Teams |
Purpose | Teams are a mechanism for individual students to become more actively involved in the learning process. The discussion and peer education that occurs in teams can be extremely valuable. Working in teams allows for many different viewpoints, which are essential in good design. Working in teams also allows us to take on larger projects than any individual could do alone. | |
Problems |
When all members of a team are actively engaged a team can be a great learning experience. There are, however, some problems.
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Team formation |
Generally, you will have the same team all the way through the course. If particular problems arise, the instructor may do some rearrangement of the teams.
A survey will be given to assess the backgrounds of the various class members and the instructor will assign the teams. |
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Grading |
For team projects there will be a team grade, which all team members will recieve. This makes you mutually responsible for the work and for each other.
Periodically there will be peer evaluations of team members. These evaluations will address the folowing points for yourself as well as each individual team member.
The results of these evaluations will impact your grade and will be shared individually with each student. When shared, the identity of the evaluators will be anonymous.This is a very important exercise and should be done with great thought. It is also important that this be confidential. Do no ask anyone to disclose their evaluations. Do not tell anyone how you evaluated anyone else. After the first rating, every class member will have an interview with the instructor to discuss their performance and hopefully correct any problems. |