Summary
As teamwork is central to engineering students’ educational experiences, it is important to support students to develop skills for equitable collaboration and addressing bias. This project proposes (and documents the impact of) evidence-based strategies for skills training, reflective practice, and ethics to prepare students to collaborate constructively across differences.
Project Abstract
Gendered and other biases can distort teamwork dynamics, undermining the experiences and contributions of women and other underrepresented groups. Given that teamwork is prevalent in both engineering programmes and professional work, educators should support students to develop strategies for recognising and addressing the detrimental effects of discrimination and a lack of diversity.
Our 2019 paper documented how female students experience subtle forms of discrimination, revealing a pervasive bias within the learning environment. This bias influences the nature of the team tasks women accomplish and increases the anticipation of more difficulties for women than for men.
Our 2023 paper reports on the impact of a skills-based workshop for engineering students participating in large team projects, with opportunities to practise both proactive and reactive strategies for challenging discriminatory behaviours. Evidence from student evaluations indicates that the workshop equips participants with practical techniques they intend to use, and follow-up data suggests genuine behavioural change—particularly in proactive efforts to reduce the influence of unconscious bias in teams.
By combining structured opportunities for reflection, discussion, and skill-building with evidence-based insights into how bias manifests in group dynamics, engineering educators can cultivate inclusive team practices and prepare future engineers to contribute to a more equitable profession.
Contacts
- Siara Isaac, [email protected]
- Nihat Kotluk, [email protected]
- Roland Tormey, [email protected]