Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Coach, Referee, Defensive Lineman or Quarterback: Group Dynamics

I have always used groups in my classroom for collaborative purposes. These arrangements are often assigned (subtly) by need or student organized depending on the goal and desired outcome. Students team up to just discuss and analyze a topic or to complete an assignment or lab activity. Regardless of task, every time individuals take on roles these positions go much deeper then leader and follower. Speaker and writer. Organizer and cleaner. They should be more equal rotating roles and even overlapping parts with the expectation of the caucus. I have watched many a group reach optimal cohesion, with inclusion and cooperation of all members but I have also seen many teams fail because a splinter group emerged or a lack of leadership left the ensemble fractured.

How can we let students figure out these roles? As the initiator of the circle or coterie I simple give an overview of expectations and goals. The rest I allow students to design and implement. There are always several students who want to be the "owner" of the knowledge. The seeker of information while others sit idle and await their information. This is a tough role to eliminate as many students see this as the leadership role. But, I always tell them in our society of scholars, these mini-legislatures are not organized around a leader, they are democracies with equal voices. Thus, the main character role I call "coach." That way they are not taking charge but rather reiterating and streamlining the data for the group. Calling the plays but not participating in the game. They see the big picture. With the end goal in mind, winning the game, they map out the path to success, keeping notes and discussing progress.

The referee is the post of procedural technician, making sure the goals of the task are being followed, all voices are participating and heard, and finally the member who can throw the flag on the field to keep the team from going astray. Keeping the team focused until the final play of the game. The referee, like the coach has a leadership role embedded in it, but also one of follower or listener. It is important that every member has a time to shine and have many opportunities to let others on the team to shine as well. This role is all about keeping things in order, like a well-tuned organizer, anticipating errors and being proactive to prevent as many as possible. Following the directions to a tee. Keeping the members respectful and responsible.

The defensive lineman of the group watches the field of play, the game or task, and gathers materials, organizes (by protecting the goal) and gets the team energized to complete the game. They are the member who keeps the rest of the team safe. They make sure safety rules are being followed, all members are completing the lab report and or answering the questions. They make sure every member is fulfilling their role because if one member does not, the team will not function properly. The most important task of the defensive lineman is to make sure no one is copying another team members work, that equal effort means individual results. I mean the statistics (final score) of the game should be high and the game played with integrity.

Finally, Quarterback, the leader of the team in football but on this team, the doer. The one who is hands on (like with the football) and solves the problem, conducts the actual experiment, types the notes or records the podcast (at least the narration). They always think at first this is the leader, but I always say observing, listening, and documenting is far more important then performing. So let the quarterback be hands-on while the rest of the group is eyes on and ears on. These roles change every day during a PBL or project allowing each team member the chance to listen, do, record, observe, lead, and focus the team to achieve the winning touchdown. Each role, even though they overlap, feels congruent and therefore students feel more communal and less role oriented. Coach- always keeps the big picture in hand and how to achieve it, Referee-keeps the rules and steps organized and in focus, Defensive lineman-observes, nudges in the right direction, records the plays, and Quarterback is full on participant, at least for a little while so the other three members can watch the replay, call time outs, and ultimately cheer about the progress and achievement of the team.



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