Up
Review & Prep SEDI M2
SEA TW Institute
Report instructions

Simulation & Gaming:
An Interdisciplinary Journal

+++

Teamwork

Instructions for doing end-of-course reports

drafts: 10 Oct 2012; 19 Dec 2012; 13 Dec 2013

Work in the teams in which you worked during the workshops.

If you were part of more than one group, then you need to work with each of your groups.
If you were absent for a session, then you need to mark "absent" in reports for the session(s) in which you were absent.

The grade for the teamwork course will be given for the team, with individual variations (see below).

Each team must prepare a portfolio as indicated below.  It may be in English or in French or a mixture of both languages.  Write one single document for each team; all team members contribute.  Do not do the sections that have been crossed out (strikethrough).

• Your end-of-course report may include a section containing your SEA project proposal (if you did this).

If some instructions below are not possible to follow, then use your common sense and make a responsible decision to do it differently (and explain why very briefly).

For your report you will need to relate your course work to the various team concepts that have been developed by research and scholarship (eg, complementarity, objectives, roles, responsibility, trust, commitment).  In other words, your accounts of classwork (including personal experience inside and outside class) need to be set in the context of the various concepts developed in team studies, and as reflected in published documents.

You may look at various documents about teamwork.  If you wish to find others on the web, use the search term "teamwork" (one word) or "team building" (two words, single search term), and add other terms for your specific topic, such as leader, development, roles, styles, multi-functional.  To find documents about communication and teamwork, use those two terms.  During your course, you will normally have been given a link to my google drive, so that you can have access to the documents that I have placed there.

However, do not copy material without citing your source, and marking the quote appropriately.  Plagiarism servs no useful purpose; it makes you look silly (even stupid), it indicates low respect for self and others, it makes you feel bad, and it can be severely punished.  All quotes from web-based documents must be referenced, using the URL.  All others should follow a standard style guide, such as APA.

Keep the length of your document to a minimum (do not write a book!), but make sure that it contains all the items in sufficient, but only necessary, detail.  Say the least possible.  Quality is more important than quantity.  If you have photos and diagrams, you should include them too.

Organize your end-of-course report in 7 parts as indicated below:

1. Basic data
2. Accounts of course tasks, including the project
3. Project proposal - the actual proposal
4. Discussion - Grounded concepts: Relate your course work to teamwork concepts.
5. Learning & commitment
6. Workshop feedback
7. Appendices

• 1.2 or 1.3 line spacing.  12pt, Times for text and Arial for headings, except for ppt.

• Do not use all caps.

Below are examples taken from activities that you may or may not have done in class.  Some information can be obtained from the various forms that you filled out during the activity or the debriefing (in class or after).

Make sure that you report is easy to read.  Do not worry about small mistakes in English.  Do not plagiarize!

Your report must be done exactly as indicated, and by the deadline.  Otherwise, it will be disqualified, with no grade given.

1. Basic data

A.  Cover sheet (one page only)

• Place of study (ISEM SEDI).  Year of study (eg, M1, "2012-2013").
• Report title.
• Name and logo of your group/team.
• List of members, with passport photo, student ID and email addresses.
• Use one page only for the cover.  It should be attractive, but sober, clear and easy to read.

B.  Plan of report (start on new page)

• Start this on a new page.  Use the table of contents function in your word processor.
• Use page numbers (and refer to them inside the report, e.g., "see page 5").
• Place the page number in the document header.
• Use one page only for this.

For the whole course (i.e., all your meetings/activities), include tables, as follows.  If a table is missing, your report will not be valid.  If there is not time for you to revise the report, then your report will be ignored.

C.  Summary of attendance & contribution.

Presence in class & tasks.  Indicate the sessions present in class, and indicate the total of sessions at which you were present.  If you did more than one session or task during class period, then indicate in separate columns.  Names in alpha order.

*A session is usually a class occupying a single block of time, but it may be two separate and different activities in a larger single block of time.  In class, decide how many sessions you had, so that the number is the same for everyone.

D.  Summary of out-of-class meetings/activities

Do a table similar to the one above for your team meetings outside class.  Indicate, presence, which meetings were face-to-face and which were virtual.  Indicate date, length of meeting and place.  For each activity or meeting, indicate the topics that you dealt with.  Make your table simple and easy to read.

E.  Summary of contribution

Indicate individual participation in the class activities and debriefings / discussions in class and after (concentration, maturity, behaviour, attitude, etc).  Indicate points  /5 for each item.  (Remember that if you did not participate in an activity, your participation in debriefings and discussions will be nil or low (1).)  Names in alpha order.

• 0 points = absent
• 1 point = low contribution (about 10%).
• 2 points = moderate contribution (about 30%).
• 3 points = good contribution (about 50%).
• 4 points = excellent contribution (about 70%).
• 5 points = maximum contribution (about 90%).
• No half points.  If you attribute 4 or 5 points, then it needs to be explained in a couple of short sentences.
• Mean = mean of all columns, rounded to the nearest decimal point (dot, not comma).

You may use Excel, but you need to export it to your final document.

E.  Project proposal contribution

This will be about work that you did for the SEA Games proposal; it may be for the SEA International Teamwork Institute proposal; or another proposal.

Names of each member of the team (alpha order).  The score in E represents the relative contribution made by each member of the team to the work on the project proposal, including preparation, slides, teamwork, presentation in class, proposal report.

Italics below are examples; replace with your own content.

Columns:

• D:  The various tasks that you did in order to do the project proposal (the class prtesentation and the written proposal, contained below).
• E:  Amount of work accomplished in doing the proposal .  You must have at least one point difference between all team members.  No two members can have the same number of points.
• G:  Mean score for team.  Total of column, E divided by number in team.  Round to nearest  whole number.
• H:  Difference between points in E and mean of points (bottom of G).
• Total number of people in your group, even if some were absent for some activities or meetings.

NB.  You will need some good teamwork skills to work out and agree on these numbers.

It is important to include in appropriate sections of your reports short discussions about how you integrated teamwork skills, or how teamwork concepts helped your team.

F.  Class and end-of-course portfolio contribution

Names of each member of the team (alpha order), with the contribution for each member.  List of contributions should be sufficiently detailed, but not too long.  The score in column E represents the relative contribution made by each member of the team to the writing of this final report.

Italics below are examples; replace with your own content.

Columns

• D:  The various tasks done during the course, and in order to write the report.
• E:  Amount of work accomplished in writing this report .  You must have at least one point difference between all team members.  No two members can have the same number of points in lines in column E.  The points here are relative.  Giving 1 3 & 4 points is the same as giving 6 8 & 9
• G: Points in column E minus the lowest points given.  Only round numbers are permissible.

NB.  You will need some good teamwork skills to work out and agree on these numbers.

It is important to include in appropriate sections of your reports short discussions about how you integrated teamwork skills, or how teamwork concepts helped your team to develop during the course, and how they helped you to work as a team for your end-of-course project (SEA-EU Teamwork Insitute).

The above tables, for G and F, are important.  If you fail to include the above, your team will probably only get 10 or less.

2. Accounts

This section contains short accounts of your activities.  Do not include simple descriptions of the activities, such as instructions, but rather, your participation, what you learned, your impressions (personal, teamwork, ...), why, how, and especially the results of your debriefing.

• If your group did not do an activity, then indicate "Our group did not do ...".
• Specific contents depend on the actual activity.  Examples are provide below.
• Keep this section as short as possible, but include the most relevant elements indicated above, especially the debriefing.

Example for CAPSULE

• Notes for the group:  Summarize the notes that the group made for your presentation.  For example:
  • Group members participating in the exercise.  Indicate roles.
  • The capsule (company name & logo, build, contents, rationale, budget, etc.).
  • Group procedure (how you did the task).
  • Results of debriefing (summary et points forts of your discussions after the activity, including after the class).

Example for TOWERS

• Notes for the group:  Summarize the notes that the group made for your presentation.  For example:
  • Name & number of your company.  Logo.
  • Group members participating in the exercise.
  • Class, group and individual scores.
  • Tower:  Company name, design, rationale, photos, etc.
  • Group procedure (how you did the task, e.g., discussion first, build afterwards).
  • Results of debriefing (summary of your discussions after the activity, including at home).
  • Establish links between your tower, your team work and your scores.

Other activities

• REPLICA
• NASA Game
• Team charter (include your final charter)
• Ropes and hula-hoops exercises
• Wheels
• BRIDGES
• Films:  Include a very short description, and an accurate URL.
• End-of-course project (such as SEA Games or SEA TW Institute).  Do not put this here.  Include it below.
•  
  • For this, the work to include here is the part about your work as a team.
    • For the SEA Games, this corresponds to Part B proposal preparation.
    • For the SEA TW Institute, this corresponds to http://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/iup_teams/sea_tw_institute.htm
  • The actual proposal for the games or the institute is done below report.  For that, see the appropriate page.
  • Etc

3. Project

Include here such things as:

1. If you like, say a few introductory words, especially about how you think that you would do it better next time, about how you could improve.

2. Maybe refer to the graphs of evaluations, keeping in mind that, like all such evaluations, they are subjective.  If you disagree with them, you can say why.

3. You may outline what you consider to be the strong points in your proposal, especially if they coincide with the evaluations.

About 1 page or less; certainly no more than 2.

Put these elements at the end, in an appendix:

1. The ppt in miniature (6 slides per page) of your project presentation.

2. The written proposal.  This will be about 3 to 5 pages, and certainly no more than 7 pages.

   ---

4.  Discussion - Grounded concepts

For the activities/meetings as a whole summarize your thoughts and actions, your intentions, concepts, documents consulted, ideas for the future, etc. about teams and teamwork.  You will select the contents from:

1. the forms and notes that you made during the debriefing sessions and the follow-up activities (done inside or outside class);

2. your discussions and notes made during your discussions;

3. teamwork documents (such as those to be found here and on my google drive);

4. films that were shown;

5. ideas from your project.

Here are a few ideas:

• Causes of negative and positive attitudes and behaviours.  How to change.
• Characteristics of a good team member (what must individual team members do for the team to function well).
• Differences between groups and teams.
• The elements of an effective team.
• Communication for effective teamwork.
• Communication patterns.  Who spoke to whom?  Who dominated?  What consequences?
• Roles & responsibilities that members can/should play to improve teamwork.
• Personal styles and preferences and how they may contribute to or detract from effective teams.
• What things should you (as an individual and as a team) do to improve your teamwork skills and your team efficiency.  Think about the next time that you might work in a team.
• The most important aspects of being an effective leader.
• A few notes on gender differences in teamwork and leadership styles.
• An outline of aspects of teamwork that are relevant to the type of job that you hope to do later.
• Evolution of your team.
• Problems encountered (or any order) and how they were discussed and solved.
• Etc.

As a guide, this should be between 1 and 2 pages (certainly, no more more than 3 pages).  You must therefore be very selective; focus on a few things; especially those that you found the most interesting or those where you think you learnt the most.

5. Learning & commitment

Discuss and indicate the following three things, for both your team as a whole, and for each member as an individual.

• Summary of what you learned (3 to 5 main concepts & ideas about teamwork).  Maybe mention how they relate to your previous (real, professional) team experience.  What light do they shed on your previous team experience?
• Summary of 3 to 5 things that you will make sure to do when you start work in real teams (in professional work later).  What commitments are you willing to make for your future teamwork?

In any of the above, it is ok to disagree along members of the team.  Simply indicate the different opinions and the related arguments.  Remember that there is no single right answer.

Guideline:  1 to 2 pages.

6. Workshop feedback

a. Quels étaient les 2 meilleurs aspects de l'atelier (cours) et pourquoi ?

            Aspect 1. __

                    Pourquoi ? __

            Aspect 2. __

                    Pourquoi ? __

b. Quels étaient les 2 plus grands problèmes et que suggérez-vous comme solutions ?

            Problème 1 __

                    Pourquoi ? __

                         Solution __

            Problème 2 __

                    Pourquoi ? __

                         Solution __

 c. Que ferriez-vous, vous-même, de différent si vous aviez à refaire cette atelier?  Here you will probably each have individual replies.

            Chose différente 1. __

            Chose différente 2. __

d. En plus des commentaires ci-dessus, quelles suggestions faites-vous pour que, une prochaine fois, l'atelier soit plus efficace ?

            Suggestion 1. __

            Suggestion 2. __

e. D’autres commentaires ou suggestions ?

            1. __

            2. __

Guideline: 1 to 3 pages.

7.  Appendices

Appendices - Include here:

• a neat version of your final Team Charter (even if some sections are not finished);
• a neat version of your Communication in teams worksheet;
• a scan of your wheel;
• all your ppt slide shows, on miniature (6 slides per page, with active links);

• the ppt in miniature (6 slides per page) of your project presentation.

• the written project proposal - this will be about 3 to 5 pages, and certainly no more than 7 pages.

• any other documents that you feel are noteworthy (maybe team debriefing forms);

• Do not include your hand-written worksheets, unless you refer to them specifically elsewhere in your text.

Report Presentation

• Make sure that your report is clearly presented.

  • For example, use plenty of short headings, use small characters and indenting for personal examples, use tables and graphics.  Use simple language.

  • Include tables, photos, miniatures (not full size slides) of your ppt presentations.

  • Longer documents, such as full ppt presentations can be put in appendices.

• Make sure that you provide complete references (or URLs) for all citations, including quotes from web sites.

• Make sure that you include active links to films (such as on YouTube) and other online documents.

• As a general rule: 12pt, Ariel for headings; Times for text; 1.3 line spacing; 2cm margins.

Media, file

You must prepare an electronic version - according to the following instructions:

• One electronic copy - one single file for the whole document, including cover sheet, appendix.
  Only pdf format is acceptable.
  The course portfolio and the project are each in their own separate file.
   

• The filename must of the following format (lower case, except level):

  • team_inst-XY_NN-NN_name-name-name.pdf

  • Where:

    • inst is the institute, such as SEDI (ISEM), IUP Sports (sports)

    • XY is the number of your level, such as L3 or M1,

    • NN-NN is the year (e.g., 04-05 = 2004-2005),

    • name is the family name of each person doing the report,

    • work is course or project.

  • Examples:
     

    • team_SEDI-M1_04-05_smith-dupont-jones.pdf
       

    • team_sports-M2_06-07_smith-dupont-jones.pdf
       

  • Make sure that you distinguish between hyphen - and underscore _.
     

• The subject line of the email must be the same as the filename (without the extension).
  
  If the filename or subject line is incorrect, your file will get lost.
  
  If your file arrives late, it will be ignored.

 You may also have to make a paper copy.  However, normally this will not be necessary.

• One paper copy - 1.2 line spacing.  12pt, Times for text and Arial for headings, except for special effects.

• Do not use all caps.

• Cover sheet, then the main document starting on a new page.

• Staple in the top left-hand corner (no other binding).

• Put the whole document in a simple folder - not a pochette plastique.  If it is a pochette plastique, your report will be ignored.

Make sure that each member of your team has and keeps a copy of the report.

Use google drive to write your draft as a team.

Please send me any suggestions on how to make to make these instructions clearer.

 • Review & Prep SEDI M2 • SEA TW Institute • Report instructions •

 Recent issues of Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal