Introductory Level
Please Choose A Webquest
Assessing my collaboration skills
Skills for Effective Teamwork
The Great Collaboration Challenge
Cooperation, Communication
Trust and empathy
Assessing my collaboration skills
This WebQuest is structured in a way to assess your own abilities that are related to collaboration. Most of the questions are theoretical assessments so it is important that you state the truth, and not what you would like it to be. The aim of the following steps is to be able to assess your own collaboration skills. This assessment is especially important when looking for a job, but not only. Knowing ourselves, our skills and capabilities will give us a much better understanding of how to act to achieve success. So let's get started!
Step 1: Problem solving techniques
The first step to assess your collaboration skills is to test your knowledge of problem solving
skills. To do this, please answer all the questions:
(a)Imagine that at your work two employees have been given the task of choosing the main
medium to promote the company. One of the employees is convinced that Instagram will be
the best choice and the other that tik tok - what do you do in this situation to solve the problem?
b) Can you identify the problem? If yes, describe it below. In other situations, do you feel you are also more likely to be able to identify the problem or not
c) can you generate potential solutions?
d) Can you pick one of the solutions and implement it?
e) on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is ideal, how confident do you feel with your problem solving skills? (Where 1 means – Very low and 10 brilliant) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 If you need more information on the subject, please check out these links: https://asq.org/quality-resources/problem-solving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klAE9ML0XLs
Step 2: Communication Mark an X under the following statements using the scale according to the truth:
Statement | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Always |
If I don’t understand something, I ask people around me without any problem. |
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While having a conversation with someone, I try to listen what he/she has to say and try to see their perspective. |
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I pay attention to body language when talking to someone |
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I take into account cultural barriers and differences when communicating with someone |
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I don’t have a problem to express my genuine opinion when asked for. |
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b) what communication skills can you list?
c) Which of these skills are you able to say you possess to some degree?
Taking into account your rating of the questions above, how would you rate your communication skills from 1 to 10? (Where 1 means – Very low and 10 brilliant)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQfYiHbAjJo
https://novoresume.com/career-blog/communication-skills
Step 3: Organisation
In this step, we will test our organisation skills. For this, please refer to the video below.
Then, in groups of 2-3, try to list as many organisational skills as possible, which are required for effective collaboration. Together, list your strengths and weaknesses related to organisation, and try to match which of these skills you have developed the most.
- Organizational skills required for effective collaboration
My organizational skills
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 – Not at all, 10 – Very confident) to what extent do you feel you have organisational skills?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 4: negotiation and compromise
Imagine that you have been working for the company for 2 years. You feel that you bring a lot of positive aspects and that your actions benefit the company. You put a lot of heart into your work, and the results show - your colleagues say the same. You decide to ask your boss for a raise. From your colleagues, you know that your boss likes to negotiate and offers you a 5% raise to start - but you think you deserve 10%. How will you negotiate a suitable raise or compromise in this matter?
Get into pairs, where one person will play the boss and the other the employee. Try to use the negotiation strategies shown in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlV6phTGjoU
After a few minutes, swap roles.
- What results have you noticed? Do you feel confident negotiating, trying to find a compromise?
- What have you noticed about the other person? What are her strengths or what could she work on? Discuss it.
Overall, to what extent would you rate your negotiation and compromise skills?
- 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 5 group assessment and reflection
In the last step, each participant in turn gives a summary of the above 4 steps and their results. Then, together with the rest of the group, he or she has the task of matching which degree of collaboration the participant has, i.e:
- what are his/her strengths
- which skills can be improved
- what kind of team member would be best.
Here are some of the team roles which can help you in the final assessment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-efhOLVgEvM
https://www.mindtools.com/auf866u/belbins-team-roles
At the end, each participant carries out a self-reflection. Do you agree with the group's opinion? What are your observations?
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Being aware of your collaborative skills is particularly important and helpful when looking for a job, but also in your private life. You get to know yourself, your strengths and the skills you can better develop. Such self-reflection should also be carried out periodically, because through experience we gain new skills and develop those we already have. The tasks of this WebQuest have been prepared for this purpose, so it is worth remembering them or saving them for later! It is also worth remembering that collaboration is not just about us - it is about teamwork! It improves the way you can work together to achieve common goals!
Skills for Effective Teamwork
In this WebQuest, you will work in small groups of 2-3. There are four tasks waiting for you in the WebQuest. Let's look at them.
TASK 1
Your first task is to gain basic knowledge about cooperation, proper communication, and the importance of teamwork.
TASK 2
Your second task is to learn more about the role of respect, compromise, and negotiation during teamwork.
TASK 3
Your third task is to acquire organizational skills for cooperation and involvement in teamwork activities.
TASK 4
Your final task is to prepare a professional presentation on the topic The Importance of Effective Teamwork.
TASK 1
Your first task is to gain basic knowledge about cooperation, proper communication, and the importance of teamwork.
Study the following information sources that contain all knowledge you need to fulfil this task.
Source 1 - Article about team cooperation
https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/team-collaboration
Source 2 - Video about how great teams communicate
Source 3 - Article on communication skills: definitions and examples
https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/communication-skills
Source 4 - Article on importance of communication skills
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/communication-skills.html
Source 5 – Video about how miscommunication happens
TASK 2
Your second task is to learn more about the role of respect, compromise, and negotiation during teamwork.
Source 1: Article about respect in the Workplace
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/workplace-respect
Source 2: Article about Showing respect at workplace
https://www.betterup.com/blog/respect-at-workplace
Source 3: Video about compromising with others
Source 4: Article about several secrets to better compromises
https://www.inc.com/larry-alton/7-secrets-for-better-compromises-in-workplace.html
Source 5: Article on negotiation skills
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/negotiation-skills
Source 6: Video about 4 principles of negotiation
TASK 3
Your third task is to acquire organizational skills for cooperation and involvement in teamwork activities.
Source 1: Video about organisational skills
Source 2: Article about what organisational skills are
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organisational-skills
Source 3: Article about how to improve organisational skills
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organization-skills
TASK 4
Your final task is to prepare a professional presentation on the topic The Importance of Effective Teamwork.
You have learned many useful skills in this WebQuest. Now your task is to prepare a presentation where you will mention the most important of them. The topic of the presentation is The Importance of Effective Teamwork. The following resources will help you.
Source 1: Video about how to prepare a presentation with the correct structure
Source 2: Article about tips for making effective PowerPoint presentations
https://www.ncsl.org/legislative-staff/lscc/tips-for-making-effective-powerpoint-presentations
And now think together about what you will do with the presentation. You can present it during classes at school or make an interesting video from it on YouTube or publish it on an internet blog. There are many options. Share your knowledge with other people.
You have successfully completed several tasks in this WebQuest. Try to answer the following questions to see how much you have learned:
- Which knowledge from this WebQuest was just a repetition for you because you already knew it?
- What knowledge was new to you?
- Why should people have the knowledge contained in this WebQuest?
- What would you say if you had to say a few words about the importance of effective teamwork?
- Why are respect and the ability to agree on compromises necessary for teamwork?
- How should communication work in a team? Can you give some good tips?
You have just successfully completed this WebQuest on skills for effective teamwork. If you have completed all the tasks, you can rightly consider yourself an expert on this topic because you now have much more knowledge about this topic than the average person in your country. You already know the reasons why effective collaboration with other people in a team is important in today's world. You can discuss communication skills and you know how miscommunication happens. You know the four principles of negotiation. Furthermore, you know what organizational skills are and how to improve them.
Congratulations, your skills for effective teamwork are excellent now!
The Great Collaboration Challenge
In this WebQuest, you will work in small groups of 2-3. To begin, you will carry out some research on the importance of cooperation and communication in the workplace.
Next, you will discuss and identify common challenges that can arise when working in a group and ways to overcome them.
Moving on, you will work together to explore and discover real-life examples of successful teamwork and communication in the workplace.
Afterwards you will create a short presentation to share your findings and insights with the rest of the group.
Finally, you will present your presentation to the rest of the group for your chance to win!
Step 1: Communication & Cooperation
In your groups, split the following topics between you and carry out some independent research on the internet based on the following:
- The benefits of cooperation in the workplace
- The importance of communication in the workplace
- Strategies for overcoming challenges in group work
Here are some links to get you started:
- Respect - A communication skill that brings the world together (VoicePRO): https://www.voiceproinc.com/respect-a-communication-skill-that-brings-the-world-together/
- Effective collaboration (British Council): https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/business-english/business-magazine/effective-collaboration
- How to cooperate as a team member in a workplace (CHRON): https://smallbusiness.chron.com/cooperate-team-member-workplace-11347.html
Step 2: Brainstorming Time
Once each group member has completed their research, the group will come back together to discuss their findings. Think about what you have learned about collaboration in the workplace and use these prompt questions to help guide your discussion:
- How can poor communication skills affect a group project?
- Collaboration can be done in real-time using digital tools. What are some digital tools that use communication and collaboration for group projects?
- Being able to overcome problems is one of the best ways to make sure a group project is successful. How can you build your problem-solving skills?
Through your conservation, try to identify common challenges that can arise when working in a group and using Jamboard, brainstorm some ways that you can overcome them.
- Here is a link to Jamboard: https://jamboard.google.com/
- Here are some resources on how you can use Jamboard to brainstorm or collaborate: https://support.google.com/jamboard/#topic=7383644
Step 3: Communication Plan
Using your information gathered, you are going to create a communication plan that can be used to improve collaboration and cooperation in your future group projects.
To begin, take some time to carry out some research into how communication can be improved between teams to make sure that projects are effective. Try to find resources that can be used in multiple contexts such as the workplace, at home, or with friends.
Here are some links to get you started:
- What are communication skills? (Youth Employment UK): https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/young-professional-training/communication-skills-young-professional/
- Communication skills every young professional needs (IDP Connect): https://ldpconnect.com/critical-early-career-communication-skills/
- Communication skills you need to succeed (Indeed): https://ie.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/communication-skills
- Types of team communication [infographic] (Asana): https://bit.ly/3RFAS13
- Communication - basic and importance(Curriculum Wadhwani): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lkb7OSRdGE
Step 4: Presentation Time!
Using all the information you have gathered and learned, it’s time to create a group presentation. Using Google Slides, take some time to collate all the information you have gathered in a presentation (no more than 5 slides long). Try to make your presentation fun (and collaborative!).
Make sure to include information such as:
- An overview of the importance of cooperation and communication in the workplace;
- Common challenges faced in group work and strategies to overcome them;
- How a communication plan for group work can help improve teamwork;
- Fun ways that people can collaborate in the workplace;
- Conclusion and recommendations for how to build strong teamwork and communication skills.
Here is a link to Google Slides where you can make your presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/
Step 5: Present Your Findings
Now that you have finished your presentation, it’s time to win that competition! Present your findings to the rest of the group. Remember, the most creative and collaborative presentation wins!
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By completing this WebQuest, you have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of cooperation and communication in the workplace. You have had the opportunity to build these skills in a real-world setting and apply them to a collaborative environment using a digital tool. You also have had the opportunity to apply what you've learned in a practical setting and develop a team communication plan. Finally, you created and presented a presentation showing the success of collaboration in group projects! Remember, teamwork and effective communication are key skills that will serve you well in your future careers.
Cooperation, Communication
The following tasks will guide you through this topic:
Task 1:
Your first step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to get a basic knowledge about cooperation, communication skills and the importance of collaboration in modern workplaces.
Task 2:
Your second step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to learn more about the role of respect, compromise and negotiation during teamwork and communication skills.
Task 3:
Your third step for becoming an expert on cooperation and communication is to gain organisational skills for collaboration to engage teamwork activities.
Task 4:
Your fourth step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to gain a basic knowledge of problem-solving techniques.
Task 5:
Your fifth step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to design a project to invite collaboration among team members.
Have fun!
Task 1:
Your first step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to get a basic knowledge about cooperation, communication skills and the importance of collaboration in modern workplaces.
Cooperation
What is cooperation?
Click through the articles and find out.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cooperation
Maybe you prefer a more creative definition? Click on the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kihZUsADQTQ
When cooperating it is very important to have proper communication skills. As you may know already, these are active listening, respect, confidence, empathy, and body language. But there is more to it then you might think. Find out more about communication skills and how to improve them.
Communication skills
Click on the links below and learn more about communication skills.
https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/communication-skills
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/communication-skills.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCfzeONu3Mo
Now that you gained a basic knowledge on “cooperation” and “communication skills”, discuss with your peers:
- Which communication skills are important for cooperation? And why?
- Why can miscommunication lead to issues during a cooperation or teamwork?
- How can good communication skills help during cooperation?
You might ask yourself now: why is this important in a workplace?
https://resources.owllabs.com/blog/collaboration-in-the-modern-workplace
https://www.betterup.com/blog/collaboration-at-work/
https://www.simpplr.com/blog/2019/importance-of-collaboration-in-the-workplace/
Discuss with your peers the importance of collaboration in modern workplaces.
Task 2:
Your second step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to learn more about the role of respect, compromise and negotiation during teamwork and communication skills.
As you heard in task 1, a big part of communication skills is respect. Learn in task 2 more about respect, compromise and negotiation, skills that are important for cooperation. Also, practice communication skills for teamwork.
Before getting into practicing, read through the articles, watch the videos, and learn more about respect, compromise and negotiation.
Respect
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/respect
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/workplace-respect
https://www.betterup.com/blog/respect-at-workplace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ppLtHbag4
Compromise
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/compromise
https://www.inc.com/larry-alton/7-secrets-for-better-compromises-in-workplace.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdCQFuWaV2g&t=57s
Negotiation
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/negotiation
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/negotiation-skills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfTalFEeKKE
Now its time for action! Practice communication skills for teamwork. Therefore, get together in small groups and try out to negotiate about a topic of your choice. Also try to find a compromise on an issue of your choice.
Need inspiration? Here are some topics for negotiation:
- Pay rise
- Days off
- Your desk neighbour is eating crisps, this is very annoying for you and distracting
And here are some topics for a compromise:
- For a team event you proposed to go out for food, your colleague wants to go go-karting, but there is not enough money to do both things. How can you compromise?
- You would like to work in Home Office, but your boss wants you to work from the office. Can you find a compromise?
Best way to practice this is via role play.
Task 3:
Your third step for becoming an expert on cooperation and communication is to gain organisational skills for collaboration to engage teamwork activities.
When collaborating or during teamwork it is major to have good organisational skills. Find out more about organisational skills and how to improve them by reading the articles:
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organisational-skills
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organization-skills
Now it’s time to engage teamwork activities. Read through the list of possibilities and choose three you would like to try out with your team:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/team-building-activities-games-for-work-office
https://www.wrike.com/blog/ultimate-guide-team-building-activities/
Invite your peers to feedback your collaboration. Evaluate your performance in a team in term of level of collaboration.
Here are some phrases to use for your feedback and evaluation:
https://www.betterup.com/blog/team-skill-self-appraisal-comments
Task 4:
Your fourth step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to gain a basic knowledge of problem-solving techniques.
In every work and every team, as in our private lives, there will always appear problems. It is important to have problem-solving strategies to not get overwhelmed with it.
Read trough the articles and watch the video:
https://www.betterup.com/blog/problem-solving-strategies
https://asq.org/quality-resources/problem-solving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahha-igVmJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrlYkx41wEE
Try the problem-solving techniques in your teamwork. Develop a solution to a problem that is encountered in a collaborative project.
Task 5:
Your fifth step for becoming an expert on collaboration is to design a project to invite collaboration among team members.
Now it is up to you! Get started and design a project.
Create a team and then brainstorm on what project you could get started.
Maybe something to clean your neighbourhood of trash on the streets?
Or what about a lemonade stand or a cookie sell?
A step-to-step guide on how to design a project:
https://asana.com/resources/project-design
You’ve done it! Well done.
Topics | Level | Knowledge | Skills | Attitudes |
Collaboration | Introductory:
Sub-topics:
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Practical knowledge of organisational skills required for effective collaboration |
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Openness to developing one’s own communication skills to improve collaboration |
Very well done! You now know about the value of cooperation in a team as well as the role of respect, compromise and negotiation in cooperation. Furthermore, you learnt about problem-solving techniques, gained communication and organisational skills for collaboration. You also can define collaboration and cooperation and know about the importance of teamwork. Finally, you are able to design a project and solve problems as they appear
Trust and empathy
In this WebQuest, you will start working individually and gradually work in small groups tofinally share with the whole group.We will start by creating a safe space where we can all speak up and express ourselveswithout fear. Then we will work individually on self-confidence as well as with the group.We will do some introspection work.Later, in small groups, we will share what we have worked on individually, but first we willwork on reflecting with others. We will think of 3 positive things or things that each personin the group is good at in their workplace and 3 things that we think they could improve.Finally, as a large group, we will discuss our needs to be able to trust and cooperate withothers. With these we will generate a decalogue of needs that we should try to fulfil so thatwe can all work together as a team.
Step 1: Safe Space
The first thing to do before we start working on anything is to create a safe space where everyone can express themselves without fear, so we will get into a group and project our Padlet screen with the access QR so that all participants can connect.
Once they are connected, they will have to leave messages with rules or things they need so that during the session they can talk and feel comfortable, for example: respecting turns of speech, not making sexist comments...
These agreements and rules can be changed during the course of the session to adapt them to the needs of the participants. We have to take into account that the rules we have set cannot be refuted, that is to say: If a person needs to be comfortable if "moments of silent reflection are respected", we cannot remove it because it is a need of this person and if we remove it, she will not be comfortable.
Step 2: Work Individually
Individually we will reflect on the development of emotional competences, we cannot start working on trust and cooperation in the group without first analysing our emotional situation within the group.
We will give each participant a guide with sections to be filled in upon reflection.
• Self-awareness: on one page they have to draw a picture of themselves; on the next page they have to finish the sentences on the next page they have to finish the sentences "I am...", "I have..." and "I do...", analysing the feelings produced by different situations they have experienced. They have to analyse their feelings about different situations they have experienced in the workplace with the group.
• Self-motivation: these are questions with gaps to answer, such as "Is there anything you have done that you would that you have done that you would love to do again", "what motivates you? something you've always wanted to do but haven't done yet?", "do you have any tricks to motivate yourself? do you have any tricks to motivate yourself?
• Social skills: we show them a list of the most important social skills for group work and they have to reflect next to each one their evaluation of it, how they think they have or apply that skill.
1. Empathy
2. Leadership
3. Resolving ability
4. Active listening
5. Communication skills
6. Organisational skills
7. Responsibility and accountability
8. Motivation
9. Goal oriented
• Empathy: look for the lyrics of a song or poem that talks about putting oneself in the other person's shoes. the other person's side and at the end leave a space for them to generate a new verse about a situation in which they about a situation in which they have wanted to be empathetic and have not (or have not) succeeded. (Empatía
- YouTube)
• Self-regulation: pictures of situations that can produce feelings that are difficult to control, with a caption explaining the situation. After each photo there will be three questions such as "What feeling does it give you?", "In this situation, how would you self-regulate?
Step 3: Small groups
We divide into small groups, preferably with a maximum of 4 people. We stand in a circle and each person has to think of 3 positive things and 3 things to improve about working with the person on the right. The three things to improve must be accompanied by a piece of advice, we will not just say something negative but we will give advice on how to improve what we are highlighting.
Once we have done the round of criticising and congratulating, each person will read what they had reflected on in the previous step. The idea is to compare this with what our peers have told us in this dynamic, and also to look for similarities between our answers and those of our peers.
Step 4: Big group
Once we have worked individually and in small groups, to finish, we put ourselves in a large group to work on a series of rules and objectives that we will apply in our day-to-day work to achieve a more comfortable group work environment where everyone can trust and work together.
We will have a first round where we will establish rules for group work and cooperation, we can use the safe space rules as a guide. These should be agreements that we are all happy and comfortable with, as they will be applied in the day-to-day work and if anyone feels that they are not being complied with, they will be free to put the problem on the table and look for a solution.
In the second round, we will set objectives or lines of work to be met in order to achieve a more collaborative and cooperative working space among the workers.
We could say that in the first round we set rules of coexistence that will help us to feel comfortable in the space and therefore to trust our colleagues, and in the second round we set medium/long-term objectives that will help to create a more efficient and real teamwork space.
Topics | Knowledge | Skills | Attitudes |
Collaboration (empathy, trust, cooperation) | - Basic knowledge of self-analysis and introspection. - Basic knowledge of social skills for team work - Practical knowledge of how to communicate assertively about negative things or things to be improved about colleagues - Practical knowledge of how to create a safe space for teamwork | - Analyse our social skills for group work. - Analyse our emotional reality within the group - Reflecting on the social skills necessary for good team functioning - To analyse the emotional situation of the different members of the group. - To learn how to generate safe spaces for teamwork. To learn how to create group objectives that help to improve confidence in the group. | - Willingness to invest time in improving social skills - Willingness to practice assertive communica tion - Willingness to be honest and to express oneself clearly |
To work in a team we need trust and honesty, without these two factors it is impossible to work comfortably in a group.
We must analyse both the relational reality of the group and our place in it.
Advanced Level
Please Choose A Webquest
Effective Collaboration
Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
Let’s Practice Empathy and Trust!
Empathy, Trust
Effective communication
Effective Collaboration
In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up in our own problems and forget about the people around us. But by practicing empathy and collaborating with others, we can create a more understanding and supportive community. In this webquest, you will explore what empathy and collaboration are and how you can use these skills in your daily life.
Effective collaboration is not just about teamwork. It is a range of many skills and qualities that allow us to work efficiently in a team. One of the key qualities needed in collaboration is empathy - awareness of other people, the capacity to sense their feelings and comprehend their perspectives. Your task is to research empathy and collaboration, and create a project that showcases your understanding of these concepts.
Step 1 : Research empathy and collaboration:
- Define what empathy and collaboration mean.:
- Find examples of empathy and collaboration in everyday life and professional life.
- Learn about the benefits of empathy and collaboration watching the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyJ4i0fUA5M
- what main conclusions you drew from the video?
Step 2: Group discussion
Based on the knowledge you gathered in the first step, discuss in group about the value of empathy in a team. Also, try to describe how empathy can be practiced and refind as a skill.
Please note down your findings and conclusions below:
Step 3: Self evaluation
Evaluate your empathy level answering the following questions:
Do you find it hard to know what to do in a social situation?
Can you easily tell if someone wants to enter a conversation?
Does seeing other people cry upset you?
Do you agree with this statement? “Other people's feelings are their own and should not be taken personally.”
Do you agree with this statement? “When I'm upset, I usually like to be left alone”
Do you often try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective?
Sources:
https://psychology-tools.com/test/empathy-quotient
Step 4:Choose a project format:
The next step, will be to develop one of the projects selected below in groups of 2, based on the knowledge from the first step and further in-depth online research:
- Create a poster or presentation that showcases your research.
- Write a short story that demonstrates empathy and collaboration.
Please use the following resources if you need help in:
Creating a poster:
https://www.canva.com/create/posters/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCv1oMXk-XM
Writing a story:
https://mythcreants.com/blog/how-to-turn-your-concept-into-a-story/
Step 5: Create your project:
Use the information you've gathered to create your project. Try to communicate with your partner as much as possible – how would you see the project, and what is his vision. If you have different ideas, try to negotiate and compromise. Also, make sure to include a clear and concise explanation of empathy and collaboration.
Step 6: Present your project:
Use the information you've gathered to create your project with your partner. Make sure to include a clear and concise explanation of empathy and collaboration.
If you need some advice in how to create a project, please visit these links:
https://virtualspeech.com/blog/guide-for-giving-group-presentation
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Great job! Thanks to completing this webquest, you should have a deeper understanding of empathy and collaboration and how these skills can help us create a more connected and supportive community.
Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
The topic of this WebQuest is emotional intelligence and empathy. You will become familiar with the concepts of emotional intelligence and empathy and understand their importance for work and personal life. You will understand how to develop emotional intelligence and empathy. You will learn to keep an emotional journal, which develops emotional intelligence. You will learn and practice active listening techniques, which can improve your relationships with other people. And finally, you will know the power and magic of a random act of kindness.
The following 6 tasks await you in this WebQuest.
TASK 1
Your first task is to familiarize yourself with the definition of emotional intelligence and empathy and understand why they are important in life and in the workplace.
TASK 2
The next task is to explore how emotional intelligence and empathy can be developed.
TASK 3
The next task will be to try an emotional journal, which is a great tool to increase your emotional intelligence.
TASK 4
Your next task is to gain comprehensive information about active listening, a skill that can improve your relationships with people very significantly almost immediately.
TASK 5
Your fifth task is to try active listening in practice and transfer this skill to your everyday life.
TASK 6
Your final task is to create a “random act of kindness” project.
TASK 1
Your first task is to familiarize yourself with the definition of emotional intelligence and empathy and understand why they are important in life and in the workplace.
You can work in a group of 3 people. Your first task is to discuss the following questions:
- How would you define or describe emotional intelligence?
- What is empathy?
- What behaviours and actions are typical for a person with high emotional intelligence?
After answering the questions above, study the following resources to check how correct your answers were.
Source 1 – Article about what emotional intelligence is
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotional-intelligence-2795423
Source 2 – Article about empathy – the cornerstone of emotional intelligence
https://www.conovercompany.com/empathy-the-cornerstone-of-emotional-intelligence/
Source 3 – Video: Emotional intelligence at work
Source 4 – Video: 7 Signs of Emotional Intelligence. Which of these do you possess?
TASK 2
The next task is to explore how emotional intelligence and empathy can be developed.
Source 1 - Animation about developing emotional intelligence
Source 2 – Video: 5 Simple Ways to Develop Emotional Intelligence
Source 3: Article about how to develop empathy
https://positivepsychology.com/empathy-worksheets/
Source 4: Article about how to be more empathetic
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/year-of-living-better/how-to-be-more-empathetic
TASK 3
The next task will be to try an emotional journal, which is a great tool to increase your emotional intelligence.
There are a few basic emotions that are considered universal and natural to people regardless of culture. Our emotional experiences are rooted in these five core emotions: joy, fear, anger, disgust and sadness. However, our ability to combine and mix emotions and then feel them in a variety of intensities increases our emotional experience exponentially.
Learn to identify your emotions by keeping track of how you’re feeling throughout your day. Get familiarised with the emotion journal method.
Source 1: Emotions tracking diary template and instructions
https://www.shannonharvey.com/blogs/resources/emotions-tracking-diary-template
Thanks to this task and the identification of emotions, you will understand yourself better and thus increase your emotional intelligence. In the next two tasks, you will improve your emotional intelligence towards others, as we will learn active listening.
TASK 4
Your next task is to gain comprehensive information about active listening, a skill that can improve your relationships with people very significantly almost immediately.
In this part of the WebQuest, we will learn about a very practical communication skill called active listening. Active listening is important in many situations, such as when communicating with a partner, friends, family, at work and in customer relations. It helps create better understanding, improve relationships and resolve conflicts.
Active listening is the process of focused listening and understanding another person, which involves an active effort to understand what the other person is saying and how they are feeling. In active listening, we try to let the other person know that we are really in contact with them, that we hear them and understand what they are saying to us.
Source 1 – Article: What Is Active Listening?
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-active-listening-3024343
Source 2 - Article on signs of active listening
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/active-listening.html
Source 3 – Video: 4 things all great listeners know
TASK 5
Your fifth task is to try active listening in practice and transfer this skill to your everyday life.
Here are some practical exercises for active listening that can be done in groups of three. Choose one of them that you like and try it practically.
- Listen and Summarize - Divide into groups of three and choose one person to talk about an experience they recently had. The other two members will actively listen and then summarize what they remember from what they heard. The speaker will then ask if they understood their experience correctly.
- Reflect and Add - Divide into groups of three and choose one person to talk about a problem they are experiencing. The other two members will actively listen and then try to reflect and add to what they heard. Reflection means repeating back what they heard, while adding means asking for additional information if there are gaps or uncertainties.
- Three Things - Divide into groups of three and each person takes a paper and pen. Each member then writes down three things that are important to them in life. Then, one member asks the other about their three things and actively listens. After the conversation ends, the members switch and repeat the process.
- Introduction, Middle, End - Divide into groups of three and choose one person to talk about a situation they recently experienced. The other members will actively listen and then try to summarize the introduction, middle, and end of this situation. The speaker will then ask if their summary matches what they wanted to say."
Source 1 – Video: Active Listening Skills
Source 2 – Video: Active Listening
TASK 6
Your final task is to create a “random act of kindness” project.
A "Random Act of Kindness" is an action that offers kindness to people who are not close to you. It means doing something kind, nice and selfless for some other person or group of people. You will get nothing but a good feeling from this act.
Source 1 – Article: Random Act of Kindness
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/random-act-of-kindness
Source 2: Kindness Ideas
https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas
Source 3 – Article: 101 Best Random Acts of Kindness Ideas
You have successfully completed several tasks in this WebQuest. Try to answer the following questions to see how much you have learned:
- Which knowledge from this WebQuest was just a repetition for you because you already knew it?
- What knowledge was new to you?
- Why should people have the knowledge contained in this WebQuest?
- How would you define emotional intelligence?
- What is empathy and how does an empathic person behave?
- What 5 basic emotions do you know?
- Do you think suppressing emotions is good or bad?
- How can active listening skills improve your relationships with people?
Great job! Thanks to completing this webquest, you should have a deeper understanding of empathy and collaboration and how these skills can help us create a more connected and supportive community.
We must analyse both the relational reality of the group and our place in it.
Let’s Practice Empathy and Trust!
Working together in teams is a crucial aspect of success in many fields. However, creating a collaborative and effective team is not always easy. It is important to understand how empathy and trust play a vital role in supporting collaboration in the workplace and how to develop these skills. In this WebQuest, you will discover the power of empathy and trust in teamwork.
You work as a hairdresser in a salon. Lately you have noticed that a couple of your colleagues have been feeling down lately, and you don’t know how to cheer them back up. When you spoke about it with your friend Jason, he mentioned that perhaps they just needed to be shown some empathy, and a little bit of kindness.
You do not want to overstep, so you have decided to do some research on how you can improve your empathy skills and support your co-workers as best as possible!
In this WebQuest you will work in groups of 3. To begin, you will do some research about empathy and its impact on interactions with others.
Next, you will discuss the importance of trust, especially when working in teams.
After, you will investigate the benefits of trust and empathy in the workplace, and its effects on all workers.
Next, you will brainstorm some ways that trust, and empathy can be practiced in your everyday interactions with other people, especially in the work environment.
Once that is done, you will find out how to build your empathy and trust skills to make sure that you are always aware of the people around you.
Finally, you will put all your research and planning to use and create some scenarios where you will practice random acts of kindness, and present these scenarios to the rest of the group.
Step 1: What is Empathy?
To start off this WebQuest, you will investigate the power of empathy. Empathy is very important to have when working with others.
Carry out some research about empathy and its impact on our interactions with others.
Here are some links to get you started:
- What is Empathy? (VeryWell Mind): https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-empathy-2795562
- The Power of Empathy: Helen Riess at TEDxMiddlebury [Video] (TEDx Talks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHrcC8B4WM
- The Importance of Empathy in the Workplace (CCL): https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/empathy-in-the-workplace-a-tool-for-effective-leadership/
Can you think of any situations where empathy would be important in a workplace?
Step 2: Building Trust
Now that you have had some time to consider why empathy is important in the workplace, it’s time to think about trust.
In your groups, have a small group discussion about trust in collaborative environments using these prompt questions:
- Why is trust important when working with others?
- What ways can you show that you trust others when working in a team?
- Sometimes it is difficult to be trusting when an important job is on the line. What are some ways you can ensure trust between all members of the group?
After your discussion has ended, work together to brainstorm ways that trust can be built between teams.
Step 3: Empathy and Trust at Work
Trust and empathy go hand-in-hand, but what are the benefits of making sure they exist in the wider workplace?
In your groups, carry out some research on the benefits of empathy and trust in collaborative environments.
Here are some links to get you started:
- Why is Empathy Important in the Workplace (Impactly): https://www.getimpactly.com/post/empathy-important-in-the-workplace
- Empathy in the Workplace - Its Important and How To Show It (Indeed): https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/empathy-in-the-workplace
- Trust in the Workplace: Why It Is so Important Today and How to Build It (Haiilo): https://haiilo.com/blog/trust-in-the-workplace-why-it-is-so-important-today-and-how-to-build-it/
Can you find any other reasons?
Step 4: Empathy in Action
Now that you understand the benefits of empathy and trust, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge to the test!
In your groups, brainstorm some ways that empathy and trust can be practiced on the daily with colleagues and in group projects.
Step 5: Building Me & You Up
To become better at being empathetic and trusting of people around you, it’s important that you have certain skills.
Carry out some research on the different skills that need to be developed to build your empathy and trust skills.
Here are some links to get you started:
- How to Develop Empathetic Skills (GreatLearning): https://www.mygreatlearning.com/blog/how-to-develop-empathetic-skills/
- Empathy at Work (MindTools): https://www.mindtools.com/agz0gft/empathy-at-work
- 5 exercises to help you build more empathy (TED Ideas): https://ideas.ted.com/5-exercises-to-help-you-build-more-empathy/
Can you think of any other skills these methods can help to improve?
Step 6: Random Acts of Kindness
After you have completed your brainstorming, think of the different ways a small act of kindness and empathy can have a major impact on others.
In your groups, brainstorm 3 scenarios where a random act of kindness could dramatically improve somebody’s day at work. Get ready to act these scenarios out to the others in the group and explain why exactly you chose the particular act to do, and why it could improve somebody’s day.
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Congratulations, you have now completed this WebQuest about empathy and trust when collaborating with others! Empathy and trust are key factors in creating effective and collaborative teams. By understanding their importance and learning how to apply them, you can help promote teamwork and achieve success in your group projects. You have gained a better understanding of how empathy and trust play a crucial role in supporting collaboration in the workplace. Remember to always be open-minded, listen to others, and practice empathy and trust in your future work environment.
Empathy, Trust
What is a WebQuest? By conducting research activities on the internet and combining these with additional activities, you will become familiar with new things concerning a specific topic. This allows you to expand your knowledge and create new skills for you.
In the introductory WebQuest you learnt about the basic knowledge of the value of cooperation in a team and to gain communication, organisational and social skills for a successful cooperation. Furthermore, you will gain a basic knowledge of the role of respect, compromise and negotiation in cooperation and a basic knowledge of problem-solving techniques.
In this advanced WebQuest you will learn how to develop empathy skills and why empathy is important for teamwork. Furthermore, you will learn about bias in communication and how they can impact empathy. You will discuss about trust, emotional intelligence and practice communication skills. Finally, you will keep an empathy journal, engage with peers to invite feedback and create a “random act of kindness” project.
Ready?
The following tasks will guide you through this topic:
Task 1:
Your first step for becoming an expert on empathy is to define “empathy” and its contribution to one’s emotional intelligence as well as how to develop empathy skills.
Task 2:
Your second step for becoming an expert on empathy is to learn more about the role of bias in communication and empathy and how to develop communication skills to improve empathy skills.
Task 3:
Your third step for becoming an expert on empathy and trust is to learn more about the importance of trust for teamwork and develop a plan to prove mentoring to new team members.
Task 4:
Your fourth step for becoming an expert on empathy is to read case studies and discuss how peers/colleagues or co-workers could show empathy.
Task 5:
Your fifth step for becoming an expert on empathy and trust is to keep an empathy journal to reflect on how and when empathy was practiced in the work environment.
Task 6:
Your sixth and last step for becoming an expert on empathy is to create a “random act of kindness” project.
Have fun!
Task 1:
Your first step for becoming an expert on empathy is to define “empathy” and its contribution to one’s emotional intelligence as well as how to develop empathy skills.
Read through the articles and watch the videos.
Empathy
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/empathy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPMMSKfKZQ
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-empathy-2795562
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/empathy
Emotional intelligence
https://www.conovercompany.com/empathy-the-cornerstone-of-emotional-intelligence/
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotional-intelligence-2795423
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUdfblJEAY8
How to develop empathy skills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9h8fG1DKhA
https://positivepsychology.com/empathy-worksheets/
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/year-of-living-better/how-to-be-more-empathetic
https://ideas.ted.com/5-exercises-to-help-you-build-more-empathy/
Answer and discuss the following questions with your peers:
- What is empathy?
- Why is empathy important? What happens if you don’ have empathy skills?
- What is emotional intelligence?
- How can emotional intelligence help you at your workplace?
- How can you develop empathy skills?
Task 2:
Your second step for becoming an expert on empathy is to learn more about the role of bias in communication and empathy and how to develop communication skills to improve empathy skills.
You learnt in task 1 a lot about empathy and emotional intelligence. You also came across the term “bias”. What are bias?
Click on the articles and find out:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bias
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bias
Learn more about the role of bias in communication and empathy. Klick on the links and read through the articles:
What do you think? How can bias affect your communication or empathy?
Discuss with your peers.
Empathy is an important skill not only for your personal life but also for your professional live. Reflect on value of empathy in a team by reading through the articles and discuss about it with your peers.
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-be-empathetic
https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/empathy-at-work/
- Why is empathy important at work?
- How can you show empathy at work?
Discuss with your peers.
As you learnt earlier, empathic people practice active listening.
Active listening
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-active-listening-3024343
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/active-listening.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW82k7lwI_U
How can empathy be practiced and refined as a skill?
https://enhancv.com/resume-skills/empathy/
https://www.lynncareercoach.com/blog/2017/3/30/job-qualifications-curiosity-empathy-and-gratitude
To finish this task, reflect on value of empathy in a team. Why is it essential for teamwork to show empathy?
Task 3:
Your third step for becoming an expert on empathy and trust is to learn more about the importance of trust for teamwork and develop a plan to prove mentoring to new team members.
Trust amongst team members is really important for teamwork. Learn more about the importance of trust for teamwork:
Can you come up with more ideas why trust is essential for teamwork? Discuss with your peers.
When people are new to a team it is often a good idea to provide mentoring to new team members. Develop a plan to provide mentoring.
Here is some inspiration:
https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/leading-new-team-5885.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t_XUUcM1ng
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2019/04/04/seven-keys-to-successfully-onboarding-new-team-members/?sh=10cc686b7a0d
Write down a step by step plan to provide mentoring to new team members.
As you learnt, trust and empathy are important qualities for good teamwork. It is also important to find nice words for your team members and to give them praise and feedback.
Develop a project to engage your peers in giving praise to one another each day or week as a means for building trust.
Here are some compliments for inspiration:
https://www.verywellmind.com/positivity-boosting-compliments-1717559
To finish this task, engage with peers to invite feedback on your empathy skills.
Task 4:
Your fourth step for becoming an expert on empathy is to read case studies and discuss how peers/colleagues or co-workers could show empathy.
In your previous tasks it was all about articles and videos. Another text type is a “case study”.
What is a case study?
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-write-a-psychology-case-study-2795722
You read and researched a lot on empathy. Look through possible case studies regarding empathy: https://scholar.google.at/scholar?q=case+study+empathy&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart
Choose one and read it.
- How is a case study different to other articles?
- What did you learn from your case study?
Now that you learnt a lot about empathy already. What do you think, how could peers, colleagues or co-workers show empathy?
Discuss with your team. For inspiration, here is a wiki how: https://www.wikihow.com/Show-Empathy
Try to find other ways of showing empathy.
Task 5:
Your fifth step for becoming an expert on empathy and trust is to keep an empathy journal to reflect on how and when empathy was practiced in the work environment.
Here are some useful prompts for your journaling:
https://www.teachersnotepad.com/writing-prompts-about-empathy/
And some ideas:
- Write about a situation of your workday and how you showed empathy.
- Write about a situation of your workday but from the others person perspective
- Also note: how can you be more empathetic the next time?
- How did you show empathy today? How can you show empathy tomorrow?
Task 6:
Your sixth and last step for becoming an expert on empathy is to create a “random act of kindness” project.
A “random act of kindness” is an action to offer kindness to people outside your usual zone of people. To be kind to each other means, to be caring and selfless and to act unconditionally. That means, that from acting in a kind way you gain nothing but a good feeling and definitely a good respond.
Read some more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/well/family/random-acts-of-kindness.html
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/random-act-of-kindness
Now its up to you! Create your own “random act of kindness” project.
Here are some ideas:
https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas
https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/acts-of-kindness/
Before you get started on your project, evaluate the level of trust in your team before as well as after the “random act of kindness” project and compare if the level of trust changed.
Write the plan down and fulfil it with your peers. Have fun!
You made it through every task! Congratulations and well done.
Topics | Level | Knowledge | Skills | Attitudes |
Collaboration | Advanced:
Sub-topics:
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Practical knowledge of how to develop communication skills (active listening, body language) to improve empathy skills |
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You have almost completed this WebQuest. Let’s give it a try and answer the following questions to confirm how much additional knowledge you have gained:
- What is empathy?
- Why is trust and empathy essential for teamwork?
- How can you improve trust and empathy?
- What are bias and what risk are they baring?
- What is a random act of kindness?
We must analyse both the relational reality of the group and our place in it.
Effective communication
One of the key points to achieve a good collaboration in the team and therefore to work better and more fluently and efficiently is to have a good communication and that this is always effective.
It is essential to ensure that the whole team communicates clearly, directly, and respectfully. This includes having regular meetings, sharing relevant information, and asking questions to clarify doubts.
We will start the session by working on the concept of communication to lay the foundations on which we will continue to work in the following dynamics.
Next, we will carry out 3 dynamics with the methodology of non-formal education to work on key aspects of good communication: Non-verbal communication, active listening and positive feedback.
We will end the session by analysing the group's current form of communication and setting objectives and guidelines for improvement.
To begin with, we must define what communication is, for this we will use the "Padlet" platform, create a whiteboard and give access to all participants.
Padlet: Padlet: Beauty will save the work
The idea is that everyone individually defines what communication is for them and what the basic elements are. We will then read the definitions they have suggested and generate one of our own by combining theirs and the definition of communication:
Communication is the conscious action of exchanging information between two or more participants to transmit or receive different information or opinions.
Then we will start with the dynamics that will make us reflect on the importance of communication in all its aspects.
Dynamic 1:
Communication puzzles: We will divide the group into small teams and give each team a different puzzle to solve. However, they cannot talk or make hand gestures. They must find a way to communicate effectively to solve the puzzle. This exercise helps participants understand the importance of non-verbal communication and clarity of messages. The puzzle can be either a self-made puzzle (a cardboard with a picture glued on it and cut into pieces) or buy a board game puzzle.
We will do the dynamic twice, once where no one will be able to speak during the process of assembling the puzzle and then again where only one person in the group will be able to speak, but they will only be able to say 10 words during the whole process.
Dynamic 2:
Active listening exercise: Divide the group into pairs and ask one person to talk about a specific topic for a few minutes (the topic can be something personal, such as the last trip they took or their favourite book/movie). The other person should listen carefully and then summarise what has been said. During the exercise the facilitators will make disturbing noises around the room to create a distraction. After the exercise is over, ask each pair to share their experiences with the large group, whether the communication worked well, whether the things described were clear... and to discuss how active listening can improve communication.
Dynamic 3:
Constructive feedback: We will do this exercise using the previous communication exercise. Divide the group into pairs above and ask each pair to provide constructive feedback on the other person's communication. They should highlight strengths and areas for improvement, as well as provide suggestions on how to improve communication in the future. This exercise helps participants learn how to give and receive constructive feedback.
Here is a video on empathic communication that will give us tips and guidelines for better communication:
To end the session, we will carry out an analysis of how we currently communicate as a group. The idea is that you reflect in a large group on what we have been working on and analyse whether you really have effective communication and if not, how you could improve it, and set guidelines and objectives for improvement.
Working on effective communication in a team is crucial to the success of any project. It is important because it will help avoid misunderstandings, improve decision-making, foster collaboration, improve conflict resolution and increase productivity.
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The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Project Number : 2019-1-PL01-KA204-065089
