Collaborative Discussion
Holly Kline
GEN 201
May 19th, 2014
Teresa Sanders

Collaborative Discussion

Collaboration is when a group of people work as a team or group on a task to achieve the same goal. Some ways collaboration can add value in a learning environment are by giving students a different perspective on the topic they are working on. Collaboration can help students learn to cooperate effectively in a group setting and can teach them the social skills they will need to be successful in everyday life. There are many factors that take part in collaboration, such as personal responsibility, difference in attitudes and difference learning styles. Personal responsibility can influence the work and success of a group if a group member does not take accountability for his or her work. If one or more group members are not taking accountability they will not put in the same amount of effort as someone who does have personal responsibility. This can cause a lot of frustration and tension among the group which will negatively affect the outcome of the project. When working with a group there are going to be different attitudes and learning styles among the team mates. A few communication strategies that can be used when collaborating are; making sure everyone is heard, voicing the importance of achieving goals on time and using a variety of ways to complete the project so that everyone has an equal learning opportunity. Some strategies that can be used to enhance team performance are setting clear timelines for when things are expected to be completed, being flexible when you need to be, making sure to listen to other people’s ideas and realizing that everyone is different so you need to value each person’s different strengths and utilize them properly. By doing this you allow everyone in the group the opportunity to enjoy working on a group project and obtain a grade you each deserve. When it’s all said and done collaborating with a team can be a really enriching and rewarding experience. As long as everyone cooperates and contributes to achieve the goal you can achieve anything.

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