Teaching teamwork in design: a framework for understanding effectiveness in student teams

This chapter proposes an Input-Process-Output framework for understanding what impacts the effectiveness of teamwork when higher education students are collaborating on design assignments. The framework can help design educators integrate teamwork into their courses and better evaluate learning outcomes, and may also elucidate good practice for professional design teams. Explaining the genesis of the framework, the literature is assimilated on team effectiveness and predictors of team performance, including: definitions, dimensions and frameworks of team effectiveness in contexts far wider than design education. Informed by the challenges specific to teaching design, a 22-factor framework is proposed. The paper concludes with recommendations for teachers informed by the framework. The viability of the 22-factor model of team effectiveness is evidenced by national surveys across Australia, which are reported in summary here.