Definition
A team is a small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.1 Although student teams may not satisfy all the requirements of the definition, the degree to which they do often determines their effectiveness.

Rationale
“Students do not come to school with all the social skills they need to collaborate effectively with others. Therefore, teachers need to teach the appropriate communication, leadership, trust, decision making, and conflict management skills to students and provide the motivation to use these skills in order for groups to function effectively.”2 Faculty must take responsibility to help students develop their skills to participate on and lead teams.

Introduction

One element of helping students develop the ability to learn and work in teams is monitoring their progress on team activities, exercises, or assignments and furnishing suitable feedback to them on their progress. To support faculty members who may be new to using students teams, this document addresses the following questions:

• Why is monitoring the progress of student teams important?
• What are possible strategies and tools for monitoring the progress of student teams?
• What are issues for instructors to consider as they monitor student teams?
• What are issues to consider if instructors ask teams to assess their progress (that is, self monitor)?
• How have specific instructors monitored team progress in their classes?
Addressing these questions is intended to help faculty members improve their ability to use student teams in their classes.

Resource
Algert, N.E., The Center for Change and Conflict Resolution. Bryan TX: (979)775-5335 or cccr@bigfoot.com.

References for Further Information

1. 1. Katzenbach, J.R., and Smith, D.K. (1992) Wisdom of Teams, Harvard Business School Press.
2. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Holubec, E.J. (1966) Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom, rev. ed., Edina, MN: Interaction Book Co., 1986.
3. Workplace Basics: The Skills Employers Want, American Society for Training and Development and U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 1988.
4. Algert, N.E., and Watson, K. (2002). An Introduction to Conflict Management for Individuals and Groups. The Center for Change and Conflict Resolution. Bryan, TX.
5. Communications: Process and Leadership, Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University. Available form World Wide Web: <http://socserver.soc.iastate.edu/Extension/Docs/Soc2.pdf>. [cited 2003-02-03]
6. Ruiz, D.M. (1997) The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Pub.
7. Senge, P.M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., and Smith, B. (1994) The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization, New York: Doubleday/Currency.
8. TTI DISC Behavior Profile. Contact Dr. Nancy Algert (phone: 979-775-5335 or e-mail: cccr@bigfoot.com) for information about obtaining the assessment. Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering uses the DISC Behavior Profile Assessment with all of their Engineering 111/112 students for teaming activities (contact Dr. Terry Kohutek, t-kohutek@tamu.edu, for additional information on using the assessment).
9. Kline, N. (1999). Time to think: Listening to ignite the human mind. London: Ward Lock.
10. Algert, N.E., and Watson, K. (2002). Basic Mediation Training. The Center for Change and Conflict Resolution. Bryan, TX.