The 30-Second Discussion to Build Teamwork
Introduction — Inclusion is not only about differentiated tasks
Imagine you have a student whose self-confidence is very low. Let’s call him “X”. X could not follow most lessons. As such, he often felt he was left out of the learning.
In one Physical Education (PE) lesson, you wanted to ask the class, “What are some ways you can maintain possession of the ball?”
However, your subconscious mind told you you should not just ask the whole class and wait for answers. You knew students like X would not answer. As such, you said to them, “I gave you one minute to think of the answers with your partners.”
If you have used this approach before, thank you! Because of you, all your students would feel included. And a sense of belonging to the class. Even if X did not shout out the answer, he knew he had contributed to the learning.
Over time, X would develop strong bonds with the class. And when that happens, you do not need to worry about varied abilities or readiness. The class will help one another to achieve the learning goals.
We all understand the purpose of differentiated instruction (D.I.). Every student is different, so they must learn at the suitable levels.
If the challenge is too high, students will develop anxiety. And if it is too low, they will be bored. In both situations, students cannot learn. That is why inclusion usually means differentiating the tasks to suit each student.
However, an inclusive classroom is more than differentiating every task. In an inclusive classroom, everyone must feel a sense of belonging to the learning. And they must feel included in every question we ask and every task they do.
Inclusion also means great teamwork
What makes a great team great? I am sure everyone in the team feels included. If inclusion is all about D.I., does it mean every practice task they do is differentiated to their abilities?
I do not think so.
You can differentiate every task, but if the players do not feel included, they may still feel stressed. And they may constantly be worried about doing the wrong thing. At the end of the day, these players will still not learn.
“Great teams focus on values and work ethics.”
The New Zealand All Blacks rugby team is often regarded as the best sports team in history (). Their success is due to their focus on ethos and values, such as TEAMWORK.
I took charge of many water polo batches. Most of them did very well. However, some batches did way better than all our expectations. Thinking back, the batches that did exceptionally well were those with great teamwork.
For instance, in 2017, the B-division (senior) team had some of the best teamwork I had seen. Ironically, Only a couple of these students knew how to swim when they were in secondary one. And they lost badly in all their C-division (junior) matches.
Nobody believed they would do well in the B-division competition. They were not the smartest, hardest working, or fittest. However, they went against all odds and won the national water polo championship!
Like all successful teams, the 2017 batch had great teamwork. They always helped one another in practice and games. I remember all the students felt a very strong sense of belonging to the team.
That is probably why they were so committed. They also constantly explored new ways, took charge of their learning and were helpful to one another.
Actually, ALL students want to learn and can learn. They want to explore, be self-directed and help their friends. Unfortunately, in reality, we seldom see that happening. They follow the crowd, do not want to try and appear to be selfish.
The reason is many of those students do not felt a sense of belonging. They were constantly worried about doing the wrong thing. And they are worried about being judged by their peers.
Conversation opportunities develop great teamwork
The 2017 batch did not enter secondary school with great teamwork. Like many students, they appeared to be selfish, unmotivated and not willing to try. As such, developing their teamwork became my main focus.
Giving them a lecture on teamwork would not improve their teamwork. I needed to find the root of the problem. As I delved deeper, I discovered that stress was an issue. Because of the anxiety in training, the students were often in a state of ‘fight or flight’.
“Fight” happened when I saw them blaming their teammates for their mistakes. And “Flight” happened when I saw them not willing to try. To solve the root of problem, I had to make the make the learning environment safe.
From PE lessons, I learned that collaborative learning strategies, such as think-pair-share, can enhance learning, develop teamwork and make the learning environment safe.
As such, I created many collaborative learning opportunities for them.
For example, before every practice, I asked them to find a partner and set a learning goal together. And in between sets, I told them to share one strategy with the person beside them.
The numerous interactions allowed them to understand one another. And I saw them offering help, more. Soon, the students became more committed. And everyone saw how fast they improved.
Positive energy begets positive energy. The more they talked about it, the stronger their beliefs became. While we did not have high hopes for them, the students set high goals for themselves — To win the championship!
Conversations also had another advantage. They sparked further thinking, which led to more conversations. I noticed this group of students continued to talk about water polo even after practice.
Many studies have shown that the metacognition cycle has many great benefits (Sword, 2024). It increases achievement levels, the ability to learn independently, and resilience.
Consider a team that lost all matches in 2015, only to win every game two years later and emerge as champions. Looking at the speedy transformation, I can only agree with those studies!
That is why collaboration and communication are two of the 21st-century competencies our students must develop. They help them become lifelong learners who use active learning habits to understand, not merely remember.
The 30-second discussion
Imagine you are a student in a volleyball lesson. Using a Game-Based Approach (GBA), the teacher asked you to play a 2v2 game first. During the game, you had difficulties passing the ball to your partner, who was the setter.
After some time, you thought it was safer to just hit the ball to the opponent’s side. But when you did that, your partner blamed you. He said you should pass the ball to him so that he could set the ball for the attack.
You tried to pass to him, but you kept making mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the more worried you get. When your teacher saw that the games kept breaking down, he asked you to practice volleyball bumps with your partner.
During the practice, you continued to worry about making mistakes. Because you were not relaxed, you made lots of mistakes! Soon, you were overwhelmed by anxiety. And you became very unmotivated for the next volleyball lessons.
Now, imagine that during the game, your teacher asked you to do a team talk. He asked everyone to encourage one another and that you modify the game to make it more playable.
Your friend said, “You can do it!” You and your opponents also decided to tweak the rule to allow one catch.
After the conversation, you felt more assured. Your partner continued to encourage you. The new rule also reduced anxiety. You made fewer mistakes, and you wanted to play volleyball more.
Conversations spark deeper thinking and encourage more conversation. They also make the students feel that they are part of a learning community — a community where everyone helps one another.
It need not be a ten-minute activity. A 30-second discussion is enough to spark more discussion during the practice. It will also motivate them to work together as a team.
One opportunity is in between games. For example, you can say, “I noticed some problem during the game. In the next game, what would you do differently? Discuss with your teammates.”
After that, observe the students’ motivation. I believe there will be an improvement.
The 30-second discussion can also be used to increase a practice’s success rate. For example, during a passing drill, ask the students to discuss a better way to pass so that they will see more success.
Very often, students stand too far apart when they pass. As such, the solution is simply to stand closer.
If we allow them to discuss it, they will come up with a solution within seconds. However, if they do not talk about it, they might not know. Then, they would continue to make the same mistakes throughout the tasks.
Students need to understand the purpose of conversation. And they need to understand why the learning environment has to be safe. As such, I would always spend time to explain the WHY.
When everyone understood, I would see them talking and encouraging one another during the practice. Then, I would not need the 30-second discussion anymore.
Conclusion — Teach them to think critically about the learning tasks
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
— Aristotle
When students appear disengaged, it’s easy to assume that the task is the issue. However, modifying the task may not necessarily increase their motivation. The root of the problem might be psychological.
To increase our students’ motivation, we need to make them feel that they are part of the learning community. We must also make them feel they are competent enough to achieve the learning goal.
It is not easy when they see mistakes all the time. And it is not easy when their friends tend to blame them for the mistakes they make.
Our students must learn that there is always a better way to do something. When they see the practice constantly break down, they should talk about it. Either they modify the task, or they encourage one another.
As long as they have discussions, they will feel safe. And they will develop stronger bonds. Try the 30-second think-pair-share or team-talk. If you are not used to it, try once per lesson. Once is enough to increase their motivation.
Over time, students will develops the confident to explore, take ownership of their learning and want to help their peers. They will develop a better understanding and accelerate their learning!
References
Sword, R. (2024, February 16). Metacognition in the Classroom: Benefits & Strategies. The Hub | High Speed Training.
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, March 21). New Zealand national rugby union team. Wikipedia.
