Examining ways to support engineering students for choosing a project topic in interdisciplinary collaboration

The purposes of the study were to examine engineering students’ concerns and problems while they were choosing a project topic in interdisciplinary collaboration and to suggest ways to support them in an early stage of collaboration phase. To answer the research questions, we conducted a case study with engineering participants in GCTI 2015, an interdisciplinary collaborative and creative group project. Multiple data sources including focus group interviews, online survey and researchers’ observation notes were used to triangulate research findings. We found four main concerns of engineering students. These concerns include (1) lack of self-efficacy, (2) limited resources, (3) lack of shared, meaningful, and common goals, and (4) lack of content knowledge. Based on these concerns we proposed four supports in an early stage of the collaborative project. These supports includes (1) implementing an orientation program, (2) providing opportunities for social interactions, (3) providing expert feedback, and (4) providing consultation for team building.