Fostering Good Team Dynamics in Group Projects
Written by: Torsor Kotee and Casey Nguyen
We are all too familiar with the struggle that always arises with group projects. Oftentimes, there are issues with participation. Some students do all the work, while some slack off.
This is a constant challenge and it gets exacerbated in large introductory business classes where there could be well over 100 teams to manage and limited chances to identify issues and intervene.
A study conducted for the Association of American Colleges and Universities showed that 83% of employers feel that the ability to work effectively with teammates is an important college learning outcome. In the same study, 96% of the employers surveyed agree that all students, regardless of major, should know how to solve problems with people who have different opinions.
Although these skills are emphasized in the workplace, working effectively in teams is still something many students struggle with.
Here are some tips that we found effective in building good team dynamics in group projects with ~120 teams based on published research, our observation of various learning designs implemented in renown business programs, and the results of our product being used in the classroom.
Tips # 1 - Assign roles to drive ownership and accountability within teams
When students were assigned to specific roles within their teams, we saw a 31% increase in participation within teams. We provided detailed instructions for each role, in both the respective function the student plays in group problem-solving and content dimensions they are delegated to focus on, and by establishing individual accountability and ownership, we saw qualitatively and quantitively team dynamics improved.
When students have specific tasks for which they cannot rely on other team members’ assistance, they are held accountable to know their particular assignments and problems in order to bring constructive value to group discussions. Roles make students more susceptible to positive peer pressure that encourages them to put forth their best efforts in order to conform to group expectations and be accepted as a valuable contributor.
On the same thread, assigning roles drive ownership of impact, which motivates students to take necessary measures to approach discussions with insights and confidence. Best stated in a study conducted on students in higher education for the International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, roles “compel students to focus on their responsibilities in the discussion group, on the content and the nature of their contributions, and on how these will add to the ongoing discussion in order to find an answer to the authentic problem presented in the assignment.” Group projects that allow students to make an identifiable impact on the end result increases participation as students are not only driven to engage in group discussions, but to also undergo their own discovery journey to find role-specific solutions that affect the overall group performance.
Tip #2 - Incorporate Conflict Resolution Exercise
Interpersonal conflicts are inevitable when students have to deal with differing personalities and ideologies in a group setting. In most cases, conflicts are actually productive and valuable as they shine light on different considerations to account for in group dynamics and problem-solving (When it Comes to Group Conflicts, We’ve Been Tricked). However, they often become unresolved and disrupt the collaborative experience in the classroom due to the fact that students do not come equipped with the ability to constructively manage and resolve them.
It is important to facilitate exercises that train students for conflict resolution skills before or during group projects in order to keep those skills top-of-mind and mitigate the risk of teamwork being damaged by unresolved conflicts and/or emotionally-driven resolution processes. These exercises can also bring value to team dynamics as they:
allow students to experience conflict in a safe and casual environment
increase group morale and resolve to collaborate in a fun, productive way
provide opportunities to students to connect and build trust with each other
help students be more flexible and adaptable in solving problems
reinforce positive and appropriate behaviors in group settings
Effective conflict resolution exercises address interpersonal variables that can serve as catalysts to real life conflicts. Problems can stem from one or all of the following: communication, competition, diversity, differing perspectives, interdependency, and confusion about goals. A big part of facilitating these exercises is to observe your students and understand them well enough to see the interpersonal variables that commonly cause conflicts between them. There are countless activities that teach conflict resolution skills, but you cannot incorporate them all, and many may not apply to your class depending on the existing student culture.
In search of conflict resolution exercises to do in your class, The Big Book of Conflict Resolution Games by Mary Scannell comprises 60 different games intended for use in workplace training but can be repurposed for the classroom. The book categorizes the games based on the interpersonal catalyst(s) being addressed.
Tips # 3 - Allow Students to Receive Timely Feedback
In a group project setting, peer evaluations can be an important way to measure interpersonal skills and individual accountability. These evaluations will help students become more self aware of how they interact, communicate, and collaborate with teammates from diverse backgrounds with differing beliefs, work ethics, priorities, and communication styles.
According to an article published in the American Physiological Society Journal, researchers found that 55.6% of graduate students who participated in a peer evaluation training study concluded that exposure to the feedback from their peers promotes “self-reflection for both the evaluator and the recipient of the feedback”. By incorporating peer evaluations into group work, professors can help students become more adept at working productively in teams as they are pushed to be more proactive in the project by peers.
It’s important to conduct a peer evaluation early on in the group project in order to catch any difficulties that may be occurring (i.e. lack of student engagement, ineffective teams) while still having enough time to implement the necessary improvements in order to ensure a positive collaboration experience. Additionally, it is invaluable to let students access those peer feedback as it drives them to be more introspective as they progress in the group project.
Yes, it is easier said than done. The big problem that arises when peer evaluations are implemented in the classroom, especially in a large course with 500+ students, is the significant amount of time and effort the process requires. Setting up the process, collecting feedback in a timely manner, identifying ways to take actions and grade fairly based on subjective and qualitative assessments, and distributing the feedback to individual students...It’s a lot of manual labor and complication that takes time away from doing what actually matters; the trade-offs are not worth it. Therefore, we understand it is not a matter of whether to incorporate peer evaluations or not; it is a matter of how to do it without the stress and hassle.
We have an automated peer evaluation tool that helps professors tackle this problem. To learn more about how our solution eliminates the administrative hassles of managing peer assessments at scale, contact us and subscribe our email newsletter as we share insights through our quarterly newsletters.
