Team-building: Developing Teamwork Skills in College Students Using Experiential Activities in a Classroom Setting

ABSTRACT This paper provides a systematic team-building training to fill a knowledge hole and a skills gap as well as prepare college students for better employability and future career success. The team-building training follows the interpersonal approach and utilizes adventure learning in the form of improvisational activities that can be used in a classroom setting. The team-building training enhances student learning of teams and the team development process as well as develop students’ teamwork skills. Data from a treatment group and a control group through pre- and post-measures of student perceptions are presented to determine the team-building training’s effectiveness. Correlations, t-tests, and simple linear regressions were conducted. The results support the team-building training’s effectiveness as well as students’ beliefs of developing teamwork skills and having positive attitudes about teamwork skills. Potential modifications for the team-building training are presented. Limitations and future research directions of the study are discussed.