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Session 3557

The Application of Total Quality Methods in Student Team Development

Kimberly D. Douglas, Thomas M. West College of Engineering Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-2407

The College of Engineering (COE) and the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) at Oregon State University (OSU) are committed to a philosophy of continuous improvement in curricula development. With our active industrial advisory boards and as a member of the IBM/TQM University Partnership, we have established an effective communication channel with a wide range of practicing engineering professionals.

One of the primary objectives developed as a result of these interactions is the increased use of student teams in both instructional and advisory roles. Both COE and IME have been using students to help evaluate teaching and in the promotion and tenure process for some time. We are now actively initiating a program to help in instructional process improvement. Students are serving as facilitators on TQM teams and in the fall terms of 1994 and 1995 senior engineering students were used to assist teams in the Engineering Orientation (ENGR 111) course. At the end of the terms, the student facilitators developed a report on their experiences and recommendations as to how the instructional process could be further improved.

Several of these students indicated that they would have benefitted from more formal facilitator training to supplement the practical experience they gained during the term. This feedback from the students highlighted the need for a formal course in facilitation. There are numerous other audiences for a fundamental course in facilitation. In a related effort, a process is currently being designed to help faculty understand how they can use teams more effectively in their classrooms.

The goal of this paper is to describe both the development process and a summary of the materials used for the student course in facilitation. The course topics include: facilitation fundamentals, such as how facilitation helps groups achieve their goals, intervening effectively in groups, meeting management, facilitating problem-solving, understanding group processes, and how to encourage creativity and innovation.

BACKGROUND

As stated in the previous section, student teams are being used in both instructional and advisory roles.

1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings

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West, T. M., & Douglas, K. D. (1996, June), The Application Of Total Quality Methods In Student Team Development Paper presented at 1996 Annual Conference, Washington, District of Columbia. 10.18260/1-2--5889