Collaboration is a necessary skill—we have to find ways to teach students how to both collaborate and how to successfully navigate the social, political, and cultural nuances of collaborative work.
Below are a series of classroom activities that addresses the fundamental disconnect between the group project assignment and preparation to collaboratively work on a team, while preparing students to effectively work together. These exercises facilitate low-stakes, team-oriented learning that mimics problem solving in the workplace.
- Choosing Collaboration Tools
- Collaborative Drafting Exercise
- Procedural Writing: Soup Exercise
- Defining Collaboration Exercise
- Venting Exercise
- Conversational Mixer Exercise
- Strengths and Weaknesses Activity
- Technologies for Collaboration Exercise
- Small-Group Debriefing Exercise
- Role-Play Activity
- Gantt Chart Exercise
- Team Charter Worksheet
Additional Resources:
- “The Virtual Work Skills You Need”
- The Virtual Work Skills You Need PDF
- “A Beginner-Friendly Guide to Work Breakdown Structures”
- Beginners Guide to Work Breakdown Structures PDF