Work in Progress: Teamwork Predisposition as an Indicator of Team Effectiveness in First-Year Engineering

Fazel Ranjbar; Jutshi Agarwal; P.K. Imbrie

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: First-Year Programs Division WIPS 1: Projects, Teams, and Portfolios
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs Division (FYP)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48516

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Paper Authors

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Fazel Ranjbar University of Cincinnati

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Fazel Ranjbar is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of Engineering and Computing Education at the University of Cincinnati. He has 10 years of industry experience in Iran and holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Payam Noor University.
His research area is workforce development and developing student teamwork skills.

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Jutshi Agarwal University at Buffalo, SUNY

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Jutshi Agarwal is a Postdoctoral Associate with the Department of Engineering Education at the University at Buffalo. She was the first doctoral student to get a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the University of Cincinnati. She also has a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from SRM University, India. Her research areas of interest are graduate student professional development for a career in academia, preparing future faculty, and using AI tools to solve non-traditional problems in engineering education. She is currently also furthering work on the agency of engineering students through open-ended problems. She has published in several international conferences.

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P.K. Imbrie University of Cincinnati

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P.K. Imbrie is the Head and Professor of the Department of Engineering Education and a Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
University of Cincinnati. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engi

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Abstract

Effective teamwork is critical for professional success in today's complex and dynamic world. Collaborative work environments promote the sharing of unique perspectives and skills, leading to more creative and effective solutions to global problems. Teamwork allows individuals to combine their skills and knowledge to accomplish a common goal while creating a sense of synergy among team members. Teamwork is an indispensable component of success across various domains, with its significance being particularly salient in the context of engineering education, owing to the ABET requirements. In this context, there is a large body of research that has been dedicated to creating and evaluating teams in a classroom setting. Measures of team effectiveness typically involve trust, respect, and support among team members, as well as a sense of shared responsibility and mutual accountability for achieving the team's goals. Previous research has identified various factors that contribute to effective teamwork, including communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. One factor that may influence team effectiveness is teamwork predisposition of its members. Teamwork predisposition refers to the individual’s attitude towards teamwork. However, little research has focused specifically on the relationship between an individual’s teamwork predisposition and their perception of team effectiveness in an engineering education setting. To address this gap, this paper examines the research question: "Is teamwork predisposition an indicator of team effectiveness?" In this study, team effectiveness is measured using a scale of four factors: interdependency, learning, goal setting, and potency. Surveys were administered at the beginning of the first semester and at the end of each semester of a 2-semester long course sequence at a large, midwestern, public, R1 university. The study specifically investigated students who reported low team effectiveness with two different teams over the two semesters. We hypothesize that students’ low teamwork predisposition on teaming may attribute to low evaluations of team effectiveness. The results have important implications for engineering educators and practitioners who seek to develop effective teamwork among their students and colleagues. Using teamwork predisposition as a criterion for creating teams may be an important factor for enhancing team effectiveness and learning outcomes in engineering coursework.

Citation
Format

Ranjbar, F., & Agarwal, J., & Imbrie, P. (2024, June), Work in Progress: Teamwork Predisposition as an Indicator of Team Effectiveness in First-Year Engineering Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48516

TY - CPAPER
AB - Effective teamwork is critical for professional success in today&#39;s complex and dynamic world. Collaborative work environments promote the sharing of unique perspectives and skills, leading to more creative and effective solutions to global problems. Teamwork allows individuals to combine their skills and knowledge to accomplish a common goal while creating a sense of synergy among team members. Teamwork is an indispensable component of success across various domains, with its significance being particularly salient in the context of engineering education, owing to the ABET requirements. In this context, there is a large body of research that has been dedicated to creating and evaluating teams in a classroom setting. Measures of team effectiveness typically involve trust, respect, and support among team members, as well as a sense of shared responsibility and mutual accountability for achieving the team&#39;s goals. Previous research has identified various factors that contribute to effective teamwork, including communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. One factor that may influence team effectiveness is teamwork predisposition of its members. Teamwork predisposition refers to the individual’s attitude towards teamwork. However, little research has focused specifically on the relationship between an individual’s teamwork predisposition and their perception of team effectiveness in an engineering education setting.
To address this gap, this paper examines the research question: &quot;Is teamwork predisposition an indicator of team effectiveness?&quot; In this study, team effectiveness is measured using a scale of four factors: interdependency, learning, goal setting, and potency. Surveys were administered at the beginning of the first semester and at the end of each semester of a 2-semester long course sequence at a large, midwestern, public, R1 university. The study specifically investigated students who reported low team effectiveness with two different teams over the two semesters. We hypothesize that students’ low teamwork predisposition on teaming may attribute to low evaluations of team effectiveness. The results have important implications for engineering educators and practitioners who seek to develop effective teamwork among their students and colleagues. Using teamwork predisposition as a criterion for creating teams may be an important factor for enhancing team effectiveness and learning outcomes in engineering coursework.

AU - Fazel Ranjbar
AU - Jutshi Agarwal
AU - P.K. Imbrie
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: Teamwork Predisposition as an Indicator of Team Effectiveness in First-Year Engineering
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48516
ER -