REGULATION IN COLLABORATIVE PROJECT-BASED DESIGN EDUCATION: AN INTERVENTION STUDY MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A GROUP AWARENESS TOOL

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution is on the horizon and many design engineering jobs of the future are largely unidentified. Tomorrow’s product designers must be able to deal with cutting-edge technology, big data and most importantly to collaborate and react resiliently to changes in the Knowledge Age. Contemporary discourse urges a shift towards multidisciplinary teams in which students must be trained to move from individual to collaborative problem-solving practices. This study examines whether the implementation of a group awareness (GA) tool in a third-year bachelor industrial design engineering course can have a positive impact on learning and teamwork dynamics. The participants of the study (n = 33) were encouraged to take part in group regulating exercises. Students were asked to self-assess the current state of collaboration via a mandatory GA survey, scoring their participation in the group work. After being informed of these results, students were asked to reflect and pose possible behavioural changes on an individual- and group-level. In addition, students received suggestions on how to collaborate through a mandatory scripted peer critique session in which they identified issues, talked about design decisions and created a common ground for further action. The results of the study indicated that the use of the GA tool enabled students to reflect on the different perspectives team members bring to the group’s project. This paper discusses the possibilities and shortcomings of implementing a group awareness tool in design engineering education and further research on this topic.