Practical Method of Improving the Teamwork of Engineering Students Using Team Contracts to Minimize Conflict Situations

• Main Authors: Maria Luisa Pertegal-Felices, Andres Fuster-Guillo, Maria Luisa Rico-Soliveres, Jorge Azorin-Lopez, Antonio Jimeno-Morenilla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2019-01-01
• Series: IEEE Access
• Subjects: Didactics of engineering; team work; conflict management; academic performance
• Online Access: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8713459/

Educational models are incorporating methodologies to train students in teamwork skills in response to companies' information technology (IT) requirements. Conflict management is the key to effective teamwork. This paper proposes a method to improve students' organization, teamwork, and conflict management skills. This method consists of brief training on leadership and management styles, with minimal extra work, followed by the signing of team contracts that outline group rules, and promoting the assumption of responsibilities. The experimental results showed that this method reduced conflict rates, improved group communication and indirectly improved satisfaction, and responsibility and motivation in work groups. Consequently, students' overall academic performance improved, both as a group and as individuals.