Cohort March 2022: Faculty of Applied Science – Pamela Wolf, Nika Martinussen, Debalina Saha, Tavis Bruce
Project background
The engineering profession, along with engineering courses across UBC, centers on collaborative project-based work. However, through course evaluations and anecdotal feedback, students across all engineering disciplines have overwhelmingly expressed that they do not feel equipped with the skills and tools needed to engage in effective communication for group projects, due to the lack of student-centred resources and processes available. While this is a common sentiment across all engineering disciplines, CIVL 201 will be receiving new instructional leadership in the 2022-2023 school year, presenting a natural opportunity for the course to undergo a redesign. CIVL 201: Introduction to Civil Engineering, is a project-based course that all civil engineering students take during their second year. It teaches students about civil engineering tools and practice, teamwork, professionalism, and communication. This project aims to fill a void in the current CIVL 201 curriculum, to both improve the student experience and better equip students for collaborative work beyond the university.
Project details
The goal of this project is to create resources that empower students to create effective group cultures, practices, and ecosystems when engaging in collaborative projects, starting with CIVL 201. There are four targeted competencies based on an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization (EDII) framework – grounded in reconciliation – the shared goal of learning the truths about the land on which we live and work, and the will to create a more just university and society for Indigenous peoples. The student-faculty partners have experience co-creating decolonization curricula and Open Educational Resources, which have been implemented in most engineering departments at UBC. They understand the importance of taking an integrated approach to justice and equity within engineering education, weaving EDII throughout the materials. Students will demonstrate awareness and understanding of the importance of EDII, including an ability to engage in meaningful conversations within academic and professional settings.
The four competencies of the suite of resources are as follows:
- Clear and intentional communication practices: creating a culture of communication and documentation within project teams, in which a detailed plan of information flows is established and implemented.
- Routine reflection and evaluation: practicing regular reflection individual performance within the team,and facilitating group dialogue to evaluate whether the team’s own expectations and standards can be improved.
- Knowledge of the project community: being able to balance and understand personal and professional boundaries and vulnerabilities, in which a willingness to practice empathy and active listening is demonstrated by all.
- Conflict-resolution strategies: exhibiting respectful and effective approaches in conflicts and differences of opinions. In demonstrating these competencies, students act as co-creators of the group project dynamic and experience, forming a safe and equitable space in which effective collaboration, communication, and accomplishment can take place, resulting in students being better prepared for collaborative work within professional contexts. If the implementation of these resources proves to be successful in CIVL 201, there is great potential and interest for these resources to be woven into other group project based engineering courses at UBC, or the transformation into an open educational resource.