Enhancing Teamwork Skills in STEM Education: A Behavioral Theory-Based Approach

The ability to work in a team is one of the most important skills a college graduate can acquire from an educational institute. However, some students do not appropriately participate in course projects, making teamwork more challenging than it needs to be for others. As a result, many students fail to develop teamwork skills, and some become frustrated with course projects. This study adopted the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to develop tools and a guide to enhance teamwork in course projects. Based on TPB, three interventions were developed: (1) a project description document including real-world examples of problems that can be solved with skills developed through the course project; (2) an accountability plan for the instructional team to provide social pressure to participate; and (3) a project management plan for the students to have a structure in the groups with well-defined roles. The interventions were adopted in two Fall 2023 courses (n = 39). Findings revealed significant improvements in student engagement, task completion, communication, role adoption, goal clarity, and conflict management post-intervention. These results confirm the efficacy of TPB-based interventions in enhancing teamwork skills among STEM students, underscoring the importance of behavioral theory in educational strategy development.