Team+Report+1

Due Date: 26 March Last updated 3/3/ 2010
You should know your team members, and a little bit about their background. The team should organise a problem solving plan and times and strategies for team meetings. All team members **will** understand and have used Harvard Style referencing. You should also have read and understood the University's definition and policy regarding plagiarism.
 * Aims of this project: ** At the completion of this project **ALL** team members should have an understanding of **ALL** of the following concepts:-
 * 1) Team goals and rules for cooperation;
 * 2) Strategies for effective teamwork and meetings;
 * 3) Develop a fair and comprehensive strategy for self and peer assessment to determine individual marks;
 * 4) The EWB projects; specific project choice and project plan to demonstrate mentoring and meeting personal learning and team goals.

**Weighting 15%**
It is imperative to submit by the due date. No extensions will be given. Each team will submit ONE copy of the Team Report. This is submitted by the team leader or nominated team member who will also keep a copy. This copy must be produced within 48 hours if requested. All projects are submitted electronically via study desk. Please read carefully the file naming and submission information. Project 1 sets the ground work for this course and future Problem Solving Courses. **The first project** covers the //mechanics// of team work and problem solving. There are 4 parts to project 1. Part A || Team Code of Conduct, Roles and Responsibilities || Part B || Team Meeting Strategy || Part C || Peer Assessment Strategy || Part D || Project Choice and mentoring plan ||
 * This project represents 15% of the total marks for the course. This equates to approximately 15-20 hours of effort //per student// and 120-160 hours per team. Your report should reflect this effort. **

Part A
3. **As a team** develop a Code of Conduct and Cooperation - the //rules// by which your team will work and the //responsibilities// and roles of team members. o You should also think about roles within the team – who will be leader? What other roles are needed within your team? What are the responsibilities of each of these roles. You should include the role of the facilitator. What are the consequences for failure to adhere to these rules? o Your reading for Topic 1 “Coping with hitchhikers and couch potatoes” discussed some problems that //may// occur in your team. As a team discuss how your team will cope with non participating members. Remember there is a difference between attending meetings and participating! Specific Resources and tips for Part A Roles have two major dimensions. There are the **behavioural** roles and there are **task** roles. You should discuss the task roles but you need to be aware of how individuals react in team situations. You also need to consider how your team will work if, for example there is no natural ‘finisher’ in the team and are there behavioural roles which will cause conflict in the team. The **behavioural** roles are how you work in a team. Are you the natural leader, or are you more comfortable doing tasks allocated? There are many resources online and in the library to cover this. One of the most well known is the Belbin Team Roles. BELBIN’S SELF-PERCEPTION INVENTORY FOR TEAM ROLE ASSESSMENT is a self assessment test which will help you determine your behavioural role within a team. However there are many others - what can you find which is useful to you? Also look at __[| http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm]__ The **task** roles ensure that everyone has a ‘job’ in the team, so that they have a way of contributing to the goal of the team. These task roles may change depending on how your team meets and operates e.g. distance teams will work differently to on-campus teams. What roles will YOUR team need to function? Task roles cover not only the leadership, but things like project manager, time keeper for meetings, secretary etc. Roles will vary from team to team, but you need to consider more than just the leader and assistant. Also remember that it is everyone's responsibility to ensure the team meets submission deadlines and team goals.
 * 1) Contact **all** members of your team via the team discussion forum. All active team members should place a welcome message on the //team's// forum (not the general or social forum)
 * 2) All team members should think about what is important for a team to function effectively. All members should share these ideas on the discussion forum under the appropriate thread.

Part B
1. Discuss and finalise a Team Meeting **//Strategy//** Specific Resources and tips for Part B The section is //more// than “we will meet at 7pm on MSN” or “at 2pm in the library”. On-campus and distance (virtual) teams will need different //strategies// to make the meeting efficient, effective and inclusive.
 * Decide on a method of regular communication – face to face meetings, time and place OR MSN, Chat, discussion forums etc (Your team may like to investigate Skype) . There is a team chat facility available on StudyDesk.
 * Discuss options for running your team meetings so that they are effective and efficient. These may have implications for your Code of Conduct e.g. come prepared for meetings, agendas etc. Try looking for resources in a library or on the internet on organising meetings. Remember if you use material like this make sure it is correctly referenced.
 * ** Remember the aim is more effective meetings but less of them! **
 * On-campus teams should consider: **
 * Agendas and minutes
 * Do you want a very formal meeting with a chairperson?
 * How will you let your facilitator know things like participation, outcomes, problems, progress…. etc
 * How will your facilitator monitor participation efficiently?
 * Distance teams should consider: **
 * How does a virtual meeting differ from a face to face meeting?
 * Remember not everyone has the same level of keyboard skills or knowledge about chat technology
 * Past virtual teams have reported difficulties with ‘staying on task’ and students ‘logged on, but not in the meeting’. How can you fix this?
 * How will you let your facilitator know things like participation, outcomes, problems, progress…. etc
 * How will your facilitator monitor participation efficiently? (is what you are doing visible?)
 * Online resources ** (and don’t forget the library is a great place to look for information. Our Faculty librarian, Sandra Cochrane would be happy to assist you!)
 * ** Choosing Media Strategically for Team Communications ** __[| http://www.groupjazz.com/pdf/choices.pdf]__
 * ** Mobilize Global Virtual Teams by Avoiding 8 Common Landmines ** __[| http://www.ittoday.info/ITPerformanceImprovement/Articles/Landmines.htm]__
 * ** Starting up a Virtual Team ( in particular the section on Communication Practices and Protocols) ** __[| http://www.teambuildinginc.com/article_virtual.htm]__
 * __[| http://biztoolkit.blogspot.com/2008/01/5-tips-for-effective-virtual-team.html]__

Part C
For the following reports your need will need to ‘peer assess’ team members and yourself and negotiate allocation of marks. Your team needs to discuss how you are going to recognise contributions so that marks are fairly distributed to team members. Team members should read how individual marks are distributed and be familiar with the team cover sheets. __[|Allocation of individual marks]__ Things you may like to consider are: Specific Resources and tips for Part C There are a lot of resources and information on peer and self assessment. It is important to develop a strategy that works for your team, is open and honest, allows for self improvement and perhaps can even be a little flexible to help cover unexpected personal circumstances. You could develop a standard set of questions to key areas of the teams work, develop a standardized scoring system and finally translate this into percentage contributions which will go on the cover sheet. As a guide you could start with this form (*.__[|pdf]__ and the *.__[|doc]__) and modify if required. Alternatively develop your own system.
 * // Participation // in team meetings (note participation is different from attendance)
 * Contributions of ideas and information
 * Tasks completed on time to a satisfactory standard
 * Asked for assistance when having trouble
 * Contributed to the team goal
 * Did more than just complete the allotted task

Part D
This semester the technical projects are being done in-conjunction with the EWB Challenge (Engineers without Boarders). See also  __[| http://www.ewb.org.au/explore/initiatives/ewbchallenge/backgroundinfo]__; [|2010 EWB Design Brief] Read the projects and documentation available. Look at the course objectives found in the Course Specifications (on StudyDesk). Think about the skills and knowledge you have that you can share with your team (from your personal learning goals) and discuss. How will you use them so that your all team members meet the objectives of the course and their personal learning goals? As a team decide on which project your team want to undertake.
 * Which project is your team going to do this semester?
 * Why has your team chosen this project?
 * How can all members of the team contribute to the project; how can mentoring and peer assistance take place in the team (sharing skills and knowledge) and how can all members be given the opportunity to meet personal learning goals?

Submission
Your report should be consistently formatted and presented in a professional manner.* It should be combined in the following order:
 * 1) team cover sheet with  //participating// team members and team number
 * 2) the team's Code of Conduct and Cooperation
 * 3) the team's strategy for meetings
 * 4) peer and self assessment strategy – strategy to determine individual % contribution to team effort
 * 5) Project choice, justification and skill sharing strategy.

All submissions are electronic and are submitted through StudyDesk ( Moodle, NOT EASE). No emailed or posted submissions will be accepted. XXX-Report1.doc Replace XXX with your team number , (eg: //Team01-Report1.doc//) || No zipped files Acceptable formats : *.doc; *.pdf ||
 * Submission must be by the due date. ** All teams should keep a complete copy of the final submission and be able to reproduce it with in 48 hours if required. A record of team meetings and log of communications should be kept by all students but these are not submitted unless requested by facilitator or examiner. Communication logs are not necessary if the majority of the work done by the team is completed on the wiki or discussion forums.
 * **File Name:** ||
 * **File format**: ||

Assessment

 * 1) Make reference to the specific assessment criteria
 * 2) Appropriate and consistent formatting
 * 3) Presentation*
 * 4) Grammar, spelling, & punctuation
 * ====Part A (40 Marks)==== || A workable and comprehensive Code of Conduct and Cooperation. This should include roles and responsibilities of team members and evidence that the team has give due thought to the //process// of team projects e.g. assessment of //positive// contribution//, active// role//,// and //fair share. Has your team discussed these aspects of team work?// ||
 * Part B (40 Marks) || A workable and comprehensive meeting strategy. This should include methods of communication and reference to organising and running meetings in the medium you plan to use e.g. if you are going to use chat facilities can all members access and use the software; how will you ensure all members have the opportunity to contribute even if their keyboard skills are week//?// How will you keep your facilitator informed of progress or problems ||
 * Part C (40 Marks) || Comprehensive peer and self assessment strategy to determine individual allocation of marks from the team project. ||
 * Part D (30 Marks) || Project choice, strategy for mentoring and demonstration learning goals. ||
 * Notes - Good presentation means appropriate headings, font, spacing etc

Additional Resources
Course Resource Book contains sections on: Word Processing Teamwork Referencing (Harvard style) __[| Harvard referencing - electronic copy]__ __[| Plagiarism]__ "Project Management and Teamwork" by K.A. Smith "Engineering Problem Solving" by A. R Eide et al – Chapters 1 and 2 Library __[| Books]__ in USQ library on writing and writing technical reports __[| The Learning Centre]__
 * Need help with writing? ** Try: