Enhancing & Assessing Team Learning in Design Education

A Project funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching

School of Architecture & Built Environment DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Partner Investigators Victoria University University of Tasmania University of Newcastle

Project Leader Associate Professor Richard Tucker

About this Presentation

A summary of the findings from the first National Teaching Symposium, Conceptualising Teamwork in Design, July 2012 An outline of the project achievements and future workplan

For any further information about the project, please contact the project leader: Associate Professor Richard Tucker (richard.tucker@deakin.edu.au).

Project Team:
Dr Neda Abbasi, Project Manager & Research Fellow Professor Graham Thorpe, Partner Investigator Professor Tony Williams, Partner Investigator Professor Michael Ostwald, Partner Investigator Dr Louise Wallis, Partner Investigator

The symposium addressed five key questions:

1. Is there still, or was there ever, a place for the individual in contemporary design practice? 2. Should a team member stand out from the rest of the team and be acknowledged for their contribution? 3. What are the boundaries that differentiate between the memberships of teams and groups? 4. Are students today more able to communicate and work in parallel than collaborate? 5. Is teamwork only learned through experiential learning, or can it be taught?

National Teaching Symposium no.1

CONCEPTUALISING TEAMWORK IN DESIGN

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Teaching & Assessing Team & Group Learning in Architecture & related Design Disciplines

Is there still, or was there ever, a place for the individual in contemporary design practice?
Four key themes emerged from participants answer to the question of individual versus team in the design practice:

1. Place of Individuals in the Design Practice

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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

1.1 Tendency to stress individuality in architectural practice and education (3 references); 1.2 Essentiality of individuals in design practice (4 references); 1.3 Finding the balance between asserting individual identity and collaborative practice (3 references); and 1.4 The influence of nature of practice and project on the place of individual in the design practice (2 references).

1. Place of Individuals in the Design Practice

Teaching & Assessing Team & Group Learning in Architecture & related Design Disciplines

Should a team member stand out from the rest of the team and be acknowledged for their contribution?
Four key themes emerged from participants answer to the question of individuals standing out in a team:

2. Individual/s Standing out in a Team

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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

2.1 Acknowledging individual contribution as a characteristic of an effective team (2 references); 2.2 Challenging individualised marks (1 reference); 2.3 Means of acknowledging individual contributions to a team (1 reference); and 2.4 The influence of CONTEXT, PROCESS and HIERARCHY in defining contribution and acknowledging the place of individuals in a team (2 reference).

2. Individual/s Standing out in a Team

Teaching & Assessing Team & Group Learning in Architecture & related Design Disciplines

What are the boundaries that differentiate between the memberships of teams and groups?
Key differences of a 'group' and a 'team' lay in four categories of factors:

3. Differences between a TEAM and GROUP

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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

3.1 Goals and Intentions (4 references);

3.2 Shared Value and Commitment (1 reference);

3.3 Final product and Assessment (3 references); and 3.4 Interdependence and Trust (3 references).

3. Differences between a TEAM and GROUP

Teaching & Assessing Team & Group Learning in Architecture & related Design Disciplines

Are students today more able to communicate and work in parallel than collaborate?
Key differences of a 'group' and a 'team' lay in four categories of factors:

4. Collaboration versus Working in Parallel

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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

4.1 Strategies to encourage COLLABORATION in student teams

(6 references)

4.1.1 Team formation strategies 4.1.2 The context of teamwork 4.1.3 The nature of team assignment or project 4.1.4 Ownership of the project and discernible competition between teams

4.2 Collaboration being overshadowed by working in parallel (1 reference).

4. Collaboration versus Working in Parallel

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Teaching & Assessing Team & Group Learning in Architecture & related Design Disciplines

Is teamwork only learned through experiential learning, or can it be taught?

Six key themes emerged from teachers discussion on the topic of teaching teamwork:

5. Teaching Teamwork Skills

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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

5.1 The role of teacher in promoting teamwork skills (4 references);

5.2 A curriculum founded and centred on teaching teamwork skills (5 references);

5.3 Live Projects as a setting to teach team learning (4 references); 5.4 Scaffolding the learning about teamwork skills (2 references); 5.5 Team teaching and problem-based learning (2 references); and 5.6 An environment with Clarity of Expectations and Freedom of Expression
(1 reference).

5. Teaching Teamwork Skills

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ONLINE SURVEYS of Student Teamwork Experiences in Design and Teaching Teamwork in Design ANZAScA 2012 Paper: Conceptualizing Teamwork and Group-Work in Architecture and Related Design Disciplines Project Website National Teaching Symposium 1: Conceptualising Team- and Groupwork in Design First version of MANUALS ON TEAMWORK IN DESIGN: (1) Manual on Teamwork in Design for Students and (2) Manual for Teachers to Support Conflict Resolution in Student Teams

Year 1

Project Dissemination
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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

Sample Book Chapter: Volume 1-Conceptualising Team and Group Learning in Architecture and Design Education Project Team Workshop: suggestions on how to redesign pilot units Table of Content for the two volume books: the main project dissemination Journal Paper No.1: Student Experiences of Designing in Teams: How Teachers Can Make a Difference National Teaching Symposium No.2: Curriculum Level Approach to Teaching Teamwork

Year 2 (1st & 2nd Quarters)

Project Dissemination
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National Surveys of TEAMWORK IN DESIGN (Students & Teachers)

Final Version of Teaching Teamwork in Design: a Manual for Teachers Final Version of Teamwork in Design: a Manual for Students

Book Chapter V.1: Conceptualising Team and Groupwork

Book Chapter V.1: Conceptualising Effective Learning in Teams Journal Paper No.2: Curriculum Level Approach to Teaching Teamwork Book Chapter V.2: Revisiting Literature Book Chapter V.1: A multivalent reading Book Chapter V.2: Pedagogical Contexts Book Chapter V.2: Institutional Contexts

Year 2 (3rd and 4th Quarters)

Expected Dissemination
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A Project Funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, 2011-2013

Book Chapter V.2: Evaluation and Assessment of Teamwork Book Chapter V.2: Teaching Teamwork Framework for Team Effectiveness in Student Design Teams: exploring 24 challenges of effective teamwork OLT final report narrative Book Chapter V.2: Conclusion Book Chapter V.2: Learning in Teams: Team Processes Book Chapter V.2: Teamwork in the Curriculum Case Studies of Good Practices (Teaching Teamwork in Design) Journal Paper no.3: Students Experiences of Teamwork in Design: findings of a national survey Book Chapter V.2: Learning in Teams: Task Design, Team Level and Individual Level Factors

Year 3

Expected Dissemination
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Enhancing & Assessing Team Learning in Design Education

A Project funded by Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching

THANK YOU
School of Architecture & Built Environment DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Associate Professor Richard Tucker, Project Leader, richard.tucker@deakin.edu.au Dr Neda Abbasi, Project Manager, neda.abbasi@deakin.edu.au