Development of a Work Sampling Methodology for Behavioral Observations: Application to Teamwork

Engineering programs must assess students’ abilities to master “crite-ria 3 a-k.” Skills such as teamwork, problem solving, design, and ethi-cal understanding entail learning various processes; hence, assessingthese outcomes is better accomplished by focusing on the processrather than the result. Methods for observing students’ performance,such as 100 percent behavioral observation, are ideal but expensive.We extend work sampling, an economic industry-based alter-native, to observe cognitive and behavioral processes. Specifically,we describe a work sampling methodology to assess studentsengaged in teamwork. We then determine attributes of team-work, establish target time proportions using 100 percent obser-vation, and statistically compare the targets to proportionsobtained from work sampling intervals to determine the effectiveinterval. The robustness of work sampling is tested in four learn-ing environments. Results indicate that sampling provides a sta-tistically valid alternative for assessing teamwork. However, whenobserving design and ethical understanding processes, additionalresearch is needed to make work sampling viable.Keywords: behavioral observation, teamwork, work sampling