Build Your Own Team Learning Framework

What we’ve noticed that all team coaches need a ”Team Learning Framework”. Any long-term program needs some sort of framework that combines both curriculum/syllabuses as well as pedagogical underpinnings together as a roadmap. Also, one can fit into all kinds of quality systems or competency models to create a integrated whole of it.

The Framework helps to understand the big picture. It is a communication tool that helps the learners (student team members) to understand: ”Hey. This is what team learning means to us. These are the most important points.”

In our international Team Mastery 2021-2022 program we have participants from United States (Washington State), Evergreen State College’s Changemaker Labs as well as from Czech Republic, Silesian University in Opava. US team is already running a team learning program. Czech team will start one in 2022.

Both the US and Czech teams are working on their own frameworks. They are thinking: ”What is our team learning system like?”

We think frameworks like these should be easy to understand (but still a bit vague to leave everyone freedom to interpret things their own way), inspiring and reflection of the learning community’s (e.g. study programme’s or educational insitution’s) culture. And, frameworks should be fun and have a story – there are enough boring contraptions (fin. häkkyrä, himmeli) in organizations already.

In Team Mastery’s 3rd module held in Spain, Bilbao, we benchmarked University of Mondragon’s Mondragon Team Academy (MTA) framework. They call it Falkon Model, as it looks like a Falcon. The English manual on it is still under translation but will be published at some point by the MTA. But, we got a preview on it! Stay tuned on it!

What we learnt? A good team coach training program should include session – or many sessions – on framework design. Team coaches and educators should share their ideas on their frameworks. There’s a need to explain to other what team learning is and what are its central points. People need roadmaps. And they love to have them inspiring.

Don’t yet have your own framework for team learning? Check out Johannes Partanen’s Rocket Model for inspiration. You can find it from a book written by him, ”Team Coach’s Best Tools” here. And yes, its name is Rocket Model as one French space technology engineer once saw it and said: ”Oh. Your framework looks like a space rocket”.

Writer Jukka Hassinen, Tiimiakatemia Global, Education designer