Essential questions (and answers!) for designing team-based projects

Manage student expectations for their team project 

How you introduce the team project to your students can affect their attitude towards the project. Some students may feel ambivalent or even have a negative reaction when the instructor announces a team project. Oftentimes, this is because they have had a prior negative experience with a team project or because they don’t fully understand the purpose of the current project, or they aren't sure how the project will benefit them in now or later. Understanding the causes of student resistance to teamwork helps us to address concerns and lay a foundation from which learners can to invest emotionally and academically in the project.

• Tell students on the first day of class (or before class) that they will be working on a team project. Include this information in the course syllabus. A syllabus statement is one way to do this.
• Elicit student attitudes towards teamwork on the first day of class. You could ask them about their previous experiences in teamwork have been, both good and bad. This can take the form of an online or paper survey, small group discussions, or a whole class discussion. Be sure to ask students to share specific examples of the good and bad, and to suggest what they would change to convert something bad to something better. Collect and display the information you receive and use this to facilitate a conversation about what they would like from their fellow students and the instructor to ensure that their project will be successful.
• Be transparent. Ensure that you and your students share an understanding of what effective teamwork looks like and show them how the project fits into your course learning outcomes. It is also helpful to be transparent about the assignment's purpose, intended audience, and the tasks they will be required to complete along the way.