Teamwork and efficiency in chemistry practical sessions

Abstract

[EN] Teamwork, i.e., the ability to work effectively with others in a group, is sometimes used in the classroom to help students perform practical activities with greater competence. In fact, this work methodology allows students to foster mutual trust and create a good climate. Having a shared vision of the problems they have to solve allows them to be more empathetic and thus develop soft skills. Students' acquisition of teamwork competence is a continuous and progressive process. Teachers should monitor this process in order to assess the development of teamwork competence. Also, evidence of students' performance during their learning experiences should be collected and analyzed, both by the teacher and by other students. The case study presented in this article was designed to assist in the development of students' teamwork competence. The educational experience was carried out in the Chemistry laboratory practical sessions with students of the Aerospace Engineering Degree at the Universitat Politècnica de València, during their first year. The students worked in the laboratory in pairs. After finishing the third of the four practice sessions, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire together with the session report (37 recorded their answers). The aim was to assess their involvement in teamwork and their satisfaction with this way of working. It asked about the effectiveness of the teamwork in terms of contributions, time management in the laboratory sessions, their time management until the delivery of the report, their attitude as a team and the quality of the work in the laboratory. Another questionnaire was given to the students at the end of the course with questions about the efficiency of their work as a team, including those about the degree of collaboration in the group, the ability to discuss, learning, motivation and partnership. Students were very supportive of the lab sessions and felt that working as a team motivated them to work better. The first questionnaire showed that about 80% (specifically 81.1%) of the respondents felt that they cooperated very well and had very bright ideas, while the remaining 20% felt that working in a team enabled them to have good ideas and that they worked well together. No student felt that it had been difficult to agree on what they needed to do as a team. It was also found that students felt that their time management was good and that they were generally able to get things done on time (91.9%), while the remaining 8.1% felt that there were delays from time to time and found it difficult to work as a team. Finally, 83.8% felt that the quality of the work was good, while 16.2% felt that the work had been good. The second questionnaire showed that students perceived that their grades could improve with teamwork and that they had a good time doing it. This study will be improved by adding control groups having the same practical sessions but individually in order to contrast the results.