Using Teams for Class Activities: Making Course/Classroom Teams Work

Abstract

The negative experiences that students often have with course team assignments can sour their attitudes toward all team participation, which may affect their performance in teams in later employment. Many negative experiences can be attributed to lack of development in team processes. Business organizations train teams extensively for successful functioning. Course teams can function successfully with a little classroom time spent on development and training. In this article, I present a classroom-tested Faculty Guide and Student Guide based on classroom experiences, consulting experiences with organizational teams, and the literature. Students have reported their best course team experiences through use of these guides.