Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes	Part B: The GPS Team
10 minutes	Part C: Your Own Personal Qualities And Skills
15 minutes	Part D: Teamwork Guidelines
5 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by explaining to students that at school (or work) when we have a task to do we can either work individually or in teams to complete the task. Some tasks are more suited to individual work and some are suited to teamwork. And some group tasks go really well and some are much more challenging.

Invite students to work individually to complete the following activities (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Think of a time when you participated in a group task that went really well. Think of at least five keywords that describe how you felt about this experience.
Think of a time when you participated in a group task that was challenging. Think of at least five keywords that describe how you felt about this experience.

NOTE: The group task could relate to something in the classroom, playing team sports or participating in an activity at home or in the community.

Step 2.

Once complete, create a table on the board with two columns. Label one column as ‘Team task goes well’ and label the other column as ‘Team task is challenging’. Invite students to share some of the key words they thought up for each experience and write these key words in the relevant columns of the table. Work with students to group words into themes, such as emotions or outcomes.

Try to discourage students from spending too much time describing the experience their words aim to summarise. Instead, lead students to the idea that teamwork can be both utterly frustrating and completely uplifting. The aim for successful teamwork is to create conditions where you have more uplifting experiences than negative ones.

In this lesson students will be thinking about how they can create successful teamwork experiences in the future.

Part B: The GPS Team

Step 1.

Explain to students that although some people seem to be better suited to teamwork than others, the truth is that everyone has skills and qualities that are valuable to a teamwork activity. Understanding our skills and qualities can make the teamwork experience more enjoyable and successful for everyone.

Take a moment to invite students to suggest what the difference between skills and personal qualities might be. Record student ideas on the board, and work together to create a definition for each.

In addition, invite students to suggest some examples of both personal qualities and skills.

Use the following information to clarify or guide students:

Skills - a skill is something we do well that we learned to do. This could include things like coding, drawing or researching.
Personal quality - a personal quality is like a personality trait. They are things like patience, curiosity or positive thinking.

Note: It is important to emphasise that any of us can adopt a growth mindset when it comes to our skills and qualities. Although some of us might be more naturally attuned to certain skills or qualities, all of us have the ability to expand and build upon our lesser developed skills and qualities.

Step 2.

Students will now explore how different skills and qualities can benefit a teamwork experience.

Differentiation:

Where students have completed the Tuning In lesson (Tuning In To Global Problem Solvers):
- Remind students of the animated series - Global Problem Solvers - that they were introduced to. Invite students to share what they remember about this series.
Where students haven’t completed the Tuning In lesson:
- Distribute a copy of this factsheet (Background Information - Season 2) to pairs of students and invite them to read through the factsheet together, making a note of anything they find interesting or important.
- Explain to students that in this lesson they will be exploring a problem that is based in a part of North America. This problem will be identified and discussed by the characters of an animated series called Global Problem Solvers:
- “A massive hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. Internet video star Ivy Stormcatcher enlists the help of her friends, the Global Problem Solvers, to devise a solution for students whose schools have shut down as a result. The team develops a solar-powered, emergency classroom kit that will allow a teacher to create a ‘pop-up’ classroom at a shelter. The Global Problem Solvers just need a few small things for the kit to be successful: drivable roads, some sunlight, and a dry, quiet space to conduct a class.”

You could share the trailer for Series 2 with students:

(Source: https://vimeo.com/273541111)

Step 3.

Explain to students that the Global Problem Solvers (GPS) work as a team. Each member of the team has particular skills and qualities that contribute to the team's success. Share the following clip with your students, and as they watch invite them to record anything they find interesting or important about the team and the way they work together in this clip:

(Source: Global Problem Solvers: The Series - Episode 1.1: The Team, https://vimeo.com/259753202)

Once complete, invite students to share their observations.

Step 4.

Students will now work collaboratively to analyse the GPS team in more detail. Break the class into pairs or small groups and direct each group to Part B of the Student Worksheet. There they will find questions about each of the GPS team members.

Watch the clip again, and stop at the timings below. Each time you stop, invite students to work in their pairs/groups to discuss the skills and qualities each team member brings to the GPS team using the following questions (suggested answers included):

Timing	Questions	Suggested answers
Start to 1:00	Putri is a team builder. Why is her role important? And what personal skills and qualities might you need to be an effective team builder?	A good team will be made up of people who have a range of different skills and personal qualities. A team builder needs to have the ability to bring people together, to make space for everyone to share and participate, and to guide the team. This is like a management role: people in this role need to be very organised and be a good communicator.
1:00 to 1:33	What skills or personal qualities does Beela have? Can you describe this skill or quality? Why might this skill or quality be important to a team?	Beela has digital skills. Digital skills are those that involve digital technologies, and include being able to do things like coding, programming, robotics and communication. Having someone who understands the various uses of digital technologies can be very important for the success of a project; they can see opportunities where others might not see them.
1:33 to 1:59	What skills or personal qualities does Adrien have? Can you describe this skill or quality? Why might this skill or quality be important to a team?	Adrien's skill is creativity. Having someone who can think creatively is important to a team because it means you have someone who may be able to come up with and apply new ideas, see existing things in new ways, and see or make new links that lead to a positive outcome. Again, people who think creatively will be able to identify opportunities where others might not see them.
1:59 to 2:22	What skills or personal qualities does Satoshi have? Can you describe this skill or quality? Why might this skill or quality be important to a team?	Satoshi is good at critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to “recognise or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned conclusions, and use information to solve problems.” (Source: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/critical-and-creative-thinking/) This means you are good at analysing problems and thinking deeply about them. Critical thinkers are important to a team because they can identify possible issues or challenges, which can then be addressed before they become big problems.
2:22 to 2:46	What skills or personal qualities does Kelile have? Can you describe this skill or quality? Why might this skill or quality be important to a team?	Kelile has a strong sense of social consciousness. Social consciousness can be described as having an awareness of important social issues (issues that affect people). Some examples of social issues could include homelessness, bullying or unemployment. People who have a strong sense of social consciousness are usually very empathetic, and are able to put themselves in other people's shoes. This is important to a team because you have someone who can see how your ideas might benefit, or can help your team to take action to address any potential harm.
2:46 to 3:10	What skills or personal qualities does Christina have? Can you describe this skill or quality? Why might this skill or quality be important to a team?	Christina has an entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurial spirit is an attitude of actively looking for opportunities for change, rather than waiting for change to happen. Rather than accepting how things are, someone with an entrepreneurial spirit might look at how things could be improved, even if this requires taking a risk. Having someone with an entrepreneurial spirit means that you have someone who is looking for ways to actually bring your project to life and to see ways for it to be successful.

Once complete, take some time to work with students to clarify their answers using the suggested answers above. Through this process, ensure that students understand that there are many skills and qualities that are important to teamwork; valuable qualities and skills are not limited to the ones identified in the GPS team.

Part C: Your Own Personal Qualities And Skills

Step 1.

Students will now explore their own personal skills and qualities. They should talk to two other people in their class, taking it in turns to suggest some of the other person's skills and qualities.

Students should ask each other: Can you share one of the skills or qualities you have noticed about me?

Each student needs to record what the other students have said about their skills and qualities; they can record this information on the Student Worksheet. And no repeats! Students should find new qualities each time.

Step 2.

Once complete, each student needs to then identify one skill or quality they know about themselves (either one suggested by a peer or one they identify for themselves) and record this on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3.

Now direct students to the table under Part C of the Student Worksheet. Each student needs to record the skills or qualities they have recorded about themselves in Column A of the Student Worksheet.

Then they need to think about how these skills or qualities would benefit a team activity. They should record these benefits in Column B.

Step 4.

Once complete, invite students to share their work with a peer. Encourage students to add new ideas to the table and to offer (kind) suggestions to others.

Part D: Teamwork Guidelines

Step 1.

Now explain to students that even though everyone has something important or valuable to bring to a team, working as a team comes with challenges. It can be difficult agreeing on ideas, and making sure that everyone has a role to play and gets the chance to contribute. But these challenges can be planned for and can be overcome if we create a set of teamwork guidelines; in this way, everyone in the team knows what is expected of them and knows what they should be doing to ensure the success of the team’s project.

Working as a class, invite students to look at the following potential challenges that teams may encounter. Students need to work collaboratively to suggest actions to address each challenge (suggested answers included):

Challenge	Suggested actions to address the challenge
Everyone talking at once	Take it in turns to talk Make sure you listen to other people instead of just trying to say what you want to say
Some people talking more than others	Take it in turns to talk Make sure you listen to other people instead of just trying to say what you want to say Always check that everyone has had the chance to contribute to a shared conversation
Not being able to agree on ideas or what to do next	All major decisions need to be agreed upon as a group Make a list of major decisions and respond to them collectively Build in time to check in how everyone is going
People not being sure of what they should be doing	Build in time to check in how everyone is going Allocate roles at the start of the project, such as manager, scribe or thinker (see suggested list of roles here) The manager/leader can remind people what they should be doing
People not having the chance to do what they are good at	At the start of the project allow time for each team member to share what they would like to be able to do, what their strengths are - but remember that sometimes to get a project done we just need people to chip in even if it isn’t their strength or something they are particularly interested in
Some people feeling left out	Make sure everyone has the chance to contribute by allocating roles and allowing people to speak All major decisions need to be agreed upon by the group
Not being able to remember what was agreed upon	Make sure you keep notes of what decisions were made and who agreed to do what tasks The manager/leader can remind people what they should be doing
Trying to complete a task/project as a team that isn’t realistic	Before beginning a project, make sure it is realistic and that you can complete it in the allocated time frame and with the resources you have available

Step 2.

Break the class into groups. Each group needs to create an A4 sized document titled ‘Teamwork Guidelines’. This should include tips for working in teams identified by the class.

Once complete, make copies of each document so that each person in each group has a copy of the guidelines created by their group. Students should keep these guidelines somewhere they can be easily accessed throughout the remaining GPS lessons (and other group activities).

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to respond to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What did I learn about teamwork in this lesson?
What did I learn about how I can contribute to a team?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Cisco GPS - Building a Great Team

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