# Teamwork Conflict Management Training and Conflict Resolution Practice via Large Language Models
## 1 Introduction  
Teamwork is central to every organization [1]; thus, higher education institutions must provide future graduates with opportunities to become functional members of a team and acquire teamwork skills in the process [2]. As students collaborate in teams, they engage in team dynamics that can foster the development of essential teamwork skills, including leadership, conflict management, and communication. However, these teamwork skills should be learned and practiced in the context of team-based project settings.  
Education research in higher education has resulted in robust research on how to promote effective teamwork through collaborative projects [3]. However, for teams to function effectively, they must not only engage in behavioral processes like communication and coordination but also foster positive motivational states [4]. Motivational states describe members' collective reactions to interpersonal aspects of team functioning, such as cohesion, collective efficacy, and conflict management, among others [1]. Specifically, conflict management and conflict resolution are particularly relevant to teamwork, as interpersonal relationships play an important role in the performance of job-related tasks andcommunication [5]. However, not all conflict is negative. There may be task-based conflicts and relational conflicts [6]. While task-based conflicts may result in divergent thinking, relational conflicts may be detrimental to team performance. In such instances, conflict management styles can help to resolve conflicts [5]. However, conflict management styles need to be learned and practiced sooner and often throughout undergraduate education. Research from organizational psychology and human factors has determined that team interventions, enabled by technology, are a viable approach for enhancing teamwork performance [7]. However, integrative research has identified that very few interventions on conflict management and conflict mitigation have been fully documented [8].  
This study contributes new knowledge on conflict management and conflict resolution within the context of teamwork in higher education. Specifically, the study implemented a conflict management training approach guided by principles of transformative learning. Transformative learning is an approach to adult education where adults learn as they adapt to the needs and demands of their socio-cultural context [9; 10]. Transformative learning is more effective when learners are engaged mentally and behaviorally in learning experiences. To engage students mentally, we provided students with training in conflict management. To engage students behaviorally, we provided students with practice in conflict resolution simulated with a large language model (LLM). Correspondingly, the conflict management training approach involved a three-step procedure consisting of a LEARN phase, a PRACTICE phase enabled by an LLM, and a REFLECT phase. Within this context, we investigate students' attitudes toward their experience, their confidence in handling conflict after engaging in the training and practice, the styles they implement to resolve conflict, and the strategies they use in the process while they approach the simulated conflict. Accordingly, the research questions for this study are as follows: (1) How did the training and practice affect students' level of confidence in addressing conflict? (2) Which conflict management styles did students use in the simulated practice? (3) Which strategies did students employ when engaging with the simulated conflict?