Teamwork among Chinese Students: Chinese Bachelor's students experiencing teamwork process and development in a Sino-Finnish product development course

Abstract

This study examines the teamwork experiences of Chinese bachelor students in a product development course in the context of education transfer between Finland and China. A qualitative and primary inductive research approach is chosen to explore how students experience teamwork processes and development based on three cases studies. In terms of teamwork processes, the taxonomy of Marks et al. (2001) facilitates and supports the research result that most impactful experiences during the actual teamwork were gathered during the transition processes. These processes include the planning of taskwork, information sharing and decision making. Furthermore, the students experienced challenges in conflict management and task rotation. Both challenging and beneficial experiences result in leadership and psychological safety. Regarding the long-term perspective of teamwork, students mainly stated positive experiences which are reasoned by friendly relationships and open communication inside interdisciplinary teams. The team development model by Tuckman (1965) supports the identification that the forming and norming phase are the most concise phases regarding experiences in team development. These stages are experienced to develop interpersonal relations and team norms which are essential to enable teamwork efficiency. Nevertheless, students finally experienced difficulties to lift friendship and cohesion to a top level. In addition, the study discusses observation that external factors like the Chinese culture and the educational framework influenced the student’s behavior, hence teamwork experience. Lastly, the author suggests practical implications for students and teachers in future applications of teamwork in the same context.