Effective Collaboration

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Effective Collaboration

• Analytical and Rhetorical Writing
• Matt Barton

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Writing Prompt 5 Minutes

• Describe an experience you have had collaborating
  with other students. Was it positive or negative?
  What worked what didnt work?
• Dont stop writing and editing until time is
  called.

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What is Collaboration?

• Two heads are better than one.
• Professional and scholarly writing is
  collaborative.
• Authors share responsibility.

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Good Collaboration vs. Bad Collaboration

• Good collaboration saves time and energy, and the
  finished project turns out better.
• Bad collaboration is misery. Project is
  unpolished, relationships are damaged, and the
  finished project is poor, late, or never finished.

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Choosing the Group

• How can you tell who will be reliable?
• Warning signs
• Frequently absent or late
• Always seen/heard talking to supervisor/teacher
  about why something wasnt done, was late, etc.
• Makes negative comments about the job or class.

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Good Collaborators

• The signs of a good collaborator
• Positive attitude
• Takes pride in work and getting things done
  correctly
• Neat and well-organized
• No matter what, its up to you.

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Organizing a Collaborative Project

• Be well organized.
• Have several ways to contact each other (phone ,
  email, address, etc.)
• Schedule times outside of class when you can meet
  with your group be flexible.
• Elect a team manager to keep things running
  smoothly and and negotiate roles.

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Setting up Agendas

• Use agendas before and during each meeting.
• An agenda is a brief list of topics that will be
  discussed.
• Make clear what each member should bring or have
  ready for the meeting.

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Agenda Tips

• Give your agenda a title.
• Include the time and place where the meeting will
  be held.
• Each item on the agenda should have a title, a
  brief description, and the goal you want to
  reach.
• Select Topic We need to select a topic for our
  project. Each member should come to the meeting
  with an idea and some information about a topic.

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Keeping Minutes

• Agendas help you prepare for a meeting minutes
  report what happened.
• Minutes are a brief description of what
  happened.
• Repeat topics from the agenda and the result
  (or lack of a decision).
• Distribute minute to each member as soon as
  possible.
• Example of Minutes

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Collaborative Plans

• Avoid bottlenecks
• Dont assign one member a vital task that could
  halt the project.
• Set deadlines far in advance of the due date so
  you can have time to pick up the slack.

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Team Work

• Everyone works together on big tasks, but break
  them up into smaller chunks.
• Divvy up big responsibilities into smaller ones.
• For example, instead of giving one member a task
  like Do the research, split this up so that one
  member must find some journal articles, another
  may find books, and another will find valid web
  resources.

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Writing Prompt 5 Minutes

• Get into a group of two other people, then decide
  how to divvy up a large task into smaller
  ones--and a rationale for who will do each part
• Organize a Campus Cleanup Day
• Plan a large (non-alcoholic) college party

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More Strategies

• Be upfront about problems that prevent you from
  completing a task.
• Be sure to thank team member for their
  contributions.
• Maintain a positive attitudetry not to let
  another team member get discouraged or alienated.

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The Responsibility

• Assume from the outset that you will be doing all
  of the work.
• Dont expect that the supervisor/teacher to
  accept excuses about a bad group member.
• Stress the importance of the project and each
  persons role in making it happen.

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Dealing with Bad Team Members

• Listen. What is the problem? How can we solve or
  work around it?
• Emphasize that the team is counting on them. Does
  the person feel wanted and needed?
• Be clear about tasks and expectations. Does the
  person understand what needs to be done?

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Other Tips

• Respect your team members suggestions, even if
  you dont agree with them.
• Be upfront about your disappointment when a team
  member fails to complete an assigned task.
• Dont be rude, but dont brush it aside. Then,
  focus on the next task and a shot at redemption
• Im disappointed that you werent able to find
  time to get those sources we needed. I hope
  youll do better with your next taskGive us some
  good feedback on the draft.
• Dont play favorites.

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Negotiating Changes

• Politely explain why you felt the change was
  necessary.
• I appreciate your effort to write the intro, but
  Im really thinking that we might want to
  approach this in a different way. I rewrote some
  parts I hope you approve.

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Collaborating

• Collaborating can be fun and rewarding. The keys
  are good leadership, solid organization, and
  clear communication.
• Even though some of us would rather work alone,
  collaboration is a vital aspect of almost every
  conceivable profession.
• Imagine how silly itd be to tell a job
  interviewer, I really dont work well with
  others. Its a bad attitude, so drop it now!