ARTICLES
Developing Emotional
Intelligence Abilities Through
Team-Based Learning
Nicholas Clarke
A few studies have appeared in the literature suggesting that team learning
might be an effective means for developing emotional intelligence (EI) abili-
ties in the workplace. This study investigated the effects of attending a one-day
emotional intelligence training session followed by participating in team-based
learning on ability-based measures of emotional intelligence in a sample of
MBA students. Training alone had no effect but when followed by participat-
ing in team-based learning positive effects were found, but only for those who
were categorized as participating more intensively in team learning and only
on one specific emotional ability. The findings suggest that greater participa-
tion in team-based learning may create stronger relational bonds that sup-
port the development of emotional abilities once individuals have gained
personal insights into their own emotional intelligence.
Although initially popularized by Goleman (1995), the concept of emotional
intelligence (EI) has since become a confusing area for many managers and
practitioners, because of the increasing number of models that can now be
found in the literature. These have been categorized as (a) ability (Salovey &
Mayer, 1990), (b) personality (Petrides & Furnham, 2001), (c) competence
(Goleman, 1995), and (d) mixed models (Bar-On, 1997; Dulewicz, Higgs, &
Slaski, 2003). Although the term emotional intelligence collectively can refer to
all these models, they in fact each represent very different perspectives on what
is to be included within the concept. This gives rise to competing definitions
of EI and, consequently, very different approaches for its measurement. One of
the central problems to arise is that despite using the same term, authors are
often measuring very different things, such that the predictive power of the
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 21, no. 2, Summer 2010 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.20036 119