Using Teamwork And Communication Skills To Monitor And Strengthen The Effectiveness Of Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Design Projects

Earlier work in a 2 nd year undergraduate engineering design course suggests that there is a strong correlation between poor written communication and poor design performance. Moreover, a correlation between poor teamwork and poor design performance has been noted. This paper reviews that work and proposes a model that explicitly teaches teamwork skills and uses written communication to develop team dialog around those skills. This model uses team communication deliverables to identify poorly functioning teams early in the process and suggests strategies to intervene with those teams when identified. Assessment plans for this model are described.