Measuring perceived usefulness of team assignments

Abstract

Purpose Team-based assignments must be constructed to contribute to the effective development of teamwork skills, an important learning objective for most schools of business. The purpose of this paper is to understand how students view the usefulness of team assignments in order to inform more effective pedagogical techniques related to team-based assignments and the development of student teamwork competencies. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from Likert-scale online surveys administered to students upon completion of the first-year team-based introductory business course. Survey items were developed to assess the team-related activities and components in the course and students’ perceived usefulness of team-based assignments. Results from exploratory factor analyses are presented. Findings Data analyses indicated that survey items contributed to students’ perceived usefulness of team-based assignments. Across three studies, the authors developed a new measure to evaluate effectiveness of team-based assignments. Practical implications For those educators who utilize team-based assignments in their courses, this study provides a much needed measure to assess the effectiveness of assignments intended to develop students’ teamwork competencies. The findings also serve to provide evidence of assurance of learning, and evidence of how students are developing in the area of interpersonal skills and abilities to manage interactions that most schools of business and universities deem as essential learning outcomes as a result of Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business requirements. Originality/value Evidence from online surveys of 755 students in a pilot study and two additional studies conducted longitudinally over a two-year period support a new measure to assess the usefulness of specific team assignments.