Best practices for project-based learning
Practical tools and tips for supporting student teamwork in project courses, without adding extra stress to your teaching.
One of my teams is struggling, should I intervene and how?
Teamwork problems are normal and there no need to shy away from them. A well-timed and constructive conversation can help teams get back on track. You don’t always need to intervene heavily: often, a little support and a good question are enough.
General considerations
Problems within teams are common and unavoidable, and there’s no need to fear or avoid addressing them, even if it might feel intimidating. It’s essential to communicate this perspective to the struggling team as well, reassuring them that challenges are a natural part of teamwork. From a learning perspective, dealing with difficulties can be valuable, as it provides an opportunity for learning.
When planning an intervention, reflect on the course’s learning goals, particularly in relation to team autonomy. Is the expectation that teams will resolve their own problems independently? In such cases, it might be best to intervene quite lightly and for example just help the team recognize the problem and encourage them to solve it. Stronger interventions are recommended if issues start to escalate. However, it’s also important to ensure that the team doesn’t feel it’s being left alone to manage issues. Simple words of support and a follow-up with the team later can go a long way here. However, if teams are less experienced or autonomous team development is strongly expected, it makes sense to engage more with the team through for example a collective discussion about the issues and solution possibilities.
Problems can typically be divided into two broad categories: issues related to project progress and issues related to team dynamics. While the initial steps to address both types of problems may be similar, the nature of the intervention may differ. Team dynamic issues are generally more serious than project-related challenges, as maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment is crucial. A poor project outcome may lead only to a lower grade, but a toxic team environment—especially if it involves unfair behavior—can have lasting negative effects on individual members.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you’re uncertain about how to address a team issue. Colleagues who may have faced similar situations can provide useful insights on how they handled such cases. You can also reach out to pedagogical experts or student counselors at your institution. Often, however, issues that seem complex can be resolved through a serious and constructive discussion with the team.
Quick recommendations
- Whatever the issue is, start by getting a solid understanding of the situation of the team. Talk to the team (or a neutral member) to understand what has happened, who is involved, and what has already been tried.
- If the issue is not serious and the team is reasonably experienced, encourage the team to discuss the issue internally and follow up on this later. It makes sense to offer some tips how to do the discussion constructively, the most important being to make sure to focus on issues not personalities, letting everybody be heard and looking for compromises.
- If the issue is serious, has already been unsuccessfully addressed, or if the team seems stuck, step in and organize a teacher-led conversation with the team.
Methods & Tools
When dealing with team issues, it makes sense to follow a systematic process starting with gathering information about the issues and then addressing those issues through team's internal discussion or one that the teacher facilitates. Below you can find tips for these.
In information gathering, the goal is to get a neutral and holistic picture of what is happening or has happened within the team as well as the steps team has already taken to try to address the issue. Try to understand what the actual problem is, whether it involves the whole team or specific individuals, and whether it has already been discussed within the group. Ask what, if anything, has already been tried and with what result. An informal short conversation with the team at a suitable moment, like after a presentation or during a feedback session, can often give you the necessary insight. You can also try to approach a neutral-seeming team member privately and ask for their view. If you do this, however, it's essential to keep in mind that you’re only hearing one side of the story, so any follow-up should take that into account.
In terms of finding solutions to the issues, a good starting point is to ask the team how they would prefer to handle things. Most teams want to try handle it internally first and it makes sense by default to respect the wishes of the team. Further, at least for non-serious situations, this is a good default first step for trying to address issues anyway. However, it makes sense to give some support even in this approach. Offer them a few basic tips for having internal development conversations: emphasize that everyone should have a chance to express their views and concerns in a constructive way, suggest that they try to goals that they can all share and be prepared to make compromises and reassure them that problems are a normal part of teamwork. If the team has already attempted this or if you feel a stronger intervention is immediately necessary, then you can move on to facilitating a more structured joint discussion.
If the team has already tried to address the issue internally without success, or if the situation seems serious from the start, a joint discussion facilitated by the teacher can help. The goal of the discussion is that everyone feels heard, that the team builds a shared understanding of the most pressing issues, and that members leave with a sense that problems can be solved or at least managed, though it may take time and effort.
Before starting, take a moment to frame the purpose of the discussion: explain that you're there to help the team move forward, not to assign blame or evaluate the team. Emphasize that everyone will get a chance to speak, that all viewpoints are welcome but constructive orientation is mandatory, and that what's said in the room stays in the room. Encourage students to talk about their experiences rather than present facts and to focus on issues not persons
Depending on the atmosphere, you might begin with a brief round where each student reflects on how they think the team is doing, or give everyone a moment to think silently before speaking. If conversation flows easily, simply ensure all voices are included by inviting quieter members to share their thoughts.
Take only light notes, if any, to avoid creating a formal or intimidating atmosphere. As the discussion unfolds, help the team clarify what the actual root issues are. Try to summarize the situation out loud and check with the group whether you’ve understood correctly. This helps establish a shared picture of the problem.
When there is consensus on the key issues, guide the conversation toward identifying concrete next steps. Ask what the team thinks might help, or query about the solutions that were proposed during previous discussion if this occurred. Key thing here is to focus on small steps that can be tried out immediately in the next meeting or assignment. Even if problems are bigger, incremental improvements can steer the team to a better path and help them turn a corner, which is something that should be underlined to them too.
When closing the session, thank the team and acknowledge that behavioral change takes time. Encourage them to be patient with each other and to keep talking openly about how to improve their workpractices. It’s also a good idea to follow-up on teams progress later, asking them how have things unfolded and if they need any additional support.
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