Why team roles in Collaborative Online International Learning can help students achieve more
One of the key features of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is that students can work together in teams. When students come together intending to be a team, sometimes effective teamwork doesn’t emerge from the group. It can be a challenge to support each team. The role each student plays affects the team’s success.
Sometimes roles emerge spontaneously. Inventories like Belbin Team Roles can help explore these. Indeed.com notes that understanding these nine roles recognises the need for a considered mix in any team.
“A balanced team is one with a mix of individuals, with strengths that complement each other and help offset any gaps other people may have in their skill set.”
There is a cost to giving time and focus to studying the concept of roles. Whether this is suitable depends on the nature of the course. A simpler approach is to assign pre-defined roles. SCALE-UP, a form of problem based learning, invites educators to assign students one of three primary roles: the Organiser, the Recorder, and the Questioner. Bigger teams might incorporate other roles. Applying this to COIL means students might understand better their purpose in the team and can contribute through the role’s lens. It might help avoid applying a schema tailored to individual study.
As in education, effective teamwork in organisations continues to be a key area of focus. Graham Garman, in 6 Reasons to Have Different Roles In a Team and Why You Must Define Them. Emphasises the point:
“When you have a team that each has a clearly defined role, the members will be able to align and function highly effectively together. Tackling problems that may arise and achieving end goals will see this collaborative unit not only survive, but thrive. This is critical for your business to succeed as failure to define these roles may leave members feeling lost and tasks uncompleted.”
For COIL to be a collaborative experience for students and educators, it can help to understand complementary team roles. These can help a team achieve their learning goals. As in COIL, we also work collaboratively in teams in our organisations. For the teams that we belong to, it might help for us to take pause and consider what roles do we play to help our teams to success.
