How Belbin transformed a cohort of chemical engineers at the University of the Basque Country

Setting the scene: teamwork and collaboration in higher education

Teamwork and collaboration skills are among the most in-demand in the labour market†. Increasingly, organisations use agile or cross-functional teams to address complex business needs.

Teamwork offers better problem-solving, greater potential for innovation and more opportunities for personal growth. A study by EY revealed that almost 9 out of 10 companies agree “that the problems confronting them are now so complex that teams are essential to provide effective solutions”.

In this context, staff in higher education are recognising the value of teaching collaboration and teamwork in project-based learning, to boost self-understanding, increase employability and prepare students for the world of work.

However, there are a number of obstacles to doing so: syllabuses fit to burst, insufficient time and instructors lacking confidence or being reticent to teach these skills.

† The ability to communicate and work effectively in a team is one of the skills most in demand by engineering companies (Loughry et al., 2014; Oakley et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2020). It is also one of the key outcomes required for the accreditation of engineering programs (ABET, 2020; EFCE, 2020).

A new method for forming teams

They interviewed former students and asked them to reflect on those skills which were key to success, with a view to deciding on an appropriate methodology. The Belbin Team Role theory was chosen for its focus on complementary skills that would allow students to tackle different tasks within the project successfully.

They stated:

“We found that most of the suggested competencies and duties were not strictly based on technical skills and knowledge, but on transversal skills closely related to those of Belbin’s roles.”

First, the instructors introduced teamwork in a general sense. They used the rocket exercise from Belbin Co-operate and discussed skills needed for effective teamwork.

Students completed the Self-Perception Inventory (SPI) and were asked to complete Observer Assessments (OA).

Using the Team Role data from the completed reports, the instructors built balanced teams of 4-5 members.
Students were given a lecture on Belbin theory, so that they understood Team Role descriptors, strengths and weaknesses. They subsequently received their Belbin reports and were notified of their group allocation.

Using the information contained in the reports, students wrote a reflective essay and received feedback from their instructors on this.

Once gathered, the team members filled out the Team Role Circle. This gave an at-a-glance view of roles in the team, including any gaps or overlaps. It was revised during the project, as students’ self-knowledge (and knowledge of their team-mates’ strengths) developed.

The results…

The researchers performed independent t-tests and discovered that student performance – in terms of project score, exam score and IAF – was significantly better for Belbin-selected than for self-selected teams.

Exam score

Researchers remarked particularly on the increased rate of students with ‘outstanding’ grade, and the drop (from 20% to 7%) of students not taking the exam.

They commented:

“This drop suggests that students working in Belbin teams feel more engaged and that their learning is higher. Therefore, students feel more confident that they can pass the exam.”

Accountability and engagement

Individual Accountability Factor (IAF) is a measure of students’ performance related to their engagement to teamwork.

Students completed monitoring questionnaires (MQs) which allowed researchers to gauge their knowledge (according to a set of deliverables) and to incorporate the corresponding scores into their project grade, by multiplying the overall team project score to the Individual Accountability Factor (IAF).

“These results show that forming teams by Belbin’s role theory improves the positive interdependence and individual accountability of team members, which, in turn, allows improving team and individual performance.”

The research team commented that “the performance of students in terms of project score, exam score and IAF is significantly better for Belbin teams than for self-selected teams”.

Class attendance

In addition to increased engagement, students in Belbin-selected teams had higher attendance rates overall and required less study time outside the classroom, since they were able to work more effectively in class.

Interest in the subject

At the end of the semester, students were asked to rate their interest in the subject.

In Belbin-selected teams, the rate of students whose interest in the subject was “high” or “very high” increased considerably, whilst “medium”, “low” and “very low” interest decreased.

Feedback from students

At the end of the semester, students were asked to rate whether forming teams according to Belbin Team Role theory helped them both on group work and personal levels.

The areas identified as being most positively influenced by working in Belbin-selected teams were those related to positive interdependence, interpersonal relationships and social skills, and individual accountability.

90% of students agreed (or strongly agreed) that Belbin had helped “the ability to listen to the opinions of others”.

80-84% agreed (or strongly agreed) that forming teams with Belbin favoured the following aspects of their work:

• The ability to draw on the knowledge, ideas and skills of others;
• The communication of ideas, knowledge and proposals;
• The integration of colleagues in collaborative work;
• The ability to accept and welcome proposals from colleagues, even if those ideas were different to their own;
• Their perceptions of other, lesser-known, colleagues;
• Consensus decision-making in the group.