Teaming in engineering technology education: Lessons learned and experiences that work

Abstract

The efficiencies and benefits of multi-disciplinary teams are leading to their more widespread implementation into business and the engineering world. However this mode of problem solving and goal achievement clashes with the American culture of rugged individualism and personal advancement. The need to introduce teaming into engineering education has been recognized for some time and is part of ABET requirements for certification. Best practices and assessment of instructional approaches that work remain an on-going need. In Western North Carolina, teaming skills are highly valued with regional enterprises. The Six Sigma quality program at Caterpillar and TEAM Industries and a supervisor-less, team manufacturing structure at Selee are examples of the heavy reliance that regional firms place on well developed teaming skills from Western Carolina University graduates. Critical skills in positive interdependency, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, interpersonal skills, and group processing are essential proficiencies for companies relying on healthy team dynamics. Team structures have been created in several areas of engineering technology instruction at Western Carolina University. Among these are project management, parametric modeling and engineering design, and rapid prototyping and component design. In this paper faculty experiences are shared, feedback from industry is provided, lessons learned are described, and techniques that we believe are effective in this area of education are identified and presented.