Tips for Students: Fostering Collaborative Teamwork

Rachel Brozenske_Student from McIntire School of Commerce on Vimeo.

Darden Lecturer Rachel Brozenske shares 3 ways she's been able to ensure students participate in collaborative teamwork during class time. The first is she dedicates 10 minutes on the first day of class to having each team work together to create a slide introducing themselves. Brozenske says this is a simple exercise that not only helps team members get acquainted, but also serves as a reference point for her throughout the semester. The second is she distinguishes between connection time and project time. At the beginning of each meeting, she sets aside 5 minutes for students to check in with each other on a personal level and build broader relationships beyond their team. Brozenske believes the 5 minutes of check-in time makes the rest of the class time more valuable. The third is she introduces an activity that requires all hands on deck. This can lead to some chaos, she says, but it helps students learn how to make tradeoffs and see different perspectives.