Work in progress — A feedback system for peer evaluation of engineering student teams to enhance team effectiveness

Abstract – Design-and-build competitions are integral to effective higher engineering education. Yet, there is not much research investigating if the organizational structures of engineering student teams and team effectiveness follow any trends. This paper delves into the possibility of this correlation by measuring parameters that contribute to effective teams. This research provides data that is used to judge best practices for engineering student teams. The findings from this paper can then be used as a basis for action when the students find a need for organization development in the future. Additionally, this analysis provides insight into teamwork in engineering. This could benefit 4th year design (a.k.a capstone) projects as well as innovative companies with similar settings. The core contributors to a team's effectiveness are leadership, direction, planning, knowledge transfer, and meetings for engineering student teams. Although parameters like communication and team culture are important, student teams generally have no problems in these areas. By comparing three organizational structures, it is concluded that in general engineering student teams are best when they follow a holocratic or flatter organizational structure as opposed to a strictly flat organizational structure.

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Work in Progress: Micro-skills and Mini-habits in Engineering Student Teams: Facilitating a Confluence of Perspectives and Talent

10.18260/1-2--29172 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Malini Natarajarathinam ◽

Soo Jeoung Han ◽

Michael Beyerlein ◽

Jill Zarestky ◽

Lei Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Engineering Student ◽

Work In Progress ◽

Student Teams

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FACULTY AND STUDENT VIEWS ON ENGINEERING STUDENT TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering ◽

10.1615/jwomenminorscieneng.v5.i4.50 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 351-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Patricia F. Mead ◽

D. Moore ◽

M. Natishan ◽

L. Schmidt ◽

Shirley Vining Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Team Effectiveness ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Student Views ◽

Student Team

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STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND USE OF AN INVENTORY TO FACILITATE LEARNING OF INDIVIDUAL TEAM-EFFECTIVENESS

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.4924 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Kristine Sheridan ◽

Doug Reeve ◽

Greg Evans

Keyword(s):

Student Perceptions ◽

Team Effectiveness ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Engineering Science ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Web Based ◽

Team Members ◽

Course Content ◽

Graduate Attributes ◽

Communication Competencies

Team-based projects have become a common method of modeling real-world experience and meeting required graduate attributes in engineering. In these projects, much of a student’s grade is attributed to work produced by an entire team, creating a need for instruction on how to work effectively as team members in addition to course-content instruction. A web-based tool is in development to create a virtual environment in which students can learn about and improve their individual team-effectiveness competencies through self- and peer-assessments. Framed as a guided reflection, these assessments are facilitated using an inventory which identifies 18 competencies along three aspects of team-effectiveness: Organisational, Relational and Communication competencies [1]. The inventory assesses observable behaviours that translate to specific levels of competency so as to provide a foundation for normalized self- and peer-assessments, as well as provide examples of how to improve. A study to assess student perceptions and use of the inventory was conducted in the Fall 2012 term in two upper year courses. The first course was a third-year course on energy systems that is required of all students in the Energy Option of Engineering Science and the second a fourth-year engineering leadership course which any engineering student can select as an elective. The objective of this study was to determine if students in a required engineering course perceived and used the inventory differently than those who self-selected into an engineering leadership course.

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THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY TYPE ON TEAMWORK IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.4844 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter M. Ostafichuck ◽

Carol Naylor

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Engineering Education ◽

Personality Type ◽

Favourable Outcome ◽

Peer Evaluation ◽

Myers Briggs Type Indicator ◽

Student Teams ◽

Evaluation Scores ◽

Team Decision ◽

The Difference

The influence of personality type on various factors relating to engineering education is examined. Personality type was described according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Data from a total of sevencohorts (2007 to 2013) in a second year mechanical engineering design course have been analyzed. Decision making on team tests was examined in terms of the MBTI Introversion / Extraversion domain and peer evaluation scores received were examined across all four MBTI domains. Measured differences between students with a preference for Introversion and those with a preference for Extraversion on the level of influence on team decision making was found. A small but statistically significant correlation has also been noted between peer evaluation scores received and a student’s preference onthe MBTI Judging / Perceiving domain. This is believed to relate to possible perceptions (or misperceptions) that in delaying action or decision making a person with a preference for Perceiving is lazy or disengaged. Differences in peer evaluation scores were not observed for the other three MBTI domains. The results suggest that even with student awareness (through readings) and interventions (through workshops) possible effects of the difference in personality type persist in engineering student teams. The lack of relationship between peer evaluation scores and the remaining three MBTI domains is a favourable outcome in terms of the objectivity of the peer evaluation tools.

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A Power Analysis to Determine Appropriate Sample Size for the Study of Student Design-Team Effectiveness

Volume 3: 17th International Conference on Design Education (DEC) ◽

10.1115/detc2020-22345 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shun Takai ◽

Thomas J. Smith ◽

Marcos Esterman

Keyword(s):

Sample Size ◽

Team Performance ◽

Power Analysis ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Team Effectiveness ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Design Teams ◽

Effectiveness Model ◽

Student Teams ◽

Team Project

Abstract Forming collaborative teams is a critical first step in team-project-based design courses as team composition directly affects not only teamwork processes and outcomes but also teamwork skills and experience. While various approaches have been used to form teams, the best methodology has not been found due to a lack of understanding of how team compositions impact team performance and teamwork learning. We need to establish a team effectiveness model for student design teams that describes relationships between team characteristics and team performance or teamwork learning. One of many challenges in such an effort is to estimate an appropriate sample size to achieve statistically significant results before starting data collection. In this paper, we demonstrate a power analysis for determining an appropriate sample size, i.e., the number of student teams, before we study the effectiveness of student design-teams. We first present a hypothesized team effectiveness model for student design teams that shows possible relationships among team factors. We then illustrate a statistical analysis procedure for studying the team effectiveness model using structural equation modeling (SEM) or path analysis. We finally demonstrate a power analysis of SEM for determining the appropriate sample size for studying the team effectiveness model.

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