Mitigating Negative Behaviors in Student Project Teams: An Information Technology Solution

Authors

Alan A. Brandyberry, Kent State University
Sharen A. Bakke, Kent State University

Abstract

The evolution of the information systems (IS) profession as well as the IS educational environment has resulted in student project teams becoming an increasingly important component of IS education. Negative behaviors within these project teams result in less than optimal project outcomes and confound attempts to fairly evaluate individual efforts within the team. These negative behaviors can also result in unfavorable perceptions of the educational experience for many students. An information technology-based application consisting of an online interactive activity log and an online peer review system was developed to mitigate the common negative behaviors of social loafing and free riding and provide more accurate and useful information for evaluation. Its successful implementation in a specific classroom environment is discussed and evidence of its efficacy is supplied in the form of subjective assessment by the instructors and the results of a survey measuring student perceptions of the system.

Recommended Citation

Brandyberry, Alan A. and Bakke, Sharen A. (2006) "Mitigating Negative Behaviors in Student Project Teams: An Information Technology Solution," Journal of Information Systems Education: Vol. 17 : Iss. 2 , 195-210.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jise/vol17/iss2/9