Keeping Online Groups Dynamic, Motivated, and Enthused!

Many students have never taken an online course or have not had one where teamwork was employed, thus many aspects of it will be foreign. It's very important that you discuss teamwork, broadly, in your first posting of the class, but also follow this with another posting that only emphasizes and explains teamwork—this one-subject posting lets students know how important it is and they will not lose it amongst other aspects of the class. Be sure to use the active voice and active, involved verbs—this “feel” only adds to the overall importance you place on teamwork and its value.

This is important, for several reasons. First, it fosters group interaction—the more involvement with one another in a group the more the students will work as a group, and the ultimate end assignment of the group will be the better for it. Second, it offers an area where external excuses—such as, “I e-mailed him but received no response,” “I called but failed to connect,” or “We e-mailed, but now we have to contact the others in the group—don't exist, as all in the group are part of the class. Third, by having a place to discuss the group project each person is more inclined to be involved for all can see who is/is not contributing. Of course, remind the students these group discussion threads are part of overall class participation, and thus the more involved in the group the more it helps their grades!

Students need to know that their teamwork responses cannot be merely “I agree,” “That's cool,” “Nice job,” and the like—yes, short responses can certainly be part of group work, but the ideal teamwork thread will have all team members involved, each offering substantive posts (both proactive and reactive), and about 30% short reactive postings. Copying and posting a previous team's thread that offers what you seek in your class will give them a nice guide—so much more effective than simply your description! Of course, be sure to explain why the posts arte good, where areas were not so good (and why), and what was the end result of that group's efforts. (IMPORTANT: Be sure to block out or leave out any names of students.)

It is important there be one person who has the responsibility for coordinating the group with all facets a group sometimes needs: following up on individual assignments, motivating the group and individual members who may be slacking, sending in progress reports to the online instructor (important for the instructor and as a component of group dynamics), and setting deadlines for components of the group project. Too, the group member must be willing to let the instructor know if someone is not pulling his or her weight.

This is an important feature of helping to motivate and engage all members of a group to be active, for a member's grade can be negatively impacted if he or she does not contribute as much as other members of the group. And while the instructor can see the involvement—or lack of it—in group discussions the full extent of work going on behind the scenes in putting together the group project will only be known by the group members, thus it is important to have a group leader who can take charge—and who has no problem in motivating members when necessary and letting the distance learning instructor know of any problem members.

You cannot be merely the “teacher observer,” but rather you need dive in as well: respond to some of the posts, offer suggestions, give kudos when appropriate (but never chastise one student “in front” of the other team member; rather, do this in a private e-mail), make sure to redirect a group when it appears to go off track. Yes, they are functioning as an autonomous unit, but your presence is important for information, motivation, direction, and enthusiasm. By doing this, the students can see that you walk the walk, not just talk the talk—and a combo of your presence and what you offer will truly help enthuse them to stay active in teamwork!

So many examples from the corporate, governmental, and educational worlds exist where a good OR poor decision, product, rule of law, et cetera have come about—and often the reasons why the group efforts did or did not work are also given. Posting these to your students remind them that what they are doing is not simply an exercise in the class for a grade, but rather an important part of everyday professional life. Also, it reminds them of benefits the classroom teamwork offers on the outside, including working together, new ideas coming out of group interchanges, interacting with varied personalities, overcoming hurdles, and making team decisions. And don't be shy about offering those bad examples —it's just as important for students to understand what can happen when a group does not effectively work together, especially when the reason for the failures are listed.

A great way to get students more involved in a class, and to bring a team in a class to life, is to ask students for their group involvements in other classes and on the job. Here is where the examples you post are greatly expanded and brought to life in a way you can't, for as students contribute their stories—complete with the plusses and minuses that came out of their group experiences—it offers more ideas for all groups, reminds the class members of real-world experiences in teamwork, and makes for a greater camaraderie in the groups. (As where to do this: in a general discussion thread or as a thread in each group discussion.)

There will be a variety of teamwork problems that pop up: team members not contributing, being too bossy, using negative language, personally attacking other team members; technical difficulties with postings, late postings, misunderstanding posting requirements or procedures; students who complain about their teamwork grade, about other team members, or your comments regarding their team postings—the list goes on. By posting a list of these, and your suggestions for each, at the beginning of the course you will cut down—tremendously—on student “teamwork e-mails” to you!

No group will begin with equal over-the-top participation and enthusiasm from each group member; one or more may be shy, hesitant about working in a group, or simply unaccustomed to sharing ideas. When these students contribute it's important to pick up on an item in their posts and use them as a positive example for the group—this instills more confidence in the “shadow” students, thus resulting in more engagement and contributions on their part.

Scour the team postings regularly and gather those that extend beyond that one team but can benefit the entire class—in teamwork or any other areas of the course. Two items are accomplished: first, students will love to have their “genius” team postings used for the entire class as great examples; second, you will be demonstrating the importance of teamwork—and both are great motivators!

These will be items you harvest from groups throughout the course that are so golden they can be used from course to course to demonstrate great ideas that came from group work; to motivate students in teamwork or another portion of the course; and to offer suggestions, insights, and info for this, that, or another course portion. I have so many that they are broken into categories—including “Great Metaphors and Analogies”—and they prove very helpful as motivational or information “dust” sprinkled throughout a course.

Beyond your opinions and observations on postings during group work, be sure to post websites, anecdotal info, hardcore info, and the like that is specific to the teamwork approach in creating a product, solving a problem, or developing a proposal. Not only does this show you are actively interested in teamwork but you are also going “the extra mile” with solid items that can make a team's efforts—whether it a team project or a team discussion—better.

In most online courses, student questions to the instructor are usually not posted in a teamwork thread—but this will not prevent students from doing so. Often, these are spur-of-the-moment, emotion-filled questions—the kind that necessitate the quickest of responses. Be on the lookout for them—and let your students know that all questions, comments, et cetera posted or sent to you will receive a response within 24 hours. (Don't single out teamwork: if you do, you are inviting students to post questions to you there!)

You never, ever want to give the appearance you are a “rah! rah!” supporter of teamwork because it is your job or only for the first part of a course; students quickly pick up on this. Group work—properly executed group work—is a crucial component of any class, and you must remain its most ardent cheerleader not only in words but in deeds … from day one to day last of the class.

Remember: A building is only as strong, functional, and elegant as its structural components allow it to be.