Ada Hurst is a Lecturer in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She has taught and coordinated the capstone design project course for the Management Engineering program since 2011. She also teaches courses in organizational theory, technology, and behaviour. She received her Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering and Master of Applied Science and PhD in Management Sciences, all from the University of Waterloo. Ada's research and teaching interests include decision making under uncertainty, subjective probability, expert vs. novice review in engineering design, team processes, gender issues in STEM disciplines, and experiential and online learning. Ms Mrs. Stephanie Joan Johnson M.Ed, University of WaterlooStephanie Johnson is an academic development specialist. She designs and facilitates workshops, programs and lectures to help students achieve academic success at the post-secondary level. She also works with students one-on-one in all disciplines. Prof. Sanjeev Bedi P.Eng., University of WaterlooDr. Sanjeev Bedi is the Director of the Engineering Ideas Clinic. He earned his PhD from the University of Victoria in 1987. As a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, his research focus is machining, and he is well known for developing innovative 5-axis tool-positioning and flankmilling techniques.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Towards a Multi-Disciplinary Teamwork Training Series for Undergraduate Engineering Students: Development and Assessment of Two First-Year Workshops AbstractTeams have become the default work structure in organizations; thus, in work settings that emphasize teamwork, employees must have knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to communicate and coordinate with their colleagues. Yet, teamwork skills are rarely "taught" in engineering curricula; in fact, compared to business representatives, university educators have been found to underestimate the value of teamwork KSAs. Instead, students are expected to develop teamwork and leadership skills via a sink-or-swim approach where they are assigned group work and left to perform as they can. Often, these poor teamwork experiences combined with the lack of training and opportunities for guided reflection lead to students disliking working in groups, impacting not just the cognitive but also the affective domain of learning.In response to this identified weakness, a committee of representatives from the Faculty of Engineering and other support units at the University of Waterloo is developing a series of six workshops intended to be delivered to engineering students in all disciplines in their first three years of study. The first three workshops will provide an introduction to team-forming and building, team communication, and conflict management. The last three workshops will provide reinforcement and opportunities for application in the same areas and in multidisciplinary settings.This paper describes the first two workshops in this series. Their design i...

– Motivated by a perceived deficiency in teamwork skills of graduating engineering students, a series of six teamwork training modules are being designed for each of the students’ first six academic terms. A careful pilot-revise-implement design cycle has resulted in the development of a number of variations of each module, catering to different disciplines’ needs for integration with the curriculum. The project is at its midpoint, having designed, delivered, and revised the first three modules: an introduction to teamwork, communication in teams, and team conflict. The fourth module - giving and receiving feedback in teams - was piloted in early 2017. The last two remaining modules are envisioned to cover teamwork topics at a more advanced level. So far, all modules have been delivered in host courses with instructors receptive to the need for teamwork training. It is observed that the modules’ success and long term sustainability depend on their ability to easily integrate with or wrap around existing course activities.  

Ada Hurst is a Lecturer in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She has taught and coordinated the capstone design project course for the Management Engineering program since 2011. She also teaches courses in organizational behavior, theory, and technology. She received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering, followed by Master of Applied Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Management Sciences, all from the University of Waterloo. Ada's research and teaching interests include decision making under uncertainty, subjective probability, gender issues in STEM disciplines, design teaching, experiential and online learning, team processes, and peer review.Mehrnaz Mostafapour, University of Waterloo Dr. Rania Al-Hammoud P.Eng., University of Waterloo Dr. Al-Hammoud is a Faculty lecturer (Graduate Attributes) in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Al-Hammoud has a passion for teaching where she continuously seeks new technologies to involve students in their learning process. She is actively involved in the Ideas Clinic, a major experiential learning initiative at the University of Waterloo. She is also responsible for developing a process and assessing graduate attributes at the department to target areas for improvement in the curriculum. This resulted in several publications in this educational research areas. Dr. Al-Hammoud won a couple of teaching awards in 2014 and 2016 from University of Waterloo. Her students regard her as an innovative teacher who introduced new ideas to the classroom. Such ideas include using "props" to increase students' understanding of the materials, as well as using new technology such as i-clickers and IF-AT cards. Dr. Al-Hammoud also organized a bridge-building contest in one of her courses where she worked with other professors in the department to integrate the project horizontally across the curriculum. Dr. Andrea Prier, University of WaterlooAndrea Prier is the Senior Academic Development Specialist within the Student Success Office at the University of Waterloo. She holds a PhD from the University of Windsor in the field of Cognition and Learning. Andrea's research interests include STEM education and the design of research informed retention initiatives. The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo has recognized that the development of student teamwork skills requires immediate attention across all undergraduate programs. A multi-disciplinary team was assembled to address this challenge via the design and implementation of a set of learning modules. The team was made up of engineering faculty members, graduate students, and representatives from a student support unit, a teaching support unit, and the First Year Engineering office. In itself, a study of the dynamics and achievements of this team of faculty and staff members from across campus provides a rich opportunity to examine authentic team behaviour. It can also serve as a model for others considering the ...

is a Faculty lecturer (Graduate Attributes) in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Al-Hammoud has a passion for teaching where she continuously seeks new technologies to involve students in their learning process. She is actively involved in the Ideas Clinic, a major experiential learning initiative at the University of Waterloo. She is also responsible for developing a process and assessing graduate attributes at the department to target areas for improvement in the curriculum. This resulted in several publications in this educational research areas. Dr. Al-Hammoud won the "Ameet and Meena Chakma award for exceptional teaching by a student" in 2014 and the "Engineering Society Teaching Award" in 2016 from University of Waterloo. Her students regard her as an innovative teacher who continuously introduces new ideas to the classroom that increases their engagement.

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is a Faculty lecturer (Graduate Attributes) in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Al-Hammoud has a passion for teaching where she continuously seeks new technologies to involve students in their learning process. She is actively involved in the Ideas Clinic, a major experiential learning initiative at the University of Waterloo. She is also responsible for developing a process and assessing graduate attributes at the department to target areas for improvement in the curriculum. This resulted in several publications in this educational research areas. Dr. Al-Hammoud won the "Ameet and Meena Chakma award for exceptional teaching by a student" in 2014 and the "Engineering Society Teaching Award" in 2016 and the "Outstanding Performance Award" in 2018 from University of Waterloo. Her students regard her as an innovative teacher who continuously introduces new ideas to the classroom that increases their engagement.

Integrating educational assessment tools such as the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) into university classrooms can help students and faculty gain insight into areas of strength and challenge for students. The present study adapted and integrated the MSLQ into a set of first-year communication courses for Faculty of Arts students at the University of Waterloo. This adaptation allowed us to better situate the scale within the writing and communication course context. Through exploratory and confirmatory analysis, a shortened questionnaire (MSLQ-AF) with 6 subscales (motivation, academic self-confidence, performance anxiety, critical thinking, planning for optimal learning, and peer learning) was created. MSLQ-AF proved to have stable factor structure, adequate and stable internal consistency, and construct validity (correlation with grades), when assessed across four samples spanning four university terms. We discuss the role of this new scale in helping students transition into university.