Teamwork training and teaming skills to promote the development of professional competencies in chemical engineering students

Abstract

We have implemented a sequential teamwork training focused on the development of teaming skills to enhance the perception of teamwork in the classroom and promote teaming as central to learning and to the practice of the chemical engineering profession. Our motivation for this work is the limited chemical engineering education studies emphasizing the benefits of a teamwork training centered around teaming skill development, implemented in laboratory environments, and developed within this context. As such, this training proposes an approach that promotes the practice of individual teaming skills, emphasizing psychological safety, and facilitating team learning through reflection within the classroom environment unique to the chemical engineering laboratories. This approach promotes effective teamwork by providing students with opportunities to experiment, contextualize their learning, and reflect on the teamwork experience. The training was incorporated to the chemical engineering laboratory sequence at the University of Texas at Austin. Our implementation suggests that the perception of teamwork in chemical engineering students can be enhanced by integrating activities and assignments that promote the development of teaming skills within a course structure that highlights the benefits of working in teams and creating effective collaborations. In addition, these course activities can be effective at helping students evaluate teamwork by assessing team learning and reflecting on how this learning can be applied to their future work in engineering teams. Student feedback on the experience indicates that the integration of a sequential training can help students perceive the benefits of working in teams and collaborating with their peers. In addition, our results suggest that by participating in the courses, our students have become more aware of the importance of teaming skills in the profession, and they are able to perceive teamwork and collaboration as practical tools to become more effective engineers.