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A Comparison of Group Processes, Performance, and Satisfaction in Face‐to‐Face Versus Computer‐Mediated Engineering Student Design Teams
Author(s) -
Whitman Lawrence E.,
Malzahn Don E.,
Chaparro Barbara S.,
Russell Mark,
Langrall Rebecca,
Mohler Beth A.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.2005.tb00857.x
Subject(s) - face to face , computer mediated communication , engineering education , group work , graduate students , work (physics) , psychology , engineering , engineering management , computer science , medical education , mathematics education , pedagogy , the internet , world wide web , mechanical engineering , philosophy , epistemology , medicine
Industry often requires engineers to work in teams. Therefore, many university engineering courses require students to work in groups to complete a design project. Due to the increasingly global nature of engineering, opportunities for students to navigate the issues of distance, time, culture, language, and multiple perspectives associated with virtual teams are becoming particularly desirable. To understand students' experience with virtual teams in a graduate course on principles of lean manufacturing, a group of researchers at a midwestern university compared the project performance, selected group processes, and satisfaction of students randomly assigned to face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated communication design teams. Students in both the face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated communication design teams performed equally well on the final project, and reported similar patterns in group processes with a few exceptions. Students in face‐to‐face design teams were more satisfied with the group experience than those in the computer‐mediated communication design teams; however, all reported an overall positive experience.