An investigation of verbal episodes that relate to individual and team performance in engineering student teams

Abstract Background Being an effective team member is one of the key twenty-first century skills and a fundamental proficiency required for jobs and work settings in an increasingly global economy. Collaborative problem-solving in team settings is a critical practice in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields as an effective teaching method that is found to promote outcomes associated with individual student learning and the quality of team solutions. However, the social and discursive dynamics of a team can impact these outcomes. The primary goal of this study was to examine the different types of verbal episodes (questions, conflict, and reasoning episodes) in engineering student teams and how these verbal interactions related to the individual and team performances. Results Our results showed that different verbal episodes played a significant role on students’ individual success and team performance. Students spent most of their time on question episodes, followed by reasoning episodes, and less frequently so on conflict episodes. The linear combination of question, conflict, and reasoning episodes was significantly related to students’ individual achievement scores. Specifically, the number of question episodes was the best predictor of individual performance. And among six subcategories of question episodes, three (open question, verification answer, and elaborated answer) were significantly correlated with the individual achievement scores. Furthermore, according to the regression model, elaborated answer category was significantly related to individual achievement compared to all other categories. In terms of team performance, results showed that reasoning episodes were significantly related to team performance, and the calculation subcategory of reasoning episodes was the best predictor of team performance. Finally, we found that the teams with more balanced participation among team members performed significantly better than the teams with unequal participation among team members. Conclusions These results suggest different verbal episodes are related to individual and team outcomes. Discourse in teams is critical not only for the improvement of academic achievement for individuals but also for the development of better team solutions. Moreover, balanced participation from all team members is important, suggesting teams should be formed, monitored, and supported to ensure balanced participation. Our results recommend that educators should monitor team interactions and promote verbal exchanges that promote student learning and positive team outcomes