Build Strong Teams from the Start
Help teams establish shared expectations before project work begins so they can collaborate with greater clarity, accountability, and confidence throughout the course.
Where This Fits
At a Glance
| Project Stage | Beginning of a team project. |
|---|---|
| Student Time | About 30–40 minutes for the complete activity. |
| Instructor Implementation | About 10 minutes to prepare the ready-to-use activity for your course. Additional time may be needed if you choose to customize the activity. |
| Student Experience | Team discussion • Shared expectations • Collaborative decision-making • Accountability planning |
| Resources | Student Activity • Student Resources • Quick Start Guide • Instructor Opportunities |
Why Use This Activity
Many group projects begin with little more than assigning teams and encouraging students to communicate. While this may be enough to begin working, it often leaves important expectations unspoken until problems emerge.
This activity helps teams intentionally establish how they will work together before collaboration begins.
Rather than assuming students already share the same expectations or asking them to complete a generic contract, the Team Charter guides teams through structured conversations about communication, accountability, decision-making, and responding to challenges. Establishing these agreements early helps make expectations visible before they become sources of frustration.
As a result, teams begin their work with a shared foundation that supports more consistent collaboration.
What Students Experience
Students participate in a structured team discussion that helps them establish shared expectations for working together before project work begins.
They will:
- discuss expectations for communication, accountability, and participation;
- negotiate shared agreements for decision-making, workload, and meeting practices;
- identify how the team will respond to common collaboration challenges;
- document the commitments the team has established together in a shared Team Charter.
Students do not simply complete a Team Charter. They establish shared expectations through conversations that become the foundation for how they work together.
Your Role
Introduce the Team Charter as an opportunity for teams to intentionally establish how they will work together rather than as an administrative requirement to complete. Encourage candid, respectful discussion, including making space for students to surface different needs, expectations, or concerns rather than agreeing simply for the sake of agreement. Emphasize that effective collaboration depends upon shared expectations, and allow teams sufficient time to develop agreements they genuinely support.
The accompanying Instructor Opportunities resource provides practical support for connecting the Team Charter to your course, responding to student questions, and bringing teams back to their agreements when useful.
Ready to Implement
Everything needed to implement the activity has already been prepared.
- Student Activity — Ready-to-use Team Charter assignment.
- Student Resources — Team Charter Discussion Guide and template to support teams in developing and documenting their agreements.
- Quick Start Guide — Required Canvas setup, timing, and customization considerations for the ready-to-use activity.
- Instructor Opportunities — Additional ways to support and extend the activity.
Educational Design
This activity draws on established research in collaborative learning, adult learning, team development, and instructional design. These principles informed the activity's emphasis on building a foundation for effective collaboration before substantive project work begins.
Building Shared Expectations
Johnson & Johnson (2009), An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning research emphasizes the importance of positive interdependence and individual accountability. The Team Charter provides an opportunity for students to recognize their shared responsibility for team success and establish expectations for contributing to their collective work.
Adult Learning and Learner Ownership
Knowles (1984), The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species
Adult learning principles emphasize the importance of relevant, meaningful experiences, self-direction, and internal motivation. The Team Charter connects collaboration to students' own project context, giving them ownership of the agreements they develop rather than relying solely on instructor-prescribed expectations.
Social Construction of Team Norms
Vygotsky (1978), Mind in Society
Social interaction and dialogue play important roles in developing shared understanding. The Team Charter creates an opportunity for students to articulate assumptions, explore differing perspectives, and negotiate expectations together rather than developing agreements independently.
Guided Participation and Practice
Billett (2002), Toward a Workplace Pedagogy: Guidance, Participation, and Engagement
Learning can be supported through meaningful participation and intentional guidance. The Team Charter provides structured opportunities to practice making expectations explicit, using discussion prompts and a shared template to support the process while leaving students responsible for the agreements they develop.
Student-Directed Collaboration
Scager et al. (2016), Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence
Research on collaborative learning highlights the importance of student autonomy, self-regulation, and shared ownership of both the collaborative process and its outcomes. The Team Charter gives students an early opportunity to take responsibility for how they will work together, establishing shared expectations and practices they can revisit as their collaboration develops.