6
Understanding the Principles of Effective Teamwork
Now that you have identified what you hope to achieve through teamwork in your learning community, consider how you will form effective teams.
Figure 6.1: Elements of effective teams. Illustration by Jessica Tang.
Effective teams share the five key characteristics outlined in table 6.1.
Table 6.1: Effective Team 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 its functioning by answering two questions:
• What did each member do that was helpful for the group?
• What can each member do to make the group work better?
Skills in communication
These are necessary for effective group functioning. Members must have—and use—the needed leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills.
Promotive interaction
Members help, assist, encourage, and support each other’s efforts to learn.*
* R. T. Johnson and D. W. Johnson, “Active Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom,” The Annual Report of Educational Psychology in Japan 47 (2008): 29–30, https://doi.org/10.5926/arepj1962.47.0_29.
Complete the following quiz to strengthen your knowledge of the five elements of effective teams.
Now that you understand the characteristics of effective teams, move to the next chapter to discover how good teams develop and grow through their life cycle.