This project explores the collaborative skills occurring within engineering education and practice. While
technical competence is crucial, collaborative skills are paramount in engineering enterprises, and current
evidence suggests working in teams does not ensure the development of effective collaboration behaviors
among engineers. Yet, lifelong learning requires engineers to navigate complex interactions within diverse
design teams, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of collaboration. To address this gap, our
study aims to identify the least-performed effective collaboration behaviors in engineering capstone teams
and explore the reasons behind this occurrence. This investigation is part of a larger study that employs the
Reasoned Action Approach1 where we seek to uncover individual beliefs and factors influencing the
performance of target behaviors. These insights serve as tools for engineers, students, educators, and
managers to assess and enhance collaboration skills, fostering effective teamwork in engineering settings.
Ultimately, this overarching goal of advancing professional formation in engineering distills into the key
question: Why do individuals exhibit variations in performing effective collaboration behaviors in
engineering teams?
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on June 3, 2025
Why do capstone students choose to perform behaviors? Differing prevalence in collaborative choices.
This project explores the collaborative skills occurring within engineering education and practice. While
technical competence is crucial, collaborative skills are paramount in engineering enterprises, and current
evidence suggests working in teams does not ensure the development of effective collaboration behaviors
among engineers. Yet, lifelong learning requires engineers to navigate complex interactions within diverse
design teams, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of collaboration. To address this gap, our
study aims to identify the least-performed effective collaboration behaviors in engineering capstone teams
and explore the reasons behind this occurrence. This investigation is part of a larger study that employs the
Reasoned Action Approach1 where we seek to uncover individual beliefs and factors influencing the
performance of target behaviors. These insights serve as tools for engineers, students, educators, and
managers to assess and enhance collaboration skills, fostering effective teamwork in engineering settings.
Ultimately, this overarching goal of advancing professional formation in engineering distills into the key
question: Why do individuals exhibit variations in performing effective collaboration behaviors in
engineering teams?
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2217523
- PAR ID:
- 10545493
- Publisher / Repository:
- Capstone Design Conference 2024
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Knoxville, TN
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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This project explores the collaborative skills occurring within engineering education and practice. While technical competence is crucial, collaborative skills are paramount in engineering enterprises, and current evidence suggests working in teams does not ensure the development of effective collaboration behaviors among engineers. Yet, lifelong learning requires engineers to navigate complex interactions within diverse design teams, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of collaboration. To address this gap, our study aims to identify the least-performed effective collaboration behaviors in engineering capstone teams and explore the reasons behind this occurrence. This investigation is part of a larger study that employs the Reasoned Action Approach where we seek to uncover individual beliefs and factors influencing the performance of target behaviors. These insights serve as tools for engineers, students, educators, and managers to assess and enhance collaboration skills, fostering effective teamwork in engineering settings. Ultimately, this overarching goal of advancing professional formation in engineering distills into the key question: Why do individuals exhibit variations in performing effective collaboration behaviors in engineering teams?more » « less
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