Search results

The purpose of this paper is to present The Build and Bond, an experiential exercise which engages student teams while they apply team dynamics, enhance team skills and foster team member interpersonal bonds.

During The Build and Bond, teams design and execute their own team-building activity. Specifically, teams set goals, generate ideas, make decisions, create a team-building activity, develop implementation plans and ultimately execute the activity. Finally, during an all-class debrief discussion, teams describe their team-building activities, connect their experiences to the learning objectives and reflect on how these lessons can be applied in future team experiences. Pretest and posttest surveys were used to determine if participants perceived increases in team performance and cohesion following The Build and Bond.

All teams reported that their activity added value, was preferred over an instructor-assigned team-building activity and improved team states. Findings from t-tests supported an improvement in team performance and cohesion.

The Build and Bond is designed to help students feel more equipped to communicate, have fun and work interdependently with current and future team members.

Teams design the team-building activity themselves, so members are often more interested in participating and engaging during the team-building activity.

Larger numbers of students are entering higher education with more diverse learning needs. While laws are in place to create equal access to education for all, government-mandated learning supports for students with documented disabilities vary significantly from K-12 education to higher education. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a course design framework based on Universal Design in architecture, neuroscience research, and the latest technology, to design learning environments and curriculums that are accessible to all students in every learning environment. This chapter reviews literature on the history of Universal Design concepts, starting with Universal Design in architecture and moving into UDL. A review of the learning preferences of Millennial students, along with the neuroscience of learning and its connection to the principles of UDL, is also included in the literature review. This chapter also includes a section on Dr. Buckland Parker's study which documents four faculty members who chose to work with a small team of faculty development specialists to redesign their large enrollment courses using the principles of Universal Design for Learning.