Alright, so this week we were asked to read an article about teamwork within online courses. Apparently someone noticed how we college online students work and made some observations. This smart man decided that there are commonly 4 types of students that emerge; there is the Martyr, the Excuse-Meister, the "Breathless in...", and the Silent Partner. Each group was assigned a type of student and was required to come up with 3 strategies that can help prevent or limit this type of student from occurring within teams. We were given the Silent Partner.
Here is an excerpt from the article about the Silent Partner:
The most problematic is the "Silent Partner." The Silent Partner is not really a partner in any meaningful sense, other than he expects to receive the same credit as the other team members, though he has been absent from much of the team process. He prefers to let others carry the load and then appears at the end with his tale of woe. I see "going silent" as a group member’s top transgression. It is a significant source of stress and frustration in groups and the top source of intra-team conflict in student projects.
The next three suggestions were created by our fearless leader, Jason Nagata :) He's carried our whole group together throughout this entire semester so he would totally know how to deal with a Silent Partner.
#1: Teams need to set ground rules. Rules that include a weekly meeting time whether it be face to face or online. These weekly meetings will be mandatory and will be used to discuss forums and project information. Teams should also have a project calendar. Having one will help reduce time spent on reminding the team about what is due. This project calendar will also keep the group on task and up to date.
#2. Teams need to have good communication skills. Team members need to have an open line of communication and be responsible for each other. If a member is not participating in the weekly meet up and is not responding to emails, texts messages should be sent out to make sure each member is in the loop. In a sense, team members should not allow anyone to be 'going silent.'
#3. Be understanding and encouraging. We agree that emergencies arise and some members won't be able to contribute from time to time but amount of excuses should not pile up. Teams should set their own rules for the amount of excuses that are allowed. After that amount is reached then the team can contact the instructor. We rather have Excuse- Meister's than Silent Partners because at least we wont be chasing after a ghost. :)
Yup, so that's how we would deal with a Silent Partner. Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!
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