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Main Menu Session 2793

Measuring Faculty Preparation to Lead Teams in the Engineering Classroom: A Pilot Study

Stephanie G. Adams, Ph.D. and Fernando Pereira University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Abstract

According to modern education practices, teaching students how to work in teams represents a big challenge for faculty members. In many cases they are the individuals who establish tasks for the teams and who form, monitor and evaluate them. Studies have shown that there is a strong statistical difference in the number of hours of training between low and high users of teams in the classroom suggesting that the more training faculty members have, the more they use teams in their classrooms. 1

With increased expectations from industry for graduates to demonstrate a mastery of group effectiveness skills [teamwork, interpersonal skills and negotiation] faculty members are putting emphasis on teaching methods that use teams. 2 With an increased use of teams in the classroom, questions remain regarding how prepared are faculty members to lead teaming efforts? The purpose of this study was to obtain information from engineering faculty regarding their usage of teams, their attitudes toward teams and how they are currently using teams in engineering classrooms. This paper and the presentation will present the findings of a web-based survey of engineering faculty.

Introduction

As the use of teams in the engineering classroom increases so do the responsibilities of the faculty member. The faculty member has responsibility for creating an environment where students can work in teams and where interpersonal and collaborative learning can take place. The role of the faculty member is similar to that of a coach on a sports team. The coach is responsible for forming the team, establishing tasks for the team, monitoring the team and evaluating the teams’ performance. For many faculty members teaching students how to work in teams represents a big challenge. Specifically the faculty member must:

· Help team members anticipate possible dysfunctional behaviors and brainstorm solutions.3 · Help team members accept responsibility for successful development of the team. 3 · Provide training for students on how to work on teams. · Evaluate team task and process performance. 4

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Adams, S. (2002, June), Measuring Faculty Preparation To Lead Teams Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10882