Teachers may make use of language 

clarifying teamwork issues and requirements.

 

“Team As Support”

                             Exploring a New Classroom Design

            (for more fun, better learning and grades, workforce development and more)

1. WHAT IS THIS COURSE ABOUT?

Our class will team up with a team of faculty as well as with another Kingsborough class for the purpose of investigatinga new approach to teaching and learning and contributing to a book that will be published about this approach.  As students – and especially as students experiencing, reading, discussing, debating and reflecting upon “Team As Support” in this course – you, more than faculty, are the ‘experts.’ 

Yes, you will be organized into “Teams As Support.”  That way, you can write from the direct truth of your experience. Yes, you will ask questions, locate relevant readings and interview students from other “Team As Support” classes.  You will also, however, dialogue with the team of faculty and present your ideas, observations and conclusions to this faculty team since you and your learning outcome and experience are really what the research is all about!!!  As I wrote above, more than faculty, you are the “experts” in this important research!

The key question we are asking in this larger project that you are now a part of, is whether “Team As Support” enhances the overall learning experience of the student.  What features work really well and which do not?  Does it:          

1. lessen isolation of the online student

2. create better academic outcomes

3. add to student satisfaction and pleasure

4. create a more student-centered class

5. enhance skills you will need after graduation in the workforce

6. improve your collaborative skills

7. improve your leadership skills and confidence in yourself as a leader.

8. give you a sense of belonging and community

9. reinforce values of civic engagement

10. support you and/ or other members of your team through rough periods

of life that could affect grades or even allow you or your teammate to complete the course?

11. support students who work or who have heavy family responsibilities

12. bring you deeper and more fulfilling relationships

           with your peers.

13. provide you with more opportunities for taking initiative.

         How will this “investigation” happen?

We will be organized into permanent semester-long teams along the principles of this approach.  We will read, write, debate and explore different aspects of our experiences and interview students from other classes who are also organized into “Teams As Support.”  You will meet with the faculty team that is also exploring these very questions to deepen their insight into your experiences and thoughts.

Some of the topics we will look at include:  the importance of “psychological safety” within a team; the situation of the working student; of the online student; the effects of covid during and after the pandemic on students; what happens when “control” for learning shifts from the professor to students and their teams? These are only some of the questions that we will be exploring.

This is also a course in writing. 

What is “voice” in a piece of writing?  What does your “voice” sound like in a piece of writing.  How is “voice” different in a letter from “voice” in a newspaper article, a short story, or a scientific article. How does the person you are writing for (your audience) influence the “voice” in which you write?

Notice that the details you use to illustrate a point will depend on your audience: are you talking to your best friend or addressing an audience of administrators at the college?   Language appropriate for one situation may not be the most appropriate for a different situation.

• WHAT DOES THE TEAM DESIGN OF THIS CLASS LOOK LIKE?

         In this class, students are organized into permanent teams that remain together

throughout the semester.  There is a rotating Team Leader and the overarching goal of teamwork is to make a difference in the lives and classwork of your teammates.

In other words, your job, as a student in this class is to support your teammate and make a difference for them in this class.  Teams will create a team name and be connected through a social media platform/ chat group of their choice. Teams will include a Chief Technology Officer to offer support to members of the team on college related tech issues.

On the first day of leadership, as the new Team Leader, you will submit your “Possibility”: a couple of sentences identifying two goals for the week:  one, academic and the other, related to the bonding of your team.

On the final day of your leadership, you will submit an “Outgoing Team Leader Report,” perhaps only two paragraphs long. In the first paragraph you will write about the strengths and weaknesses of your team. In the second paragraph you will  write about your own creative interventions on behalf of your team during the week of your leadership.

Research supports the key point here that the highest levels of performance are achieved where teams create powerful bonds of trust and support.  According to the research, when you create strong, trusting and generous teams and support your teammates, you will wind up with a far better outcome in your course including stronger grades, more fun and deeper fulfillment. 

Hey, is this just too good to believe?  Is it true?   That is what you and your team will dive into and investigate.  This is the subject of our investigation this semester.

Most of the research done thus far has been in the field of business/ leadership/ management and in the field of psychology.  We are now applying this research to the field of education and Higher Ed, specifically.  We are trailblazing!

• WHAT KINDS OF READING, WRITING AND RESEARCH WILL WE BE DOING?

         We will be doing a lot of personal as well as academic (more formal) writing.

We will do reflective writing, letter writing, class journals, logs, interviews, and formal papers/ essays. Some of our writing will undergo revision. We will learn the drafting process and we will look at the conventions or “rules” of correctness that apply to academic writing and to the writing of essays.

We will be reading articles on our theme as well as two pleasure books of your choice. You will be doing original research in locating additional readings on the issues under discussion.

A final drafted essay will explore your research journey and findings over the semester.

• WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO CLASS?

There will be a final portfolio of several pieces of your writing which will be read on a pass/fail basis by another professor.  It will include essays written in drafts, in particular, your final essay mentioned just above.  Be consistent and engaged through the semester and you will pass the portfolio.

• HOW WILL OUR SEMESTER BE ORGANIZED?

In the first part of our course, we will review documents clarifying “Team As Support,” how it works and familiarize ourselves with its key underlying ideas: possibility; support and breakdown as the path to breakthrough.  We will read  articles about the key principle of “psychological safety” and examine this concept based on our own experiences in life and on those of our teammatess. How is our performance affected by feelings of safety and, on the other hand, by feelings of being judged and of fear?  Different teams will present research on questions of isolation for students in asynchronous classes and programs. We will look at the effect of “internal” vs “external” locus of control in the classroom and at issues affecting working students and students with family responsibility. We will brainstorm and reflect on the question of how to increase the levels of trust within a team.  We will talk about what “workforce development” should and can look like in a college classroom.  In what ways does “Team As Support” contribute to skills you will need when you join the workforce after graduation?  We will ask the question, does a sense of community and belonging contribute to physical health, mental health and wellbeing?  Why?  How?  Is this true?

Part two of this course will continue to look at these questions but also interact with and interview students from other ‘Team As Support” classes. We will meet with and present our thinking to the faculty team working on these same questions.

Part three of this course continues our exploration but will also focus on your final essay: on your own research journey over this semester and the insights and conclusions you have drawn. I would love to have some of your essays submitted for publication to Scepter, our student newspaper. And I am hoping that your ideas and writing can, with your permission, be of value for the book that the faculty team is planning.

• WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS COURSE?

1. Most important: an inquiring mind and willingness to explore, experiment and

share.  I will add: attendance, your creative engagement and commitment.

• Teamwork:  As a member of your team, your job is to support the members of your team throughout the semester.   All work handed in to me will include both your name and the name of your team. There will be a team grade that will include team quizzes and presentations.  Your team grade will include a calculation of your own level of contribution to your team.  If your team earns an A but you only contributed 80% toward that A, you may wind up with a teamwork grade of a B or B+.   If your team earns a B but your contribution is 120%, you may indeed have an A for your teamwork grade.

• Team Leader:  This is a very important role.  What will your special focus be for the week that you will be a Team Leader?   What difference will you make for your team in the week of your leadership?   It is the job of Team Leader to reach out to students who are absent with homework and to let them know what happened in class and to check in to see if they need support in any way.

• Binder:  you will need a 3 holed binder for your organized in the following

               5 sections:  assignments; class journal;  logs, drafts and essays; notes.

• Logs: a log is a reflective piece of writing given as homework and numbered. 

Logs are about two pages in length and are submitted to me periodically. It is typewritten and double spaced with one-inch margins.

• Two Pleasure Books:  You will read two pleasure books that you can’t wait to

read!  If the book is not terrific, you must drop it and find another. To have the leisure (much less the requirement) to read books of your choice is a gift that is all too rare, especially for the college student. For those of you who are not sure as to what genres or writers you enjoy the most, this course will be an adventure in discovering lifelong favorite genres and writers. An in-class essay will follow the reading of each pleasure book.

• Final Portfolio: The work of this course – both the reading and the writing

–  will culminate in a final essay (3 drafts are minimum) focused on your own research journey, discoveries, and conclusions you have drawn from your experiences over this semester. The essay will reflect your growth as a reader, as a writer and development in critical thinking over the course of this semester.

• HOW ARE FINAL GRADES CALCULATED?

*Attendance, effort, focus and timely completion of assignments will factor into my calculations.

         Teamwork:                    30% of your grade.

         Logs and quizzes:           20% of your grade.

         Essays                           50% of your grade.

**Note: your teamwork grade takes your “Contribution of Effort” into consideration.

• ARE THERE ANY POLICIES TO BE AWARE OF?

1. Absence:  Text your Team Leader of another team member if you will late or absent to class.

• Emailing me:  When emailing me, the subject line must include your name, the number of the course and the topic of your email.   Follow the conventions of letter writing and correctness.  Begin your email the way you write a letter, “Dear Dr. Fridman.” End your email as you would in a letter, “Sincerely yours,” with your name directly under. Edit your email for spelling, paragraphing and grammar.

• Communication: Please keep me abreast of any situation that interferes in your work for this class.  I am your professor but also your partner. Communicate with your team. How can they support and help you?  Make powerful requests of teammates!  And help your teammates make powerful requests of you.  I will be holding office hours weekly but am happy to speak with you over the phone at any time.

• Academic Integrity – Plagerism:   When using the words or ideas of another person, honesty and academic custom require that you identify the source of those words or ideas.  Not doing so is a form of lying that is called “plagiarism.” When quoting another writer, use quotation marks.  The college takes disciplinary action in cases of plagiarism.

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