How material objects shape student team learning processes

We bring attention to the important, but previously overlooked, role that seemingly mundane material objects in management classrooms can have in student team learning processes. Specifically, we consider how material objects can shape team learning processes. We conducted an inductive qualitative study exploring how teams in an undergraduate strategy course worked together using two types of material objects: (a) whiteboards and (b) flip charts. Our findings indicate that how students interact with material objects when participating in team learning processes is influenced by four properties: (a) object location (static, mobile), (b) record-keeping (temporary, permanent), (c) form (whole, segmented), and (d) sensory awareness. These properties were found to afford student teams different possibilities for using the object which, in turn, shapes team learning processes through the level of agency over embodied learning, the nature of problem-solving behaviors (expansionist or reductionist), and approach to conceptual understanding (synergistic or discrete). The study contributes nuanced insight into the role of material objects in team learning processes and has pedagogical and practical implications for researchers and educators.