2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Motivations

This complete research paper details a qualitative research study of first-year engineering (FYE) students’ reflections on a year of teamwork experiences in an introductory engineering design course. Teamwork and collaboration in FYE is a fundamental experience that carries lasting personal and academic impacts. Students who work in engineering design teams practice empathizing with other students, clients, and professors. Skills for being an effective team member may not be explicitly taught in engineering design classes, yet students are required to work in teams. Teamwork skills are necessary for success in collaborative environments. By better understanding FYE students’ teamwork experiences, educators can better prepare students for their futures.

Background & Framework

Prior studies have explored conflict in engineering teams broadly, but few have examined teamwork conflict in FYE design teams. Neumeyer & McKenna (2010) analyzed engineering design teams and found ill-conceived team meetings, uneven work distribution, scheduling conflicts, lack of commitment, perseverance, self-motivation, and dedication, and burden of responsibility to be common sources of conflict. Further, Jehn (1997) developed a set of team conflict types in organizational groups, which include task conflict, relationship conflict, and procedural conflict. Mondisa et al. (2012) found 4 distinct types of conflict to be conflict with partner, task, certainty, and process. This study is guided by Neumeyer & McKenna’s conflict sources framework and a combination of Mondisa et al.’s work with Jehn’s framework for the types of conflicts seen in team settings.

Methods

FYE students at a large, mid-Atlantic, Research University responded to reflective prompts including, “describe a challenge you encountered with your team,” or “what do you wish you knew about teamwork before this semester?” Researchers examined the mid-semester and end of semester responses to these questions from consenting FYE students for insight into their teamwork experiences. Additionally, researchers analyzed qualitative statements from the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME) surveys that students were required to complete at the end of the semester to assess team members' effectiveness. Through qualitative analysis, researchers applied qualitative codes to 296 written reflections and CATME survey responses. Deductive codes were based on prior literature, and inductive codes were added as necessary to reflect common trends in the data. The researchers then synthesized the qualitative codes into broader themes of conflict types, sources, and tools for teamwork success.

Results & Implications

Differing levels of commitment, uneven work distribution, miscommunication, and lack of accountability emerged as common detractors from FYE students’ teamwork experiences. Specifically, differing levels of commitment appeared in the data as frustrations about the amount of time team members were spending on the project, their level of initiative, and how much they chose to be present and help the team. Differing levels of commitment was the most common issue students discussed.

Further, students regularly mentioned feeling underprepared with communication and teamwork strategies. Students described not knowing the importance of timely, effective communication and delegation strategies. Students commonly suggested emphasizing these strategies earlier in the semester to prepare them for the teamwork aspect of the project.

Students reported adopting both technical and social strategies to improve their collaboration. Strategies include the use of a shared online team notebook, cloud-based file sharing platforms, citation managers, and group chats, which facilitated work distribution. Additionally, group chats and friendship-building outside class strengthened communication and cohesion amongst team members, which helped create a feeling of safety and trust within the teams.

These findings suggest that instructors could better prepare students with concrete strategies for navigating conflict and provide a space to practice empathy. Results reveal the conflict that engineering design teams may be experiencing and how instruction on communication strategies and delegation skills prior to working in design teams may improve teamwork outcomes and confidence in students.