March 18th Meeting

Present:   Lea Fridman, Midori Yamamura,  MaryLynn Navarro, JoAnne Meyers.

At our first session, we referred to the attached “Instructions
for Teamwork.”    This document provides an overview of “Teamwork
as Support” that is important for teachers and also useful to distribute
and discuss with students at the outset of the semester.  It is attached
below.

We reviewed key elements of this system all of which are framed
within a concept of “support” and of making a difference in the lives
of teammates:

1. the use of permanent teams. (many teachers find organizing teams
alphabetically easiest for record keeping).
2. Teams create a team name and create “chats” on WhatsApp or any
platform of their choicer
3. a weekly rotating Team Leader
4. guiding concepts of support;  of possibility;  and of breakdown and
breakthrough.

We spoke about two more important points.  We talked about the research
by Google and others that show that the level of trust created within a
team is the best predictor of performance.   Where teammates trust one another
and are comfortable reaching out, students will have stronger academic
outcomes.  Support, generosity and non-judgment within teams enhances the academic
success of students

We also spoke about the concepts of breakdown and breakthrough.
Screwing up on an exam or as a team (or even as a professor) in small and
big ways is simply part of life.  But teaching students to take charge of a
“breakdown,”  to identify what went wrong, to identify what actions are
needed for a real and meaningful “breakthrough,”  this is an invaluable
lesson.  If a student can recognize that they failed a quiz, not because
they are a poor student but because of a time management issue, this is
invaluable knowledge that requires action and that can lead to breakthroughs
beyond the quiz to other areas of life.

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