Abstract:

Learning to work effectively in a Team is an essential graduate attribute. In 2018, I introduced a teamwork assessment task into an undergraduate biochemistry course. While the assessment task was well liked by the students, working in teams was mostly rated as unpleasant. It was clear that while students are required to do teamwork activities, they are not taught how to work effectively in a team. Therefore, students rate teamwork as one of the most disliked and stressful activities they must undertake during their degree.

In 2019, I kept the same teamwork assessment task but also introduced a short program that focused on teaching students how to conduct teamwork effectively. The program consisted of hands-on group bonding activities, a workshop on conflict resolution, peer-to-peer teaching activities, feedback sessions, teamwork skill evaluations, and an individual term-long reflection diary. The program was designed to teach teamwork skills, build a learning community and give the students a sense of belonging with the opportunity to make new friendships.

The effectiveness of the teamwork program was measured using a survey at the end of the Term. Using a Likert scale, students were asked to rate various aspects of the assessment task. In 2019, 88% of students strongly agreed or agreed that this assessment taught them valuable skills to work effectively in a team. In the final course survey conducted by the University, the students were asked to rate whether they felt part of the learning community. In 2018 before the interventions, 33% of the students strongly agreed with this statement while in 2019, with the introduction of the program this has jumped to 55%. The program was adapted to run fully online during the pandemic and in 2020, 64% of students strongly agreed that they felt part of an online learning community. This shows the effectiveness of this program as it was easily adapted to a fully online environment to build online learning communities.

Having a scaffolded teamwork program that is incorporated from the start of the Term allows the students to form better connections with their peers. This leads to better engagement in the course as students feel more supported by other students and the course convenor. Students are naturally more inclined to become competent at a task through teamwork as mastery occurs together and their sense of community grows over time.

Keywords:

Transferable skills, teamwork.