Multidisciplinary teaming model sensitivity to curriculum revisions

The sensitivity of a fine-grid model for assessing the ABET outcome of multidisciplinary teaming experiences is evaluated with respect to curriculum revisions resulting in changes both in course content and student majors in a senior controls class. This paper describes improvement for this outcome even when two underlying model assumptions have been varied in the fourth year of the study. The fine-grid model itself features five levels of possible accomplishments for each of the five components of project selection, use of skill sets, team dynamics, faculty mentoring, and project reporting. The five levels range from very limited activity (Level 1) to a highly developed capability (Level 5) similar to the ABET chart used to assess the overall continuous improvement process. The contributions of this paper are determining the model sensitivity to changes in course content and student majors, identifying the model attributes and experiences, and describing procedures that show continuous improvement.