Assessing Team Development in an Engineering Project-Based Course

Abstract

This Innovative Practice full paper discusses the use of a newly created Teamwork Evaluation Worksheet in an undergraduate professional development course for engineering and applied science students. This course covers topics not typically taught in other engineering courses, including leadership, teamwork, ethics, project management, technical writing, public speaking, and entrepreneurship. Students work in groups to complete a series of projects, each emphasizing a different skillset or theme. In the past, students have switched groups for each of the four projects, and almost every student has had the chance to serve as “team leader” for one project. This was intended to give students more diverse teamwork and leadership experiences. Although the structure provided some benefits, fostering good teamwork skills was not among them, in part because the students were not able to stay together long enough for their teams to develop effective teamwork practices.