Improving Leadership And Communication Skills Using Department Consistent Laboratory Team Experience

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah has implemented a coordinated team approach into the laboratory components of the required undergraduate Soil Mechanics, Hydraulics, and Materials courses to deliver team building experiences, develop accountability and leadership opportunities, and enhance written communication. The evolution of the approach required the initial cooperation and continued interaction of three faculty members. Preliminary assessment included comparison of preand post-implementation student laboratory reports, exit interviews, and post-semester surveys. Report comparison documented greater organization of technical content and fewer writing errors in reports produced after the approach was implemented. Student comments at exit interviews indicated the consistent report format guidelines enabled them to focus more effort on technical content and spend less time with tedious format requirements. The majority of students interviewed felt the report guidance and team leader activities were instrumental in their improved report writing and understanding of technical concepts. A majority (75% or more) of students responding to the post-semester surveys felt the team leadership activities made them more capable to delegate tasks, more confident in working with others, and more experienced managing team conflicts.