Team shared mental model as a contributing factor to team performance and students’ course satisfaction in blended courses Tristan E. Johnson a,⇑ , Ercan Top b,1 , Erman Yukselturk c,2 a Human Performance Research Center at the Learning Systems Institute, Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University, University Center C4600, Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States b Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Abant Izzet Baysal University, 14280 Bolu, Turkey c Continuing Education Center, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey article info Keywords: Team shared mental model Team performance Course satisfaction Blended learning abstract The purpose of the study was to examine how team shared mental model (SMM), team performance, and students’ course satisfaction change over time and how Team-SMM affects team performance and stu- dents’ course satisfaction. Forty-eight preservice teachers from two undergraduate blended courses par- ticipated in this study. The data were obtained via two online questionnaires (shared mental model instrument and Course Satisfaction Scale) administered throughout Spring 2010. Data analysis was con- ducted using repeated measures ANOVA and multiple linear regression techniques. Results indicated that Team-SMM and students’ course satisfaction changed slightly over time but the change was not statisti- cally significant. Team performance increased significantly over the courses. Additionally, attitudes towards teammates and task were closely linked with effective team performance and students satisfac- tion. In the early stage of the courses, general team knowledge, resource, and environment explained a significant amount of variance in students’ course satisfaction. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The attention on teams in the workplace has been growing over time. Team outcomes can be much more productive than the com- bined products of the individuals separately. In various fields such as business, industry, sports, defense, and education, the ability to work as a team is one of the key competencies required for success. People need to learn team skills before they enter the workforce. These skills should be developed and required during their educa- tional studies. Universities and other post secondary institutions are trying to develop students and workers not only on the intel- lectual skills but also on the communication and interpersonal skills. These skills are necessary in the development of high perfor- mance learning teams (Figl, Motschnig-Pitrik, & Derntl, 2006; Fink, 2002; Johnson, Khalil, & Spector, 2008; Johnson, Sikorski, Menden- hall, Khalil, & Lee, 2010; Levi & Slem, 1995). At most basic level, teams are composed of a number of people who are working to achieve a specified goal (Johnson & Lee, 2008; Johnson et al., 2008). According to Cannon-Bowers, Salas, and Con- verse, (1993, p. 222), a team is defined as ‘‘two or more individuals who must interact cooperatively and adaptively in pursuit of shared valued objectives’’. Similar to business and industry fields, teams often have been used in educational environments sup- ported by a number of educational theories, such as constructiv- ism, social interdependency theory, and social learning theories (Gomez, Wu, & Passerini, 2010; Johnson & Johnson, 1998). Accord- ing to constructivism, students play an active role in their learning process (Duffy & Cunningham, 1996). Vygotsky and Piaget have emphasized the cognitive and behavioral nature of social learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1998). As Fink (2002) pointed out, students should have opportunities to explore, interact, create, and reflect within their team. Bringing these theories together, Michelson and his colleagues (2002) have worked to operationalize these ideas into a instructional strategy known as team-based learning. 1.1. Team-based learning Team-based learning (TBL) is an instructional strategy that uses groupings of multiple learners in teaching and learning environ- ments. The main purpose of TBL is to promote active and effective learning as well as to enhance students’ communication and interac- tion skills through teamwork. In other words, in TBL environment students learn how to collaborate with team members to apply their collective knowledge to enhance the team outcomes (Sibley & Parmelee, 2008). Learning in teams has several characteristics that are similar with various leaning strategies such as collaborative 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.07.012 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 850 644 8770. E-mail addresses: tejohnson@fsu.edu (T.E. Johnson), ercantop@gmail.com (E. Top), eyukselturk@gmail.com (E. Yukselturk). 1 Tel.: +90 374 254 10 00 1739. 2 Tel.: +90 312 210 5534. Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 2330–2338 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh