Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork

While instructors across disciplines frequently rely on group or team projects in their courses, and the ability to work effectively in a team is a highly valued workplace skill, many courses currently lack explicit content or instruction focused on building skills related to teamwork. Students will be provided with a series of short (10-15 minute) pre-recorded videos, in which various aspects of working effectively in a team are taught. Students may be asked to complete short comprehension check or reflection questions related to these videos. If students in a course will be working on a group or a team project, at the outset of that project, they will beasked to completed the Team Contract assignment. This assignment asks students to create a code of conduct that they all agree to abide by over the course of this project. The assignment asks students to specify the goal of their time together, how they will communicate, and how they will enforce these rules. Optionally, instructors may supplement this assignment with the Group Member Evaluation form, in which each member of a team is asked to evaluate their own performance, and the performance of each of their teammates once their project is completed. A further supplemental assignment asks students to reflect on their team contract once their project is finished. The focus of this reflection would be on what actions or behaviors the contract promoted thatstudents would like to repeat in the future, and what aspects were missing that students would seek to address if/when they find themselves working in a group again.