Metacognitive awareness and growth mindset in health science students: implications for teamwork education

There is limited understanding of health science students’ metacognitive awareness of teamwork when entering tertiary education. This study aims to assess self-reported teamwork skills in first-year Undergraduate and first-year Masters of Pharmaceutical Science students. The Teamwork Baseline Assessment Tool (TBAT) survey was used to measure growth mindsets, teamwork strategies and teamwork aptitudes. Students completed the survey at the beginning of semester 1. Likert scale data underwent statistical analysis using the Mann–Whitney test and Spearman correlation analysis, and open-ended written responses underwent reflexive thematic analysis. The first-year Undergraduate students scored higher in growth mindset about kind of person compared to Masters students (Mann–Whitney test, p = 0.0038, U = 6366). First-year Masters students scored higher in the ‘hungry’ virtue than Undergraduate students (Mann–Whitney test, p = 0.0146, U = 6650; Alpha = 0.05). These findings suggest differences in how students entering undergraduate and postgraduate programs conceptualise teamwork readiness, with undergraduate students demonstrating stronger beliefs about personal development, while Masters students exhibit greater motivation to contribute and engage within teams. Thematic analysis yielded 18 inductive codes grouped into themes: ‘positive interdependence and support of scenario student’, ‘exclusion of scenario student’ and ‘considering remaining team members’. These themes highlight variation in students’ metacognitive awareness of inclusive teamwork practices, with responses reflecting both collaborative support strategies and exclusionary approaches to managing team challenges. Together, these findings suggest cohort-level differences in how students perceive their capacity for growth and motivation to contribute within teams. Such differences highlight the importance of designing teamwork education that is responsive to the developmental needs of different student cohorts. The Teamwork Baseline Assessment Tool (TBAT) may serve as a useful diagnostic instrument to inform the design of targeted teamwork learning activities within health science curricula.