ERIC Number: EJ1159097
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 32
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1941-1766
EISSN: N/A
Survey Tools for Faculty to Quickly Assess Multidisciplinary Team Dynamics in Capstone Courses
Solnosky, Ryan; Fairchild, Joshua
Advances in Engineering Education, v6 n2 Fall 2017
Many engineering faculty have limited skills and/or assessment tools to evaluate team dynamics in multidisciplinary team-based capstone courses. Rapidly deployable tools are needed here to provide proactive feedback to teams to facilitate deeper learning. Two surveys were developed based on industrial and organizational psychology theories around desired high performance industry characteristics. A case study experiment was conducted in an architectural engineering capstone. Here, these surveys were deployed in conjunction with traditional qualitative verbal feedback and technical assessments. Results presented here suggest that capstone teams exhibit high-functioning attributes of effective teams based on the course formulation. Team dynamics evolved as the course progressed naturally and with the help of faculty based on the survey results. Discussions in this paper detail survey development, implementation, and sampled trends to represent how to use and interpret the survey output. Furthermore, best practices for implementing these ideas in other courses is touched on. Evidence is presented to support the surveys as a tool and to show correlations between the results and other technical assignments.
Descriptors: Curriculum, Surveys, Engineering, Engineering Education, Case Studies, Feedback (Response), Teamwork, Group Dynamics, Pilot Projects, Statistical Analysis, Qualitative Research, Interdisciplinary Approach, Integrated Activities, Comparative Analysis, College Faculty, College Students
American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 412-624-6815; Fax: 412-624-1108; Web site: http://advances.asee.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A