A study of individual learning in software engineering team projects

Abstract

A large scale experiment to determine if improved team cognition leads to improved individual learning has been designed. Specifically, the goal of this research is to determine if working on an effective team benefits or impedes a student's learning of the course content. The literature appears to focus on team performance, team outcomes, and benefits of teams by combining individual resources; but does not focus on the benefits of the individuals on the team, where a benefit could be learning for example. Our results, however, do not support the hypothesis that the guidelines that facilitate effective student teams also improve individual team member learning. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.