LEARNING TEAM COMMUNICATION SKILLS THROUGH MODELING

摘要

Effective team communication skills are critical to engineering project success. However, since these skills involve practice, students may not effectively acquire them through typical lecture-based courses. New approaches to team communication training are needed to ensure that engineers have the skills needed to function effectively in an increasingly complex world. Modeling, I.e., demonstrating specific behaviors by engaging in them, has been shown to improve the acquisition of skills in several areas. This study describes the effectiveness of modeling by the instructor to help students learn team communication skills based on Argyris' approach to team facilitation. It shows that modeling can be an important contributor to team communication skill acquisition. These results provide specific suggestions to educators and managers interested in improving the team skills of engineers.