Observing engineering student teams from the organization behavior perspective using linguistic analysis of student reflections and focus group interviews

This paper investigates group/team development in computer engineering courses at a University in the Central USA from the perspective of organization behavior theory, specifically Tuckman's model of the stages of group development. The investigation, conducted through linguistic analysis of student reflection essays, and through focus group interviews, also presents STEM education researchers with a method to obtain nuanced information about interpersonal skills issues such as how groups and teams function. A third contribution of the paper is a review of the organizational behavior literature on teams and groups with a concern for its application to modern engineering education.