Volume 7

Volume 7, Number 37

May 18, 2009

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15 pages730 K bytes

The Rolling Learning Cell: A Method to Integrate Individual Assessment and Team Grading Components in Information Systems Curriculum Team Projects


David L. Russell
Western New England College
Springfield, MA 01119, USA

Janelle E. Goodnight
Western New England College
Springfield, MA 01119, USA

Abstract: The use of teamwork in the IS profession and in IS education is common. However, significant differences exist between professional teams and teams in IS education. Existing practices regarding teams in IS education often do not prepare IS students well for their future roles on IS professional teams. Ironically, this is because teams in IS education model professional IS teamwork too well, particular with regard to their reward structure. Simultaneously, teamwork as commonly implemented in IS education reinforces student strengths and does not address student weaknesses, particularly with regard to the various roles that exist in teams. Here a teamwork method, the Rolling Learning Cell method, is proposed that addresses present weaknesses in the use of team in IS Education. The model is well grounded in the research on the use of teams in higher education. The method emphasizes specific and rotating roles for students to exercise a variety of teamwork skills, while maintaining the concept of a final project done by the whole team. This method has been successfully implemented in other areas of higher education. A pilot study on the use of the Rolling Learning Cell method is included.

Keywords: teamwork, teams, team roles

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Recommended Citation: Russell and Goodnight (2009). The Rolling Learning Cell: A Method to Integrate Individual Assessment and Team Grading Components in Information Systems Curriculum Team Projects. Information Systems Education Journal, 7 (37). http://isedj.org/7/37/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2008: §3544. ISSN: 1542-7382.)