Acquisition of teamwork competence in a hardware course: Perceptions and co-regulation of computer engineering students

Abstract

In work environments, it is essential for engineers to have a high level of teamwork competence. Therefore, engineering education programs aim to provide an environment where students can experience working in teams. In this study, perceptions and co-regulation of computer engineering students regarding teamwork were examined in a hardware course. Ateamwork oriented approach based on individual and group reflections of students was designed and applied during an 8 week project study with the participation of 56 sophomore students of a public university in Turkey. In order to analyze different aspects of the teamwork acquisition process, convergent parallel mixed-methods design was utilized by using both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected by co-regulated learning questionnaire which was applied as pretest and posttest, and teamwork evaluation form that was used for self and peer assessment. Qualitative data were gathered by reflections and focus group interviews. The findings indicated that teamwork oriented approach had significantly increased co-regulation skills of students and they gained positive perceptions towards teamwork. Since most of the teamwork studies in computer engineering programs have been conducted in software engineering courses, applying a teamwork oriented approach in a hardware course provides a valuable contribution to the literature. © 2020 TEMPUS Publications.