Evaluation of EnTeam in the Elementary Classroom
Report on a Case Study of EnTeam Activities
May 2002
by Professor Michael Grady, Ph.D., St. Louis University—Educational Program Evaluator

Introduction
Observations
January 24, 2002
January 31, 2002
February 7, 2002
February 14, 2002
March 7, 2002
April 25, 2002
May 28, 2002
Findings
Appendix

Introduction

The purpose of this case study was to learn more about EnTeam activities in terms of student learning.  EnTeam activities focus on win-win situations rather than win-lose situations by scoring cooperation rather than competition.  EnTeam’s vision is “people can make a more peaceful and productive world by learning to win together and measuring their skill in cooperation.”  Through the use of EnTeam activities, students build skills to work together more productively and increase achievement.

Moreover, a major point learned from this study was that EnTeam is a supplementary educational resource which assists teachers with teaching cooperation and reinforcing content through experiential activities and stimulating discussions.  These EnTeam activities and discussions encourage students to score cooperation rather than competition and to think cooperatively.

The subject of the case study was Ms. Jennifer Boudreau, a second year AmeriCorps member who worked with Ms. Tabb, the teacher in a fourth grade classroom at Scullin Elementary School. Scullin is located near Interstate 70 and North Kingshighway in the northern part of the City of St. Louis.  Almost all of the students in the school are African American.

The data collection strategies in this study consisted of seven observations of a variety of EnTeam games used with the twenty-five fourth grade students, interviews of Jennifer and Ms. Tabb, informal interviews of the students and a discussion with the students. Data collection was from January to May, 2002.  All of the data, including scores sheets from the EnTeam activities, were analyzed in order to determine the findings about EnTeam activities and student learning. The evaluator also used additional data collected about EnTeam to establish context and enrich this case study.

A limitation of this study is that the data collection was limited to one AmeriCorps member in one classroom. Although some valuable lessons were learned about EnTeam activities, these lessons were learned from only one situation.  However, the personnel and environment chosen for this study provided helpful ‘lessons learned’ for the EnTeam organization that most likely can be extended to other similar situations.

Observations

During this case study, the EnTeam activities were implemented by AmeriCorps member, Jennifer Boudreau, with the assistance of the cooperating teacher and the school. The activities were integrated into the regular school day and made part of the curriculum to reinforce lessons and learn about cooperation.  This is an ideal situation which is not always available to EnTeam.  AmeriCorps members usually do not have the authority to introduce new activities without the support of the teachers and principal.  In this situation, Jennifer had the necessary support from the school community. The observations that provided the data for this study are presented chronologically and followed by findings about EnTeam and student learning.

January 24, 2002

Activities
In this observation the students were doing times tables cooperatively by working in pairs. It took the students several minutes to understand what they found to be rather complex rules and score sheets. However, once into the game, the students were enthusiastic, interested and played by the rules. They worked together to get correct answers. During the activities, the students had questions about the rules such as can we work separately or must we work together.

During the debriefing the students said that they felt good about the experience because they “worked together as a team.” The students also made comments such as, “they learned about teamwork--don’t argue” and “we can win by working together.”  One student summarized the activities by saying, “[through teamwork] you can learn more than you know.”

Analysis
The students showed interest in the games, they discussed teamwork and cooperation in the debriefing and the games provided math practice. It appeared that to obtain higher scores, students worked on their math skills.  Student control is a concern when doing the games as the students became excited and acted out inappropriately including cheating on their scores or putting in answers after time was up.

January 31, 2002

Activities
While I was waiting in the hallway for the activities to begin, a student came up to me and asked me “if we are going to play a game today?”  I replied, “I think so” and the student said, “I hope so.” This I believe was another indicator of the enthusiasm the students had for EnTeam activities. The class again did the times tables in pairs but this time only eight students were present because most of the girls were out of the class for cheerleading practice. The games went smoother this time probably because the students were experienced with the game and because of the small number.

Analysis
The students had to be reminded to think about cooperative strategies. The teachers gave them time to plan a strategy. What the students learned was that if they planned and used a strategy to work together, their scores were higher (from 160 to 261 in one case). As one student stated after noticing their increased scores, “you work better when you work together.” An important point that came from this debriefing was that the students began to discuss that some cooperative strategies are better than others. They needed to decide which were the best strategies in a particular situation. 

February 7, 2002

Activities
The games today explored equations. The students discovered equations that gave them the pre-determined answer to the problem.  In other words, the students found the problem to match the answer. This was a more difficult game (most of the students were not familiar with the term “equation”) but the brighter students found it interesting and engaging. The game went well and the students remained attentive even though the game was challenging and  EnTeam activities are immediately before lunch.

Analysis
This more difficult content hindered the students from concentrating on cooperative strategies.  The teachers needed to remind the students to work together. It appears necessary for teachers to continue to remind students to work cooperatively. Only about half of their scores were improved the second time this game was played. The difficulty of the content appears to be related to the students ability to think and act cooperatively.

February 14, 2002

Activities
Today’s session began with a debriefing of last week’s session because there was not time last week for debriefing. The debriefing turned into more of a math lesson about equations than an EnTeam discussion.  The students have learned the routine of EnTeam and know how to set up for the activities efficiently. They repeated the times tables games today which was probably appropriate for Valentine’s day when student attention was distracted.

Analysis
The students now work together well and become involved rather quickly in the EnTeam experience. They also discuss cooperative or teamwork strategies much better and understand the importance of strategies to the games. The debriefing again focused on strategies and how to use them effectively to develop their teams. Students appear to enjoy what appears to be “competitive cooperation.”

March 7, 2002

Activities
Only six students participated in the abbreviated activity today because the others misbehaved and were punished by not being allowed to participate in the EnTeam activity.  The students, Jennifer and I went to a small classroom where these students played Jenga. In this game, the students build towers from blocks to see who can build the highest tower without it falling down.

Analysis
Jennifer reminded them to discuss team strategies to improve their tower building.  Reminders about using cooperative strategies has become a reoccurring theme in this study. The games are usually good discussion starters and with a talented leader, he or she can promote quality discussion about teamwork strategies and their impact on the outcome of the game.  Often, the students see how the strategy can improve their scores. The question remains, however, do the EnTeam activities and discussions lead to changed behavior outside of the games in terms of cooperation and teamwork?

April 25, 2002

Activities
On this nice day, the students and teachers went outside to do the tube relay.  Although two students suffered minor injuries (scrapes from falling on the playground) the students had great fun. They continued to play for an extended time. When other students came out for recess, they wanted to know what game the students were playing and if they could participate. It looked like fun to them.

Analysis
During the game I heard students discuss teamwork principles such as don’t get angry--work together. During the debriefing, students discussed language use (avoid negative language), feelings and why students gave up who were not good at the game.  Once again, the EnTeam activities proved to be effective discussion starters on topics such as teamwork and cooperation. The activities give concrete examples for discussion if the leaders are able to develop the examples.

May 28, 2002

Activities
Today was devoted mostly to interviews with the two teachers and a discussion with the students.

Analysis
(Teachers’ interview)  The teachers stressed that the program needed more time with the students in order to determine its genuine impact on them. The students have a lot going on in their lives and a few activities will have minimum impact on them outside of school. The EnTeam program should start early in the school year and be integrated into the curriculum as well as having its own curriculum.  The EnTeam activities did seem to help the students with their studies, perhaps more than with teamwork, though it seemed to influence a few students in the opinions of the teachers. Students liked the games and asked for them but it is difficult to find time for them. It would be helpful to have more age specific games. Teachers need training in how to use the EnTeam activities. They believe it would take concerted training and school wide long term effort to see impact from the use of the games on more than a few students. 

(Student discussion) The students stated that they learned to work together and felt good about it. “We worked together to get a higher score.”  They said that they developed strategies in order to get higher scores. However, they could not discuss how they would use EnTeam outside of school. The students appeared to understand cooperation and developing strategies to work together in order to get a higher score in the game.

Findings

EnTeam activities were adapted to reinforce the curriculum being taught in the fourth grade class (mathematics, for example). EnTeam activities were helpful in reinforcing content because the children enjoyed the games, engaged in them and worked diligently to improve their EnTeam scores while also working math problems. It appears that EnTeam activities can be used effectively for reinforcing some traditional curricular concepts such as times tables. Both teachers agreed that EnTeam was helpful with reinforcing lessons.

EnTeam activities, of course, also focus on cooperation. This researcher found EnTeam to be useful in this class to emphasize the concept of cooperation, Usually the students’ scores increased as they developed strategies for improving their cooperative performance. For example, during this study, when two games were played consecutively, 68% of the time the second score increased.  When three games were played consecutively, 85% of the time the third game score was higher than the first.  The students determined that as they developed strategies for working together, their scores improved. The more effective the strategy they developed, the higher their score. Also, the score sheets are continual reminders to the students to adopt strategies in order to achieve a higher score as well as records of their efforts. Overall, the researcher observed how the games encouraged the students to think cooperatively and to develop cooperative strategies.

After the EnTeam activity was finished, the AmeriCorps member and the cooperating teacher would discuss with the students their strategies, what worked, what did not work and the concept of cooperation.  Frequently, the teachers would use the score sheets as a resource to remind the students of the effectiveness of certain strategies. In these discussions, important points were made about cooperation as related to the games and the students’ world. This process was effective in developing the point of the EnTeam activity. However, the discussions also made clear the importance of knowledgeable and well trained facilitators who are capable of leading such discussions with students. The debriefings are one of the most valuable assets of the EnTeam activities for teaching the various meanings of cooperation.

In summary, the students learned the concept and consequences of cooperation/teamwork as expressed by them, the teachers, EnTeam scores, and observed by the researcher. Moreover, EnTeam activities helped reinforce lessons in the regular school curriculum. Additional themes from this study are included in the Appendix.

Appendix

The following are some themes or issues that came from this case study. They are listed here because they amplify the findings in this report and might provide some specific assistance to EnTeam in future efforts.

These themes include:

Students develop creative cooperation strategies that they use in EnTeam activities. It is interesting to observe their strategies. For example, two students decided together it was better to work on the problems separately than together. They won!

The students have to be encouraged to think about teamwork strategies. Otherwise they just do what comes naturally which is usually competitive strategies.

The games provided effective math practice.

If the students are engaged in challenging content, they focus on the content more than cooperation. This probably should be the opposite situation but they need to be told to think about how they can win cooperatively.

Although they were somewhat confused at first, these students have learned to use the score sheets and they work for them. Their score is important to most of them.

Learning to cooperate is like learning math. It is a slow and step-by-step process that needs continued reinforcement. An EnTeam curriculum would be useful to schools.

When playing the same game the second time, the leader has to emphasize teaming otherwise the students will just use the same strategy they used the last time and the focus becomes math, not team work. The teacher has to emphasize teamwork.

The teacher plays an important role in encouraging the students to think about strategies but also to ask how well their strategies worked. In a debriefing, these students began to ask which teamwork strategy is better than another. This was a rather sophisticated discussion. The teacher is key to these discussions.

The idea of working together becomes apparent to these students as they participate in the games. At what level this learning takes place remains to be determined.

One week when the students worked together the second time on the same game, their scores were markedly higher. I think this helped them see the value of discussing how to work together and then doing it.

It takes time to organize the students and prepare them to play the games. Not all students like the games or become highly involved. The more difficult the content, the harder it is for some students to participate and think about cooperation.

Games need to fit the curriculum of the school. and have more age specific games. Perhaps start the games in lower grade levels and use more than once a week. Have older students create games for younger students.