Teaching Team Science: The Key to Addressing 21st Century Global Challenges

Abstract

To solve complex 21st-century global challenges, universities must prepare students to be competent team members. This article presents results from analysis of data collected at a university in four types of undergraduate sociology classrooms using mixed-methods, including social network analysis, student reflections, and an alumni survey. Results showed that learning is a social process. Compared with traditional lecture, fixed teams, and interacting teams, opportunistic collaboration is the most effective structure in teaching team learning through fostering communication, support, and learning networks. Post-secondary education should endorse opportunistic collaboration learning practices to prepare students for workplace success in a global economy.

Towards a Vision for Team Science at Tilburg University

“…At the institutional level, well-structured support for team science and an innovationfriendly academic culture benefit optimal transdisciplinary collaboration (Crow and Dabars 2019). There is an association between interpersonal relationships and scientific productivity on a scientific team (DeHart 2017; Love et al 2023). Psychological safety fosters a climate supportive of risk-taking, learning and daring to speak out, which is crucial for trust, cohesion, effective error management, and achieving team goals (Edmondson 1999;Patel et al 2021).…”

What is an “ArchintorTM?” A paradigm shift in teaching, facilitation, and learning: The impact of different types of coursework expectations on classroom network structures

“…Today instructors are not just teaching, they are creating the opportunity for learning [1]. Further, a growing body of literature has found that learning is a social process and involves networks inside and outside of the classroom [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”