Engineer Engineering Education
Teamwork, Part 2
Coach Michael Hanyak
Chemical Engineering Department
Coach Daniel Hyde
Computer Science Department
Engineer Engineering Education
Teamwork
Teamwork Session Overview
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. “Flight of the Phoenix” Movie (a brief review).
4. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
5. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
Learning Outcomes for Teamwork Session
You, the workshop participant, should be able to:
(Page 1 of 14)
1. Describe why teams are important for student learning.
2. Describe characteristics of a successful teamwork experience.
3. Describe the five tenets of cooperative learning in your own words.
4. Evaluate situations to determine if they satisfy the five tenets of CL.
5. Realize the need to develop students’ teamwork skills.
6. Identify problems associated with organizing and managing teams.
7. Realize the importance of providing an instructional framework to
nurture teamwork.
8. Evaluate problems for appropriateness of teamwork.
9. Design a problem appropriate for student teamwork in one of your
courses.
Teamwork Session, Part 2
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. “Flight of the Phoenix” Movie (a survival drama).
4. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
5. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
The Flight of the Phoenix
Movie illustrates that teams need to
develop teamwork skills in:
1. communication,
2. leadership,
3. conflict management and
4. decision making.
Who sang the theme song in the movie?
Teamwork Session, Part 2
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. “Flight of the Phoenix” Movie (a survival drama).
4. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
•
Learning Outcomes for Teamwork
•
Interpersonal Skills Development
•
Organizing and Managing the Team Environment
•
An Instructional Framework to Nurture Teamwork
•
Examining Four Problem Descriptions that use Teamwork
•
Designing Your Own Problem Description for Teamwork
5. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
Teamwork Learning Outcomes
Let’s Brainstorm for 5 Minutes

What do you want your students to be able
to do in order to function successfully on a
team?
 A coach will record your responses on the
whiteboard.

Examine Besterfield-Sacre, et al. Learning
Outcomes on Teamwork (Page 5 of 14).
Interpersonal Skills Development
An Example Teamwork
Learning Outcome
Appreciate the importance of
communication.
Birthday Sort Ice Breaker
(A Nugget)

Ground rules:
 No verbal or written communication during
the exercise.
Workshop Team Activity

Establish an order in your group based on
birthday.
 GO!
have <= 5 minutes
Group Processing

Describe the primary means of communication in
your group.
 The instruction was to base your order on
birthdays , which is a purposely ambiguous
statement. How did your group establish the
meaning of “order”?
 What frustrations arose from the rules?
 Briefly comment on the effectiveness of nonverbal, non-written communication.
Individual Exercise

Individuals are asked to describe, in writing,
a similar exercise to promote an
appreciation of group communication.
Cooperative Learning in the
Ice Breaker Module

Positive Interdependence. Team members must work
together to complete the task.

Individual Accountability. Each individual must
complete the follow-up exercise.

Face-to-face Promotive Action. This is clearly an
active learning exercise.

Appropriate use of Teamwork Skills. Establishes an
appreciation for communication modes.

Regular Self-Assessment of Team Functioning.
The processing questions serve to review the benefits of
the exercise and provide an opportunity for team selfassessment.
Practical Guide to Teamwork
(A Handbook for Instructors)
Table of Contents
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 6
-
Introduction
Team Organization
Interpersonal Skills
Effective Communication in Teams
Team Processes
Faculty Issues and Tips
Practical Guide to Teamwork
(A Handbook for Instructors)
Module Structure




(21 Modules)
Objectives of the Module
Discussion Aimed at Faculty
Sample Student Exercises
Citations and Web Links
Modules provide a road map on how to implement and integrate
teamwork into a course, in order to reach learning outcomes for the
ability to effectively function on a team.
Interpersonal Skills Development
Leadership
Being proactive and moving the team closer to its goal.
 Needing a formal leader is a myth. What a team
needs is leadership!
 Leadership is the responsibility of all the team
members!
 Leadership spread across all team members helps
foster synergy.
Nuggets in Practical Guide (pp. 12-14)
Practical Guide to Teamwork
(A Handbook for Instructors)
What are the problems with
organizing and managing teams?
Team Formation Exercise



Divide your team into two groups of two
One Pair is to analyze Scenario A, the other Scenario B
Write answers to three issues for your scenario: (3 min)
–
Decide on the number of students per team.
– Define the selection process on how the teams are created.
– Decide on the duration of the team project.


As a team, compare/contrasts your answers
(3 min)
Have a group discussion on what you found. (6 min)
Team Formation Checklist
 Explain to students what you are doing and why.
 Instructor should form team with goal to spread
abilities, skills and learning styles.
 Instructor should assign team roles and have
members rotate.
 Team size should be 3 or 4 students.
– Less than 3, not enough variety in ideas.
– More than 4, one or more are left out.
 Duration should be at least several weeks.
– A team is more likely to function better the longer
they are together. Takes time to form a functioning
team.
Team Management Exercise



Divide your team into two groups of two.
One Pair is to analyze Scenario A, the other Scenario B.
Write answers to three issues for your scenario: (6 min)
– Provide a mechanism for the accountability of each team member.
– Provide a method for a team’s project history.
– Provide an environment (resources and activities) for enhancing
interpersonal skills.


As a team, compare/contrasts your answers.
(6 min)
Have a group discussion on what you found.
(8 min)
Team Management Checklist
(Part 1 of 2)
 Team Contract
– Provide resources to help. NOT samples!
– Guide team to create own contract.
– Ownership by the team helps buy-in by the
members.
– Have the team develop procedures for poor
behavior, e. g., can a team member be fired?
– Based on their Contract, have team develop a
self-assessment instrument.
 Require structure for Team Notebook and
team meetings. Instructor should evaluate.
Team Management Checklist
(Part 2 of 2)

Develop teamwork skills through student
learning activities to:
 Understand the learning styles of all team members,
 Understand the dynamics of teamwork,
 Practice leadership in the team by all members,
 Develop effective interpersonal skills for communication,
conflict management, and team decision making,
 Conduct self-assessment of the team’s performance, and
 Improve continuously the team’s performance.

Do periodic self assessment to keep team on track.
– Do several for feedback. Use final one for grading.
15-minute break
An Instructional Framework
• Positive
Behaviors of Good Partners:
 facilitating, teaching, listening, sharing.
 persuading, contributing, solving, etc.
• Negative
Behaviors of Poor Partners:
 quarreling, dominating, freeloading.
 controlling, acquiescing, etc.
The instructor must provide an instructional
framework to foster good teamwork
behaviors and to minimize poor ones.
An Instructional Framework
• See handout to “Nurture Teamwork.” (p. 8 of 14)
• Must nurture students’:
 understanding about teamwork,
 communication within a team,
 improvement of team functions.
An Instructional Framework
Most Important
This instructional framework capitalizes on the proverb,
“an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
It encourages students to take ownership of their teamwork.
It minimizes poor behaviors that lead to dysfunctional
teams.
How to Engineer Engineering Education
A Catalyst Workshop for Change
Nurture Improvement Example
Formative Assessment of Team’s Performance
• monitor members’ preparedness on various topics.
• monitor members’ interpersonal skills for teamwork.
Bloom Taxonomy and
Classroom Preparedness





move out of
the classroom


Valuation
Evaluation
to coach in
Synthesis
the classroom
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
Use Team 360 individual surveys to assess preparedness for class.
Tenets of Cooperative Learning
 Positive interdependence
 Individual accountability
 Face-to-face promotive interaction
 Appropriate use of teamwork skills
 Regular self-assessment of team functioning
Use Team 360 team surveys to access the functioning of the team.
Team 360 Web-Based Software
– Survey System for Formative Assessments
– Three Interfaces (admin, faculty, students)
– Individual Surveys - monitor understanding
– Team Surveys - monitor team performance
– Foster Communication - between students
within team, between instructor and team
How to Engineer Engineering Education
A Catalyst Workshop for Change
Example Team Survey
• Access Team 360 and login as a student.
• Take the Teamwork Group Processing Survey in Team 360.
• View Report of the survey results.
You have 5 minutes to complete this exercise.
Solicitation of Team Feedback
using email
Based on this team survey, your team appears to have difficulty
with conflict management.
Based on this individual survey, your team only understands two of
the five concepts, where complete understanding was expected.
Your team is to address the following:




What are the causes of the problem?
What is the team plan to correct them?
What is the team timetable to carry out that plan?
How will your team assess progress to the solution?
Please provide me with an email by 4:00 p.m. today that answer these
questions. You can consult The Team Memory Jogger (Ch. 5) or the
web resources described in our Handbook for Sophomore Engineers.
Also, I will be available for consultation. John Doe is to facilitate
this team activity.
Teamwork Session, Part 2
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. “Flight of the Phoenix” Movie (a survival drama).
4. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
•
Learning Outcomes for Teamwork
•
Interpersonal Skills Development
•
Organizing and Managing the Team Environment
•
An Instructional Framework to Nurture Teamwork
•
Examining Four Problem Descriptions that use Teamwork
•
Designing Your Own Problem Description for Teamwork
5. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
Example Problems that use Teamwork
Workshop Team Activity

Four example problem descriptions - one for each team
member (Pages 9-13 of 14).
 Evaluate your example problem description. Is it
appropriate for teamwork? Explain why or why not?
(8 minutes)
 Share with your team members. (10 minutes)

Two groups will report their conclusions (8 min.)
Your Problem Description for Teamwork
Individual Activity
For one of your courses, design a problem description
appropriate for teamwork, 20 minutes.
– Type it into a file on your laptop.
– Use the 5 tenets of cooperative learning in your description.
– Use the four examples in last activity as a resource.
– Consult the Practical Guide to Teamwork.
– Seek advice from your coach.
Teamwork Session, Part 2
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. “Flight of the Phoenix” Movie (a survival drama).
4. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
5. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
What if I try teamwork in my classes?
You are back at your home institution and
want to incorporate teamwork in your
courses. What fears or concerns do you
have?
We will brainstorm and list them on the
whiteboard, and then discuss them.
Session Outcomes, Part 2
• Realize the need to develop students’ teamwork
skills.
movie and learning outcomes
• Identify problems associated with organizing and
managing teams.
gems and practical guide
• Realize the importance of providing an instructional
framework to nurture teamwork.
• Evaluate problems for appropriateness of teamwork.
• Design a problem appropriate for student teamwork
in one of your courses.
internalized information
Teamwork Summary
1. Why do I want to facilitate teamwork?
2. What do we mean by teamwork?
3. How to provide a framework to facilitate teamwork?
4. What if I try this in my classes back at my institution?
Conclusions:
• Tough problems require teams.
• Teamwork is facilitated with the 5 CL tenets.
• Instructor must help students develop teamwork skills.
• Instructor must design good problems for teams.
Lunch Time