91社区

Making Team Projects Work: Tips to Improve Your Student Team Projects

Presented by Timothy M. Franz, Ph.D.

A key role of educators is preparing students for today鈥檚 world, where a top skill demanded by almost every employer is the ability to work in teams. This session will help instructors learn and develop some of the concepts and tools that can help students to work successfully on team projects. The interactive session will provide several foundational ideas about how to improve team projects in the classroom. In addition, the session will include tips for how to improve team projects when teaching remotely.

91社区 the speaker
Dr. Franz is an Industrial and Organizational Psychologist at St. John Fisher University. He is a Professor of Psychology and past chair of graduate Human Resource Development and the undergraduate Departments of Athletic Performance, Criminology/Criminal Justice, and Psychology. He works as an organizational consultant through his consulting organization, Franz Consulting, to develop organizations by improving teamwork and leadership. Prior to his work as a professor, Dr. Franz worked full time as a human resources consultant. He earned his Ph.D. in Social/Organizational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, his M.A. from the University of Buffalo, and his B.A. from SUNY Oneonta.

His areas of expertise include applied research in organizations, individual and team decision making, improving team performance, improving team leadership, and using teams to drive organizational change. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers in many top-tier journals, such as Journal of Applied Psychology and JAMA, as well as many practical papers. He has three books, including Making Team Projects Work: A College Instructor鈥檚 Guide to Successful Student Groupwork, (2025, coauthored with Lauren Vicker), Meaningful Partnership at Work: How The Workplace Covenant Ensures Mutual Accountability and Success between Leaders and Teams (August, 2021, coauthored with Seth R. Silver), and Group Dynamics and Team Interventions: Understanding and Improving Team Performance (2^nd edition forthcoming) and is currently writing on his fourth, tentatively titled Best Boss: How to Make New Managers into Exceptional Leaders (coauthored with Seth R. Silver).

Detailed program听Presentation Abstracts Abstracts in SOAR

Program overview (times in Central Standard Time)

• 9:15 - 10 am | Registration and Coffee
• 9:45 - 9:55 am | Welcome
• 10 - 11:15 am | Sessions 1A an 1B-Lightning
• 11:15 am -12:30 pm | Keynote luncheon
• 12:30 - 1 pm | Posters and dessert
• 1 - 2:10 pm | Sessions 2A and 2B

All sessions are held in University Center East, rooms UC 2217-2218 and UC 2219-2220.

You are welcomed to attend sessions and presentations as your schedule permits.

The Symposium will provide you with opportunities to engage with other participants across disciplines and areas of work. Benefits include the opportunity to share and get feedback on your work, spark new ideas, make your teaching scholarship visible, and initiate or strengthen connections.

• Share your efforts in supporting student learning and success and advancing your teaching practice.
• Gain knowledge of evidence-based strategies and technologies that support student learning and success across settings and disciplines.
• Foster reflection on your teaching practice, including improving and measuring student learning.
• Interact with participants across disciplines and institutions

• The Symposium will be held in University Center East, 2nd floor on the campus of the 91社区. This building is connected to the Performance Center, is near the Welcome Center, and is across from the Screaming Eagles arena.
• Entrances to University Center East are through the Performance Center and the breezeway with "The Cone" structure.
• Parking Lot C is the closest to the event. Parking is free.
• Accessible parking spaces are available next to the Rice Library and in Parking Lots C and N.

Thank you to our 2025 Symposium Committee members, who serves on the organizing committee and as proposal reviewers and session facilitators!

• Mark Creager, Pott College - Organizing Committee member听
• Jara Dillingham, College of Liberal Arts -听Organizing Committee member
• Julie Eyink, College of Liberal Arts - Organizing Committee member听
• Adrian Gentle, Pott College -听Organizing Committee member
• Nicolas Jankuhn, Romain College of Business
• Simone Nance, Pott College
• David O'Neil, College of Liberal Arts - Organizing Committee member
• Taylor Petty,听College of Liberal Arts -听Organizing Committee member
• Kristina Baker (Todorovic), College of Liberal Arts - Organizing Committee member
• Peter Whiting, Rice Library
• Summer Wilderman, College of Liberal Arts
• Zachary Ward, Kinney College of Nursing and Health Professions
• Amy Chan Hilton, CETL -听Organizing Committee member