goals of the domain. This theory was largely depicted practically when the team started to function. The members communicated to each other, sought help from others whom they thought knew about something they didnt and had access to a source they required to use for preparing their part. Some people had difficulty using powerpoint, which was settled by others who had expertise in that area. This allowed social learning to cultivate among all members. During the performing stage, several meetings were held, where each member showed and discuss his or her findings and progress of the work and allowed others to critique and suggest improvements. Viewing each others work, the members were able to improve their own work and learned how to better communicate. This allowed preparation for the presentation even before the preparation for preseenting had begun. Each member was given freedom to suggest and critique and explore new sources. This depicted the very important foundation of the management of the group which the leader had established in the earlier stage, empowerment. One by one each of us came up with excellent strategies for improvement and when the implementation period came, we were allowed to request any of the other members to assist us if we required any help. It taught an important lesson about empowerment. The final stage was adjourning, when we were ready to deliver our presentation. At this stage, the group understood and learned several of real organizational lessons. In the group work several problems were faced which related mainly to what to include and what not to include as upon hitting Google, we found that the brands were common in news, blogs, research journals, newspapers, etc. thus, to find out which piece of information was necessary and relevant for the paper and which wasnt was a challenge on its own. Our group leader was the most profound in this regard who created a system whereby each of us, with whatever information we obtained regarding the companies, was supposed to produce original reflections on it, and record it as we proceeded. By the end of week 1 of our research, we had gathered ample original reflections with their sources mentioned. These were peer reviewed to discover the ones not required and were discarded. When we began to prepare the report, the indiv idual reflections came in great use in producing a plagiarism free report and citation was also easily conducted. Being part of group work at three different areas, the group learned the successful traits of a leader, in terms of getting work done effectively from people to meet the deadline. The leaders job is not just to get the work done but to inspire the subordinates to do a work that is worth appreciating. Also, the team learned that through group work the importance of empowerment, and how well workers can work under decision making power vested on their hands and how well it eventually works out for the leader himself in the end. As the team progressed through stages namely: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning, a different form of group based learning and motivation took place which contributed towards the overall performance and accomplishment of the target assigned to the group. 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10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting

10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting Have you ever been in the middle of teaching a class, glanced at your students, and caught them staring into space? Just when you think youve created the perfect lesson plan or engaging activity, you may find that your students are unfocused and out to lunch. Yet its essential that you find ways to keep your classes interesting so your students can absorb and retain the information that you present. For decades, educators have been trying new teaching strategies to keep their students on their toes and get them excited about learning. Although some strategies have failed, others have been found to be quite effective. Explore 10 teacher-tested ways to keep your class interesting so your students will stay engaged all the time. 1. Incorporate Mystery Into Your Lessons Learning may be the most fun for your students when they dont know what to expect. Try to incorporate a sense of surprise and mystery into your lessons. When youre about to unveil a new lesson, give students a new clue each day up until the last day before the start of the lesson. This is a fun way to make your lesson mysterious, and you may find that your students are actually looking forward to finding out what theyll be learning about next. 2. Dont Repeat Classroom Material Its appropriate and essential to review classroom material, but try not to repeat it verbatim because this can make it less interesting for students. The next time you need to review material, try playing a review game during which you present the information in a way thats different from the first time you taught the students. The 3-2-1 strategy is a fun way to review and not repeat material. For this activity, students draw a pyramid in their notebooks and write down three things they learned, two things they thought were interesting, and one question they still have. 3. Create Classroom Games Whether youre 5 or 25, playing a game can be fun. Games are also a great way to keep lessons interesting. If your students need to remember their spelling words, conduct a spelling bee- a contest in which participants are eliminated when they misspell a word. Or if the students need to practice math, have a math bee, which is similar to a spelling bee, but with math problems or facts instead of spelling words. Games make learning fun, and games in class are a prescription for happy kids. 4. Give Your Students Choices One strategy that teachers have found to be effective is offering their students the ability to make their own choices when it comes to learning. Choice can be a powerful motivator because it helps to foster student interest and independence. The next time youre planning an activity, try making a choice board. Print out a tic-tac-toe board and write down nine different tasks for students to complete. The goal is for each student to choose three tasks in a row. 5. Use Technology Technology is a great way to keep your lessons interesting. Children love electronics, so try incorporating it into your overall teaching strategy. Instead of standing in front of the room and lecturing, try using a Smartboard interactive display. Expand your cooperative learning activity lessons by connecting to a classroom in another city or country via videoconferencing. Use technology in a variety of ways, and youll see the interest level in your classroom increase by leaps and bounds. 6. Dont Take Teaching so Seriously Being an effective teacher is an important job, but that doesnt mean that you have to remain serious in class at all times. Try to loosen up a bit and acknowledge that your students may have different interests and learning styles than your own. Its OK to laugh at yourself at times and to have some fun. You may find that your students are more interested when youre a little more relaxed. 7. Make Your Lessons Interactive In a traditional classroom, the teacher stands in front of the room and lectures to the students as the students listen and take notes. Unfortunately, this is not the most effective way to hold students interest. Make learning interactive by creating hands-on lessons that involve students every step of the way. Try using the Jigsaw cooperative learning activity in which each student is responsible for his or her own part of a group activity. Or try a hands-on science experiment. When you involve students and make your lessons interactive, your class becomes more interesting. 8. Relate Material to Your Students Lives Try to create a real-world connection to what your students are learning. This will give them a better understanding of why they need to learn what youre teaching. If theyre constantly asking you why they need to learn something and youre always answering with â€Å"because,† you will soon lose credibility. Instead, try giving them a real answer such as, Youre learning about money because in the real world, youll need to know how to buy food and pay your bills. By giving a straightforward answer, youre helping them make a connection between what theyre learning in class and how theyll use this information in the future. 9. Flip Your Lessons The flipped classroom has been gaining in popularity since the term flipped entered the broader education world in 2012. When it was first presented, the idea that students could learn new information at home and then come to school and use class time for critical thinking activities and reinforcement of concepts was unique. However, many teachers are using this strategy and achieving positive results. Students in a flipped classroom are able to work at their own pace (which is great for differentiated learning) and engage with their peers in a more interactive, meaningful way when theyre in the classroom. Try using the flipped teaching strategy for your next lesson and observe the depth of your students engagement. 10. Think Outside the Box Lesson plans dont have to include worksheets or lectures during which students sit and take notes time and again. Try thinking outside the box and plan a lesson thats completely out of the ordinary. Invite a guest speaker, go on a field trip, or take learning outdoors. When you try something new and different, theres a good chance that your students will respond positively. When planning a lesson, try collaborating with another teacher or taking your students on a virtual field trip. Learning that engages students is the most effective. Your students will find it more interesting to learn when you present the material to them in a variety of creative ways.