Enhancing Team Dynamics in an Online Learning Environment

Abstract

The corporate world considers the ability of employees to work well within a team environment as a critical factor in success and expects potential employees to gain experience of team work during their university education. Although team projects have been well-incorporated into the traditional curriculum in higher education, the advent of online learning has created challenges in ensuring effective team dynamics. This research presents a case study implementing an online team learning approach designed to create a positive learning environment at St. Petersburg College. In the original online environment, both staff and students encountered a variety of concerns and ineffective team dynamics. These issues were addressed by the course team using a variety of formalized rocedures, best practices and team documents. This led to improved student interactions, better quality of assignments, as well as lecturers spending less time on team management issues.