Robert W. Lingard California State University, Northridge Improving the Teaching of Teamwork skills in Engineering and Computer Science Robert W. Lingard California State University, Northridge IMETI 2010

Overview Teamwork – The Neglected Engineering Skill What is Teamwork? How Do We Know When Teamwork is Happening? Results from Recent Studies How Can We Improve Teamwork Learning? Conclusions IMETI 2010

Teamwork – The Neglected Engineering Skill Most today would agree that teamwork is important in engineering and computer science. Our industrial partners tell us they need graduates who can work effectively in teams. ABET demands that we teach teamwork and that our graduates can demonstrate teamwork skills IMETI 2010

Teamwork – The Neglected Engineering Skill (Cont’d) Most educational programs do not adequately address the teaching of teamwork skills. Neither do they assess how well these skills are being mastered. Consequently, the learning of these skills is usually a matter of chance. IMETI 2010

Teamwork Teaching Fallacies It’s not the responsibility of Engineering and Computer Science faculty to teach teamwork and communication skills But then who does it? Experience is the best teacher Poor team experiences create negative feelings regarding teamwork Students will learn to work on teams once they graduate and get jobs Their lack of teamwork skills can make it harder to get jobs in the first place IMETI 2010

What is Teamwork? IMETI 2010

Teamwork in Soccer (Fútbol) IMETI 2010

Teamwork on the Job IMETI 2010

What Makes a Team Successful? It is composed of individuals with unique, yet synergistic talents. Each member understands and carries out his or her responsibilities. Members communicate effectively with one another, sharing ideas and listening to the suggestions of others. Members request help and offer help as needed. The team stays focused and members share a common goal. IMETI 2010

Developing Measurable Teamwork Performance Criteria A specific set of individual teamwork skills was developed based on input from the following groups. Current students Alumni Faculty Industry Partners IMETI 2010

Specific Teamwork Skills Attend (nearly all) team meetings Arrive on time for (nearly all) team meetings Communicate clearly with other team members Share knowledge with others Introduce new ideas Openly express opinions IMETI 2010

Specific Teamwork Skills (Cont’d) Consider suggestions from others Adopt suggestions from others Try to understand what others say Provide help to other team members Ask for help form other team members Complete assignments on time IMETI 2010

Specific Teamwork Skills (Cont’d) Complete assignments with acceptable quality Do research and gather information Do a fair share of the work Be committed to team goals Show respect for others Distinguish between the important and the trivial IMETI 2010

How Do We Know When Teamwork Is Happening? Make independent observations Evaluate the evidence of individual team member contributions Conduct peer reviews IMETI 2010

Independent Observation Instructors, lab assistants, or outside observers attend team meetings But this observation can influence student behavior If meetings are held online the monitoring can be unobtrusive. Only some team activities are practical to observe IMETI 2010

Evaluating Individual Team Member Contributions Individual contributions can be independently evaluated Requiring students to post contributions online is an easy way to gain access to these contributions But, not all teamwork skills involve artifacts produced by individual team members IMETI 2010

Peer Evaluations Each team member evaluates the performance of other members Evaluations should be anonymous and include self ratings Team members are in the best position to evaluate teammates But, students are often reluctant to be critical of fellow students IMETI 2010

Peer Evaluation Form IMETI 2010

Results from Recent Studies Teamwork Attribute Percent Achieved Demonstrate an ability to do research and gather information 96.3% Generally tried to understand what other team members were saying 86.4% . . . 74.2-84.1% Show an ability to distinguish between the important and the trivial 69.9% Communicate clearly with other team members 68.1% Help someone on the team 66.4% Ask for help from someone on the team 63.9% IMETI 2010

How Do We Improve the Learning of Teamwork Skills? Identify the skills where improvement is most needed. Develop tools and techniques to improve leaning of those skills. Reassess to determine whether the new approach helped. Revise approach as needed and repeat. IMETI 2010

The “Ask For Help” and “Provide Help” Skills People (especially students) tend not to ask for help when they need it. A possible solution is to reward both the requesting and giving of help. We created the “Help Certificate” to try to accomplish that. IMETI 2010

Help Certificate IMETI 2010

Clear Communication Within the Team Engineering students are conditioned to work independently and tend to be introverted. By giving assignments in which each member of the team must independently come up with a solution, and then present their solution to the team, communication can be improved. IMETI 2010

Sharing a Solution with the Team IMETI 2010

Distinguishing Between the Important and the Trivial Engineering and Computer Science students are Fact-Finders in the Kolbe™ sense. That is, they can get bogged down in details. “Analysis Paralysis” can set in. We added an item to the required Meeting Report Form for student projects requiring them to identify the current important issues or problems. IMETI 2010

Meeting Report IMETI 2010

Help Team Members Focus on the Important Issues IMETI 2010

Conclusions It is vitally important that Engineering and Computer Science students learn to work effectively on teams. It is less clear how to provide an effective learning environment in which they can do this. The approach recommended is one of continual improvement in which the areas of greatest weakness are identified and tools and techniques are developed to improve those specific skills. IMETI 2010