Examining the Influence of Team Project Design Decisions on Student Perceptions and Evaluations of Instructors

Deskripsi

Although there is an increasing focus on the importance of incorporating team projects into business curricula, the way team projects are implemented varies significantly among instructors. Student team literature has explored different methods for effectively teaching teamwork; less is known about student attitudes toward these methods, in particular, how this affects student attitudes toward the instructor. We use the research on team effectiveness and organizational justice to develop hypotheses regarding two categories of design decisions: grading and use of class time. We collected data from instructors at a United States college on how they designed team projects and from students in these courses regarding perceived fairness and evaluation of their instructor. Results indicate that design decisions influence U.S. students' evaluations of instructors, consistent with the individualistic U.S. culture and with perceptions of fairness. Our findings should be of interest both to U.S. academicians, given the extreme weight evaluations are given in the promotion and tenure process, and academicians from other cultures as a cultural insight about U.S. students. Our results also point to the potential tension instructors face when challenging students to develop the necessary skills to function effectively in a global society.