Building the foundation for learning team success

A key to helping a team overcome the challenges of group dynamics is to define a group structure that governs individual and group activities (Jex, 2002). For example, the first step for building effective learning teams in adult higher education programs is to follow a work teams model by creating a charter, which serves as a contract that does the following:

• Lists their shared values and goals
• Defines rules to govern individual and team behaviors
• Establishes a process for successful collaboration
• Assigns roles and tasks to individual members

The charter serves as a contract to establish the structure and guide the team toward success. To help assure individual accountability and keep the team dedicated to developing individual members, the team regularly tracks individual and team performance using evaluation forms. The charter process helps to overcome barriers to team success by allowing the team to do the following:

• Clarify the team's purpose,
• Establish processes for assuring equal contributions from all members and
• Establish fairness by recognizing and rewarding individuals according to their contributions to the team.