By the fifth week, the students turn in their requests for team assignments, which I review based upon my assessment of their interests and prior experience. Beginning the seventh week of the semester, each team has a weekly assignment to complete, often involving team meetings or phone discussions outside of class. Time is set aside every week for team reports to the class and for private discussions with the instructor. By the last week of the semester all team projects, and thus all the planning for the exhibition, have been completed. The teamwork approach is ideal for this class, because museum work really is a collaborative process, and thus the students' experience is very much the same as it would be if they were working in a museum.
Students learn to share ideas and trust one another and themselves in brainstorming sessions.
They learn not only to cooperate with the members of their own teams, but also to see their team projects as part of a larger whole. For example, the design team depends on the curatorial team for the thematic outline it will use in laying out the space of the exhibition. The public relations team depends upon the other teams to provide timely information for incorporation into the press release. Because each team's work has an impact on all the other teams, the students are interested in each other's projects and have an incentive to encourage each other to do the best work possible. Team projects teach students who are accustomed to working individually to adjust their ideas, working styles, and timetables for the good of the group.