Mark Schar

Teamology – The Art and Science of Design Team Formation

Nearly all design work is collaborative work. The phenomenon of the “design team” is increasingly common in both industry and project-based education. Existing organizational behavior research has shown that diversity on a team has mixed and frequently negative effects, particularly when outward indicators such as gender, ethnicity, age and experience measure diversity. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the problem solving capabilities and preferences of individual team members, or “team cognitive diversity.” This study examines 14 measures of cognitive diversity and 3 measures of project performance for 15 design teams comprised of 97 masters-level engineering students from nine universities in eight countries who collaborated over a period of 8 months. We find that students with similar backgrounds and experience level reveal a wide variety of cognitive problem solving preferences.

Applied Teamology: The Impact of Cognitive Style Diversity on Problem Reframing and Product Redesign Within Design Teams

In the words of Professor Larry J. Leifer, “All design is redesign.” As designers collect information about a problem, they form a mental frame of the problem space that is the scaffolding around which to build a solution. When presented with new information, successful designers can “reframe” the problem and the solution as part of a successful iterative cycle. These iterative cycles are central to the Stanford Design Thinking process. A team’s capacity and willingness to reframe can be measured by means of a closed-form assessment tool that eliminates many of the confounding variables of the previous longitudinal (project performance-based) approach. We propose the Stanford Design Thinking Exercise (SDTE) as a measure of reframing behavior and design team effectiveness. The exercise is standardized and can be conducted in a controlled lab or classroom setting in 1 h. The SDTE is designed to be a first step toward a quick, reliable and standardized technique for evaluating design team effectiveness. We found that the SDTE is a robust measurement for reframing change, in that it reports a range of reframing results across a participant population group, but attempts to align the instrument with participant cognitive characteristics were unsuccessful indicating that more work needs to be done to understand specific indicators of reframing.

Pivot thinking: Predicting entrepreneurial intent among engineering students and faculty using problem solving style preference

This research explores the concept of “pivot thinking” or the ability to pivot between domain specific problem solving heuristics, and the impact of this cognitive trait on entrepreneurial career intent. A review of popular problem solving heuristics is presented for comparison purposes. The research sample includes engineering and science-trained students and faculty (n = 114) and measures both business skill self-efficacy and cognitive problem solving style using a four-factor psychometric instrument called the Herrmann Brain Dominance Indicator (HBDI). Results show that both higher levels and a balance between problem solving styles of analytical-factual (Factor A) and conceptual-intuitive (Factor D) predict entrepreneurial intent. Business skill self-efficacy is also an important predictor of entrepreneurial intent with emphasis on understanding business finance and communication skills. The implications of this research on engineering and entrepreneurship education are discussed.

2017 IEEE Education Society Awards, 2017 Frontiers in Education Conference Awards, and Selected IEEE Awards

The IEEE Education Society, the IEEE Computer Society, and the American Society for Engineering Education Educational Research and Methods Division (ASEE ERM) sponsored the 46th Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference in Erie, PA, USA, held October 12–15, 2016. James Sluss, President of the Society, Russell Meier, President of the ASEE ECE Division, and Elizabeth Eschenbach, Chair, FIE Steering Committee, presented awards sponsored by HP Enterprise, the FIE Conference, the Education Society of IEEE, and the ECE Division of ASEE to the 2016 recipients of these awards.

Trait mindfulness in an engineering classroom: An exploration of the relationship between mindfulness, academic skills, and professional skills

This research explores the intersection of mindfulness and engineering education. Among the reported benefits of mindfulness are enhanced cognitive flexibility, improved concentration, and increased emotional intelligence. These characteristics may be beneficial to engineers as they tackle increasingly complex and interdisciplinary challenges. This research looks at trait mindfulness of 75 students in an introductory engineering course. Results show that mindfulness correlates with business skills self-efficacy (including interpersonal skills) but not with mechanics self-efficacy or final grade. There is also a correlation between mindfulness and the intent to pursue a career in a small company or in an entrepreneurial start-up company. Implications of this research suggest that mindfulness-based classroom activities may help broaden the engineering education experience.