7 Understand the Principles of Effective Teamwork
Alice Macpherson
Now that you have identified what you hope to achieve through teamwork in your learning community, consider how you will form effective teams.
Five Basic Elements of Effective Teams
Effective teams share five key characteristics:
Positive Interdependence |
Members believe they are linked together; they cannot succeed unless the other members of the group succeed (and vice versa). They sink or swim together. |
Individual Accountability |
The performance of each individual member is assessed and the results given back to the group and the individual |
Group Processing |
At the end of its working period, the group processes it’s functioning by answering two questions:
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Skills in Communication |
Necessary for effective group functioning.
Members must have – and use – the needed leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills. |
Promotive Interaction
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Members help, assist, encourage, and support each other’s efforts to learn.[1]
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Complete the quiz below to strengthen your knowledge of the five elements of effective teams.
Now that you understand the characteristics of effective teams, move to the next section to discover how good teams develop and grow through their life cycle.
- Johnson, D., T. Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom (Vol. 47). https://doi.org/10.5926/arepj1962.47.0_29 ↵
