W2 - Wiese & Burke Understanding team learning dynamics

Question 1

Team learning processes

Answer 1

1. Intrateam
2. Interteam
3. Fundamental learning behaviors

Question 2

Learning curves

Answer 2

• Represent a consequence of team learning
• Changes in performance over a period of time

Question 3

Intrateam learning

Answer 3

Internal processes within the team that build shared understanding, identify gaps and integrate new information

• Asking questions, experimenting, discussing errors

Question 4

Interteam learning

Answer 4

Involves seeking and integrating information from outside the team, promoting innovation but potentially causing coordination issues and conflicts (interdepartmental workshops)

Question 5

Fundamental learning behavior

Answer 5

Basic activities individual members take to share, store and retrieve knowledge across time (note-taking)
How knowledge is transported across time

Question 6

Team learning outcomes

Answer 6

Changes in collective knowledge: shifts in team’s understanding, assessed through team shared mental models and transactive memory systems

Performance changes: learning curves that indicate imporvements in performance (objective performance metrics ad subjective assessments)

Question 7

Fundamental processes

Answer 7

The storage of knowledge in formats that allow for later retrieval

Question 8

Kowzlowski’s model of team learning

Answer 8

1. Basic task understanding
2. Focus shifts to refining team performance strategies
3. Understand the implications of individual roles on group performance
4. Mastery of complex tasks and a high level of adaptability are achieved

Question 9

Temporal phases of team processes

Answer 9

Action phases: teams focus on carrying out their primary tasks, emphasizing the execution of their roles

Transition phase: teams evaluate past performances, reasses goals, and strategize for upcoming tasks

Question 10

Interpersonal processes

Answer 10

Processes that occur across transition and action phases

Question 11

Team performance episodes

Answer 11

• Discernable blocks of time where teams engage in goal directed activity
• Characterized by transition and action phases

Question 12

Sub-episode

Answer 12

A smaller part of a team’s work session. It’s called an action phase when the team is actively working on tasks to achieve their goals.

Question 13

What can lead to an emergent state

Answer 13

• Interactions between team members
• Developed by triggers
• Team processes

Question 14

Types of triggers

Answer 14

Learning triggers: events in which the team inspects or questions their collective knowledge state (a product team’s leader will provide goals and expectations for the team such as providing clear deadlines and relationship expectations between team members)

Process-oriented events: Learning process may be triggerred by process-oriented events such as making mistakes

Unpredictable triggers: external disruptions

Question 15

Factors affecting the length of team learning episodes

Answer 15

1. Conflicting or divergent information from the current state of collective knowledge
2. External factors
3. Change in membership

Question 16

Factors influencing the pattern of learning

Answer 16

1. Complexity of information being learned
2. The content of what is being shared might be susceptible to change

Question 17

OVERALL learning behaviors over time

Answer 17

1. The learning trigger: simply sharing information can trigger a learning episode
2. Transition phase: teams need to recall their collective knowledge state as well as ensure collective awareness
   * Teams engage in retrieval behaviors
   * Teams must guarantee that the team is aware of new information (fundamental learning, interteam and intrateam behaviors)
3. Action phases: engaging in behaviors that faciloitate the intehgration of new knowledge into their collective knowledge state (constructive conflict behaviors)
4. Concluding a learning episode: engage in storage behaviors (phsyical repositories or cognitively)