A Next Step in Student Teamwork Pedagogies: Teaching and Supporting Teamwork Dynamics

Teamwork is increasingly important in organizations and often cited as the top-rated skill that employers are looking for in new graduates--regardless of a student's major. Given such demand, it is important to explore the effectiveness of team pedagogies faculty use to prepare students for future careers. The authors used a combined education-social psychology lens to examine how teamwork dynamics are taught. They examined the impact of two approaches used to teach teamwork dynamics to achieve key individual and team developmental outcomes at two institutions. Findings suggest that teaching teamwork dynamics content as well as providing ongoing teamwork dynamic support influence important individual and team outcomes.