2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Believing the Results: Validation of the Tuckman Team Development Questionnaire for Use with Engineering Student Design Teams

Presented at Design Thinking and Student Design Teams

This full research paper discusses the validation of the Tuckman Team Development Questionnaire for use in the context of first-year engineering teamwork. The Tuckman Questionnaire was originally developed to measure perceptions of both student and adult team dynamics as a continuously evolving process over the life of the team. The Tuckman framework contains four stages of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Although engineering educators have often used this questionnaire with engineering student design teams, there was little or no evidence found in the literature attesting to its validity or reliability. Since validation of a questionnaire is important if the results are to be accepted as accurate and useful, we provide initial validity evidence of this measure through this study. Therefore, the research question of this paper is as follows: Can the Tuckman team development questionnaire be considered valid and reliable for use with engineering student design teams?
The questionnaire contains 32 questions, with eight questions corresponding to each of the four development stages. The questions were listed randomly to mitigate response bias. Participants completed the questionnaire as part of an assignment during the twelfth week of an introductory engineering design course, in which one of the learning objectives was the ability to work effectively on a team to complete a semester-long design project. Data were collected from approximately 90 participants in each of two fall semesters and 50 participants in each of two spring semesters, for a total of nearly 280 sets of responses. Study variables were the four Tuckman development stages, along with student status as first-year or transfer.
Scheduling of the questionnaire administration was determined by the anticipated evolution of team development at 75% completion of the 16-week semester, where it was expected that the teams would have approached the Performing stage, or were between Norming and Performing. The questionnaire results revealed that both first-year and transfer student teams were operating according to the Norming and/or Performing stages at this point in the semester, which could be an indication of face and content validity in terms of consistent results for several cohorts of student teams over time, as well as the stage(s) expected at the 75% completion point. However, the issue remains as to whether the questionnaire is actually valid and reliable. Using the data that we collected, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to confirm whether the hypothesized factor structure is replicated. Further evidence of reliability was provided by the determination of Cronbach’s alpha, among other measures.
This study contributes to the field of engineering education by providing initial validity and reliability evidence for the Tuckman Team Development Questionnaire, which is a useful tool for measuring the evolving stages of team dynamics, in the context of first-year engineering courses. Successful teamwork skills are often important, but first-year students are often inexperienced at functioning well on a team and are sometimes motivated by personal agendas to the detriment of team welfare. A valid team development questionnaire would also inform instructors as to how they should guide a team that is struggling with interpersonal conflict and/or difficulty in completing project work cooperatively to be more successful in both aspects of teamwork.

Authors

Dr. Natalie C.T. Van Tyne http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7058-9098 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Natalie Van Tyne is an Associate Professor of Practice at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she teaches first year engineering design as a foundation courses for Virginia Tech's undergraduate engineering degree programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, along with masters degrees in chemical and environmental engineering, and in business administration, as well as bachelors degrees in chemical engineering and Russian language. She is also a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado.
Mr. Tahsin Mahmud Chowdhury Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Tahsin Chowdhury is an Engineering Education Doctoral candidate who focuses on engineering in the 21st century. He is passionate about enhancing professional competencies for engineering workforce development in academia and beyond. He is trained in Industrial and Systems Engineering and has a combined 6 years experience spanning both academia as well as lean manufacturing at Fortune 500 companies. Tahsin’s long term goal is to bridge the engineering competency gap between industry demand and academic fulfillment. A global engineer and researcher, Tahsin is an advocate and ally for better inclusion in STEM and beyond.
Dr. Dayoung Kim Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Dayoung Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She is broadly interested in engineering practice (e.g., practices and experiences of engineers in various employment settings, such as business organizations), engineering ethics (e.g., social responsibility of engineering professionals), and related policy concerns. Through her research, she aims to identify how best to support innovative and ethical practice of engineers in business settings through education and science & technology policy. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University (2022) and received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University (2017) and Purdue University (2021) respectively. She received the 2022 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the 2022 College of Engineering Outstanding Research Award from Purdue University.
Dr. Juan David Ortega Álvarez http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6110-0791 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University / Universidad EAFIT [biography]

Juan David Ortega Álvarez is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University and an M.S. in Process Engineering and Energy Technology from Hochschule Bremerhaven. With over 10 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, Juan also has more than 6 years of professional experience as a practicing engineer, primarily focused on the design and improvement of chemical processing plants. His research interests center on the scholarship of teaching and learning, collaborating with engineering faculty across disciplines to help assess and enhance their teaching practices.
Dr. Michelle Soledad http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2491-6684 Virginia Tech [biography]

Michelle Soledad, Ph.D. is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research and service interests include teaching and learning experiences in fundamental engineering courses, faculty development and support initiatives – including programs for the future engineering professoriate, and leveraging institutional data to support reflective teaching practices. She has degrees in Electrical Engineering (B.S., M.Eng.) from the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City, Philippines, where she previously held appointments as Assistant Professor and Department Chair for Electrical Engineering. She also previously served as Director for Communications and International Engagement at the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, Lecturer at the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, and Assistant Professor at the Department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech.

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