Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups

•We tested the impact of group role balance on teamwork quality and performance in collaborative learning groups;•Role-balanced groups attain higher levels of cognitive complexity and group performance than unbalanced groups;•Group role balance is negatively related to teamwork quality;

In a sample of 459 students organized in 84 groups this study tests the impact of group role balance on teamwork quality and three performance indicators in collaborative learning groups (group cognitive complexity, perceived performance and objective performance). The results show that group role balance positively predicts group performance in preliminary phases of the group project but not in later phases. Moreover, group role balance positively predicts group cognitive complexity and is negatively related to teamwork quality. The results hold only when role balance is conceptualized as a configural property of groups instead of a sum of individual roles. The findings of the study have implications for the design of collaborative learning groups.