It is crucial to foster leadership in the classroom because it enables kids to acquire vital abilities and traits that will serve them well throughout their lives. One of the most important abilities we can give our pupils is the capacity to operate together as a team.
Being able to work with others is likely a significant predictor of success in both the international schools in Riyadh and the professional world. However, several obstacles to good teamwork may prevent our teams from developing synergy.
The most frequent problems we’ve observed students having trouble with are listed here, along with some solutions. Ultimately, students can reap significant advantages from working more group-based and supportive in the IB international baccalaureate.
Trust
Lack of trust is among the biggest dangers to team cohesion and productivity. Members who don’t have enough faith in one another might not be willing to communicate important information or assign tasks inside the team. Members may ultimately decide to pursue their interests rather than collaborate to achieve a shared goal as a result of this.
Members unsure of their roles or the part they are expected to play within the team may lack trust in one another. Therefore, it’s crucial to be clear about the team’s objective so that everyone is working towards it and the members’ expectations of one another.
Asking kids to create a team charter is a helpful strategy to clarify intent and standards. This job will clarify concerns like workload distribution and the best communication methods and handling issues as they arise.
Clear Communication
Meetings and constant communication, the foundation of group initiatives, enable team success. We advise students to create an agenda and encourage idea-sharing in a setting that values respect and creativity to make meetings operate well.
Even heated disagreements can be kept civil by respectfully disagreeing with a concept rather than criticising the speaker, which encourages the expression of more views and member contributions. Members must believe their opinions are acknowledged, respected, and taken seriously.
Students should be conscious of their strengths contributing to the team effort when creating any charter or creating team norms. Please encourage them to think back on previous team experiences and evaluate their roles, considering what worked well and what could have been better, as one method to assist them in doing this.
We can make use of already-existing team role models. The Belbin Team Inventory Test is a well-known strategy that categorises potential team member responsibilities into three groups: thinking-focused, task-focused, and people-focused.
Students can determine the best methods to contribute to the team and any potential weaknesses by polling themselves and their teammates. They can then decide how to work together to fill these gaps.
Coordination
Before the start of work in student-led groups, deadlines are frequently approaching. The team should be encouraged to elect a leader at the start of the project to guarantee proper coordination and work planning. A decisive leader may keep discussions on topic during meetings, ensure they don’t veer off topic, and provide helpful criticism to the other team members.
A study journal can help keep track of progress and allocate upcoming responsibilities. The study log could also be required for team submissions that analyze teamwork to determine contribution scores—finding kids who are not performing as well as they could also help.
Handling weaker members
We advise the student teams to be compassionate while interacting with individuals who don’t perform as well as the majority. A student is not participating because they are still learning what is expected of them or the task they are doing is not a suitable fit for their abilities.
This situation might benefit from improved communication. Review the working arrangements and adopt a more transformational leadership approach where the group’s success is valued above each individual’s success.
In conclusion, students may need help to function as a team. Even the finest intentions might be derailed initially due to a lack of clarity regarding expectations and the possibility of mistrust among members.
We suggest providing students with a solid foundation in the Belbin test before allowing them to apply their learnings in real-world situations. We think that by assisting our kids in learning how to plan, communicate effectively, and — probably most crucially — dispute openly and civilly without disparaging the character of other team members, we are building the groundwork for future projects that will be even more successful.
Teachers can give students chances to take on leadership responsibilities in the classroom by assigning group projects, offering peer mentoring, or planning class events. Effective tactics include promoting open discourse, active engagement, and helpful criticism. Teachers may help students develop into well-rounded people who are confident, competent, and empowered to contribute to society through developing their leadership skills.
