You want me to work with who? Stakeholder perceptions of automated team formation in project-based courses

Farnaz Jahanbakhsh, Wai Tat Fu, Karrie Karahalios, Darko Marinov, Brian Bailey

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Instructors are increasingly using algorithmic tools for team formation, yet little is known about how these tools are applied or how students and instructors perceive their use. We studied a representative team formation tool (CATME) in eight project-based courses. An instructor uses the tool to form teams by surveying students' working styles, skills, and demographics-then configuring the criteria as input into an algorithm that assigns teams. We surveyed students (N=277) in the courses to gauge their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the tool and ideas for improving it. We also interviewed instructors (N=13) different from those who taught the eight courses to learn about their criteria selections and perceptions of the tool. Students valued the rational basis for forming teams but desired a stronger voice in criteria selection and explanations as to why they were assigned to a particular team. Instructors appreciated the efficiency of team formation but wanted to view exemplars of criteria used in similar courses. This work contributes recommendations for deploying team formation tools in educational settings and for better satisfying the goals of all stakeholders.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI 2017 - Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Subtitle of host publicationExplore, Innovate, Inspire
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages3201-3212
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781450346559
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2 2017
Event2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2017 - Denver, United States
Duration: May 6 2017May 11 2017

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
Volume2017-May

Other

Other2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver
Period5/6/175/11/17

Keywords

  • Algorithms
  • CATME
  • Education
  • Team formation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'You want me to work with who? Stakeholder perceptions of automated team formation in project-based courses'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this