capstone project
IJEE 2496 PROOFS
International Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 1–14, 2011
Printed in Great Britain
0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00
# 2011 TEMPUS Publications.
Managing and Mentoring Capstone Design Teams:
Considerations and Practices for Faculty*
MARIE PARETTI
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 660 McBryde Hall, Engineering Education, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
E-mail: mparetti@vt.edu
RICHARD LAYTON
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Ave, CM 191, Terre Haute, IN 47803 USA. E-mail: layton@rose-hulman.edu
STEPHEN LAGUETTE
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. E-mail: laguette@engineering.ucsb.edu
GREG SPEEGLE
Baylor University, One Bear Place #97346, Waco, TX 76798, USA. E-mail: Greg_Speegle@baylor.edu
This paper presents the findings from a panel session at the 2010 Capstone Design Conference in Boulder, Colorado in which panelists and participants had a lively discussion about practices associated with managing and mentoring student teams. The three broad topics discussed at the session were the methods of assigning teams, product versus process learning objectives for design teams, and non-technical aspects of team performance (e.g. race and gender dynamics, professional and interpersonal communication). For each topic, the paper describes the wide variety of views and approaches (some contradictory) that were explored regarding each topic, as well as the factors affecting choice of approach. In addition, the paper highlights three themes that recurred across the topics: 1) clear learning objectives for capstone or any project-based activity are central to effectively designing and mentoring teams; 2) faculty participants do care deeply about their students and take steps to act in ways that benefit students, and 3) both positive and negative aspects of student attitudes and behaviors may reflect faculty attitudes and behaviors, implying that
International Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 1–14, 2011
Printed in Great Britain
0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00
# 2011 TEMPUS Publications.
Managing and Mentoring Capstone Design Teams:
Considerations and Practices for Faculty*
MARIE PARETTI
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 660 McBryde Hall, Engineering Education, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
E-mail: mparetti@vt.edu
RICHARD LAYTON
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Ave, CM 191, Terre Haute, IN 47803 USA. E-mail: layton@rose-hulman.edu
STEPHEN LAGUETTE
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. E-mail: laguette@engineering.ucsb.edu
GREG SPEEGLE
Baylor University, One Bear Place #97346, Waco, TX 76798, USA. E-mail: Greg_Speegle@baylor.edu
This paper presents the findings from a panel session at the 2010 Capstone Design Conference in Boulder, Colorado in which panelists and participants had a lively discussion about practices associated with managing and mentoring student teams. The three broad topics discussed at the session were the methods of assigning teams, product versus process learning objectives for design teams, and non-technical aspects of team performance (e.g. race and gender dynamics, professional and interpersonal communication). For each topic, the paper describes the wide variety of views and approaches (some contradictory) that were explored regarding each topic, as well as the factors affecting choice of approach. In addition, the paper highlights three themes that recurred across the topics: 1) clear learning objectives for capstone or any project-based activity are central to effectively designing and mentoring teams; 2) faculty participants do care deeply about their students and take steps to act in ways that benefit students, and 3) both positive and negative aspects of student attitudes and behaviors may reflect faculty attitudes and behaviors, implying that