Teamwork is the topic of a new exercise that tested students around the world. Representatives from more than 50 economies took part, and seven of the top ten scores came from the Asia Pacific. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development believes that the ability to work together is an increasingly important skill in the modern workplace.
So the group came up with a way to measure team work— a test of “collaborative problem-solving skills.”
The project involved some 150,000 fifteen year olds across 52 economies.
Students interacted over a computer simulation to plan and execute projects—such as preparing a presentation or planning a field trip.
But the test didn’t stop there.
It also made the students take into consideration what other team members know, figure out who takes responsibility for which tasks, and keep the project on a timeline.
Members need to keep an awareness of group dynamics and find a way to resolve disagreements.
The top four finishers were in order, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
The United States did not make the top ten.
Five, six, and seven were Canada, Estonia and Finland – followed by Macau, New Zealand and Australia.
One other point that was consistent in every single economy taking part in the test: when it comes to measuring team-building skills, girls consistently did better than boys.
