Last modified: 2017-11-20
Abstract
Team Formation in the Classroom
Most student teams are formed unwittingly and accidentally the first day of class when students choose the seat they will stay in for the remainder semester. Many professors are reluctant to create groups themselves beyond a random method so they are not blamed for poor team composition. This is especially true for Capstone Business and Entrepreneurship classes were a heterogeneous team is more likely to be successful. Instead students are given the opportunity to choose their own teams, which they do predominantly with students sitting in adjacent seats. A procedure whereby students actively interview each other and make choices based on shared goals, heterogeneous skills, perceived personality match, and complimentary class/work schedule has been tested and shown to be superior to methods used in the past. During a single class period, students were asked to interview each other in 3-4 minute segments. They could talk about whatever they like, but were directed through initial discussion and materials to focus on choosing teammates that would have complimentary skill sets, interest in the same project, similar goals for the assignment, consistent work styles, and accommodating meeting schedules. Post exercise surveys showed that students enjoyed the exercise and getting to know all their classmates. End of semester post project surveys showed that students perceived the team created through interviewing to be more cohesive, more available for meetings, and had higher performance compared to teams they had worked on in the past. In addition, students then rated interviewing as a preferred way of choosing teams in the future.