Five curriculum tools to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork

Abstract

An ability to function well in a multidisciplinary team has become an expectation of modern industry and a major goal for engineering students. Since LeTourneau University offers a general engineering degree with five concentrations, multi-disciplinary design projects naturally arise at all levels of the curriculum. Current capstone projects involve student teams from up to three engineering disciplines, plus computer science, design technology, and marketing. Obstacles to multi-disciplinary teamwork, including disciplinary competition, communication problems, scheduling difficulties, and minor "turf wars" can limit the effectiveness of such teams. A series of curriculum "tools" have been initiated to insure that students will have a measure of success in project teamwork. These methods include (1) multiple and varied opportunities for projects in teams, (2) early involvement in senior project teams, (3) specific training for teamwork, (4) coursework in and application of project management techniques, and (5) the use of multiple items of feedback to determine the contribution of each team member.