Practicing What we Preach: A Multi-Disciplinary Team Teaching Multi-Disciplinary Teamwork

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 launch of educational initiatives involving people from a wide variety of departments and units.