Construction of Student Groups Using Belbin: Supporting Group Work in Environmental Management

Abstract

Belbin team role self and observer perceptions were applied to a large cohort (145) of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences undergraduates in a module assessed through two separate group projects. Students self-selected groups for the first project; for the second, groups were more ‘balanced.’ Results show slight improvement in group performance compared with that of previous years, with a significant increase in first-class grades. No evidence was found linking group balance to performance; however, students recognized the value of their Belbin report when entering the job market. Belbin usefully contextualizes regularly occurring group work issues and provides students with ways of managing these issues.

Keywords:

• Group work
• team role analysis
• employability
• Belbin

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Aberystwyth University Learning and Teaching Implementation Fund. Thanks are offered to Joseph Wheaton who originally designed the workplace format for the Environmental Management module and to Carina Fearnley for help running the course in 2011.