CREATIVITY AND TEAMWORK

Working together fruitfully.

CONSIDER THIS 01 Make a film you really care about… To get to this point as a group you really have to spend quality time and open up with each other.

Do you really care enough about your idea to spend hours and hours making it and then editing it?

If you don’t care enough, don’t be afraid to throw away the idea and start again.

It’s almost always the case that the most compelling and gripping storytelling comes from the investment and intimacy of real experience.

CONSIDER THIS 02 Don’t depict scenes of graphic violence unless you are drawing from personal experience. If you think this is limiting, think about the fact that what we imagine / don’t see is often more evocative than actually seeing something.

Try to minimize your use of scripted dialogue. If you can’t figure out a way to tell your story without constant talking, this might indicate that you’re not thinking visually enough. For each line of dialogue, try to imagine a way to communicate the same thing with images alone. There may be some places where dialogue is indispensable, but a well-chosen image can often communicate your ideas much more eloquently than words.

Details really make a difference, so spend enough time and plan ahead to get the details right. Don’t film in your flat just because it’s there. Don’t just settle for filming with your mates because they are around. There’s no substitute for thoughtful, careful casting of people who enjoy acting, and atmospheric locations that work visually.

Eradicate clichés! Be hard on yourselves and try to catch elements in your work that seem hackneyed or derivative.

THE NEED FOR FIRST-CLASS GROUPWORK… Your career success will largely depend on your ability to work effectively with people who have different perspectives, attitudes, and backgrounds than you.

One of the most challenging and important skills you will be asked to develop during this project is that of effective teamwork.

The basis of good teamwork is a shared desire for the team, and not just individuals, to excel.

WHAT IS A SUCCESSFUL TEAM? Effective teamwork does not mean avoiding conflict; it means:

1. Drawing out all viewpoints and ideas2. Commitment to informed debate and

analysis 3. Active listening 4. Ability to give constructive feedback 5. Openness to changing one’s mind 6. Management of conflict If your team is “getting along” quite peacefully, it may actually mean that you are not thinking critically as a team.

Acknowledgements:Conference Board of Canada. Employability and Innovation Skills 2000+, summary from http://galileo.org/tips/rubrics/t-c_rubric.pdfSinetar, Marsha. (1991). Developing a 21st century mind. New York: Villard Books.Also, Texas A and M University.

FOUR SIMPLE PRINCIPLES Active participation Shared decision making Ability to adjust to circumstances Using diversity to build strength

IF MEMBERS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE PROJECT IS…

Poor Medium Good Very GoodThe team does not define the task and few members participate actively. There is no follow-up.

Team informally defines the tasks but not all members understand them so not all members are able to make meaningful contributions. The follow-up is sporadic.

Team clearly defines the tasks to be accomplished, assigns aspects to various members andanticipates future needs. The team engages in follow-up activities to monitor progress.

Team has an extensive project management plan that outlines the tasks to be accomplished, resources that are needed, due dates, assigned aspects to various members and anticipated future needs. The team engages in regular follow-up activities to monitor progress and provide feedback to team members.

IF MEMBERS PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING IS...

Poor Medium Good Very GoodBecause there is no decision-making process, individuals make decisions, and they do not reflect the thinking or the desires of the team.

Decision-making procedures were established informally, leading to inconsistency in implementation and a failure to involve all members in decision-making.

Clear procedures for making decisions are established and clearly articulated. Decisions, the process by which they were made, and the involvement of members are also clearly articulated.

All team members mobilize personal strengths to set forth their ideas and to negotiate a fit between personal ideas and ideas of others, using contrasts to spark and sustain knowledge advancement of the entire team, acknowledging that each member has a significant role to play and personal responsibility in decision- making.

IF ADJUSTMENT TO CIRCUMSTANCES IS…

Poor Medium Good Very Good

The team seems to be thrashing about. Activity plans (if they exist) are unfocused, and thus there is no ability to adjust and make corrections.

The team is not always able to adjust as needed to meet goals. Realization of the need for mid- course corrections sometimes comes too late.

When working to achieve goals, the team is able to adjust plans as needs arise. There is a clear understanding of the nature of mid-course corrections and why they were needed.

Team members know that working to achieve goals requires flexibility in thought and action, being creatively adaptive, “unfreakable”in the face of challenging problems and changing situations.

IF THE TEAM’S USE OF THEIR DIVERSITY TO BUILD STRENGTH IS...

Poor Medium Good Very Good

The team atmosphere is competitive and individualistic rather than cooperative and supportive.

There is a general atmosphere of respect for team members, but some members may not be heard as much as others. Acknowledging others' work is serendipitous rather than planned. Some members may not feel free to turn to others for help.

Every team member is treated with respect. All members listen to all ideas. The work of each person is acknowledged. Members feel free to seek assistance from others or to ask questions.

Team members recognize each other as legitimate contributors to the shared goals; they build on each other’s ideas and take responsibility for the overall advancement of knowledge of the team. They see diversity as a strength that helps to strengthen the overall outcomes. Team members encourage diverse points of view, openly negotiate emerging understandings and provide and accept specific feedback to and from each other to improve team processes and project outcomes.

ACTIVE LISTENING AND GIVING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK (1) Team members’ opinions are not what you want. What really matters and what will advance your project is your analysis of choices and issues. Here analysis is distinguished from an opinion in that it involves use of evidence and/or use of criteria in decision making.

Instead of formulating a response in your head while others are speaking, listen to them with the intent of understanding, then paraphrase what you think they said. Repeat until you get it right.

ACTIVE LISTENING AND GIVING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK (2) Constructive feedback depends upon the following realizations: each of us can be an expert on our own feelings and on how other peoples’ behavior affects us, but we have no idea of other peoples’ feelings and how our behavior is perceived by others.

Try using the following method when giving feedback to others: When you/we… (FACTS of observable behavior, without judgment or exaggeration)…I feel…(explain how their behavior affects you)…because I…(explain connection between observable facts and your response). I would like…(describe the change you would like to see)…because… (why you think the change will help). What do you think?... Listen to response, ask for and give clarification, discuss options, and agree on a solution.

FREE-RIDERS…A free-rider, in economics, refers to someone who benefits from resources, goods, or services without paying for the cost of the benefit. The term "free rider" was first used in economic theory of public goods, but similar concepts have been applied in other contexts, including collective bargaining, antitrust law, psychology and political science. Have you ever experienced a free-rider in group assessment?

IF THINGS GO WRONG – THE TWO CARD SYSTEM…(1) Students want a fair assessment of group work. Probably the two most common problems which occur are social loafing and free riding. Social loafing is when an individual exerts less effort when they pool their work towards a common goal than when they are held individually accountable. Free riding is when an individual collects the benefits of group work without giving an equal contribution. Free riding is essentially the most extreme version of social loafing.

If students find that one person is not pulling their weight, they should give that person a deadline to reform. If there is no reform, they should contact the tutor, who may issue a 'yellow card' demanding that the student reform, again within a timespan.

IF THINGS GO WRONG – THE TWO CARD SYSTEM…(2) If the student reforms, the yellow card can be rescinded. In an extreme case, if the student still does little to contribute, the group can apply to the tutor for a 'red card' and a student can be removed from the group and given an appropriate one person task to submit.

If a yellow card and not a red card is in place at the end of the submission, the student will be marked down from the group mark by 20 percent.

Note the responsibilities that the remaining group members should take – they should try to reform the individual, they should apply for the first sanction and they may apply for the ultimate sanction.

ALL IS FAIR… People who fail to show up for work or who fail to perform useful work in their job are fired.

If there are no yellow or red cards, the presumption will be that all group members worked equally and an equal mark will be awarded for the project. The option of the red card is not a desirable outcome as the student will have a steep task to perform.

The sanction system is based on the application of two academic papers to our circumstances at UH. Those papers are available in Teaching Resources.

Abernethy, M.A., and W.L. Lett. 'You are fired! A method to control and sanction free riding in group assignments'. Marketing Education Review 15, no. 1: 47–54, 2005

Maiden, B and Perry, B. 'Dealing with Free-riders in assessed group work: results from a study at a UK university'. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36:4, 451-464, 2010.