Student Team Agreements Head Off Collaboration Woes

Madison, Wis.—Feb. 15 — When online students work on assignments in collaborative teams, conflicts inevitably arise, says Patti Shank, an instructional designer and principal of Learning Peaks, LLC. That’s why each team should draft an agreement that addresses potential conflicts up front.

Shank offered this and other advice to online instructors during the February 15 online seminar “How to Make Online Collaboration Work Well.” Shank recommended that team agreements answer the following questions:

1. Will the team have a leader and if so, who this will be, and will this role will be rotated?
2. How will work be distributed? Who will do what? Who is the designated backup?
3. What work style does everyone agree to?
4. Any known problems or problematic dates/times that need to be factored in?
5. When and how will the team “meet” and communicate with each other? How often?
6. How will iteration and version control get handled?
7. Who will post team deliverables?
8. How will team members provide constructive feedback to each other?
9. How will team members handle work that is sub par, incomplete, or not done?

Shank also recommended that instructors offer feedback on these agreements, highlighting where they are too general or too soft. Instructors should ask for revisions until the agreements address each concern effectively, Shank advised.

“Until everyone gets an A on this assignment, it’s not done,” she said.

If you missed the February 15 seminar and would like to order a transcript or CD of the event, visit http://www.magnapubs.com/catalog/cds/599667-1.html.

For more information, please contact David Burns, publisher, Magna Publications, Inc., at 608-227-8109 or dburns@magnapubs.com.