Abstract
Teamwork has been systematically studied in engineering education as an educational method and a learning outcome. Based on the recent advances in socially-shared regulation as a framework for teamwork processes, this study explores the impact of the transition to online learning. The purpose of this study is to understand if face-to-face and online team dynamics differ concerning the prevalence of personal goals, team challenges, and individual/social strategies. The Adaptive Instrument for Regulation of Emotions (AIRE) Questionnaire was used to compare two semesters in project-based learning engineering courses that were face-to-face (2019) and then converted to an online modality (2020) due to the COVID-19 crisis. Our results show that both modalities report mostly the same prevalence of goals, challenges, and strategies. However, online students tend to manifest a significantly lower prevalence of specific challenges and strategies, suggesting that online teamwork may have involved less group deliberation. These results provide evidence for the "equivalency theory" between online and face-to-face learning in a context where all systemic levels transitioned to a digital modality. These findings raise the question of whether online teaching encourages the emergence of team conflict and deliberation needed for creative thinking.
Highlights
During the last decade, an extensive debate has been ignited over the contents of engineering education
In the context of an established interest in teamwork in engineering education research and practice, both as a learning outcome and as a teaching strategy, our study sought to explore how teamwork is affected by the digital transition during the COVID-19 crisis [10]
Our study explored the following question: what are the differences in personal goals, regulation strategies, and team challenges between engineering students working online and face-to-face in problem-based learning (PBL) challenges?
Summary
An extensive debate has been ignited over the contents of engineering education. The development of professional skills during undergraduate engineering studies has gained attention and has become one of the most relevant educational priorities [1] This emphasis may be related to the fact that the industry demands that new engineers possess communication, persuasion, leading, and teamwork skills besides having the right technical aptitudes [2,3]. Given this increasing interest and the industrial desires to pay more attention to these skills, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) determined that accredited universities ought to incorporate professional skills in their curricula, for example, critical thinking, lifelong learning, and teamwork [4,5]. The use of project-based and problem-based learning (PBL), in which teams of students tackle engineering challenges, has seen significant growth as an educational tool and research field over the last few years [7]
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