Rubric for Teaching Students Collaboration Skills
Are you ready to use team projects in your course?
Use this rubric to assess your readiness for launching a team project in your course.
Faculty members’ success in stimulating student learning via team assignments rests largely on two issues:
- (a) purpose--why they seek to use team projects, and
- (b) implementation--how well they incorporate team assignments into their courses.
- With regard to purpose in adopting team projects: faculty members may hold one or more of the following reasons: generation of original/higher quality student projects; increasing student learning of course content and/or teamwork/ leadership/project management skills; fostering a sense of community or connections among students; helping students learn to appreciate and express diverse points of view; and ease of classroom management (e.g., reduction in number of projects to grade). Understanding your motivation for using team projects is useful for design, because it can inform what aspects of the project to emphasize or build out.
- With regard to implementation, the rubric below offers guidance on how fully faculty members have completed this incorporation process as well as suggestions for how to fine-tune it so that students learn more from team assignments.
Criterion
Introduction & framing of teamwork
Includes: relevance of team project, communication of expectations & relationship to academic integrity
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Explain why teamwork is relevant & important in discipline (personal example, talk by prior students) both verbally & in syllabus Communicate high expectations for team learning and performance Explain how working with others is related to academic integrity by explaining what actions are & are not permissible |
Describe learning goals associated with team project without explaining how or why working with others contributes to improved performance & learning Mention what aspects of working with others are and are not permissible under academic integrity guidelines |
Offer limited or no explanation of learning & performance expectations for team assignments (e.g., why they are used in course, how they help students learn) Provide limited or no discussion of what actions are and are not permissible under academic integrity guidelines |
Integration of team project into course schedule & content
Includes: structure of team deliverable, project milestones, integration of project with rest of course & instructor approachability
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Structure team deliverable so that it requires synthesis of all members’ contributions Structure full project so that team can receive feedback on several pieces prior to submitting the final deliverable Regularly discuss team projects or progress with teams during class; provide check-in opportunities; make ongoing connections between team project & course content / concepts; discuss with students their charters or contracts during the course as a way to gauge their progress Encourage members to approach me for guidance & suggestions on how to work with team |
Structure team deliverable so that members can concatenate parts, though may require some degree of synthesis Structure project so that teams submit rough draft prior to final deliverable Conduct several team check-ins during course; offer occasional comments on connections between team projects & course content/concepts |
Describe team deliverable such that it could be completed by 1-2 members Require single deliverable at end of term Focus heavily on other course content without mentioning connection between team projects & course content/concepts; ask students about team progress outside of class |
Accountability & assessment
Includes: grading policy, mechanisms that ensure member accountability, observation of teams & assessment of team learning outcomes
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Offer clear, early explanation of how team grade relates to individual grades; offer mechanism in grading process to ensure grade equity (lower grades for inequitable contributions) Provide an early process for teams to identify & address non- contributing members (lower grade, potential to “fire” member) before they impair team dynamics or performance Actively seek updates/chances to observe all teams while they are interacting Include members’ reflections of/learning from team dynamics as part of course assignment and/or grade |
Offer clear, early explanation of how team grade relates to individual grades; offer mechanism in grading process to ensure grade equity (lower grades for inequitable contributions) Develop & use mechanisms such as end-of- project peer feedback that capture & document members’ free-riding/social loafing |
Offer limited explanation of how members and teams will be graded; award single group grade at end of term, with no adjustments for inequitable member contributions Include no mechanisms for capturing or addressing members concerns about inequitable contributions. |
Team formation
Includes: introductions, formation, self-reflection & team contracts
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Conduct introductory exercises so that students get to know each other prior to working on team project Conduct purposeful team formation process to meet course goals (e.g. conduct “speed-dating” exercise); ensure that teams reflect diversity of class demographics & perspectives Help students identify what strengths, learning goals, and/or contributions they bring to their teams Require teams to develop charter or contract to stimulate up- front reflection about how to coordinate work & member expectations |
Facilitate purposeful team formation process by forming teams according to some criteria or providing method and criteria for students to identify potential members Invite teams to develop charter or contract to provide guidance in how to coordinate work |
Ask students to form their own teams without guidance regarding pros/cons of too much similarity Let teams determine on their own how to operate with little or no guidance on strategies that can facilitate effective team functioning |
Team process
feedback & conflict management Includes: guidance in team dynamics, feedback opportunities
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Offer guidance on giving & receiving constructive feedback & conflict management; model how to listen & receive feedback constructively from students Ask students to provide feedback to each other several times during project regarding their contributions, strengths & areas for development Offer mediation support to teams that encounter conflicts they don’t know how to resolve Encourage teams to lean in and constructively manage conflict and give feedback |
Ask students to provide feedback to each other at least once during the term regarding their contributions, strengths & areas for development Offer mediation support to teams that encounter conflicts they don’t know how to resolve |
Leave it up to students as to whether they give each other feedback on their teamwork skills Make teams and/or TAs responsible for resolving any conflicts or problems Regard team conflicts as evidence of failure or deficiencies rather than as a normal part of teamwork |
Team resources
Includes: time, space, and tools for coordinating team projects
| Most Successful | Baseline | Least Successful |
|---|---|---|
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Provide class time for teams to work while faculty member is present as a resource and observer Provide both virtual and physical space for team meetings & activities Develop & disseminate resource list on team dynamics, conflict, or content experts that teams can consult, AND demonstrate in-class how to apply tools Set up meetings with teams during office hours to discuss their progress and/or concerns |
Provide some class time for team members to work together Develop & disseminate resource list on team dynamics, conflict, or content experts that teams can consult Be available during office hours to meet with teams to answer questions |
Schedule course so that all team meetings will occur outside of class time Leave it to students to figure out how & when to meet, resolve conflicts & find information needed to complete project |