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ABSTRACT
Problem solving, interpersonal skills, information literacy, and critical and independent thinking are essential qualities that employers seek, yet many undergraduates lack. We structured an interdisciplinary classroom and experiential learning environment where students from three undergraduate courses (Hospitality and Tourism Management, Landscape Architecture, and Forestry and Natural Resources) designed a sustainable community master plan by investigating the economic, social, and environmental components of a U.S. highway relocation project. Interdisciplinary teams of students were charged with a "problem" that was articulated in the form of a Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP served as the basis for the group work, which required an interdisciplinary approach. The ability of students to work together to complete the project was analyzed using the construct of synergistic knowledge development (SKD), a process by which a group constructively integrates diverse perspectives of individual group members. We posited that SKD would increase over the semester and that SKD would be influenced by various team dynamics such as task conflict, psychological safety, social interaction, attitudes toward problem-based learning (PBL) in a team setting, and behavioral styles of team members. Assessment of SKD and the variables hypothesized to influence it were assessed via a survey administered after the initial phase of the project and a post-project survey. Results confirmed how social interaction, psychological safety, and attitudes toward PBL in a team setting influence SKD.
Abbreviations: CAC, community advisory committee; FNR, Forestry and Natural Resources; HTM, Hospitality and Tourism Management; INDOT, Indiana Department of Transportation; LA, Landscape Architecture; PBL, problem-based learning; RFP, Request for Proposals; SKD, synergistic knowledge development.
Synergistic knowledge development (SKD) is defined by Mu and Gnyawali (2003) as the process by which teams of students constructively integrate diverse perspectives of individual team members. They used a survey (11 questions related to team dynamics) of 136 business students working on a case study to determine if SKD is influenced by the following aspects of team dynamics: task conflict, psychological safety, and social interaction. Taken together, these three aspects explained 31% of the variance in SKD in their study (Mu and Gnyawali, 2003).
Task conflict is a function of the different viewpoints and opinions of the team members (Jehn, 1995; Jehn and Mannix, 2001). Although conflict is inevitable in teams, and...