Knecht, S. (2023, March), Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes  Paper presented at ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--45080

\bibitem{asee_peer_45080}
  Knecht, S. (2023, March), \emph{Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes}
  Paper presented at ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania.
  10.18260/1-2--45080

Sean Knecht.  "Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes".  ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania, 2023, March.  ASEE Conferences, 2023.  https://peer.asee.org/45080 Internet.  14 May, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_45080}
  Sean Knecht.
  "Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes".
  \emph{ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania, 2023, March}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2023.
  https://peer.asee.org/45080 Internet.  14 May, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_45080
author = "Sean Knecht"
title = "Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes"
booktitle = "ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023"
year = "2023"
month = "March"
address = "State College,, Pennsylvania"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/45080}
number = {10.18260/1-2--45080}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This work-in-progress submission details initial outcomes stemming from the development of a individualized facet of the Multidisciplinary Capstone design experience at Penn State.  In this course, sponsors (industry or academic) provide projects that have different technical background requirements.  Through a semi-automated process, students are assigned to these projects prior to the semester in teams of 4 – 6, generally; the process includes some preference input from the students.  However, from semester to semester the alignment of project needs and number of students with the desired backgrounds may not align.  This can result in poor student/project fits, leading to stress in team dynamics, siloing of task responsibilities on the team, poor communication, and poor student experiences and outcomes.  To combat this, I developed an individualized personal skill development assignment for each student.  A discussion between the student and instructor takes place early in the semester, after the teams have spoken with their sponsors about expectations and deliverables.  Based on student background and expected project requirements, a plan is created for the student to develop a selected skill to improve engagement with the project.  Some examples of skills are machining/making, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Arduino/microcontroller, and additive manufacturing.  Some techniques for skill development include supervised training, online workshops, and peer-to-peer learning.  This assignment has been piloted in one section (one semester, 14 students) of Multidisciplinary Capstone and feedback was acquired via a graded online survey with the grading based on depth of analysis and self-reflection by the student, not expected/desired answers.  The initial data indicates the assignment resulted in improved project engagement and confidence-building in the majority of students.  Improvements to be adopted include creation of periodic progress-checks throughout the semester and piloting the approach on a larger sample set.
AU  - Sean Knecht
CY  - State College,, Pennsylvania
DA  - 2023/03/30
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: Impact of individualized personal development projects in a Multidisciplinary Capstone course on project success and student outcomes
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45080
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45080
ER  -