During the previous semester, most of our projects didn't involve group work, with most of the students working on their own. However, this semester turned everything around, with all the CEG modules requiring us to work in teams.
What does teamwork mean? To me, teamwork is being able to work well together with other people, putting your trust in each other and producing a final product that we all agree on.
Working in a team is a lot different from working by yourself. First off, there's the increased pressure from the other team members relying on you to complete your individual portion since each delay would affect the next section. For example, on a previous group project I worked on, there were small delays on each member's section. In the end, we had to rush the essay out after working overnight on it, leaving little time for editing.
Furthermore, teamwork requires you to be able to communicate clearly with each other. How else would you be able to work on a project together if you are not able to understand what the others are trying to do? I certainly wouldn't want to be getting apples after spending an hour describing to you how an orange looks like.
So how do you communicate clearly? While MindTools points out several stages during the communication process, I believe that the choice of the channel of communication is the most important.
I'm sure most have experienced the exasperation of trying to talk to someone in a noisy area. This obviously is not the best method of communicating at that time. Thus, this is why I believe one of the more important aspects of clear communication is the choice of the communication channel since it will affect how clear your message is. It furthermore has the added effect of changing the importance and formality of your message. Imagine SMS-ing your professor asking him for help!
Language can also be included as a channel, since it is a medium for information. For example, when I was studying in Thailand, the people there had some trouble understanding me, as I spoke quite fast and in English, which they were not experienced in, and vice-versa when they speak in Thai to me.
In summary, I find that being able to communicate clearly and being able to work in teams are important skills to posses. With programs getting more complicated and larger, without these skills, it would take a long time to get these done!
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I had a similar experience with individual work last semester. I took the freshmen seminar and had to complete three reports and two presentations (all individual work). We did suggest to our professor that teamwork may be an alternative approach. Since we are going to have many team projects this semester, I hope we can apply what we have learnt and would be able to reap its benefits.
ReplyDeleteAgree! A good channel for communication can really bring the message across very well. But i do have to add that sometimes, text messages are more effective then emails as that person would, receive the message immediately. I , for one, SMSes my mentor.
ReplyDeleteHi Rayner,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the channel of communication is important and an appropriate channel must be used depending on the situation. I think it is alright to SMS your professor IF you know him well and have a healthy relationship with him. So i guess it also depends on how well we know the recipient. As for the little challenge you faced during your team project, I think its a common issue. Delays by each individual can slow the team down but that is why it is called a TEAM right? During challenging times, we should pull together and look out for each other.
Hi Rayner,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you enchanced your post by citing examples from your personal experiences. I also had an experience when someone was using Singlish while talking to me and I wasnt able to understand it completely. I think that when we are dealing with professors it is better to write an email to him. An SMS is an informal way of communication and is more preferable when dealing with people you know well. Good job!!
Nitika
Hi Rayner,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how communication and teamwork are important in our study, as they affect directly the result of our project work, which is done as a team. I would like to add a few more points, that these skills we possess are also important to many other aspect of life as well. I hope you will be able to reflect on this as well :).