Evaluating the effects of team-skills training on subjective workload

This study evaluated the impact of a team-skills training intervention on students’ subjective experience of workload when working in collaborative groups. Three cohorts of students (N = 295) taking an undergraduate degree unit were compared across three successive years, in which presence or absence of training was varied. Students in trained groups reported lower levels of subjective workload than those in untrained groups and also performed better across a range of academic exercises. This effect was moderated by whether students were regrouped half-way through the academic year. Results are discussed in terms of theories of team-skill acquisition and issues in skill transferability caused by regrouping.