The goal of this activity is to help groups of students to define how to collaborate in a successful way. The group shares points of view, comes to agreements, and commits to them by signing a “team contract”.
Why use a team contract with your students?
Developing teamwork skills is needed not only for students to successfully navigate their university journey but also to excel in their future workplace. Still, it is often assumed that students already have these skills, instead of teaching them in an explicit way.
In impact-driven education courses, students work in group projects, ideally interdisciplinary and diverse ones. In an open learning environment, they must make decisions together, deal with uncertainty, work hard and trust their instincts. This setting provides multiple learning opportunities as well as many challenges, as students have to deal with different perspectives.
The team contract is a concrete and easy-to-implement tool to guide your students for a successful collaboration during the course. Moreover, it's a tool that allows them to explore and define their specific collaboration style and organize their work in an autonomous way. This tool can easily be adapted to the specific characteristics of your students and course.
How to implement the team contract in your course?
The team contract activity should be implemented at the beginning of the course. This will communicate to your students that teamwork is an important element of the course that requires especial attention and intention. At the same time, it can be referred to throughout the course to explore and successfully resolve possible issues in each group, for example, during coaching sessions.
Introduction
Present this activity by explaining to your students the role that teamwork will play in your course. Indicate that this activity provides time and structure to better organize their work as teams, which can be really helpful throughout the course. Still, it is up to them how to make use of this time and make the most out of it.
Part 1: Individual Reflection
To start the team contract activity, each person takes time to individually respond to the following prompts. The students can write them down in class or prepare them beforehand. This step is key, because it allows students to explore their own values, preferences, and experiences before starting the group discussion.
Personal reflection prompts:
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Part 2: Group Discussion
In this step, a group conversation is held, sharing their individual reflections and exploring relevant topics for group collaboration. Provide them with the following instructions:
The goal of this conversation is to establish a set of agreements that will help you work together in a productive and pleasant way. Follow these steps:
Team Values. What values are important to the group, and how will they be reflected in the team's work? Respect and Inclusion. How will the group ensure that all members feel respected and included and that everyone's ideas are heard and considered? Individual Responsibilities. What specific roles and responsibilities will each group member have? Share your personal strengths and preferences. Consider your strengths and references but be open to explore new roles and develop new skills.[1] Communication. How will the group maintain open and effective communication? What methods of communication will the group use (e.g. email, chat, video calls)? You can indicate your usual schedule and availability. Meetings. How often will the group meet? How will the group ensure that meetings are productive and stay on track? You can discuss your preferences for the time and place to meet. Organization and Project Management. How will the group organize and manage project materials (e.g. documents, notes, files, etc.)? How will the group monitor the progress of the project and ensure that deadlines are met? Accountability and Conflict Resolution. What steps will be taken to resolve conflicts in a constructive and respectful manner? How will you hold each other accountable? What will be the consequences of not meeting the expectations outlined in the contract?
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Part 3: Group agreements
In this step, students prioritize their main agreement and commit to them by signing a contract. Provide them with the following instructions:
Based on your conversation, write down a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 key agreements and sign the contract. Date: Team Contract
Write down a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 key agreements:
“We share these goals and expectations, and agree to these policies, procedures, and consequences. This contract will be in effect through the duration of this course, and all group members will be responsible for maintaining compliance with this contract.”
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[1] An interesting way to complement this activity is to ask students to fill out a questionnaire to help them explore their roles in collaborating as a group and have them sharing their results in this point of the conversation. A great example is the Belbin questionnaire.