A suggested strategy for teamwork teaching in undergraduate engineering programmes particularly in China

Teamwork has been considered as an important learning outcome for engineering graduates. A pilot study on teamwork training was conducted in a joint degree programme between a leading British university and a top Chinese university in 2011. A supplementary experiment in the module "Personal Development Plan" was carried out using a large sample (624 students) to compare different methods for forming groups, taking into account both team and academic performance. For the first time this work has attempted to introduce some tests and checks in the group project of a technical module. This paper reports the new findings from the supplementary experiments in the Personal Development Plan module and the technical module. An improved strategy for teamwork teaching in undergraduate engineering programmes, particularly in China, is now suggested: students would learn teamwork skills in the PDP module in the first year of the university; attend selective workshops for the practical instruction to transfer knowledge into action; and complete some technical coursework in groups in senior technical modules.