ABSTRACT
Most students come to the PBL classroom with no prior experience in research teams. They have played on sports teams and understand teamwork in that context. Research teams are not playing games There is a grade at the end of the term, and the students will have questions about the relationship between team performance and that grade. There are very few classroom situations in which students know the variation in each other’s skills, background knowledge, and motivations as much as when working on research teams. Personality conflicts, along with race, gender, and sexuality issues and communication styles, work to undermine group efforts. You are the only one who sees the larger picture. It is your responsibility to create groups with the highest potential for success and to help students manage conflict when it arises. Fortunately, there is experience that you can draw on to accomplish this.
