Self-Awareness and Empathy as Tools to Mitigate Conflict, Promote Wellness, and Enhance Performance in a Third-Year Engineering Design Course

Historically, students in engineering design courses learn how to resolve conflict almost exclusively through experience and with varying degrees of success, which can have ramifications on student wellness and performance 1. Instructors can intervene by scaffolding conflict resolution, but since they are often made aware only when team conflict becomes unmanageable, proactive strategies are needed. Several strategies were implemented in a new third-year course to enhance students’ self-awareness and empathy for others when working in teams. These included personality and conflict style exercises, the generation of an approachability statement, and the reflective monitoring of team dynamics using ITP metrics’ assessments during the term 2. Surveys gauged student satisfaction with teamwork, the frequency of team conflict, and preparedness for resolving conflicts. Overall, students felt better prepared to handle future conflict as a result of the course. However, additional accountability measures may enhance the perceived value of the interventions used.