42-101 Intro to BME - Spring 2005

TEAMWORK FORMS

and

GUIDELINES

Teamwork Forms: (PDF)

Team Organization Sheet:  PDF version

Interim Team Performance Evaluation Sheet:  PDF version

Final Teammmate Performance Evaluation Sheet:  PDF version

Please print out these forms for your use. They may look odd on the screen, but they will print out just fine. Due dates for the various forms are listed in the syllabus. Any changes to due dates will be circulated by electronic mail.

Teamwork Guidelines

1.         Overview. Everyone in this course will work in teams on problem sets. This team approach is designed to have you work with a variety of people with different skill and motivation levels and cultural backgrounds to help you develop the interpersonal, leadership, and followership skills needed to excel in the engineering world outside CMU. There will be no exceptions to the teamwork format.

Problem sets will be done by teams of three or four. You will have three teams during the semester which will be responsible for problem sets 1 through 3 (Block A),  4 through 6 (Block B) and 7 and 8 (Block C) respectively. You will rotate team members when forming new teams so that you will not end up working with the same people twice during the semester. You may choose your own teammates.  Each team will select their own team leader for each problem set; everyone must be a team leader at least twice during the semester.  One additional constraint: no more than one CIT junior or senior per group.

2.         Group Organization. The instructor has provided a Team Organization Sheet to make sure that each member of a given team is able to contact everyone else in the group by several means, to determine the time and place of the first group meeting, to clearly lay out the expectations for each member of the group in advance of the first meeting, and to select a team name for the group. This sheet will be used for each new group you or the instructor forms. Make sure that each member of the team retains a completed copy of the form; this should ensure a smooth start to your group. The completed organization sheet will form part of the basis of your group performance grade.

3.         Group Function.

Mode of Operation. The optimal mode of operation for each problem set group may be different, depending on the personality and skill mix of the group. As a starting point we suggest that each team member try to set up an outline of the solution method and logic for each problem on a given assignment in advance of the first meeting of the group for that assignment. At the first meeting for a given problem set, the group can debate approaches and identify significant remaining questions for each problem. When approaches are agreed upon for each problem, then the team can divide up the work of performing detailed calculations, writing up solutions, and seeking additional help among the members. The team leader is expected to participate as an equal member in this process. In addition, the team leader will bear the additional responsibility of coordinating the work and ensuring everyone in the team understands all the problem solutions before they are handed in.

Note that we strongly urge you not to use the default approach of dividing all the problems up on a given assignment in advance. While this approach may appear to save time at the outset, you will cut your meaningful exposure to sample problems by a factor of two to three and your exam performance will suffer. Benefit from the wisdom of several previous rounds of written student feedback: work on all the problems and divide up the final grunt work.

Conflicts. Please realize that as the teams and team leaders are self-selected, you have an additional degree of freedom that the outside engineering world offers only infrequently. As such, the main responsibility for the functioning of the group in terms of resolving conflicts rests with you; the instructor will intervene only when absolutely necessary.

Conflicts can be avoided by open communication: clearly and frankly state your expectations of one another as the group is formed. Try to form groups with people that have similar schedules and goals for the course. Conflicts can be minimized by addressing problems early on, so don't let problems fester. It is always difficult to tell a teammate that they are not meeting your expectations, but it also becomes increasingly difficult to have that conversation as time progresses and the problem gets worse. If a problem seems irresolvable, bring it to my attention early. I will be particularly unsympathetic to group problems that are brought to my attention at the last possible moment before the group evaluation. Surprisingly, perhaps to some people, conflicts seem to arise most often when existing friends form groups. This often occurs because the friendship makes frank and open discussion difficult: either the initial discussion of expectations never occurs because expectations are assumed among friends or discussions of ongoing problems are avoided to minimize open conflict among friends. So, either make sure that you and your friend(s) are willing to be honest with each other when you form a group or form groups with people you don't know and make new acquaintances/friends in the process.

4.         Team Performance Evaluation.

You will evaluate yourself and your teammates at two points during each team experience. The approach we use is modeled on the peer/360° evaluation approach often used in industry to assess employee performance.

An interim evaluation will be used to facilitate open communication of expectations between team members early on in the lifetime of the team. In this way we hope to help each team function more smoothly. The interim team evaluation sheet will be completed after the team has turned in its first assignment together. For this evaluation, class time will be allotted for you to meet with your team and discuss how the team is functioning and how each team member is performing. Specific recommendations will be made for each team member to help them to achieve at even higher levels. The completed evaluation sheet will be graded by the instructor and turned back to the team. This evaluation step should help ensure that no surprises occur during the final teammate evaluation.

A final evaluation will be used to assess the performance of each team member during the lifetime of the team; "each" team member means that you will evaluate your own performance as well that of the other members of the team. The final teammate evaluation sheet will be completed individually, outside of class at the end of each team's lifetime. The instructor will collect the evaluations and compute an average grade for each individual. The instructor will hold these evaluations in confidence; whether or not you discuss you evaluations with your teammates is up to you. If, in the instructor's opinion, there is a significant discrepancy between the results of the final evaluation and the comments made in the assignment covering memos and in the interim evaluation, the instructor will convene a meeting of the team and may reapportion grades pending the outcome of the meeting.

 

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Last updated 1/3/05 by TMP