Teaching Teamwork in Diverse Student Cohorts

Team-based projects and assignments are a powerful opportunity for students to work collaboratively toward shared goals, share knowledge horizontally among their peers, and develop valuable interpersonal skills. Yet anybody who has worked in a team knows that these benefits don't come automatically: team members must navigate differences in abilities, work and communication styles, power dynamics, identities, and life circumstances. Teams that navigate these differences successfully can create communities of trust and mutual support and achieve outcomes that are "greater than the sum of their parts." Teams that don't may experience frustration, interpersonal conflict, or hostility leading to inferior outcomes.

In this workshop, participants will discuss strategies and practices for "teaching teamwork" in diverse student cohorts, informed by the results of an Office of Faculty Advancement seed grant focused on improving team-based learning in the Sanford School of Public Policy. Panelists will share data and insights collected from students in the Sanford School's signature team-based course, highlighting student views about team-based work and effective strategies for equipping students to navigate it.