Teamwork: Faith vs. Fact

While 92% of professors teaching with a business simulation believe teamwork skills are critical for business graduates, and 82% use team-based assignments in most courses, 84% also believe that team-based projects are not always effective instructional tools, according to research at Capsim.

There appears to be an extreme mismatch between our belief in the value of teamwork, and our ability to incorporate it successfully into university teaching and learning programs.

To reconnect the value of teamwork with its practical implementation in education, Capsim developed TeamMATE®. The online tool not only measures team performance, but also helps students diagnose and improve their teamwork skills while they work on their assigned tasks.

TeamMATE is based on 30 years of research into the core elements of effective teamwork. It measures each individual’s performance on key competencies and the behaviors of the team as a whole. But quantifying team effectiveness is just the first step. Easy-to-read reports allow teams to see their results and diagnose their strengths and weaknesses.

The final step, however, may be the most useful. Built right into the interface, the teamwork toolkit helps teams with tips and suggestions on how to improve their team decision-making process.

Over the next five weeks, we will take a look at the five critical tools for improving team performance. If at any time you would like to find out how TeamMATE can improve team performance in your course, please contact us at welcome@capsim.com or 312.477.7200.​