Advancing Students’ Teamwork Competency via an Action Research Intervention: Lessons Learned and Their Implications

Abstract

Although teamwork skills are imperative for students’ future success in the workplace, teamwork in academic settings does not always provide students with the necessary teamwork competencies. The current study used action research principles to design and implement a teamwork competency training intervention featuring cycles of reflection and addressing previous shortcomings through action plans. Undergraduate college students (n = 108) in teams of 3–5 completed five team-based projects. After each project, teams provided individual and team reflections, ratings of team members’ contributions, perceived ratings of team performance, and action plans for the next project. Using qualitative analysis, we identified the most common themes in students’ reflections and action plans, explored changes in those themes across the five projects, and related those themes to the teams’ perceived performance. Current findings provide evidence that implementation of action research processes in academic teamwork may advance students’ teamwork competency in planning, time management, equal contributions, interpersonal skills, and team cohesion. We conclude that instructors may utilize these strategies to address issues in student teamwork and provide a structure to support the development of students’ teamwork skills.