Teamwork & Technology

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Course Information:

  Career Cluster: Engineering & Technology Education

  Program Name: Integrated Technology Studies

  CIP Number: 08220233EX

  Course Name: Exploration of Engineering Technology

  Course Number: 8600060

  Course Type: Orientation/Exploratory

  CTE Benchmarks: 

  49.02    Maintain a positive relationship with other team members.

  49.03    Document progress, and provide feedback on work accomplished in a timely manner.

   

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Teamwork Case Study.” See CPALMS resource ID# 208992.

   

• Career Connection

  
  

  This lesson helps students hone their skills in problem-solving, communication, leadership, and collaboration.

   

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Discuss how to work collaboratively as a team.
  • Identify strategies for preventing and addressing conflicts within teams.
  • Identify technology tools that support team member communication and document team progress.

   

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with:

  • A basic understanding of organizational and communication skills.

   

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • Why do teams need to work together to solve problems?
  • How can technology be used to keep a team on track?
  • How can conflicts be avoided in teams?

   

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, ask students to respond to the first three questions on the worksheet independently.

  • Walk the classroom to confirm all students are working.
  • After five minutes, ask students to spend ten minutes sharing their responses with their classmates by calling on students individually. This will be a teacher led whole class activity.
  • Write student responses on the board to help avoid repeat responses and encourage student participation.

  2. Provide each student with a copy of the case study “Teamwork” (see CPALMS resource ID #208992) and the accompanying Teamwork Worksheet (see attachments).

  • Instruct the students to individually read over the case study for the next five minutes. As the students read the case study, they should underline and number the instances in the case study, “Teamwork,” that might lead to conflict.
  • Ask students to determine if the team demonstrates positive relationships. 
  • If students are uncertain of where to begin, ask them to consider how communication, collaboration, and team roles may alter the effectiveness of teamwork.

  3. Next, place students in small groups of 3 to 4.

  • Students should, as a group, list on their worksheet the top 3 conflicts that they found within the teamwork scenario of the case study. This is question 4 on the worksheet.
  • These conflicts should be issues that were caused due to poor communication (lack of positive relationships) within the team.

  4. Tell students to then research technological solutions to each problematic aspect of the case study. This is question 5 on the worksheet.

  • The students’ solutions should include technological tools that improve communication and collaboration within teams.
  • Give students the remainder of the class period to research different technological tools and complete the worksheet.

  5. To close the lesson, ask students to share with the following with the class:

  • • the technological solutions that their group developed for each of the problems they identified in the case study.
    • how each solution can help the team maintain positive relationships.
    • how the team can use the technology to track their progress and improve communication. 

   

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Place students in small groups to ensure that they all participate.
  • Post time limits for each segment of the lesson.

   

• Optional

  
  

  Extension Ideas:

  • Assign students to small groups (3 to 4) to create brief presentations. Students should include a short summary of what they learned from the case study, their research on collaboration tools, and a documented use of those tools in their presentation. Their conclusion slide should answer the following questions. Why are teams used to solve problems? List 3 examples of communication conflicts that might occur in a team and the strategies you would use to solve them.