Making Collaboration Work Fall 2023
INTEG 210 / INDEV 212

Collaboration is essential for solving complex, real-world problems. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the ability to work well in a team is one of the most sought-after skills by employers. Most students have the opportunity to work in groups, but many have not learned the theory behind group work or best practices for making collaboration work. In this course, you will learn and apply key collaborative theories and practices. For example: What aspects of teams are most important? What problems do teams most commonly face and how can those problems be minimized? How can productive conflict increase creativity and productivity, and how can destructive conflict be reduced? 

You will have the opportunity to work in two different groups, where you will apply what you’re learning to address a real-world problem. During the course, we will teach you techniques for improving team dynamics, such as creating and using a team charter, identifying and addressing conflict, and providing useful feedback. You will also learn some of the fundamentals of design thinking that will help you work together to address a real-world problem. 

Throughout the course, you will have a chance to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses in team settings and use feedback from your peers to improve your collaborative skills. You will also receive feedback on the group projects themselves, before revising and submitting your work. Feedback from previous students from a range of disciplines suggests they come out of this course feeling more comfortable working in groups, more confident in their ability to identify and address problems on a team, and better able to provide useful feedback to others.

This course benefits from diverse enrolment from across the campus, and the material is useful regardless of your discipline or program--we all need to work collaboratively at some point.  If you have peers you think would benefit, consider sharing the course information with them!

There are assigned readings each week in addition to the graded assignments below. Those are listed on LEARN and reminders will be provided in class.

Required Readings & LEARN Site: What Will I Need for This Course?

All course materials, or links to them, will be posted on LEARN. We will also be using the following online tools (see LEARN for details as to how to access and use each of these tools, all of which are free to use):

• Perusall, an online tool for social reading, will be used for assigned readings. Perusall allows you to highlight areas of a text and ask a question, leave a comment, and/or reply to others
• PEAR (Peer Evaluation, Assessment, & Review) will be used for evaluation of self and team members' contributions.

See the detailed Course Syllabus on LEARN for more information about course assignments, due dates, and grading.

Respectful Behavior

Policy 33, Ethical Behavior, addresses expectations for all members of the university, including faculty, staff, and students. The general principle of Policy 33 is that “each member of the University endeavor to contribute to the existence of a just and supportive community based on equality and respect for individual differences.” Disrespectful or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Policy 33 also prohibits “a poisoned environment (or one that is intimidating, hostile, or offensive).” For more information about what constitutes discrimination, harassment, or a poisoned environment, see Policy 33, Ethical Behavior. 

Furthermore, many students don’t realize that Policy 71, Student Discipline, covers both academic and non-academic offenses, such as disrupting other students’ learning. In particular, Policy 71 prohibits “disruptive, dangerous, aggressive or threatening behavior, including by electronic means.” 

The instructor and TA are committed to creating a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment. If you have been the target of hostile or disrespectful behavior, or you think you have witnessed another student engaging in such behavior towards other students in class, please email the instructor immediately.

Declaring Absences: Regardless of the process used to declare an absence, instructors maintain agency over decisions regarding course component accommodations.  

Self-declared absences (for COVID-19 and short-term absences up to 2 days) must be submitted through Quest.

Absences requiring documentation (e.g. Verification of Illness Form, bereavement, etc.) are to be uploaded by completing the form on the VIF System (https://vif.uwaterloo.ca).  Do not send documentation to your advisor, course instructor, teaching assistant, or lab coordinator. Submission through the VIF System will notify your instructors of your absence. 

Mental Health: The University of Waterloo, the Faculty of Environment and our Departments/Schools consider students' well-being to be extremely important. We recognize that throughout the term students may face health challenges - physical and / or emotional. Please note that help is available. Mental health is a serious issue for everyone and can affect your ability to do your best work. Counselling Services https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/ is an inclusive, non-judgmental, and confidential space for anyone to seek support. They offer confidential counselling for a variety of areas including anxiety, stress management, depression, grief, substance use, sexuality, relationship issues, and much more.

All students are encouraged to download the WatSAFE app which is available free through the google and iOS app stores. The WatSAFE app provides on- and off-campus contacts for students in distress, including international students, and other information related to campus safety and security.

Religious Observances: Students need to inform the instructor at the beginning of term if special accommodation needs to be made for religious observances that are not otherwise accounted for in the scheduling of classes and assignments.

Communications with Instructor and Teaching Assistants: All communication with students must be through either the student’s University of Waterloo email account or via LEARN. If a student emails the instructor or TA from a personal account they will be requested to resend the email using their personal University of Waterloo email account.

Recording lecture: Use of recording devices during lectures is only allowed with explicit permission of the instructor of the course. If allowed, video recordings may only include images of the instructor and not fellow classmates. Posting of videos or links to the video to any website, including but not limited to social media sites such as: facebook, twitter, etc., is strictly prohibited.

COVID-19 Contingency: Students who must miss class due to Covid-19 or other illness must enter absences into the system. Students can self-declare one Covid absence of up to 10 days and one absence for any reason for up to 2 days per term via Quest. Further absences require documentation, which students enter via vif.uwaterloo.ca. Absences will be accommodated according to the academic regulations section of the undergraduate calendar.

In the event of instructor illness, classes will be temporarily suspended and/or in-person classes may be temporarily moved online, depending on the severity of instructor illness and self-isolation requirements. Should the University of Waterloo require the suspension of in-person instructional activity, all classes, tests and exams will be conducted online.

Academic integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.]

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for their actions. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.] A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.

Note for students with disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students' submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin in this course.

It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit alternate assignment.