As MBA students in the Wisconsin School of Business, we are extremely accustomed to teamwork, being assigned or forming our own teams in nearly every course in the program. What occurred to me in reading this article, however, was the role teams play in the creation of our educational experiences. While we all sit in the same classroom, participate in the same course discussions, and study the same course materials, we each arrive at the end of the semester with different educational experiences by virtue of the teamwork components of our classes. In other words, teams are truly a form of educational co-creation.
According to the article, "some instructors believe the group activities can push all students to achieve at a higher level than they would in traditional college courses emphasizing individual performance." Teamwork as a form of co-creation can lead to enriched educational outcomes, forcing students to learn from each others' real-world experiences and providing a platform for instant feedback - the type of collaboration that will be expected of us in our jobs after graduation.
As we have learned, co-creation can be a powerful tool in new product development. In a very real way, our education is a product that is deeply affected by the co-creation occurring from teamwork. While we do not often think of our teams as a form of innovation, surely my educational experience has been shaped by the people with whom I've worked during the course of my MBA program. Each team has taught me something different, and my education will be the result, at least in part, of the individual experiences I have had with my different team projects.
Extending the theory of teamwork as a form of co-creation in new product development (our education), two points emerge. First, if our "education" product is the result of teamwork co-creation, perhaps there should be an increased focus on selecting different teams for each project. The MBA program dictates our "core" course teams during our first year with a new team each semester. These same teams are required, however, for each course. Perhaps by switching up the composition of the teams more frequently, we could expand our learning and achieve more diverse educational experiences. The same is true in the second year of the program where we are free to select our own teams. Frequently, and I am no exception, we stick with the familiarity of the team mates with whom we are comfortable. Perhaps, however, we might achieve a more diverse experience by associating with different teams for each project.
Second, it seems clear that the more tools and resources we have to work with our teams, the easier it will be to utilize this form of co-creation. Differing schedules and work preferences often make teamwork difficult. The School of Nursing, however, will soon utilize an online platform allowing team members to post work on a course Web site and will provide a portal allowing all students to co-create a final report analyzing a medical problem. These new tools would be a great addition to the School of Business, enhancing the ways in which we use teams and collaborate as students to solve problems and learn new ideas.
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hey nice blog
Great article... and for me, the real practice pushed me to think how to use innovation learnings based on different situations
Thanks for the kind words Iglesia.
Nice post Becky. One way in which teams can cooperate at a distance is through on-line collaborative tools such as Google Docs. If you haven't tried it out yet, you should. I am using this for a new paper that I am working on with 9 co-authors who are spread out across the US and Europe and found that it much easier than trying to share ideas and create a paper via email.
You raised several good points in your post Becky. Your statement about team composition resonated with me most. I agree that our perspectives become richer and broader when we are exposed to numerous, varying viewpoints.