Student teamwork: developing virtual support for team projects

In the 21st century team working increasingly requires online cooperative skills as well as more traditional skills associated with face to face team working. Virtual team working differs from face to face team working in a number of respects, such as interpreting the alternatives to visual cues, adapting to synchronous communication, developing trust and cohesion and cultural interpretations. However, co-located student teams working within higher education can only simulate team working as it might be experienced in organisations today. For example, students can learn from their mistakes in a non-threatening environment, colleagues tend to be established friends and assessing teamwork encourages behaviour such as “free-riding”. Using a prototyping approach, which involves students and tutors, a system has been designed to support learners engaged in team working. This system helps students to achieve to their full potential and appreciate issues surrounding virtual teamwork. The Guardian Agent system enables teams to allocate project tasks and agree ground rules for the team according to individuals’ preferences. Results from four cycles of its use are presented, together with modifications arising from iterations of testing. The results show that students find the system useful in preparing for team working, and have encouraged further development of the system

Clear Advantages to Studying Abroad: So Why Aren’t Students Enrolling?

Today’s employers are looking for graduates who possess technical skills, work effectively in teams, think critically and communicate effectively, especially across cultures in addition to other qualities. One of the most important skills a person needs in order to be successful in today’s global economy is understanding and working with different cultures. To begin to understand cultural differences, it is important to have cultural training and to experience another culture in that particular country. One of the best ways for students to experience another culture is to take part in a study abroad course and to immerse themselves in another country’s traditions and customs. The Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship Study Abroad Program Report concluded, “What nations don’t know can hurt them. The stakes involved in study abroad are that simple, that straightforward, and that important. For their own future and that of the nation, college graduates today must be internationally competent.” 5 Not only should graduates be internationally competent, research indicates links between studying abroad and improved graduation rates, as well as employability. 13 While the total number of students in the US studying abroad is still relatively low, at approximately 10% of the total student population, this number is actually at all-time high, which also takes into count students at community colleges. Another study, Gaining an Employment Edge: The Impact of Study Abroad on 21st Century Skills and Career Perspectives, indicated that with “study abroad there was a positive impact on the development of a wide range of the 21st century skills, expands career possibilities, and has a long-term impact on career progression and promotion.” 14 Currently, at the author’s institution 9% of the total enrollment studies abroad. This number is close to the national average of 10%, however, in the School of Engineering and Technology only 1.8% of the total student population currently studies abroad. Why are the national numbers so low and even much lower in Engineering and Technology? This paper will explore what employers are looking for in graduates, how can study abroad help students achieve success, and the benefits of studying abroad for both the employer and the student. The paper will look at some reasons why students might not take advantage of study abroad programs and what can be done to change the attitudes of faculty and students on the value of studying abroad to increase the preparedness of students for a career in the 21st Centur

The Teamwork Components Model: An Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling

As the world increases in complexity, teams have assumed greater importance in the work place as a method used by organizations to cope with global competition and technological progress. Thus, an understanding of team processes and outcomes has become critical to individuals who study and work in organizations. The purpose of this investigation was to undertake a construct validation study of a model of the processes that underlie teamwork. This investigation was accomplished in two parts. A first study was conducted in order to determine the construct validity of scales that were developed to measure the nine teamwork components: task structure, team leadership, team orientation, communication, monitoring, feedback, backup, coordination, and performance. The Teamwork Components Questionnaire was administered to 150 individuals who were members of various types of teams. Structural equation modeling (i.e., LISREL) provided evidence of the validity of the proposed measurement models, and the results of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses suggested revisions to further improve the validity of the questionnaire. In a second study, the revised questionnaire was administered to 135 teams, and LISREL was used again to determine the structural relationship among the teamwork components. Additional analyses served to test several specific hypotheses involving task structure and communication as independent variables. Unlike the first study, the second study used aggregated data to reflect the scores of entire teams. Empirical support was found for several of the proposed structural relationships and several of the hypotheses. In general, the most important findings concerned the pervasive effects of communication, considerate leadership, and team orientation on the remaining components. Contrary to what had been predicted, task structure was not found to exert a significant effect on communication. Practical implications of the research were suggested involving the design of training, the sophistication of technology, and the enhancement of the Teamwork Components Questionnaire. Theoretical implications related to the issues of aggregation and the multidimensionality of the constructs. It was concluded that the importance of teamwork cannot be overemphasized in today\u27s increasingly sophisticated society. This research may serve as the first step toward a more comprehensive approach to studying teams

Students' perceptions of a virtual team assessment item (VTAI): An Australian case study

In today's global business environment, business graduates are often required to work as members of virtual teams. This paper presents the findings of an electronic survey of distance education students' perceptions concerning a virtual team assessment item (VTAI) using asynchronous discussion. The VTAI was set for an undergraduate marketing course at an Australian university. The findings revealed that while the distance education students did not necessarily enjoy the VTAI and found the assessment task to be both frustrating and time-consuming, they agreed that the task was beneficial to their learning and should be included in future course offerings

An investigation into the adoption of CDIO in distance learning

The Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate Initiative (CDIO) uses integrated learning to develop deep learning of the disciplinary knowledge base whilst simultaneously developing personal, interpersonal, product, process and system building skills. This is achieved through active and experiential learning methods that expose students to experiences engineers will encounter in their profession. These are incorporated not only in the design-build-test experiences that form a crucial part of a CDIO programme but also in discipline focused studies. Active and experiential learning methods are, of course, more difficult to incorporate into distance education. This paper investigates these difficulties and the implications in providing a programme that best achieves the goals of the CDIO approach through contemporary distance education methods. First, the key issues of adopting the CDIO approach in conventional oncampus courses are considered with reference to the development of the CDIO engineering programmes at the University of Liverpool. The different models of distance based delivery of engineering programmes provided by the Open University in the UK, and Deakin University and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia are then presented and issues that may present obstacles to the future adoption of the CDIO approach in these programmes are discussed. The effectiveness and suitability of various solutions to foreseen difficulties in delivering CDIO programmes through distance education are then considered. These include the further development, increased use and interinstitutional sharing of technology based facilities such as Internet facilitated access to laboratory facilities and computer aided learning (CAL) laboratory simulations, on campus workshops, and the development of a virtual engineering enterprise

Afterschool for the Global Age

Summarizes discussions from a July 2006 convening on model afterschool programs and best practices for enhancing global literacy, including innovative uses of community and international connections, project-based learning, and educational technology

The benefits of residential fieldwork for school science : insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

International audienceThere is considerable international interest in the value of residential fieldwork for school students. In the UK, pressures on curriculum time, rising costs and heightened concern over students' safety are curtailing residential experiences. Collaboration between several key providers across the UK created an extensive programme of residential courses for 11-14 year olds in London schools from 2004-2008. Some 33,000 students from 849 schools took part. This paper draws on the evaluation of the programme that gathered questionnaire, interview and observational data from 2706 participating students, 70 teachers and 869 parents / carers from 46 schools mainly in deprived areas of the city. Our findings revealed that students' collaborative skills improved and interpersonal relationships were strengthened and taken back to school. Gains were strongest in social and affective domains; behavioural improvements occurred for some students. Individual cognitive gains were revealed more convincingly during face-to-face interviews than through survey items. Students from socially deprived backgrounds benefitted from exposure to learning environments which promoted authentic practical inquiry. Over the five year programme, combined physical adventure and real-world experiences proved to be popular with students and their teachers. Opportunities for learning and doing science in ways not often accessible in urban school environments were opened up. Further programmes, building upon the provision of mixed curriculum-adventure course design, have been implemented across the UK as a result of the London experience. The popularity and apparent success of these combination courses suggest that providers need to consider the value of developing similar programmes in the future

Training Competences in Industrial Risk Prevention with Lego® Serious Play®: A Case Study

This paper proposes the use of the Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology as a facilitating tool for the introduction of competences for Industrial Risk Prevention by engineering students from the industrial branch (electrical, electronic, mechanical and technological engineering), presenting the results obtained in the Universities of Cadiz and Seville in the academic years 2017–2019. Current Spanish legislation does not reserve any special legal attribution, nor does it require specific competence in occupational risk prevention for the regulated profession of a technical industrial engineer (Order CIN 351:2009), and only does so in a generic way for that of an industrial engineer (Order CIN 311:2009). However, these universities consider the training in occupational health and safety for these future graduates as an essential objective in order to develop them for their careers in the industry. The approach is based on a series of challenges proposed (risk assessments, safety inspections, accident investigations and fire protection measures, among others), thanks to the use of “gamification” dynamics with Lego® Serious Play®. In order to carry the training out, a set of specific variables (industrial sector, legal and regulatory framework, business organization and production system), and transversal ones (leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and communication), are incorporated. Through group models, it is possible to identify dangerous situations, establish causes, share and discuss alternative proposals and analyze the economic, environmental and organizational impact of the technical solutions studied, as well as take the appropriate decisions, in a creative, stimulating, inclusive and innovative context. In this way, the theoretical knowledge which is acquired is applied to improve safety and health at work and foster the prevention of occupational risks, promoting the commitment, effort, motivation and proactive participation of the student teams.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities / European Social Fund: Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22222