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Session 1077

Instruction and Assessment of Multidisciplinary Teaming Skills in Senior Design

Deanna P. Dannels, Paula Berardinelli, Chris M. Anson, Lisa Bullard, Naomi Kleid, Dave Kmiec, Steven Peretti North Carolina State University

Abstract Although numerous articles in engineering disciplines focus on incorporating communication into courses and curricula, minimal scholarship exists that addresses the specific instruction and assessment issues involved with multidisciplinary teaming competence. As multidisciplinary teams are increasingly being implemented in engineering industry and academic courses (specifically in senior design courses), it is critical to explore the strategies for instruction and assessment of multidisciplinary teams. This study does just that by describing a tri-phased instructional and assessment protocol for multidisciplinary teaming instruction. Additionally, this study presents preliminary assessment results that contributed to iterative redesign of this tri-phased protocol. Ultimately, the protocols presented in this study can be tailored for other institutions and further tested for effectiveness in building multidisciplinary teaming competence.

Rationale Industry uses multidisciplinary (MD) teams to enhance the success of new product development1. Multidisciplinary teams are also essential components of knowledge management practices in organizations. The combination of MD teams and optimizing emerging technologies enables organizations to manage the human side of learning and complex decision-making2. Because the needs of industry often influence the professional preparation of new entrants into the workforce, it is critical to attend to those educational issues involved with multidisciplinary teams. The current study provides insight into the under explored area of multidisciplinary teaming instruction and assessment within a senior capstone design course.

Numerous curricular changes in engineering disciplines nationwide have focused instruction on communication and teamwork skills3. While some programs have engaged in comprehensive curricular change, others have designed new stand-alone communication courses for engineering students4. Many of these communication-intensive courses target technical communication as a key critical skill to learn5. Other such communication courses for engineers focus on different communication skills such as listening, teamwork, visual aids, group creativity, and audience analysis6.

Most often, the communication and teamwork instruction that occurs in engineering curricula is within the senior capstone course (such as a design course). In many of these cases, senior level courses include assignments that require communication and teamwork skills such as team design projects, team brainstorming sessions, or team portfolios7. Driving many senior capstone curricular models in engineering is the attempt to align communication instruction with industry’s needs8. In light of recent

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Peretti, S., & Berardinelli, P., & Kleid, N., & Dannels, D., & Anson, C., & Bullard, L., & Kmiec, D. (2003, June), Instruction And Assessment Of Multidisciplinary Teaming Skills In Senior Design Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11418