Plan for successful teamwork

Tuckman suggested that teams move through stages in their life cycle:  forming, storming, norming, and performing.  At each stage, the group will work through a series of interpersonal tasks, as well as a series of project-related tasks.

In the first section of this module, you explored the components of a Community of Inquiry. Both cognitive presence and social presence are required in the online learning community.  Tuckman’s model of team development also indicates that both components are needed.  In a class-based team, it may be easy to focus only on the cognitive output of the group — the creation of the project, paper, or presentation.  However, as you can observe from Tuckman’s model, a well-functioning team requires its members to exhibit social presence throughout, communicating well in interpersonal interactions.

In the days ahead, you will likely find yourself on a newly forming team in an online environment.  Consider the strategies you plan to use to demonstrate social presence and form a strong interpersonal foundation for your newly forming team.

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