Fostering a capacity for relational agency in undergraduate engineering and IT

CONTEXT Relational agency is the capacity for professional practitioners working in complex, inter-professional environments to align actions with others, interpret and solve complex problems - a core skill required in engineering practice. As part of a review and redesign of groupwork activities in large cohort, group project based, professional practice subjects at the University of Technology Sydney, we investigated using relational agency as a lens through which to evaluate and update our groupwork activities. Initial research investigated the capacity for relational agency in students and proposed a framework that described the development of this capacity from “novice” to “professional”. This paper extends and reports on this work. PURPOSE OR GOAL Our goal was to verify our proposed framework by applying this to data collected from two students and two tutor focus groups. The aim is to gain further insight to inform the design of activities and assessments that develop the capacity for relational agency in students. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS Focus groups were held with tutors from one second-year and two first-year subjects (the same subjects as in the pilot study). Tutors' perspectives on the development of relational agency were compared to previous findings. Additional focus groups were also held with students. The proposed framework was used to characterise the relational agency displayed by students and an inductive qualitative analysis done to identify any additional themes that emerged from this sample. The results from the student focus groups were triangulated using self and peer review data from the students and their group members. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES Relational agency is a useful tool for understanding the skills that engineers need in professional practice. Our framework has value in characterising the development of this capacity and may be most useful in planning curriculum and learning over multiple subjects, rather than the development of group activities and assessments at the individual subject level. The focus group data confirmed the enablers and inhibitors for relational agency. We argue that these are valuable independent of the context of the framework. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY Initial research identified the capacity for relational agency as a valid lens for reviewing group work activities. However, we conclude that it is more useful at a subject level to focus on the enabling and inhibiting factors identified in this study, rather than on the broader scope of capacity for relational agency. Future work may look at a “whole of degree” application of the development of the capacity for relational agency as part of the learning trajectory for achieving graduate outcomes

Using an online collaboration platform to facilitate group work

The onset of COVID-19 necessitated moving three large-enrolment introductory engineering and IT subjects online after just one week of face to face teaching. All three subjects focus on facilitating students' learning through group work to solve a self-identified problem. Considering a key Subject Learning Outcome is 'to collaborate effectively in team processes', group work is integral to the aims of these subjects. Studies for both online and face-to-face group work identify the influence educators play in achieving successful learning outcomes and group satisfaction; for example, the importance of group work management (Xu, Du & Fan, 2015). While many challenges faced in online group work in education are common to face-to-face teaching (Roberts & McInnerney, 2007), it has been shown that "distance does matter" (Olson & Olson, 2000). The challenge was to facilitate the same level of cooperation between students and enable them to build teamwork skills without face-to-face interaction with teammates or educators. PURPOSE OR GOAL Moving three early-year subjects of approximately 600 students each onto an online collaboration platform over a short period provided new challenges. This paper will discuss the aspects of our transition to online group work that worked well, and those that did not, from the perspective of students and tutors. These insights into best-practice online learning will inform how teaching can shift into blended learning in 2021. METHODOLOGY Focus groups were conducted with students from one second-year and two first-year subjects. In these focus groups, students discussed their experiences of working in a group environment and how this experience can be improved. The comments from student feedback surveys and students’ comments from the SPARKplus peer assessments were also used. In addition, feedback on classes and materials were taken from tutors and compared to the students' view of the online classes. Transcripts and comments were analysed to identify recurrent themes. OUTCOMES Students had mixed feelings about the transition to online classes. Despite the use of many different strategies, issues with engagement remain. However, some strategies have emerged that motivate the students, while successful ways for groups to work together were discovered. Our research also indicates that the use of a learning platform which facilitates instant student discussion is worth further investigation for online classes. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY Online classes make it more challenging to engage students in group work based learning. However, careful fostering of group team spirit helps to lessen individual isolation. Some students thrive from the provision of instant feedback through an interactive learning platform. In future work, focus groups need to be conducted with students who achieved lower marks or dropped out of the subject to understand the issues they faced. More attention needs to be paid to the tutor perspective and how activities can be better adapted to student needs. KEYWORDS Transition online, group work, student engagement

Relational Agency in First and Further Year Group Work

At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), first and second-year students in engineering and IT develop professional practice skills through project-based work with significant group work components in large, 500+ student cohort subjects. Some students find group work challenging and do not appreciate its importance to their professional practice. In looking to improve the transition of our students into and through university, and then into professional practice, we are revising our subject activities. This paper looks at teamwork through the lens of building students’ capacity for relational agency. PURPOSE OR GOAL Relational agency is a valuable capacity for professional practitioners working in complex, inter-professional environments (e.g., Edwards, 2010). This paper makes a case for the development of this capacity in engineering and IT students. As a first step to reviewing our group work activities, we report on a pilot study investigating the current capacity for relational agency in our students, and more broadly evaluating the relational agency framework as a tool to help us understand teamwork. The findings will inform further study into relational agency in students and tutors, and will form the basis for redesigning group work and tutor training. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS Focus groups on group work experience were held with students from one second-year and two first-year subjects. Inductive qualitative content analysis used data from the focus groups to look for evidence of relational agency and identify emerging themes. The results were triangulated using self and peer review data from the students and their teammates. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES The data indicates that the capacity for relational agency develops with time at university. This provides support for the proposed structure used to identify relational agency as progressing from 'novice' to 'professional'. Absent aspects of relational agency were identified, such as a lack of agency in aligning motivations. Emerging themes indicate aspects of teaching that may inhibit or facilitate the development of relational agency, including a continued focus on a strengths-based approach, consideration of the psychological safety of students, and a focus on communication (remote or in-person). CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY The paper builds on translational research in higher education practice and contributes to our understanding of the development of professional practice skills in engineering and IT students. It has shown that development of the capacity for relational agency is a valid lens for reviewing group work activities and has identified avenues for future focus groups with tutors and a wider range of students. KEYWORDS group work, relational agency, transitio