Exploring learning how to learn in a team-based engineering education

Purpose – In this paper, the authors aim to explore how students learn how to learn in a team-based graduate course Designing for Open Innovation using a theoretical framework that focuses on the cognitive functions of team-based processes and team performance. Design/methodology/approach – An automated assessment methodology for the structural and semantic analysis of individual and shared knowledge representations serves as a foundation for the approach. A case study is presented that explores the development of individual mental models and shared mental models over the course. Findings – An assessment of the mental models indicates that in this course three types of learning took place, namely individual learning, team-based learning, and learning from each other. Originality/value – The automatically generated graphical representations provide insight into the complex processes of the learning-dependent development of individual mental models and shared mental models.