Teamwork Step 0

Teamwork: Working cooperatively with others towards achieving a shared goal.

Step 0: I work with others in a positive way

Outcomes

To achieve Step 0, learners will show that they can work positively with others.

This is the first step in the skill of Teamwork, and provides the foundation of being able to work cooperatively with others towards achieving a shared goal.

Learners need to be able to:

Understand what working positively looks like
Recognise when it is challenging to work positively
Understand why we need to keep trying

Introduction

What does behaving positively look like to you?
Working positively is all about working with other people in a way that helps everyone to achieve what they want to. This includes:
- Sharing things, like tools or materials
- Encouraging other people by saying positive things about what they are doing
- Being pleasant, by being polite, kind and thoughtful about others
- Showing you want the work to go well, by being enthusiastic

Skill Starter

Positive Pairs

In pairs, learners need to come up with a challenge for another pair to complete using only one piece of equipment, for example seeing how far they can throw and catch a ball without dropping it.

Put two pairs together and give them a chance to try out the challenge posed by each other, working together positively whilst they do so.

10 mins

Paired activity

Active

Teach & Apply

Sometimes it is easier to work positively than at other times. If we are in a positive emotional state to start with, like when we feel calm, excited or happy, then we find it easier to work positively.
If we are feeling negative emotions, we might end up showing inappropriate behaviours, like refusing to share being unpleasant or criticising others.
None of us will be able to work positively all the time – sometimes we get our negative emotions get the better of us. The most important thing with working positively is to keep trying at it, even though sometimes we find it easier than at other times.

Optional Activity

Hot Potato

Mark out a start and finish line, e.g. opposite sides of a pitch/court.

In groups of 4 or 5, learners lie on the floor behind each other (head to toe), with their legs bent and their arms stretched.

The first player will take the ball in front of them on the floor. On ‘go’, they sit up and grab the ball, then return their back to the floor and hand it to the teammate behind. The second team mate bends forward and takes the ball to pass it to the next team mate behind. After successfully handing over the ball, learners get up to rejoin the end of the line.

Award points for positive behaviour and team spirit.

The chain continues until one team reaches the other side of the area.

15 mins

Group activity

Active

Reflection & Assessment

Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.

This step can be reinforced by reminding learners regularly about what working positively looks like. Visual reminders/coloured cards could help reinforce this or a time out to reflect on what working positively looks like.

Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.

This step is best assessed through observation of learners working with others. Look for evidence that they are able to work in the positive ways outlined above, and then to make a judgement about the consistency with which they work positively.
Ask these reflective questions:
- What does behaving positively look like to you?
- When do you find it easier or more challenging to work with others in a positive way?
- Can you give examples?