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The Role of Informal Learning on the Teaming Process of Engineering

Students

Dilia Alcalde, MBA, Med and Stephanie Adams, PhD

University of Nebraska- Lincoln

Background

Of special importance in to days fast pace organizations is the fact that employers seek individuals exhibiting new skills and capabilities and who are “work ready,” capable of performing at high levels upon employment rather than having to undergo a long-term orientation training, and maturing. One of these important skills is teamwork skills1,2 . Eighty two percent (82%) of companies with 100 or more employees use teams3, new job designs and practices require teamwork4 and organizations consider teamwork skills a prerequisite for the graduates they hire1,2,5. Unfortunately, a large number of newcomers to organizations do not posses the required skills and capabilities. Specifically, as Adams, et al., (2002) point out, “engineering students are not effectively prepared to work in teams…. A gap exists between the mastery of teaming skills expected and those demonstrated by new engineering graduates.”6

Research on teams in the corporate field has produced a body of literature that among other things identifies team design, and critical team processes or teamwork skills and behaviors related to effective team performance7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 As result, classroom training, seminars, workshops and on the job training have been developed and used by practitioners to try and develop effective teams.

In the educational field, research has also produced a body of literature that suggests recommendations for team design and team processes focusing on learning as the main outcome9,15,16,17 As result, forms of active learning (cooperative learning, collaborative learning) have been introduced into the curricula. Studies of cooperative learning have served two purposes; investigating if these approaches develop teamwork skills and investigating the relationship of team processes to team performance 18

Proceedings of the 2004 American society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Alcalde, D., & Adams, S. (2004, June), The Role Of Informal Learning On Engineering Students' Teaming Process Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13415