Abstract:

The ability to form a fruitful working group, to lead a team or to play an essential role in a group are all important ingredients for academic promotion in modern universities. The objective of this activity is to plan collaborative work because it is an opportunity for students to develop their skills in management and communication.

First, students form groups of three or four people each one, where one of them is chosen as leader. The teacher proposes several tasks, in this case, about lab practices in analytical spectroscopy. Students must choose one of them and from then on they have some time to submit a script of the practice that they have chosen. Then, the teacher returns the script to students with corrections if it is necessary.

The next part of the work consists of planning the recording of a video in the laboratory while they perform and explain the practice they have chosen. They decided which material and reagents they need for carrying on the experiment to be recorded. An expositive part takes place in the classroom and all students resolve a series of questions about the video's content.

Finally, each team member checks off the statements that accurately represent their group. They find that team members encourage each other to interact and to take part in group problem solving and decision-making activities and to make decisions by consensus. The development of a laboratory practice allows understanding issues and criticize ideas for providing constructive feedback, and give the opportunity to develop communication skills.

During project management, team culture is improved and team members feel more connected. Collaborative teams are effective, discussions among students help better leaning. Moreover, students concluded that collaborative work has fun.

References:
[1] Doel, M. (2006) Using Groupwork. London: Routledge

Keywords:

Collaborative work, laboratory practices, communication skills, working groups.