A Case for Teamwork in Schools

For anyone who has gone through the mill of the formal school system one of the unforgettable tasks that you most probably took part in at school was group work or teamwork. Most curricula in many levels of education have always given a special place to group assignments because of their perceived benefits. This notwithstanding, over the years, there have been legitimate and serious concerns about the verifiable importance of teamwork in schools. While some feel that group work helps the student to develop totally, others think group work is rather unfair.

One argument often proffered by those critical of group work in schools is that it will always benefit the fast, vocal and boisterous students while the more introvert ones will just coil back and languish in the background. There is no denying the fact that this assertion may contain some quantum of truth. But then, it immediately begs the question; what other alternative would be useful in helping our friend—the introvert? Leaving such a person to his/her own devices may not help him/her, so at the end of the day the solution still lies with teaming such a person with other students.

Another argument often advanced against teamwork in schools is that some people may not just get along and will do badly when grouped together. But again, this begs a question; what is the real world like? The world is full of people you would most probably not get along with, but many a time you would have to compromise and work with them. It is therefore an advantage that students are exposed to this reality as early as possible in their education. After all the essence of education is not just to teach people how to read, write and do arithmetic but to be all-round individuals who can fit in squarely wherever they find themselves and this is exactly what teamwork in schools seeks to accomplish.

Furthermore, teamwork in schools helps bring students up to the same level. Most of us have had the experience of understanding a concept better after it was explained to us by a colleague. Groups in schools if well-structured can accomplish within a few days what teachers will take months to achieve. In group tasks, the smarter students are always naturally obligated to help bring the weaker ones up to their level. This benefits both parties equally, as the smart student is explaining a concept; he is emphasizing the concept for himself/herself while helping the weak student to understand. Therefore rather than discriminatory, teamwork actually creates an opportunity for the mutual benefit of the members involved.

Back in senior high school, I do remember working an Elective Mathematics question for three days without any result. Finally this friend of mine comes up and puts me in the right path and within minutes, I arrived at the correct answer. This and many more experiences with my other colleagues at school have convinced me that, teamwork inspires faster problem-solving skills amongst students. The different perspectives presented by the members in executing a group task are sometimes just too amazing. A problem no matter how complex if attacked from different angles would have no chance of survival. Teamwork therefore rather than benefit a few, sharpens the problem-solving skills of all the members in the group. Group members would usually tend to adopt perspectives of other members which help them to solve problems faster.

Around the world the school syllabi are becoming overloaded. More academic work needs to be done within a limited time frame and teamwork comes in very handy in this regard. Group work offers an opportunity for students to pool their knowledge and hence more ground is covered than would have been done individually. Different group members obtain information from different textbooks; do research from different angles and the fusion and integration of all of these ideas makes for a delicious soup of knowledge. Hence, instead of having to pile up tens of textbooks on your study desk and become discouraged by the sheer load of work, one just has to master a few concepts and then learn the rest from the other group members at a group meeting.

Additionally, in a world where people are becoming increasingly individualistic and greedy, teamwork in schools offers us an opportunity to turn the tables. Many of us probably made our first friends in school within the group that we were assigned to. Teamwork creates a bond that cements all the members together because of the shared goal all the members have. Apart from helping one another academically, the group members also support one another outside the school system. This ensures that the student is trained to be able to look out for other people in the world and not just himself/herself. Today, the world is replete with so many crimes because of greed and lack of affection for other people. This gives us another reason to emphasize group work in schools so that the priceless trait of looking out for others and not just oneself would be imparted in students.

From the above, it goes without saying that group work is absolutely necessary and rather than discriminate, it inspires students. Group work does not only build well-rounded students, but also creates opportunities for students to pool knowledge and help one another in school. The outcome at the end of the day is productive academic work and improvement in the grades of all students and not just a few privileged ones. Teamwork therefore is a win-win approach to learning in schools.