Teaching in the CTEI

The Art of Group Work: Part 2


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In this episode of Teaching in the CTEI, we explore the nuances of team-based learning with Dr. Trevion Henderson, Dr. Tara Mason, and Dr. Robin Fowler. Our guests discuss power dynamics in student teams, strategies for creating inclusive group environments, and methods for teaching effective collaboration skills. From managing diverse perspectives to addressing systemic inequities, this conversation offers practical insights for educators looking to enhance team-based learning in their classrooms.

We are so grateful to our guests for their participation and insights!

Episode transcript.


Trevion Henderson is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering.

Henderson earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan. He received his M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University, where he also earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering. Dr. Henderson holds secondary appointments in the STEM Education program in the Department of Education and the Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI). As a first-year professor at Tufts, Trevion will teach courses on engineering design education and engineering education research methods.

Tara Mason, Ph.D., is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Consultant at the Center for Teaching and Learning. She provides faculty development that supports inclusive, accessible, and assets-based pedagogy, with a specialized focus on challenges and opportunities for students with disabilities. Before joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Mason directed a special education teacher preparation program at both the graduate and undergraduate levels as a faculty member at a public liberal arts university in Colorado. Before her university career, she worked as a K-12 educational professional. She is the author of a mentoring guidebook, Mentoring Partnerships: A Guidebook for Inclusive Special Education, and her research interests include faculty development, joyful pedagogy, UDL, and ways to create equitable and inclusive teaching environments.


Robin Fowler is a Teaching Professor in Technical Communication and an Engineering Education researcher at the University of Michigan. Her teaching is primarily in team-based engineering courses, and her research focuses on equity in communication and collaboration as well as in group design decision making (judgment) under uncertainty. She is especially interested in how power relationships and rhetorical strategies affect group judgment in engineering design; one goal of this work is to to understand factors that inhibit full participation of students who identify with historically marginalized groups and investigate evidence-based strategies for mitigating these inequities. In addition, she is interested in technology and how specific affordances can change the ways we collaborate, learn, read, and write. Teaching engineering communication allows her to apply this work as she coaches students through collaboration, design thinking, and design communication. She is part of a team of faculty innovators who originated Tandem (tandem.ai.umich.edu), a tool designed to help facilitate equitable and inclusive teamwork environments.

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