Students in John Molson’s research-based Master’s programs generate an abundance and variety of valuable inquiry into contemporary business issues.
This week, Ashley Flesch shares her thesis research on the development of teamwork skills. What are the best strategies for using teamwork - both in and out of the classroom - to enhance the university learning experience?
Prior to obtaining my Master of Science in Management at John Molson in 2017, I had acquired a Bachelor of Education at McGill in 2012. I have always had a passion for education and learning, and felt that a degree in management would be an excellent way to complement my desire to transmit knowledge.
The John Molson Master’s program offered me the flexibility to tie the various concepts I was learning in my courses and assignments to an educational context, while still providing me with a solid foundation in management. So the program gave me the option to both learn through lectures and seminars, as well as through taking on an independent research project about which I felt passionate.
Finding my focus
As students, we are consistently told throughout our academic careers that participating in group projects helps us gain teamwork skills, which will be useful when we get into our profession. However, I always struggled to see how we can be sure that teamwork skills are actually being developed when, let’s be honest, teamwork can sometimes be extremely time consuming and frustrating. Oftentimes, team members will use many strategies to divide up the work, meaning that they engage minimally with one another. So, I decided to do my Master’s thesis on the topic of teamwork amongst undergraduate business students.
Conducting research, applying the scientific method and being able to contribute to our understanding of teamwork was particularly empowering and appealing to me. With the support of my brilliant supervisor, Tracy Hecht, I was able to use a large sample to make meaningful connections on how professor support and the use of teamwork strategies impacted the relationship between exposure to teamwork and the acquisition of teamwork skills.
Unravelling the results
The results from my study were incredibly interesting from both a student and professor perspective. Students are oftentimes dissatisfied with their teamwork experiences (Colbeck et al., 2000) and can gain insight into what strategies and support will help develop their teamwork skills. Meanwhile, professors need to know which types of support best promote skills acquisition so that they can tailor their approach to assigning teamwork in their courses.
The findings showed that exposure to teamwork can promote the acquisition of teamwork skills, but exposure alone may not be optimal. Rather, when professors also offer support by intervening to explain expectations, more teamwork skills were noted. Interestingly, too much professor support in the form of ‘Interim Feedback’ – such as having students submit multiple drafts and plans before submitting the final product (i.e. micro-managing) – seems to hinder skill growth, and this may reflect a form of ‘over-scaffolding’, or coddling, that is detrimental to learning.
Thanks to the support of Professor Hecht, I was confidently able to defend my study results and we look forward to disseminating this knowledge, whether it be through publishing, or by sharing the results of this study with professors and the administration. I am proud to say that my thesis has been downloaded almost 100 times.
Finding the right supervisor and developing your ideas
If I had to give one piece of advice to students newly admitted to John Molson research-based programs, it would be to ensure that you think about your particular area of interest and try to connect with a potential supervisor early on. Having an idea early on about what you might want to research facilitates the thesis journey in many ways. For example, all of the essays that you will have to write as part of your coursework can be used as a framework for your thesis, essentially allowing for an organic (and credited) evolution of the inevitable literature review that must be done.
Connecting with a supervisor early on can help to ensure that you scale your ideas so that you are not overwhelmed later on. Make sure to maintain open communications with your supervisor and seek out additional support from your committee as needed. If you are lucky enough, you can gain a mentor in this journey as well!
Reaping the rewards
Earning the John Molson MSc in Management degree allowed me to acquire and fine-tune many skills that are important for my current position as McGill University, and my ability to grow at that institution. I am able to synthesize large volumes of information while remaining organized, managing multiple deadlines, maintaining attention to detail, and mapping out processes and relationships in order to maximize efficiency.
The critical thinking that I have developed from completing a thesis lends to my ability to be specific in my writing and thorough when delivering suggestions. I feel that I have, and will have, many opportunities to use these acquired skills throughout my career.
Ashley is currently working as the Physicianship Component Administrator at the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) department of McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine. In this role, she administers the part of the curriculum that pertains to guiding students into being reflective professionals and healers (e.g. building the doctor-patient relationship). She aims to gain experience in the Faculty of Medicine in this position, and ultimately grow professionally within the faculty.
Find out more about John Molson’s research-based graduate programs. Then, feel free to connect with a recruiter or register for one of our information sessions.
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