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Session Description

Free ticketed event
Intentional Teamwork: Practical Approaches to Professional Skill Growth
Workshop Presenters
Angela Kita, PhD, amkita@wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Associate Director Center for Innovation in Engineering Education

Haley Briel, MS, hbriel@wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teaching and Learning Tech Specialist

This workshop is sponsored by the Engineering Leadership Development Division (LEAD). The Faculty Development Division (FDD) has agreed to co-sponsor this workshop.

Teamwork is an essential skill for engineers and is highly sought after in industry. Training the engineers of tomorrow to develop their interpersonal skills not only benefits their professional experience, but can mitigate team conflict in the classroom, protecting instructor time by enabling students to self identify and manage problems without instructor intervention. However, rarely does engineering coursework provide students with intentional, scaffolded training to practice and develop those skills. There is a gap between the value placed on teamwork skills and the time we dedicate to intentionally teaching and developing those skills. To help close this gap, we have developed an Effective Team Dynamics (ETD) curriculum, based on the work of Dr. Mary Lynn Raelff from Georgia Tech. We provide tailored support to individual instructors with a goal of demonstrating that even in content heavy courses, it is possible and worthwhile to create opportunities for students to develop their teamwork skills.

In this workshop, participants will engage in teamwork activities designed to encourage students toward self reflection, interpersonal communication, and strategic project management. We will share strategies we’ve used to scale these activities to different class sizes and contexts, and invite participants to share their experiences and ideas.

Planned Schedule of Workshop

Welcome, introductions, and overview: We’ll set the stage for engaging, productive, and welcoming work together. We’ll provide some highlights of how the Effective Team Dynamic program started at UW-Madison, successes and challenges thus far, and an overview of the courses we’ve engaged with.

Current state successes and challenges: Before diving into activities, participants will have an opportunity to share in small groups their successes and challenges related to developing student teamwork skills at their institution.

Setting the stage for teamwork: Interactive mix of presentation and group activities. We’ll facilitate an “I bring / I resent” activity to demonstrate a method that helps individuals on teams share their specific strengths and needs, and learn about the strengths and needs of their team members. This will be followed by a quick debrief and Q&A.

Supporting effective teamwork through crucial conversations: Interactive mix of presentation and group activities. We’ll facilitate a version of our crucial conversations activity to demonstrate how to support students’ interpersonal communication skills. This will be followed by a quick debrief and Q&A.

Alternative approaches: We’ll share alternative versions of these activities that we’ve used to address the needs of specific courses (i.e. scaling up for larger courses, first year versus senior design courses). We’ll also use this portion to crowd source additional strategies that others have used through a facilitated activity.

Reflection and planning time: Participants will have a structured template to help gather their thoughts for next steps when they return to their campus. They will also be provided with a set of resources that were shared.

Q&A and wrap up

Speakers

1. Angela Kita

   University of Wisconsin - Madison

   Angela Kita (she/her) is committed to improving learning experiences for all students through classroom innovation, program development, and fostering community. Her passion for all things teaching and learning began through teaching experiences as a graduate student, particularly working with non-biology majors exploring the various systems and structures found in animal phylogeny. She has worked collaboratively with faculty and staff on curriculum development, improved instructor support, and cross-campus projects. As a member of the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, she is excited to build and grow partnerships that better connect students to their learning, their passions, and their goals.

2. Haley Briel

   University of Wisconsin - Madison

   Haley Briel (she/her) is a Teaching and Learning Tech Specialist with CEETE in the College of Engineering. She discovered the joy of active learning upon graduation from Vanderbilt University in 2008 when she was hired as an outreach coordinator with Wofford College’s Goodall Environmental Studies Center. There, she hosted community events and outdoor lessons for all ages about the flora, fauna, and history of upstate South Carolina. Haley found her home at UW-Madison in graduate school, where she received dual master’s degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Water Resources Management in 2015. After a brief tenure in floodplain management, Haley returned to UW to pursue her passion for developing learning experiences that are inclusive, effective, and fun!

   In her free time, Haley loves to go camping all across Wisconsin, cook new and interesting recipes, and play tabletop games of all varieties!