(499e) Exploring Social Perspectives Affecting Team Dynamics and Performance in Capstone Design

Engineers in industry work in collaborative teams. Collaborative work and learning in teams involve the study of both group and individual cognitive and social experiences. While the cognitive perspective focuses on the influence of the group work on cognitive outcomes in collaboration, the social perspective looks into the social factors affecting successful performance in group work and teamwork.

The current work will share details on team building activities that explore factors affecting team dynamics and performance in a chemical engineering capstone course using the lens of the social perspective for collaborative work and learning in teams. Research shows that building an effective team includes social skills such as identification of roles, clarification of these roles, agreement upon goals, correct processes and procedures, effective interpersonal relationships, and good leadership. The goal of this work was to introduce the students on team dynamics, what characteristics make a good team member, what team roles are recommended, and some suggestions on how to increase team productivity through better communication. Each team had to produce a team charter that clarified team direction while establishing boundaries. Individual students were surveys twice during the semester, and record of their team progress was recorded to assess the impact of the intervention in team performance. The findings will address class management elements such as group organization, developing team building-vocabulary, specific team-building activities, assessment, and grading.