Turning points during the life of student project teams: A qualitative study
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Abstract
In this qualitative study a more flexible alternative of conceptualising changes over time in teams is tested within student project teams. The conceptualisation uses turning points during the lifespan of a team to outline team development, based on work by Erbert, Mearns, & Dena (2005). Turning points are moments that made a significant difference during the course of the collaboration as a team. In this study, they are tracked by means of team interviews and reflection papers of team members. A method of coding was created to collect all information about the turning points, their causes and consequences. By means of a thorough analysis of these coded data an overview of their nature and their effects on the rest of the team process as perceived by the team members themselves is provided. Results show that the development paths of the three teams were differentiated in terms of turning points that occurred and, especially, in the order in which the turning points occurred. However four types of turning points (two at the task level en two at the interpersonal level) were remarkable due to their occurrence in all three project teams.
Article Details
How to Cite
Raes, E., Dochy, F., & Kyndt, E. (2015). Turning points during the life of student project teams: A qualitative study. Frontline Learning Research, 3(2), 63–89. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v3i2.166
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References
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Poole, M. S. (1983). Decision development in small groups, III: A multiple sequence model of group decision development. Communication Monographs, 50, 321-341.
Raes, E., Kyndt, E., Decuyper, S., Van den Bossche, P., & Dochy, F. (2015). An exploratory study of group development and team learning. Human Resource Development Quarterly. doi:10.1002/hrdq.21201
Rickards, T. & Moger, S. (2000). Creative leadership processes in project team development: an altenative to Tuckman's stage model. British Journal of Management, 11, 273-283. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.00173
Salas, E., Sims, D. E., Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a “Big Five” in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36, 555-599. doi:10.1177/1046496405277134
Sweet, M., & Michaelsen, L. (2007). How group dynamics research can inform the theory and practice of postsecondary small group learning. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 31-47.
Tannenbaum, S. I., Mathieu, J. E., Salas, E., & Cohen, D. (2012). Teas are changing: are research and practice evolving fast enough? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5, 2-24. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01396.x
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 36, 384-399.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages in small group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419-427.
Wheelan, S. A. (2005). Group Processes. A Developmental Perspective (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Wheelan, S.A. (2009). Group size, group development, and group productivity. Small Group Research, 40, 247-262, doi:10.1177/1046496408328703
Wengraf, T. (2001). Qualitative research interviewing. SAGE Publications Ltd.: Londen.
Bettenhausen, K., & Murnighan, J. K. (1985). The emergence of norms in competitive decision-making groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30, 350- 372.
Bolton, C. D. (1961). Mate selection as the development of a relationship. Marriage and Familiy Living, 23, 234-240.
Bonebright, D. A., (2010). 40 years of storming: A historical review of Tuckman’s model of small group development. Human Resource Development International, 13, 111-120. doi:10.1080/13678861003589099
Boon, A., Raes, E., Kyndt, E., & Dochy, F. (2013). Team learning beliefs and behaviours in response teams. European Journal of Training and Development, 37, 357–379. doi:10.1108/03090591311319771
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Bushe, G. R., & Coetzer, G. H. (2007). Group development and team effectiveness. Using cognitive representations to measure group development and predict task performance and group viability. Journal of Applied Behaviour Science, 43, 184-212. doi:10.1177/0021886306298892
Cohen, S. G., & Bailey, D. E. (1997). What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, 23, 239-290. doi:10.1177/014920639702300303
Chidambaram, L., & Bostrom, R. P. (1996). Group development (I): A review and synthesis of development models. Group Decision and Negotiation, 6, 159-187. doi:10.1023/A:1008603328241
Erbert, L. A., Mearns, G. M., & Dena, S. (2005). Perceptions of turning points and dialectical interpretations in organizational team development. Small Group Research, 36, 21-58. doi:10.1177/1046496404266774
De Dreu, C. K. W., & Van Vianen, A. E. M. (2001). Managing relational conflicts and effectiveness of organizational teams. Journal of Organizational behavior, 22. doi:10.1002/job.71
De Dreu, C. K. W., & Weingart, L. R. (2003). Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.741
Devine, D. J. (2002). A review and integration of classification systems relevant to teams in organizations. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6, 291-310. doi:10.1037//1089-2699.6.4.291
Funk, C. A., & Kulik, B. W. (2012). Happily ever after: toward a theory of late stage group performance. Group & Organization Management, 37, 36-66. doi:10.1177/105960111142600
Gruenfeld, D. H., Mannix, E. A., Williams, K. Y., & Neale, M. A. (1996). Group composition and decision making: How member familiarity and information distribution affect process and performance. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 67, 1 – 15.
Jehn, K. A., Greer, L., Levine, S., & Szulanski, G. (2008). The effects of conflict types, dimensions, and emergent states on group outcomes. Group Decision Negotiation, 17, 465-495. doi:10.1007/s10726-008-9107-0
Jehn, K. A., & Mannix, E. A. (2001). The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 238-251. doi:10.2307/3069453
Jehn, K. A. & Rupert, J. (2008), Group fautlines and team learning: How to benefit from different perspectives. In V.I. Sessa & M. London (Eds.), Work group learning: Understanding, improving & assessing how groups learn in organizations (pp. 19-148). Mahaw, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kuipers, B. S., & Stoker, J. I. (2009). Development and performance of self-managing work teams: a theoretical and empirical examination. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20, 399-419. doi:10.1080/09585190802670797
Mathieu, J., Maynard, M. T., Rapp, T., & Gilson, L. (2008). Team effectiveness 1997-2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management, 34, 410-476. doi:10.1177/0149206308316061
Marks, M. A., Mathieu, J. E., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2001). A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes. Academy of Management Review, 26, 356-376. doi:10.5465/AMR.2001.4845785
McGrath, J. E. (1991). Time, interaction and performance (TIP): A theory of groups. Small Group Research, 22, 147-174. doi:10.1177/1046496491222001
Miller, D. L. (2003). The stages of group development: a retrospective study of dynamic team processes. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 20, 121-134. doi:10.1111/j.1936-4490.2003.tb00698.x
Morgan, B. B., Salas, E., & Glickman, A. S. (1993). An analysis of team evolution and maturation. The Journal of General Psychology, 130, 277-291.
Poole, M. S. (1983). Decision development in small groups, III: A multiple sequence model of group decision development. Communication Monographs, 50, 321-341.
Raes, E., Kyndt, E., Decuyper, S., Van den Bossche, P., & Dochy, F. (2015). An exploratory study of group development and team learning. Human Resource Development Quarterly. doi:10.1002/hrdq.21201
Rickards, T. & Moger, S. (2000). Creative leadership processes in project team development: an altenative to Tuckman's stage model. British Journal of Management, 11, 273-283. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.00173
Salas, E., Sims, D. E., Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a “Big Five” in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36, 555-599. doi:10.1177/1046496405277134
Sweet, M., & Michaelsen, L. (2007). How group dynamics research can inform the theory and practice of postsecondary small group learning. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 31-47.
Tannenbaum, S. I., Mathieu, J. E., Salas, E., & Cohen, D. (2012). Teas are changing: are research and practice evolving fast enough? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5, 2-24. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01396.x
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 36, 384-399.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages in small group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419-427.
Wheelan, S. A. (2005). Group Processes. A Developmental Perspective (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Wheelan, S.A. (2009). Group size, group development, and group productivity. Small Group Research, 40, 247-262, doi:10.1177/1046496408328703
Wengraf, T. (2001). Qualitative research interviewing. SAGE Publications Ltd.: Londen.