Developing and Assessing College Student Teamwork Skills

Astronaut Jim Lovell’s words during the Apollo 13 lunar mission, “Houston, we have a problem,” launched a remarkable tale of effective teamwork and creative problem solving by NASA engineers working to try to save the lives of the imperiled crew when two oxygen tanks exploded en route to the moon. Details of the dramatic and successful resolution to the problem became widely known in the motion picture Apollo 13, but it’s not just during dramatic moments when the importance of good teamwork is needed or recognized. In fact, some form of team-oriented work is employed in most, if not all, organizations today (Hills, 2007; Kozlowski and Bell, 2003; Lawler, Mohrman, and Ledford, 1995; Morgeson, DeRue, and Karam, 2010). It would seem, then, that an important role for higher education should involve developing critical teamwork skills among students so as to prepare them for success in life. This very point was highlighted in a 2009 poll conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), in which 71 percent of employers said they wanted colleges to place greater emphasis on “teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in diverse group settings” (Hart, 2010, p. 2). Many studies, in fact, have identifi ed teamwork as one of the most valued and necessary skills among college graduates. For example, a report by the Conference Board (2008) indicated that for four-year college graduates, prospective employers rated the importance of effective teamwork and collaboration second only to oral communication in contributing to job success. This is consistent with fi ndings from our own institutional surveys at the U.S. Air Force Academy, This chapter describes research on team member contributions to overall team effectiveness, and various applications of this research to developing and assessing teamwork by students on team and group projects and assignments.