Analytic Team

In Analytic Teams, team members assume roles and specific tasks to perform when critically reading an assignment, listening to a lecture, or watching a video. Roles such as summariser, connector (relating the assignment to previous knowledge or to the outside world), proponent, and critic focus on the analytic process rather than the group process (which entails roles such facilitator, timekeeper, and recorder).

This technique is useful for helping students understand the different activities that constitute a critical analysis.

• By dividing the process into parts and assigning these parts to individuals, students are able to focus on learning and performing one aspect at a time, thus preparing students for more complex problem-solving assignments in which they must assume multiple roles.
• This is a good strategy for preparing to solve a complex problem, especially when students need to gather or digest information or identify arguments and evidence.
• It can be particularly effective when the teacher assigns roles that exist within the norms of the discipline.

• Form student groups of four or five, assigning each individual in the team a specific role and ‘job assignment’.
• Present the lecture, show the video or assign the reading.
• Give teams class time for individual members to share their findings and to work together to prepare their analyses in oral or written presentations.
• Consider a closure strategy that emphasises roles and component tasks. Stand-Up-and-Share would be particularly appropriate for a fairly short activity, whereas a Panel or Poster session would be appropriate for more complex assignments.