How can course design facilitate the development of teamwork skills for diligent students?

Figures & data

Figure 1. Group work design recommendations for diligent students, and its interaction with the development of teamwork skills.

Table 1. Themes and sub-themes relating to teamwork skills development.

Theme	Sub-theme	Example quote
Trust	Value individual opinions and views	‘It was very interesting to see how each of us interpreted things, because I would have never thought about something like that before. I just want to do it myself and not really try to help the next person or see it from their viewpoint, whereas now I really don't mind working through it together’.
	Willing to compromise and learn from each other	‘Those different points [from different team members] bring in a fuller thinking’.
	Manage conflict better	‘When you disagree on something, to then still state your mind and engage conflict in a constructive manner’.
Communication	Share own strengths and weaknesses	‘Just be open and say what you are better at and would like to do certain areas rather than others’.
	Ask questions freely if unsure	‘If I was stuck on a section or I couldn't do the part that had been delegated to me, I would just message them and ask them, ‘What do you think? I'm really stuck here. What do we do?’ And we would all just work really well together’.
	Be open to constructive feedback	‘So being shown that you're wrong is sometimes a bit sensitive. You know it's a bit hard to handle, but that's also a growth opportunity, and especially the other people aren't being sensitive about it. They [are] just deliberating the point and not the person and you are actually growing as a human being and becoming more ready for the work environment’.
Collaboration	Share ideas openly	‘Everyone was willing to share their ideas and listen to one another’.
	Help each other without judgement	‘My team was really understanding’.
	Willing to participate and do more than asked	‘If we felt that one person has too much work – just let us know and we will divide it further amongst ourselves and we will help you’.

Table 2. Applicability of course design recommendations in large class settings.

Course design recommendation	Evaluation of practicality in large class settings
Challenging assignment	In both small and large class settings, more attention could be paid to ensuring that the group work assignment is complex enough to stimulate (Davies, 2009) even academically strong and diligent students. Bayne et al. (2022) emphasised that assignments should require students to collaborate, otherwise students will merely divide the work between themselves. If the assignment is not challenging, diligent students might be tempted to redo the work of others or do the entire assignment on their own (as described by participants in this study when considering their undergraduate experiences of group work, and also mentioned in Lee et al. (2017)). A high workload assignment with tight deadlines could also increase the challenge posed.
Over a substantial period	Ideally the group work should be scheduled to occur over a substantial period, even in large class settings. Although the logistics might be more burdensome, it is possible to incorporate this recommendation in large class settings. Having the group work assignment run over an extended period, will allow the diligent students to get acquainted with the strengths and weaknesses of their fellow group members (Schmutz et al., 2019). Diligent students are often unsure of the work ethic and skills of other group members and thus hesitant to trust them (‘You don't know the[ir] competencies or … what they're capable of’). Thus, it is important that group work occurs over an extended period to ensure that diligent students start trusting their group members (see Figure 1 and Table 1 where trust was identified as the starting point for the development of teamwork skills).
Small team size	Smaller groups reduce the risk of free-riding (Davies, 2009). In large classes, the group sizes could still be kept small (for example, three or four students per group). This will require more effort from all members, not only the more diligent students, and make it more obvious to the group and lecturers when a certain student is not pulling their weight.
Limited lecturer guidance	In this study, limited lecturer guidance regarding the ‘how’ of task execution was identified as instrumental in ensuring that students rely on one another and develop the trust and communication necessary for the development of teamwork skills. In large classes, students might well prefer more lecturer guidance, however lecturers should ensure that the guidance provided only addresses the ‘what’ of the task (i.e. clearly defines what needs to be produced). Extensive team communication and collaboration should still be required to solve the task (Lee et al., 2017), for example in determining exactly how to go about achieving the outcomes (who should do what and when).
Mode of delivery	This study recommended a blended approach to group work, which is expected to be equally effective in a large class setting. However, a preference for online or in-person would also be determined by the setting of the higher education institution and the planned group work activities.
Group allocation	To determine group allocation in large class settings is probably more complex than in small classes (Christensen et al., 2019). However, an approach similar to the one recommended in this study could be followed by first selecting larger groups based on some form of commonality (such as interest in a specific topic) after which these larger groups are further divided into smaller, more manageable groups using random selection – to ensure diversity in the groups (Christensen et al., 2019). Having some form of shared interest within the group would motivate diligent students (Lee et al., 2017).
Peer assessment and self-assessment	Since all participants were diligent students, little or no conflict was noted in this study. However, in large class settings, it is likely that more conflict would need to be managed. One way to prepare diligent students for managing conflict is by introducing emotional intelligence or relational acumen training before commencement of the group work (Steenkamp & Goosen, 2023), as was also done in this study. Additionally, a formal mechanism for complaints regarding free-riding might have to be instituted in large class settings, to protect the interests of diligent students. Where complaints are received, peer assessment data could be collected and individual students’ marks adjusted accordingly (Bayne et al., 2022). This would protect against free-riding but would not require groups that function well to provide summative peer assessment, as this could hamper the development of trust (as was identified by participants in this study). Participants also proposed that formative peer feedback relating to teamwork skills be provided, which could still be instituted in large class settings. Such feedback could aid diligent students in becoming aware of their strengths and weaknesses regarding teamwork (increasing self-awareness).

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