Optimizing Student Team Skill Development using Evidence-Based Strategies

有效的团队合作在工程中的重要性已得到广泛认可。然而，令人惊讶的是，在高等教育课程中，人们对如何培养团队合作技能知之甚少，包括什么因素有助于有效的团队合作，它们在团队整体表现中的相对重要性，以及潜在的个人和人际动态。越来越多的工程教师正在采用依靠团队合作的教学实践，然而许多教师只是简单地组成学生团队，并希望成员单独或集体学习如何在团队中工作并成功完成任务。教师这样做是因为他们没有更好的方法指导。本研究项目旨在解决教师知识方面的这一差距。作为这个项目的一部分进行的实证研究建立在工程教育、认知心理学、社会心理学和其他领域的研究基础上，这是一个协调的大规模研究项目，将为教师提供所需的知识和工具，以确保学生学习团队技能。研究小组正在进行七项独立的研究，测量团队合作训练的影响、团队工作经验、对虚拟团队成员的团队合作进行评级的实践，以及给予和接受同伴反馈。本研究在真实的团队中测量了三个学习成果：提高团队合作知识，提高评估团队合作的能力，提高在团队中有效运作的能力。这些研究将为时间紧迫的教师提供实用的建议。

The critical importance of effective teamwork in engineering is widely recognized. Surprisingly, however, relatively little is known about how to develop teamwork skills in higher education classes, including what factors contribute to effective teamwork, their relative importance in a team's overall performance, and the underlying individual and interpersonal dynamics. Increasing numbers of engineering instructors are adopting instructional practices relying on teamwork, yet many instructors simply form student teams and hope the members individually and collectively learn on their own how to work in teams and succeed in their task(s). Instructors do this because they do not have guidance for a better approach. This research project aims to address this gap in faculty knowledge.The empirical studies conducted as part of this project build on research in engineering education, cognitive psychology, social psychology, and other fields in a coordinated large-scale research project that will provide faculty with needed knowledge and tools to ensure that students learn team skills. The research team is conducting seven separate studies measuring the impact of teamwork training, experience working in teams, practice rating the teamwork of fictitious team members, and giving and receiving peer feedback. The research is measuring each of these effects in real teams on three learning outcomes: improved teamwork knowledge, improved ability to evaluate teamwork, and improved ability to function effectively in teams. These studies will result in practical recommendations for time-pressed faculty to implement.