Using your brain to build teams that work: A study of the freshman and sophomore engineering clinics at Rowan university

This paper discusses the results of the first semester of a longitudinal study of intentional teambuilding undertaken in the Freshman and Sophomore Engineering Clinics at Rowan University. Students took Johnston & Dainton's, Learning Combination Inventory¹ (LCI), a 28-item self-report instrument that quantitatively and qualitatively captures the degree to which an individual uses each of four learning patterns. Through these patterns the learner represents how he or she sees the world, takes in stimuli, integrates the stimuli and formulates a response to it. An individual can begin his or her learning with a particular pattern or patterns, use patterns as needed, or avoid them. Teams were then created in order to maximize individual and collective use of learning patterns. This paper will report 1. The results of the initial study conducted during the Fall 2001 semester. 2. An overview of the patterns that resulted from the administration of the LCI to all Freshmen and Sophomore Engineering students at Rowan 3. Examples of the patterns of the teams that were assigned (to show how it's done) 4. Comments from students regarding their team experiences 5. An evaluation of the study to date.