Core Skills
Working with Others
Flexible Learning Pack
Text Version
[HIGHER]

© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2004
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by
educational establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage.
CONTENTS
Part 1:
Working with Others - what’s it all about?
1
Part 2:
Icebreaker
3
Part 3:
My Favourite Place
4
Part 4:
Confidence Quiz
6
Part 5:
Working with Others or Working Alone
10
Part 6:
Team Roles
18
Part 7:
Brainstorming
25
Part 8:
Are You a Good Listener?
29
Part 9:
Dealing with Difficult People
33
Part 10:
Webquest 1 – The Next Big Thing – Predicting Fashion
37
Part 11:
Webquest 1 - Teambuilding
42
Part 12:
Webquest 1 – Underage Drinking
47
Part 13:
Choosing and Shaping a Project
51
Part 14:
Dividing up the Work
54
Part 15:
Finding Information
60
Part 16:
Surveys
65
Part 17:
Planning Your Time
69
Part 18:
Keeping Records
76
Part 19:
Getting the Best from Meetings
85
Part 20:
Advertising and Publicity
91
Part 21:
Measuring Success – How Did We Do?
94
Part 22:
Filling in Your Logbook
100
Part 23:
Webquest 2 – What does it mean to be Scottish?
102
Part 24:
Webquest 2 – What are we Eating?
105
Part 25:
Webquest 2 – The Big Event
107
Part 26:
Toolkit and Logbook
113
WORKING WITH OTHERS (HIGHER)/TEXT VERSION
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© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2004
WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?
PART 1
‘Working with Others’ – what’s it all about?
If you haven’t studied a unit with this name before, you might have a few
questions. Hopefully we can provide some of the answers:
Q. I haven’t done a course called ‘Working with Others’ before. What
does it cover?
A. That’s an easy one. Working with Others involves exactly what the title
says – working with other people in teams or groups. If you can work well
in a team, you have a valuable skill that you can use in all areas of your
life. This course will help you to improve your teamwork skills in different
settings – for your studies, for your job (or future jobs) and for your leisure
time.
Q. What sort of things will I be doing on this course?
A. You’ll be working your way through an assortment of exercises, tasks and
mini-projects. Some you complete on your own – others are done in pairs
or group. These will lead you to a larger project which you will plan and
complete as part of a group. If you have a look at the menu for the course
you will get an idea of the sort of things the course covers.


You start off with icebreakers and introductory exercises about
group work.
You then you try a mini-project (called a webquest) with your
group. You will get a choice of three.
Group work is indicated
by this symbol.
Work you do on your own
is shown by this symbol.


You find out a bit more about planning and carrying out projects
before you decide together on your main project.
You carry out your project with your group and complete your
paperwork (called a logbook).
Q. We have started working with printed handouts. Will we also be
working on computers some of the time?
A. Yes. You will be able to complete some tasks and exercises on the
computer, but for a lot of the time you will be away from the computer
talking to other students and your tutor. The course is about Working with
Others - not Working with Computers!
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WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?
There is also a paper pack for this course, which consists of booklets and
handouts. Your tutor might choose to go between the online course and
the paper pack. Where there is an online version of an activity it is
indicated by this symbol:
Most students will be doing this course in groups in a school or college. It
is also possible for individual students to do the course in a community
centre, learning base or in their employer’s premises. There needs to be a
minimum of three students taking the course at the same time. You can
keep in touch with each other and your tutor by e-mail.
Q. What will I have to do to pass the course?
A. Two things:
 take part in a team project and do your best to complete your tasks
 keep notes in a logbook about how you analysed and planned the
project, how you carried it out and how you feel about the results.
There are plenty of practice exercises in the course to help you with both
of these, and your tutor will be around to answer questions.
Q.
I already have Working with Others at Intermediate 1 or 2. In what
way will Higher be different?
You will be doing the same sort of things – working in a group with others
students – but it will be slightly different in several ways:
 The tasks or projects you do may be a little more difficult.
 You will be expected to write slightly longer and more detailed
answers in your logbook.
 As a group, you will be expected to most of the work yourselves
without asking your tutor for help. For example, your tutor will
expect you to suggest the steps or stages of your project
yourselves and to come up with alternatives when your plans don’t
work out. However, the tutor is still there to advise you if you are
absolutely ‘stuck’.
There are four outcomes (only three at lower levels). The outcomes are
as follows:
O1 – analyse the project
O2 – plan the project
O3 – carry out the project
O4 – review the project.
Good luck with Higher Working with Others and enjoy yourself!
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© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2004
ICEBREAKER
PART 2
Icebreaker – Interview your Partner
It is good to get to know the people you are going to be working with. Even if
you do know them quite well, it is interesting to find out a bit more about them.
This is an exercise for the whole class to do. You will need to split into pairs.
If there is an odd number, have a ‘three’.
Ask your partner about the following and write down the answers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Their name – if you don’t already know it.
Their earliest childhood memory.
Their favourite film.
Their favourite item of clothing (short description)
Then, everyone in the class should present their partner to the group –
reading out the information they have written down.
By the time this exercise is finished, everyone should know a bit more about
the other members of the group – you may find you have something in
common that you didn’t know about.
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MY FAVOURITE PLACE
PART 3
My Favourite Place
This unit is all about working in a team – that’s why it’s called ‘Working with
Others’.
While you are reading this, you may be with other students you already know
quite well, or today might be the first time you have met them. You could even
be working in a centre by yourself, communicating by e-mail.
Whatever your circumstances, you are about to try an exercise that is
designed to help you get to know your fellow students a bit better – and you
might even find out a bit about yourself.
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MY FAVOURITE PLACE
Describe your favourite place
Think of a place that means a lot to you – it could be a room in your home, a
club, a garden or somewhere you have been on holiday.
Describe it in no more than 50 words. You can write your description in the
box below on a piece of paper, whichever you prefer.
Don’t let anyone see your answers just yet.
As each person collects his or her sheet, they should fold it over twice and
place it on a table.
One person should read out the sheets one by one, and everyone in the group
should try to guess whom each ‘favourite places’ relates to:
You may be surprised at the favourite places some people describe. And you
might also be amazed at the favourite places they guess are yours!
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CONFIDENCE QUIZ
PART 4
Confidence Quiz
You may already have worked with other people on a range of projects in
school or college. You may have a job where you have to work with people in
teams. If you have worked with other people often, you will have a pretty good
idea about what it involves and whether you enjoy it.
Even if you haven’t worked with other people formally on projects or at work,
you have probably done more than you realise in an informal way. You will
have made decisions and plans with your family and friends about everyday
things like chores, budgets, holidays, and so on.
This quiz is designed to make you think about what it means to work with
other people and you help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Be honest as you click on your answers. You will be taking the quiz again at
the end of the unit and if you say you are good at everything just now, you
won’t leave any room for improvement.
Don’t be too hard on yourself either – there are bound to be some things you
are good at.
Confidence quiz
Tick one of the boxes in answer to these statements:
1. I am good at coming up with ideas.
always
sometimes
not often
sometimes
not often
2. I get on well with other people.
always
3. I am able to talk to people I don’t know.
always
sometimes
not often
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CONFIDENCE QUIZ
4.
I am a good listener.
always
sometimes
not often
5. I am genuinely interested in what other people think about things.
always
6.
sometimes
not often
I can be the leader if the task suits me.
always
sometimes
not often
7. I don’t mind if I don’t get my own way.
always
sometimes
not often
8. I don’t mind receiving feedback on my work.
always
sometimes
not often
sometimes
not often
9. I like taking responsibility.
always
10. I am good at working out what needs to be done.
always
sometimes
not often
11. I am good at keeping accurate records.
always
sometimes
not often
sometimes
not often
12. I ask for help when I need it.
always
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CONFIDENCE QUIZ
13. I enjoy explaining things to other people.
always
sometimes
not often
14. I am good at sorting out quarrels.
always
sometimes
not often
15. I can gather information from a range of sources.
always
sometimes
not often
16. I am good making plans and lists.
always
sometimes
not often
17. I can change my plans if things don’t work out.
always
sometimes
not often
18. I am good at keeping to time deadlines.
always
sometimes
not often
sometimes
not often
19. I finish the projects I start.
always
20. I can learn from mistakes and make improvements.
always
sometimes
not often
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CONFIDENCE QUIZ
Confidence quiz feedback
Thank you for answering the 20 questions. Keep the printout and show it to
your tutor – you can discuss your strengths and weaknesses and make plans
to improve in some areas.
You can show it to some of the people in your group if you like, but you don’t
have to.
Score yourself as follows: 3 for ‘always’, 2 for ‘sometimes’, 1 for ‘not often’.
This will give you a score out of 60. Look at the table below to see what your
score means.
Score
Meaning
51 or over
Supremely confident, but watch you
don’t upset other people.
Very confident, but still a few areas to
work on.
Confidence average. You’ll get a lot
out of this course.
You have a lot of potential for
improvement. Perhaps you are bit
shy.
You didn’t answer all of the questions!
41–50
31–40
20–30
Less than 20
Remember to keep your quiz results in a safe place – you’ll be doing the
quiz again at the end of the course.
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
PART 5
Working with others or working alone
Which is better – working by yourself
or working with other people?
Some people like being on their own a lot of the time and others prefer to be
part of a team or group. Preferences can be caused by personality or by
previous experience – if you have had positive experiences in groups, you will
tend to enjoy them and look forward to group work.
If you are trying to get some work done, it can be very handy to have other
people around to help. Sometimes, however, it isn’t so successful – having
more people just seems to make things take longer.
Think about the activities you are involved in – at work, in school or college, at
home or in your leisure time. Do you carry them out alone or with other
people? Sometimes, of course, you won’t have a choice: you will be asked to
work in a group when you would prefer to work alone, or you may have to do
things by yourself when you would have welcomed some help.
On the next page there is a table for you to fill in about things you do and
whether you prefer to do them alone or in a group.
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
By myself or with others?
Fill in the table below by yourself. Think about:



things you do
whether you do them alone or with other people
why you like it that way.
The first five activities have been written in for you. Think of another five
yourself.
Activity
By myself or
with others
Why?
Washing a car
Writing a story
Doing research on
the Internet
Organising a day trip
for 10 people
Giving your bedroom
a ‘makeover’
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Now get together in groups and discuss the tables you have filled in. Compare
them with the tutor’s answer on the next page
Talk about the following.
What types of activities are better done by one person? Why?
What types of activities are better done in a group? Why?
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Tutor’s answers
What types of activities are better done by one person? Why?
Anything that has to be done quickly and doesn’t need a lot of discussion or
decisions.
Anything where the particular talents of one person are required – for
example, writing music or painting a picture
Anything that can’t be broken down into smaller tasks – for example, giving
someone a haircut.
Anything that uses equipment designed for one person – for example, driving
a car.
Anything where tact and sensitivity is needed and where a big group would not
be welcome, for example, giving someone bad news.
What types of activities are better done in a group? Why?
Anything requiring a wide range of talents, for example, organising a
campaign to raise money.
Anything where there is a lot to be done at one time, for example, serving a
meal to 150 people.
Anything that can easily be broken down into smaller tasks.
Anything that would be dangerous if done by one person, for example,
supervising 10 children for the day.
Anything that hasn’t been done before – you need a lot of ideas.
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Working alone or in a group
Working on your own does have some advantages. Can you think of any?
Write them in the box below.
What are the advantages of working in a group?
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Tutor’s answers
What are the advantages of working alone?
You can work as quickly or as slowly as you like and you can work when you
like – as long as you meet your deadlines.
You get all the praise for what you achieve.
You have no disagreements or arguments.
You can be creative.
You can organise the work in a way that suits you.
You can take all of the decisions.
You don’t have to tell other people what you are doing, or keep track of what
they are doing.
What are the advantages of working in a group?
You can spread the work out.
You can get the work done more quickly.
If things go wrong you share responsibility.
It can be more fun with company.
A group of people may have more talents between them – and the results will
be bigger and better.
You can bounce ideas off each other.
You will learn new skills and new ways of working – you can use these in
other activities.
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Individual or group: advantages or disadvantages?
Try this activity to see which way is more successful:
Split your group in half. Half of the group should work together; the other half
should work individually.
Choose one of the following tasks:
1. Write a report describing the main street of your city, town or village. You
don’t have to visit – you can do it from memory. Use the following
headings:
 Length breadth and shape of the street
(straight or twisted)
 Size, height, age, architecture of buildings
 Purpose/use of buildings)
(shops vs other uses - museums, council buildings)
 Type and volume of traffic
(pedestrians and vehicles)
 Level of attractiveness
(clean/dirty, good condition/neglected)
2. Draft out a plan for a new situation comedy TV programme.
You should consider:
 characters (at least four) – their names and a short biography for
each
 nationalities (if relevant)
 situation (workplace, family, leisure, imaginary)
 some story lines.
The students working as a small group and the students working on their own
should both do the same task.
Once everyone has finished, get together to compare results and discuss
which way seemed to be more successful.
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WORKING WITH OTHERS OR WORKING ALONE
Summary
There are advantages and disadvantages to both working alone and working
with others.
When you are given something to do and you have the choice to work alone
or work with others, you should think about the:
 type of task
 talents of the possible group members
 chances of having good communication channels
 timescale
 possibility of breaking the task down into smaller tasks.
You should then be able to decide whether to work alone or work with others.
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TEAM ROLES
PART 6
Team Roles
Equipment Warning!
You are going to need a tape recorder or video recorder later in this
section – it might be best if you find one now.
Look at the list of jobs below and decide who works in a team all the time, who
works in a team some of the time and who never works in a team. Write the
words in the appropriate columns below.
soldier
chef
shop assistant
refuse collector
carpenter
musician
electrician
Works in a team all of the
time
teacher
officer manager
policeman
doctor
footballer athlete
nurse
scientist
vet
fire-fighter
hairdresser
artist
Works in a team some of
the time
Doesn’t work in a team
When you have finished, discuss your answers with your fellow students.
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TEAM ROLES
Tutor’s answers
What makes a good team?
There is no clear answer for this exercise – that is why we haven’t reproduced
the table with the jobs in place.
For some jobs, the answer is very clear-cut – footballers, for example, play
and train in teams all of the time. Anyone who won’t co-operate with the rest
of the team is not an asset.
The amount of time hairdressers spend in teamwork could vary quite a lot. A
hairdresser in a large salon will co-operate with colleagues to make sure all
clients are dealt with promptly. However, a self-employed hairdresser visiting
customers in their homes might not be involved in teamwork at all.
But even those who seem to work in isolation often work in teams for part of
the time. An artist, for example, may complete his or her paintings alone, but
he or she will work with art gallery staff and advertising companies to display
and publicise the work.
Working in teams in the workplace is very common nowadays. Employers
think it is the best way for people to share ideas, communicate with each other
and work more efficiently. Even people who work on their own most of the
time will come together once in a while to make plans, decide on targets and
share ideas.
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TEAM ROLES
Successful teams and unsuccessful teams
Think about a team you have worked in or watched recently and answer the
following questions.
Can’t think of a team? Think about your studies, your leisure time (hobbies
and sports) and your job, if you have one. You are bound to be in a team or
group somewhere.
Team_____________________________
Did the team members work together successfully?
If the answer is yes, how did they manage it?
If they didn’t, what went wrong?
Write your answers and talk about them with the other members of your
group.
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TEAM ROLES
Tutor’s answers
Successful teams and unsuccessful teams
You might have thought of some of the following. You might have come up
with some others that will also be correct. Show your lists to your tutor and
discuss them.
Successful teams:
 have shared goals
 take decisions together
 trust each other
 discuss problems openly
 value each other’s ideas
 have leaders who encourage – they don’t dominate.
Unsuccessful teams:
 don’t have clear team goals
 can’t make plans
 criticise each other
 don’t communicate well
 gossip and quarrel
 can’t organise tasks – no leader or too many leaders.
When you discussed your answers, you probably found that it was easy to
give reasons why teams fail, but not so easy to pinpoint why they succeeded.
Good teams can make success look easy, like ice-skaters and footballers who
are having a good day and performing well.
When teams fail, there can be many reasons. Sometimes the reasons can be
beyond the team’s control. For example, people who work in the tourist
industry in Scotland work very hard, but are sometimes defeated by the
weather.
Often, though, the reasons for failure lie within the team itself. Sometimes
there is the wrong mix of personalities – too many people wanting to lead or
no-one wanting to lead.
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TEAM ROLES
Playing roles
For a team to be successful every member in the team has to have a role, just
like actors having roles in a play. For a group or team, the roles are not about
the tasks they complete – they are more about the way the group members
behave. Team members don’t sit down and agree on roles like these.
Somehow the roles just emerge as the team starts work.
There are many different labels for the roles in teams. Seven are described
below:
Leader
Makes sure everyone is included. Draws people out. Is a good leader and a
good judge.
Ideas person
Is creative and has a good imagination. Comes up with good ideas.
Information gatherer
Good at finding things out and contacting other people on behalf of the group.
Team Worker
Able to listen, be sensitive to people’s feelings, build bridges between people
and fill gaps.
Critic
Can spot problems and snags. Looks at things from every angle.
Finisher
Makes sure that everyone keeps to deadlines and finishes what they start.
Joker
Can lift morale and keep the atmosphere light by clowning and telling jokes.
Sometimes each person will take on more than one role, especially if the
group is small. But nobody should get away with being the joker all of the
time!
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TEAM ROLES
Promoting your town
Try the following task to see how you manage to divide up the jobs and take
on roles:
Using a tape recorder or video recorder, make a short broadcast to promote
Scotland as a good country to host international conferences. Imagine that it
is going to be used on radio or TV in other parts of Britain and abroad.
Listeners (or viewers) would like to know about the conference facilities and
hotels (search the Internet), main cities, sightseeing opportunities, shopping,
travel and airports and so on. You could mention the top five (or ten)
attractions and give them a ‘star rating’. Divide up the tasks as follows:
Writer(s)
Make a list of hotels and cities and write some notes about what they have to
offer (a few paragraphs).
Editor
Check the notes over to make sure that the content will be interesting for
viewers and listeners.
Reader(s)
Read the notes into the tape recorder or speak to the video camera.
Recording engineer
Operate the tape recorder or video recorder.
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TEAM ROLES
Evaluation
Have you finished making your recording promoting Scotland as a good place
to hold international conferences? How did it go?
As a group, think about the following questions and discuss your answers with
your tutor:
 How easy was it to divide up the tasks? (writers, readers, editor and
recording engineer).
 Can you identify the roles you took on? (leader, team worker, critic,
joker, and so on). If your group was quite small, you probably had
more than one role each.
If you managed to divide up the tasks and spread out the roles, you are well
on your way to making a good team.
Well done!
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BRAINSTORMING
PART 7
Brainstorming
Think about the last time you were trying to come up with some ideas to make
a decision with your family or a group of friends.
It could have been when you were trying to decide:
 where to go for a meal
 where to take relatives when they come to visit
 how to solve a problem at work
 how to plan for special birthday or anniversary
 how to look after an elderly relative who has become ill.
How did you come up with ideas and make your decision?
Write your answer in the box.
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BRAINSTORMING
Tutor’s answers
Brainstorming
If you were lucky, one member of the group would have suggested something
and everyone else said ‘yes!’ straight away.
However it is more likely that it took a bit longer to come up with a good idea.
Probably everyone gave their suggestions until someone finally offered
something that most people liked.
If that is how you named your rabbit or decided where to go on holiday, you
already know quite a bit about brainstorming.
If you look up brainstorming in a dictionary, you will find that it is described as
‘a sudden clever idea’ or ‘an inspiration’.
In books about group decision-making it has come to mean something like
this:
A group of people get together to write down all of their ideas about a
problem or situation without stopping to comment on them.
When they have listed all of their ideas, they discuss them and decide on the
best ones.
Brainstorming is often used by companies and organisations to produce ideas
and to help build teams.
If you are going to try brainstorming in a group, you will get most out of it if
everyone sticks to a few rules.
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BRAINSTORMING
Rules for brainstorming
1. Have a warm-up session
For example, try to think of a new name for somebody or something you all
know. This should get everyone’s brains working.
2. Write the problem down
Express it clearly so that everyone knows exactly what they are meant to
be suggesting ideas for.
3. Get someone to take notes
A member of the group should write down all of the ideas on a big piece of
paper (or flipchart or whiteboard) so that everyone can see them.
4. Don’t allow discussion or criticism
It will put people off if they think their ideas are going to be ‘rubbished’.
Discussion at this stage will also slow things down.
5. Go for quantity
Encourage people to say any idea that comes into their heads.
No one should worry if some of the ideas sound a bit daft. Good things
often come from daft ideas.
6. Add arms and legs
Members of the group should be encouraged to add to other members’
ideas – suggest new features or develop them further.
7. Have a time limit
Don’t allow the session to drag on for too long or people will become
bored.
8. Make copies of the ideas
Once the session is finished, give everyone a copy of all of the ideas so
they can go away and think them over.
9. Meet up again to discuss the ideas
Once everyone has had a chance to think things through, the best ideas
should become obvious.
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BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming session
As a group try a brainstorming session of your own:
Step 1
Choose one of the following two topics to brainstorm:
ways to stop famines in developing countries
ways to improve the quality of TV programmes offered at weekends.
Step 2
Brainstorm according to the rules you have just learned – don’t forget to have
someone write the ideas down.
Step 3
Have a little break!
Step 4
As a group choose the five best ideas from your list.
Step 5
Discuss your brainstorming session with your tutor. Show them the full list
and the five best ideas.
Think about the following:
Are you happy with the results you got from your session?
Did you find it easy to stick to the rules?
Don’t forget about brainstorming when you try your next group project –
it might come in handy!
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ARE YOU A GOOD LISTENER?
PART 8
Are you a good listener?
Listening means more than just keeping your ears open. You have to show
that you are listening and are aware of other peoples’ feelings.
Listening to others is very important in group work as the success of the group
depends on each person feeling that their opinions and ideas are listened to
and valued.
You can learn some skills to help you be to be a better listener.
Make a start by taking the listening skills quiz.
1. I am open-minded to other peoples’ ideas.
2. I don’t interrupt when other people are talking.
3. I make eye contact while talking and listening.
4. I am willing to share my feelings.
5. I don’t complete other peoples’ sentences for them.
6. I ask questions to find out more from other people.
7. I try to assess the other person’s feelings while they
are talking.
8. I pay attention to facial expressions and body language
(mine and others).
9. I remember what people say.
10. I feel comfortable with silences in conversation.
Score yourself as follows: 3 for ‘true’, 2 for ‘sometimes true’, 1 for ‘not true’.
This will give a score out of 30.
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ARE YOU A GOOD LISTENER?
Look at the table below to see what your score means.
25–30
Well done. Your listening skills are
excellent.
20–24
You are a good listener. Just one or
two areas for improvement.
15–19
You are a good listener in some
situations, but there several areas to
work on.
10–14
Listening isn’t your strength. Perhaps
you are more of a talker. Work hard to
improve your listening skills!
Less than 10
You didn’t answer all of the questions!
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ARE YOU A GOOD LISTENER?
Ten tips for good listening
Whether you are already a good listener or have some improvements to
make, it would be worth checking out the ten tips for good listening.
1. When you are speaking to someone, make eye contact as much as they
do to show you are interested. But don’t stare as that can be seen as
aggression.
2. Try to remember what the other person said the last time you met and
show that you remember.
3. Watch your body language – don’t sit with your arms folded or lean too far
forward – that is not friendly.
4. Don’t interrupt other people when they are talking – it is rude.
5. Don’t finish other peoples’ sentences for them, even if you think you know
what they are going to say. People like to speak for themselves – and
your guess may not be correct.
6. Ask questions now and then to show that you are interested and to get
more information.
7. If someone goes silent when they are speaking, don’t jump in too quickly –
let them take their time to gather their thoughts.
8. If someone has just told you about something that concerns them,
summarise what they have said and say it back to them to show you have
understood.
9. Use sympathetic body language – smile to reassure the other person and
nod your head.
10. When someone is speaking, concentrate on what they are saying – don’t
start forming your own answer too early.
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ARE YOU A GOOD LISTENER?
Listening exercise
So now you know how to be a good listener. But can you put it into practice?
Try the following exercise in pairs:
One person tells a story about a humorous and/or embarrassing incident from
their past.
The other person listens carefully and tries to use at least four of the top 10
listening tips.
You swap places and repeat the exercise.
If you feel confident, you could ask your tutor (or a third student) to watch and
comment on your performance as listeners.
Good luck with your listening skills and remember – good listeners always
have lots of friends!
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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE
PART 9
Dealing with difficult people
Are you good at dealing with people who cause problems for you? Try this
short quiz to find out.
Quiz
Tick the options you would choose.
1. Someone makes rude gestures at you as he/she overtakes your car.
Would you:
 chase him/her and make them stop
 ignore them
 make rude gestures back.
2. Someone leaves you do to all of the work. Would you:
 report them to someone higher up
 do their work too, but grumble
 speak to them as soon as you notice they aren’t working.
3. Someone borrows your stuff and doesn’t give it back. Would you:
 just go and take it back from them
 drop hints and hope they catch on
 tell them that you now need to use those things yourself
4. You are trying to have a discussion with someone to sort out a problem.
They get angry and start to shout. Would you:
 shout back
 keep cool and talk quietly until they calm down
 go and get three friends to back you up.
5. You are working with someone who always sees the bad side of every
suggestion – you can’t get anything done because they won’t agree to
anything. Do you:
 ask them if they have any better suggestions
 tell them to cheer up as they are getting on your nerves
 ignore them and work on your own
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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE
Use these scores to work out your total.
1. first answer
second answer
third answer
1
3
1
2. first answer
second answer
third answer
1
1
3
3. first answer
second answer
third answer
1
1
3
4. first answer
second answer
third answer
1
3
1
5. first answer
second answer
third answer
3
1
1
Your score is
Look at the table below to see how you did with the quiz:
16–18
11–15
6–10
Less than 5
You can cope with anyone!
You are quite good with difficult people but sometimes
you need to stop and think a bit more.
Awkward people annoy you – you would rather avoid
them.
You didn’t answer all of the questions!
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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE
Personal experience
Can you remember the last time you dealt with a difficult person?
What happened?
How did you deal with?
How did you feel about it?
Write your answers in the box.
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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE
Personal experience
Now discuss your answer with your tutor and the other member of your group.
Have you had similar experiences?
Whether you are working, studying or involved in some kind of leisure project,
there is a chance that you will come across someone who will make your task
difficult. That person can be part of the project team or outside it.
1. Be nice. Show respect to other people and give them credit for their
achievements. If you have to criticise someone else’s work or ideas, do it
gently.
2. Keep cool – don’t lose you temper. This can be difficult, especially if you
are a ‘fiery’ person or if someone else is provoking you. But losing your
temper won’t achieve anything.
3. Choose your time well. Usually, if someone is being difficult or keeping
everyone back, it is best to tackle it sooner rather than later. But don’t
choose a time when they are under stress about other things.
4. Keep a sense of humour – sometimes things can get into a mess, but most
of the time they can be fixed. Have a laugh together and then start work
again.
5. If you are relying on people outside the project to give you help or
information, be wary. They might not be committed in the same way as
team members. You would be best to have an alternative plan in case
they don’t do what they promised.
6. Make sure that you are not the difficult person that everyone else has to
work around. Think about your working methods and the way you speak
to people.
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WEBQUEST 1 – THE NEXT BIG THING – PREDICTING FASHION
PART 10
Webquest 1– The Next Big Thing – Predicting Fashion
Fashions change frequently as manufacturers of all sorts of goods are keen to
make us abandon what we have to buy something new. But they can’t make
the public buy things they don’t want. Talented people are needed to predict
fashion trends for clothes, furniture, cars, phones, computers, etc. Do you
have what it takes to design ‘the next big thing’?
Task
Your task as a group will be to come up with ideas for new products in the
following three areas:
 cars
 clothes
 mobile phones/handheld computers.
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WEBQUEST 1 – THE NEXT BIG THING – PREDICTING FASHION
Process
Step 1
As a group:

Decide which to tackle first – clothes, cars or computers.
Step 2
On your own:



Locate the worksheet for the category chosen.
Look at the websites listed below that are relevant to the category –
use them as inspiration, but obviously your idea(s) should take things a
bit further.
Fill in the worksheet with your ideas.
Step 3
As a group:

Discuss your ideas and decide which would be most likely to sell.
Step 4
As a group:

Repeat with the two other categories.
Step 5
As a group:

Show all of your ideas to your tutor and discuss.
Resources
Cars
http://www.ford.co.uk/
http://www.renault.co.uk/index_uk.html
http://www.honda.co.uk/
Clothes
http://www.h1ghst.co.uk/fashion_clothes.html
http://www.designerclobber.com/
Mobile phones/handheld computers
http://www.mobile-phones-review.co.uk/
http://www.moremobile.co.uk/
http://www.pocket-pda-handhelds.co.uk/palm-pdas.shtml
http://trial.which.co.uk/audio_visual_equipment.php?p_id=11&roi=100366
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WEBQUEST 1 – THE NEXT BIG THING – PREDICTING FASHION
Cars worksheet
Student’s name: _____________________________
Recent developments in car design and manufacture:
Your ideas for future developments:
shape
engine/technical features
interior/seating
accessories (music, navigation systems)
Other:
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WEBQUEST 1 – THE NEXT BIG THING – PREDICTING FASHION
Clothes worksheet
Student’s name: _______________________________
Important fashion trends of the last five years:
(favoured garments, colours, fabrics, details, accessories).
Your predictions for new fashion:
garments
influences
(e.g. periods of history)
shapes
colours
fabric/textures
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WEBQUEST 1 – THE NEXT BIG THING – PREDICTING FASHION
Mobile phones/handheld computers worksheet
Student’s name: __________________________________
Features of recent mobile phones/handheld computers:
Your ideas for future developments:
Mobile phones – new features and facilities
Handheld computers – new features and facilities
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WEBQUEST 1 – TEAMBUILDING
PART 11
Webquest 1 – Teambuilding
Many companies send their employees away for a few days to take part in
team-building activities. This can have many benefits – staff can get to know
each other better, trust is built up and they work better together afterwards.
They can also have a lot of fun!
Task
Your group has been asked by Stuart McDonald (the manager of a computer
supplies company) to find a suitable team-building activity for his 10 staff.
They are frequently out visiting customers and they don’t know each other
very well. He would like them to get to know each other better and have some
fun together. He is open-minded about the type of activity – it could be
something sporty to do outdoors, it could be a treasure hunt or it could be a
murder mystery event. He is prepared to pay for them to stay overnight if they
have to travel to England.
The staff are male and female, aged 20 to 55. Level of fitness unknown.
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WEBQUEST 1 – TEAMBUILDING
Process
Step 1
On your own:
Locate the Team-building review sheet
Step 2
On your own:



Visit the team-building websites – Action Weekends, Fours Seasons
Adventures and Team Building.
Fill in the details on your review sheet about each website and the
activities offered.
If you want to and you have time, you could look for other teambuilding companies on the Internet.
Step 3
On your own:
Decide which company and which activity you think is best for the group. Your
priorities are:
 Team building potential – what would help the sales staff to get to
know each other better?
 Fun – what would be exciting (but not too scary)?
 Appeal to all ages – not everyone will be fit.
 Value for money – check the prices if you can.
Step 4
As a group:
Discuss what you’ve found and decide which activities you would recommend
and which company you would choose.
Step 5
As a group:
Prepare a short report for Stuart McDonald outlining the three best
activities/companies for team building.
Give him enough detail to make a decision for himself.
Resources
http://www.fourseasonsadventures.co.uk/
http://www.actionweekends.co.uk/
http://www.teambuilding.co.uk/
Teambuilding review sheet
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WEBQUEST 1 – TEAMBUILDING
Teambuilding activity review sheet
Student’s name______________________
Website 1__________________________________
Details of team building activities offered:
Possible locations:
Advantages for team building:
Level of fitness required:
Cost (if known):
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WEBQUEST 1 – TEAMBUILDING
Teambuilding activity review sheet
Student’s name______________________
Website 2 _________________________________
Details of team building activities offered:
Possible locations:
Advantages for team building:
Level of fitness required:
Cost (if known):
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WEBQUEST 1 – TEAMBUILDING
Teambuilding activity review sheet
Student’s name______________________
Website 3 _________________________________
Details of team building activities offered:
Possible locations:
Advantages for team building:
Level of fitness required:
Cost (if known):
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WEBQUEST 1 – UNDERAGE DRINKING
PART 12
Webquest 1 – Underage Drinking
Drinking alcohol underage is acknowledged to be a problem in Scotland and
throughout the rest of Britain. But people under 18 should not be able to
obtain alcohol. Where do they get it from? Is it doing them any harm? Are
they harming anyone else? Is the legal age for drinking too high or too low?
Do we have anything to learn from other countries? There are many
questions for you to discuss.
Task
As a group look at reports, statistics and views on underage drinking. Come
to some conclusion about causes and effects and make a brief report with
your recommendations to reduce underage drinking.
Process
Step 1
On your own:

Locate the Underage drinking worksheet
Step 2
As a group or in pairs:

Look at the websites in ‘Resources’ below and fill in the worksheet.
Step 3
As a group:


Discuss the answers on the worksheets and try to agree on some
suggestions to reduce underage drinking or reduce the dangers.
Make a list of preferred suggestions.
Step 4
As a group:

Discuss your results with your tutor.
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WEBQUEST 1 – UNDERAGE DRINKING
Resources
Scottish Executive Report on Underage Drinking
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/udip-01.asp#4
Facts about underage drinking
http://www.raisingkids.co.uk/fea/FEA_13.ASP
Proof of age cards
http://www.portman-group.org.uk/alcohol/47.asp
Legal drinking age – other countries
http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/LegalDrinkingAge.html
Articles – Young people’s views on underage drinking
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/club/your_reports/newsid_1919000/191991
8.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/chat/your_comments/newsid_1916000/191
6469.stm
Underage drinking worksheets 1 and 2
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WEBQUEST 1 – UNDERAGE DRINKING
Underage drinking worksheet 1
Student’s name___________________________
What are the facts regarding underage drinking in Scotland? (age of drinkers,
amounts consumed, how frequently, where do they get it from and so on).
Why do young people drink underage?
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WEBQUEST 1 – UNDERAGE DRINKING
Underage drinking worksheet 2
Student’s name ________________________
What are the dangers of underage drinking?
(to the drinker and to others)
What could be done to stop or control underage drinking?
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CHOOSING AND SHAPING A PROJECT
PART 13
Choosing and Shaping a Project
To achieve this unit, you will have to complete a project in a group, and keep a
logbook recording your progress. Your tutor may already have helped you to
decide on a project, especially if you are taking another unit that overlaps with
Working with Others.
If you haven’t chosen a project yet, it’s now time to decide. Choosing a project
can be exciting, but finding one that suits everyone in the group can
sometimes be difficult. Sometimes, you think you have found a good idea for a
project, but you hit some snags when you start work.
It is also very easy to get carried away with your ideas and to set yourselves
targets that you are not likely to meet with the time, resources and skills you
have at the moment – be careful not to do that. But don’t set your targets too
low, either. At Higher you should be tackling a project that you will all find
challenging and satisfying.
Once you start your project, you may find that you have to make adjustments
to your plans. Don’t worry about that – it happens to nearly every project. But
do remember to record all changes and new decisions – that is the important
part!
Here are some hints to help you to choose a suitable project and avoid the
snags.
Interests
As a group, discuss what interests you have. Think about your studies, your
jobs (if you work) and your hobbies. Look in today’s newspapers and see
what is happening in the world. Make a list of your interests. You will
probably find that it’s a long list. The hard part might be finding something that
everyone is interested in.
Talents and Skills
What are you good at?
 Who is good at written work?
 Who likes keeping records?
 Who can interview people and get interesting answers?
 Is there some who is good at word processing and computer graphics?
 Can anyone operate a video camera or digital camera?
 Who is good at making plans and managing people?
 Is anyone artistic or good at crafts?
 Make a list of the talents of all of the group members.
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CHOOSING AND SHAPING A PROJECT
Think about the talents ands skills you will need for the project you want to try.
Will you be able to manage it?
Time
 How much time do you have to spend on your project in college or
school?
 Will you be able to manage to complete your project in the time you
have? If not, could it be scaled down a bit?
 Will you need to meet other students outside school/college hours?
Equipment
 What pieces of equipment will you need to carry out this project? For
example, if you were going to make a video, you would need a camera.
 Will you be able to get one?
Materials
 What supplies will you need to carry out your project? You will need
stationery (paper, pens, etc.) to keep records of your project.
 Think about other things you might need, especially if your project
involves making things to sell.
Travel
 Will you need to travel to carry out this project?
 Will you have the time and permission to travel?
 Will it be expensive?
Cost



Help


Will your project be expensive?
Will you be able to get any money from your school or college?
If you are making things to sell, you will have to ensure that they don’t
cost too much to make.
Will you need extra people to help with this project?
If so, will you be able to find them?
Premises
 Do you have a suitable room or rooms for your project?
 Will you be able to get in when you need to?
 Can you store your materials?
 If you are having an event like a sale or a concert, will you be able to
book for the day you want?
Communication
 Will you find it easy to keep in touch with each other about the project
and contact anyone else you need to speak to?
 Will you have meetings or use e-mail/telephone? (This is especially
important for students who are not members of a class group.)
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CHOOSING AND SHAPING A PROJECT
Checklist
If you have an idea for a project, use a checklist to see if it might work.
Project suggestion____________________________________________
If you can answer yes to all or nearly all of the questions below, your project
idea is probably a good one.
Are we all interested in this project?
YES/NO
Do we have the skills and talents to carry it out?
YES/NO
Will we be able to finish it in time?
YES/NO
Will we be able to get the equipment we need?
YES/NO
Will we be able to get the materials we need?
YES/NO
If we need to travel, do we have time/permission?
YES/NO
Do we have the money to meet any costs?
YES/NO
Do we have the premises (room or rooms) for our project?
YES/NO
Do we need extra help and can we get it?
YES/NO
Will we manage to keep in touch with each other?
YES/NO
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
PART 14
Dividing up the Work
Once you have decided on a project for your group, you will need to make a
plan to divide up the work and make sure it gets done. There are many ways
of doing this. One way is to think of your project as a story that hasn’t
happened yet, and then write your plan like a story.
When journalists are writing articles for the newspapers, they use the following
six words as reminders to make sure they don’t miss anything out:
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
For example, if a burglary has been committed, the journalist would want to
know:
 Who did it and who witnessed it?
 What was taken?
 When did it happen?
 Where did it happen?
 Why did they choose that house?
 How did they get in?
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
You can also use these six words to organise your work for your project.
You can think about who will do each task, when things need to be done,
how you will do them, what resources you will use, etc.
As a group, imagine that you are making a short promotional video about
restaurants and cafes in your town. Try to divide up the tasks necessary
to complete the project.
Fill in the exercise sheet provided.
When you have completed it, show it to your tutor.
Read the next two pages if you would like some hints.
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
Support sheet
Who?
Who is going to carry out the project? Obviously it will be the members of your
group. But you should also think about the following:
 Who is going to do each part? You will need to think about the various
tasks involved and the best people to do them. There might be tasks
for one person, two people and some for the whole group.
 If time is quite tight, choose the people who already have the skills to
complete the task. If you have a bit more time, you can afford to
experiment and let group members try things they haven’t done before.
 If some tasks are not popular, make a rota so that everyone does their
share.
 Who else are you going to need? You might need to speak to some
other people about help, information or permission. Make a list of
those people.
 If you are hoping to raise some money with your project, who will be
your customers?
What?
If you have already chosen your project, you will know what you want as an
end result. What you will need to do is break it down into smaller tasks. Think
about:
 what you can manage in the time you have
 what is essential and what can be left out
 the story of your project from start to finish – imagine your project
happening. That way you won’t miss anything out.
When?
If your project involves an event of some kind (like a performance or a sale of
goods), you will need to fix a suitable date. Make sure it’s a date when people
can come. It will be no good if it clashes with exams or a public holiday.
 Give yourselves enough time – work out how long it will take you to get
ready.
 Even is there isn’t an event to get ready for, you will still have a
deadline when everything will have to be completed– speak to your
tutor about this. If you are planning a written project, such as a pack or
a collection of leaflets, you may be given a date to hand in a first draft.
Make sure you all work towards that.
 See the section on ’Planning Your Time’ – it gives good information
about keeping a diary.
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
Why?
The answers to this question should be very easy. You have chosen this
project because:
 you want to pass the unit
 you want to make money for a good cause (if you are fundraising)
 you are all interested in the subject you have chosen.
When you break your project down into smaller tasks, you should consider
why you are doing each one of them. Are they really relevant to what you
want to achieve?
Where?
You need to think about the following:
 Where you are going to work – in the classroom or somewhere else.
 If there are different stages to your project (for example making things
and selling them) you may need different locations.
 If you are looking for customers, you need to think about where to find
them.
 If you are looking for people to give help or information, you need to
find them.
 If you are travelling outside of your college or school, you need to think
about where you are going and how you are going to get there.
How?
You need to think about:
 equipment – will you need a computer, a cooker, a video camera, a
tape recorder, and so on?
 supplies – stationery (pens, paper, computer disks), ingredients.
 communication – with group members and people outside the group by
e-mail, telephone, in person, letters, etc.
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
Another go
By now you should have the hang of ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’.
If you would like another practice, try this exercise:
Imagine that your group is carrying out one of the following three projects.
Print off the exercise sheet and as a group fill it in for that project. When you
have finished, discuss it with your tutor.
1. You are making and selling a range of ornaments - using recycled
materials. The money you make will go to charity.
2. You are running a ‘healthy eating’ week in your school or college – this will
involve contact with students, teaching staff and catering staff. You will be
publicising it in a variety of ways – leaflets, talks and intranet if possible.
3. You are investigating fashions in the 1970s in Britain. You will be giving a
presentation to students in your school or college. You will try to illustrate
it in as many ways as possible – with clothes, household items, music and
clips from films and TV programmes.
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DIVIDING UP THE WORK
Who, what, where, when, why and how
Students’ names ______________________________________________
Project ______________________________________________________
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?
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FINDING INFORMATION
PART 15
Finding Information
Is the Internet always best?
This course can be done online and in some sections you are given links to
the Internet. This might make you think that the writer is promoting the
Internet as the best source of information for all occasions.
This is not true! The Internet is very convenient. But there are many other
sources of information. Which sources you use will depend on what you are
trying to find out.
Here is a list of sources – you can probably think of some others:
Print
Books, leaflets, worksheets, handouts, newspapers, and magazines.
People
Tutors, other students, family, friends, experts.
Audio-visual
TV, videos, DVDs.
Visual
Photographs, pictures, posters.
Organisations
Libraries, museums, local council, voluntary groups and charities.
Computer
Apart from the Internet you can use CD-ROMs and databases.
Surveys
You can use questionnaires.
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FINDING INFORMATION
Finding Information
Which source you use depends on what information you are looking for. You
will become better at finding information quickly if you give yourself lots of
practice.
You should also keep in mind the following:
Speed
How quickly will you be able to get the information? If you write a letter to
an organisation in London and wait for a reply, you may have to wait a
week or more. Could you find the information more quickly by another
means?
Cost
Don’t spend money on bus fares to find out information that you could just
as easily get by telephoning.
Quality
You want information that is correct and up-to-date. If you are taking
information from a book, look at the front to see when it was published.
Depending on the subject, the information could now be out of date if the
book was published several years ago.
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FINDING INFORMATION
Finding information worksheet
Work in pairs to answer the following questions:
1
Use at least two different sources to find the following pieces of information
and write down the answers, including any differences.
•
Find an electrician in your neighbourhood (name and phone number).
___________________________________________________
•
What films are on at your nearest cinema this week?
___________________________________________________
•
What year did Queen Victoria come to the throne?
_____________________________________________________
•
What is the exchange rate for the pound sterling against the US dollar?
_______________________________________________________
•
Find 3 recipes involving tomatoes, beef and wine (write down names).
______________________________________________________
2. Look at the information you found for question 1.
•
How many different sources did you use altogether?
In your opinion:

which were quicker? _______________________________

which were more accurate? ___________________________
3. Imagine that you wanted to know about CDs bought by 16–18 year olds.
(Type of music, favourite bands/singers, which shops, amount spent per
month.)
 Can you think of two ways to find that out? What are they?
_________________________________________________

Which way would be quicker? _____________________

Which would be more accurate? ____________________
Once you have completed this worksheet, show your answers to your
tutor.
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FINDING INFORMATION
Some more practice?
If you had difficulty in finding sources for this exercise, discuss it with your
tutor – you might need some more practice.
Your tutor will be on hand throughout the course to point you in the right
direction when you are absolutely stuck for information, but they can’t and
won’t do the work for you.
At Higher, your group should be working without tutor assistance for much of
the time, so try hard to think for yourselves before you ask for help!
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