This card is intended for engineering faculty interested in enhancing student engagement and motivation across the Engineering Capstone Design experience.

GRIP STRENGTH TOOLS & RESOURCES

WFU engineering’s team excellence toolset (see Table 2 below) is comprised of the core, professionally sourced (in most cases) and well-vetted strategies that drive WFU Engineering’s GRIP Strength approach to motivating team excellence.

WFU Engineering Team Excellence Toolset

Principle Assignments listed below are linked to this card.

• Team Contract
• Team Backlog
• Team Retrospective
• Individual Retrospective
• Social Impact Analysis
• Environmental Impact Analysis
• CATME Self & Peer Evaluation

Supporting Resources designed at WFU Engineering are listed below and linked to the card. These resources may be used in a variety of ways to support student outcomes.

• Paths to Excellence v1.1
  
• Pro Tips on Effective Communication
• Capstone Class of 2022 Advice to Class of 2023

• Top Skills in Engineering: Web Articles Project
• Examples of Team Backlogs

Motivation ignites the drive to excel and persevere in the face of challenges, and it promotes productive atmospheres in which individuals support and inspire each other to achieve collective goals. Motivated team members tend to have higher levels of enthusiasm, creativity, and dedication, leading to improved problem-solving and more innovative solutions. The motivational approach developed at Wake Forest University Engineering is comprised of the following three principle components:

1. Self-determination
2. A strength-based approach
3. Shared value creation
   

MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENT #1: Self-determination

Our students are naturally curious, vital, and self-motivated, and while most demonstrate effort and commitment, instances of apathy and alienation result from a combination of dispositional differences, biological factors, and reactions to social environments. Therefore, we must be careful to design learning environments that enable performance and development.

Self-determination Theory is a motivational framework that addresses these concerns (Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000). These needs are considered innate and universal, although their expressions may vary across cultures.Humans are built to strive for the satisfaction of these needs, even if they are not explicitly aware of them. In the context of Capstone Design:

• Competence refers to feeling effective and capable as a student designer and teammate.
• Relatedness refers to feeling connected to one’s team and mentors.
• Autonomy refers to the ability to maintain control of one’s own course outcomes
  

MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENT #2: A Strength-based Approach

This approach is not about ignoring weaknesses but recognizing that leveraging strengths can be a powerful way to achieve growth while maintaining individual and group well-being and motivation. Demonstrated benefits of strength-based approaches include:

• Enhanced Performance: By focusing on strengths and talents, individuals are more likely to excel and perform at their best. Recognizing and utilizing their strengths can lead to higher motivation, engagement, and productivity.
• Increased Confidence and Self-Efficacy: Acknowledging one's strengths fosters a sense of confidence and self-worth. People are more likely to believe in their abilities and feel empowered to take on challenges when they are aware of their strengths.
• Positive Mindset: Emphasizing strengths promotes a positive mindset. Individuals are more likely to view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles.
• Improved Relationships: A strength-based approach encourages individuals to understand and appreciate each other's strengths, fostering a positive and supportive environment in relationships, teams, and organizations.
• Reduced Stress and Burnout: When students are engaged in tasks that align with their strengths, they are less likely to experience burnout and stress. The alignment of strengths with tasks creates a more fulfilling and enjoyable experience.

Strength-based Strategies: Using strength-based strategies to motivate teams can enable highly productive collaborative learning environments. The following suggestions are based on strategies Wake Forest Engineering has gainfully employed across its senior capstone design experience:

• Identify individual and team strengths: Teams can use the Enneagram for Work, Clifton StrengthsFinder, or another tool to identify individual strengths and preferences. Early sharing and strategizing builds trust, normalizes transparency, and enables honest communication.
• Develop strengths-based roles: Encourage teams to assign tasks and roles that leverage each member's strengths and also provide opportunities for target strength development. When team members feel their unique abilities are being utilized effectively, they are likely to stay motivated.
• Put a premium on good collaboration: When students work well together by leveraging each other's strengths, a sense of camaraderie and mutual support typically follows. At Wake Forest, our original GRIP Strength Framework targets eight team excellence domains. 
• Foster a supportive culture: Cultivate culture of mutual trust and transparency within teams. Encourage team members to help one another by sharing their strengths and knowledge.
• Celebrate achievements: Recognize and celebrate both individual and team achievements. Acknowledging successes, big or small, can be a powerful motivator.

MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENT #3: Shared Value Creation (SVC)

This popular approach was introduced by Porter and Kramer in 2011 (link). In the context of capstone design, SVC refers to strategies that aim to generate project value while also addressing societal and environmental challenges. At Wake Engineering, we are finding that Shared Value Creation approaches effectively increase teams’ motivation to engage character-oriented and prosocial opportunities. The following suggestions are based on SVC-oriented strategies Wake Forest has successfully employed in Capstone Design:

• Prioritize mutual trust and transparency within teams and with stakeholders concerning project goals, progress, and impacts. This includes sharing information about SVC objectives and incorporating stakeholder needs and input into design decisions.
• Encourage teams to integrate social/environmental needs that can be addressed through their project. For example, they may identify a need for more sustainable energy solutions or more accessible healthcare. They can then think about how they might address these needs in ways that also benefit project goals.
• Have teams develop a business plan incorporating Shared Value Creation strategies. You can have your students work in groups to develop business plans that incorporate the concept of shared value. This will help them understand how to apply the concept in a practical way and give them experience in creating business models that have a positive impact on society.
• Challenge teams to track prosocial decision-making. At Wake Forest, capstone teams log prosocial decisions in a transparent format that can be reviewed by other teams and instructors. The goal is to create an environment of accountability and friendly competition.