IPRO® SYLLABUS TEMPLATE (VERSION 1.0 DATED 12/28/09)

IPRO 497-321: The Interprofessional Project Course for Spring 2010

Class Meeting Information

(1) Classes meet with the instructor twice each week for 75 minutes (150 minutes/week total):

Day: __Tuesday__________________________ Time: from__5:00pm___ to _6:15pm_____

Day: __Thursday_________________________ Time: from__5:00pm___ to _6:15pm_____

(2) Meeting Location:	E1 Rm 124

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor:	Robert B. Ellis, Asst. Prof. of Appl. Math.	Office Location:	E1 105c

E-mail:	rellis@math.iit.edu	Office Hours:	By appointment
Phone:	(312)567-5336

Team Communication and Reporting Tools

IPRO teams use iGROUPS, the IPRO Group Communication Tool (http://igroups.iit.edu) and iKNOW, the IPRO Knowledge Management System (now embedded in each team’s iGROUPS navigation bar as the “iKNOW Nuggets” link). Instructors and students who have used iGROUPS use the same User ID and Password. Those who forget their password can click a link to receive a new one. First time iGROUPS users go to http://igroups.iit.edu and enter the prefix of their regular IIT email address (“jacobius” from jacobius@iit.edu) for User ID and Password. (Those who do not have an IIT email address enter their full email address instead of only the prefix.) The Password can then be changed, but the User ID remains the same.

IPRO Semester Events Summary

A. Teambuilding Session:	January 12 – 14 during class time

B. Presentation Skills Session	February 18 (12:45 to 1:45 pm)

C. Mid-Term Reviews (Teams Clustered by Track):	February 22 – 25 and March 1 – 4 (4:45 to 6:15 pm)

D. Summer/Fall 2010 IPRO Registration Fair:	April 7

E. IPRO Day Presentation Rehearsal Reviews (By Request):	April 19 – 22

F. IPRO Projects Day:	April 23

G. Project Closure & Feedback Session:	April 26 – 29 during class time

Note 1: The Assignments section provides a comprehensive schedule in a table format.

Introduction

The IPRO® Program prepares students for the practical challenges they will face in a changing workplace by emulating a cross-functional team environment. Multidisciplinary teams of students engage in semester-long projects based on contemporary open-ended problem solving opportunities from sponsors that reflect the diversity of the workplace: corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and university researchers. Teams may include students from all academic levels and professional programs. Through two IPRO courses, students can develop a unique portfolio of experiences that aligns their academic efforts with career directions that best fit their aptitude and interest. The activities and deliverables assignments develop in students the type of project competencies, cross-functional collaboration experience, team processes and peer evaluation methods that reflect professional practice.

Interprofessional Course Learning Objectives

The interprofessional course has the following learning objectives that are addressed in the process of grappling with a complex open-ended problem that requires collaboration by students from multiple disciplines:

Development and strengthening of Multidisciplinary Team Building and Teamwork practices

Effective use of Verbal, Written, and Visual Communication methods

Awareness of Ethical Issues and ethical decision making practices

Effective use of Project Management methodology (supportive of the above objectives)

Awareness and Application of Business Planning Principles (Entrepreneurial IPRO project teams)

Supporting Textbooks and Other Reference Materials

Textbooks available on reserve at Galvin Library include: Teamwork is an Individual Skill, The Seven Layers of Integrity, and Winning Presentation in a Day.

IPRO Best Practices

Students are strongly urged to adopt best practices that help them derive the most from the IPRO experience, both individually and as a team

A. Team Meeting and Communications. This includes (1) using meeting best practices, including establishing and distributing an agenda, compiling and posting team meeting minutes each week and carefully monitoring progress against plan; (2) maintaining organized and complete records in their iGROUPS web space for convenient reference; and (3) establishing effective communication and a professional working relationship with a sponsor’s representatives throughout the term. In addition to the instructor, the IPRO Program Office helps teams maintain strong relationships with external organizations and facilitate access to other resources and expertise.

B. Confidential Information. Non-disclosure of any company or IIT proprietary information must be respected. For certain projects that are sponsored or involve intellectual property, instructors and students may be required to sign non-disclosure (i.e., confidentiality) agreements and/or invention agreements that acknowledge ownership rights. In general, sensitive company, IIT or IPRO team information should not be posted on any web site. It is critical to respect and acknowledge information and developments that are derived from other institutions or individuals and obtain permission for use.

C. Individual Team Member Documentation. The IPRO Program Office encourages the use of the following documentation to gauge individual team member learning and accomplishment:

Individual Team Member Semester Project Logbook that each student is responsible for maintaining as their record of meeting notes, ideas and observations, to-do lists, methods and procedures, data, etc. during the entire semester; and

Individual Team Member End-of-Semester Project Analysis that each student is responsible for submitting to the instructor at the end of the semester, and which follows a specific format that summarizes key experiences and outcomes of the IPRO project, both in terms of team processes and team results, as well as the individual team member’s contribution to and participation within the team environment.

IPRO Roles & Responsibilities.

The IPRO course experience involves several key participants, with the primary roles and responsibilities summarized below:

IPRO Instructor: Assure that the IPRO team members develop a clear understanding of the problem statement and that an appropriate leadership approach is established, serve as an active coach, facilitator and resource throughout the semester, serve as a liaison with any sponsoring organization or community partner, and determine an individual’s grade based on an evaluation of team accomplishments and the individual’s contribution and participation as part of a team.

IPRO Team: Assume responsibility for organizing the team, establishing a team charter, creating a plan, working toward mutually agreed upon project goals with the sponsor or community partner and instructor(s) and maintaining effective communication, assuring representation of the team at IPRO activities and fulfilling the requirements of the IPRO Program.

IPRO Sponsor or Community Partner: Share expectations with the IPRO team and instructor regarding desired outcomes of the project, the context for the problem that is being addressed and professional resources available to support the team, as well as provide input and remain available during the semester.

IPRO Program Office: Articulate a vision for the desired learning outcomes of the IPRO course experience based on IIT’s IPRO general education requirement, harmonize the expectations of students, instructor and external collaborators, establish a framework for learning with an array of appropriate activities and deliverables that have relevance to the team project experience, provide resources essential to project success within budget constraints, provide feedback to the IPRO instructors and teams regarding performance vis-à-vis all teams, and coordinate an assessment process that continuously improves the IPRO course experience for students, faculty, staff, alumni, sponsors and employers.

Assignments for all IPRO Course Sections

IPRO assignments are comprised of activities and deliverables for all IPRO team sections (see following page):

The activities uplift the knowledge and competencies of students enrolled in IPRO team course sections. This includes teambuilding, project management, venture analysis, ethical decision making, mid-term reviews, communication, IPRO Day preparation, IPRO Day and IPRO team feedback.

The deliverables represent basic documentation for a project that are uploaded via the “iKNOW Nuggets” link within iGROUPS, providing an electronic searchable archive by continuing IPRO teams and other IPRO teams with overlapping interests.

IPRO Deliverables Submittal and Feedback.

Ideally, IPRO deliverables are reviewed by the instructor using the iGROUPS team communication tool (http://igroups.iit.edu); from there, final versions of documents and work products are transferred via the “iKNOW Nuggets” link included in the iGROUP navigation bar. IPRO deliverable due dates are shown on the following page. The IPRO Program Office reviews the deliverables against standard criteria to provide a relative evaluation for all IPRO course sections. Feedback on the relative quality and completeness of the deliverables is provided to IPRO instructors.

All teams are also required to provide a backup IPRO CD to the IPRO Program Office by December 7 that contains the deliverables and, importantly, additional project information not explicitly contained in a deliverable but related to the team process (meeting agenda and minutes, correspondence, etc.) and team work product (design documentation, simulations, test or survey data, etc.).

SPRING 2010 IPRO COURSE ACTIVITIES & DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE (Descriptions of activities and deliverables are available via the “Current Students” link at http://ipro.iit.edu.)
Activity (A) Deliverable (D) Best Practice (BP)	IPRO Course Activities, Deliverables & Best Practices	Due Date	Submit to IPRO Office	Maintain Versions in iGROUPS	Upload as iKNOW Nugget
IPRO Syllabus	January 8	Instructor uploads to iGROUPS web space
BP-1	IPRO Team Member Semester Project Logbook	April 30	Required at discretion of IPRO instructor and reviewed periodically during semester.
BP-2	IPRO Team Meeting Minutes	Included in each team meeting agenda	Required at discretion of IPRO instructor and reviewed as part of team meeting agenda.
A-1	Teambuilding Session (IPRO overview; best practices of high performance teams; team charter)	January 12 – 14	During a regular team meeting. Locations vary to group teams at same time.
D-1	Project Plan	February 5 in iKnow	x	x
A-2	Ethics Infusion (periodic in-class instructor-guided discussions on key ethical team and project issues that leads to Individual Ethics Reflection Paper)	Instructor discretion	During regular team meetings (timed to meet the deadline for the deliverable D-3 Ethics Reflection Paper.
A-3	Presentation Skills Session (strategies and best practices for creating and delivering effective exhibits and presentations)	February 18 (12:45 to 1:45 pm)
A-4/D-2	Mid-Term Reviews (10-minute project updates by teams clustered in IPRO Day Tracks)	February 22 – March 4 (4:45 to 6:15 pm)	PPT File	x	x
BP-3	Midterm On-Line Peer Evaluation	February 22 – March 5	Required at discretion of IPRO instructor
Spring Break	March 8 – 12
D-3	Individual Ethics Reflection Paper	March 26	Submitted confidentially to IPRO instructor.
A-5	Summer/Fall 2010 IPRO Registration Fair (instructors and team members of approved IPRO projects promote them to registering students)	April 7
D-4	Draft Final Report	April 9	MSWord File	x	x
IIT Course Evaluation	April 19 – 30	Requested by IIT (instructors encourage)
A-5	IPRO Day Presentation Rehearsal Reviews (staff offers to review team presentations on-request during class or other times)	April 19 – 22
D-5	Exhibit/Poster	April 19 by 10 am in iKnow	PDF File	x	x
D-6	Abstract/Brochure	April 19 by 10 am in iKnow	PDF File	x	x
D-7	Presentation	April 22 by 10 am in iKnow	PPT File	x	x
A-6	IPRO Projects Day	April 23
D-8	Final Report	April 30 in iKnow	PDF File	x	x
D-9	Team Work Product (data/analyses/etc)	April 30 in iKnow	PDF File,etc	x	x
D-10	Other IPRO Project Stuff Hand-Off (materials not uploaded to iKnow, e.g., drawings, posters, brochures, supplies, prototypes, equipment, keys and other items not retained by the IPRO instructor)	April 30 to IPRO Program Office	Information and other project artifacts.
BP-4	Final On-Line Peer Evaluation	April 26 – 30	Required at discretion of IPRO instructor
BP-5	Individual Team Member End-of-Semester Project Analysis Report	April 30	Required at discretion of IPRO instructor
A-7	Project Closure & Surveys (By IPRO Program Office vis-à-vis A-1 Teambuilding Session)	April 26 – 29	During one regular team meeting. Locations vary to group teams at same time.
Finals Week	May 3 – 8	Optional IPRO team close-out by instructor

Perspectives on Grading.

The nature of the interprofessional project course suggests that there are two components of a student's grade -- team performance and the individual's performance as part of the team. The instructor determines a student’s grade.

At the very beginning of the semester, it is important for the IPRO instructor to clearly define for IPRO team members her/is approach to evaluating individual and team performance and assigning a grade. IPRO grades may be developed by the instructor using the following conceptual approach or variations thereof. The goal is to define a fair grading process and fair assessment of an individual’s achievement as part of an IPRO project team:

Team Performance. The overall performance of a team can be gauged by the quality of the work product of the team as determined by the instructor, sponsor and others familiar with the team’s work, as well as the quality and completeness of the supporting deliverables. This includes evidence of competency (i.e., technical achievement) in creating a design, prototype, analyses, etc., which can encompass application of appropriate methods as well as creation of innovative solutions. Team performance can also be gauged by the quality of deliverables, performance at the IPRO Projects Day Conference and evidence of performance as a cohesive team unit during the semester. Our experience indicates that IPRO teams each semester can represent a range of performance from exceptional to below average.

Individual Performance. The contribution of the individual student to the team's work can determine (a) whether s/he should be given recognition through a higher grade for exceptional work, (b) whether s/he performed at the norm of the team, or (c) whether s/he should be penalized for failing to meet their obligations. Our experience indicates that students on an IPRO team represent a range of performance, from exceptional to below average. The instructor has the discretion to use a variety of measures to gauge individual achievement:

quality and completeness of assignments involving the individual

weekly progress/status reports and participation by the individual

self-appraisals (at mid-term and at end of term) by the individual

feedback from consulting faculty, project leaders or sponsors about the individual

peer evaluation of the individual by other members of their team or task group.

The IPRO Program Office provides an on-line Peer Review System that facilitates peer evaluation and is helpful in evaluating team members in terms of (a) individual responsibility to the team, (b) individual effort and achievement, (c) contribution to achievement of learning objectives and (d) leadership effectiveness. This gives all members of the team a standard format for providing feedback to the instructor on their perceptions of the contributions of their teammates to the overall team effort. Peer evaluation is very helpful when used at the mid-point of the semester to provide students with individualized feedback so that they have the opportunity to learn from their experience and improve their performance during the second half of the semester. The results of this feedback can be an important input in assigning individual grades. The Peer Review System also includes self-appraisal, i.e., a team member evaluates her/himself using the form. A secure on-line peer evaluation system with automated reporting is available at http://sloth.iit.edu/~iproadmin/peerreview/, also accessed via a link on the iGROUPS landing page after login. The IPRO instructor may use the standard measures or create a customized set.

SAMPLE IPRO TEAM & TEAM MEMBER EVALUATION AND GRADING SCHEME (INSTRUCTOR TO CUSTOMIZE OR SPECIFY ALTERNATIVE AND COMMUNICATE TO IPRO SECTION FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES)

I. TEAM PERFORMANCE (may represent 50 percent of the individual grade)

Project Outcomes – (e.g., 20-40 percent) The performance component is evaluated by the instructor, with input from representatives of any sponsoring organization and others as appropriate. As part of the performance evaluation, the lead faculty considers the technical achievement of the team, as well as the quality and timeliness of deliverables assignments:

Demonstrate ability to achieve project goals and address critical tasks in a professional manner.

Demonstrate ability to identify and address significant, relevant non-technical issues.

Documentation – (e.g., 10-30 percent) The documentation component is evaluated by the instructor, with input from representatives of any sponsoring organization and others as appropriate. Documentation includes: Project Plan, Mid-Term Review, Meeting Minutes, Final Report, Abstract and Work Product (Data, analyses, etc.)

Mid-Term Review and IPRO Day – (e.g., 20-30 percent) The presentation component is evaluated by the instructor, with input from various IPRO Projects Day Conference judges and representatives of any sponsoring organizations. The instructor may also have evidence from formal team presentations in other venues. Presentations include: Mid-Term Review, IPRO Day Oral Presentation and IPRO Day Exhibit/Poster.

II. INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE (may represent 50 percent of the individual grade)

A. Peer Evaluation A student’s individual performance may be evaluated from two sources: the student’s peers and the instructor. The IPRO Peer Review System offers an automated approach to team member and self-evaluation of individual performance, as shown below. (Refer to previous discussion.) All IPRO teams are encouraged to complete a peer evaluation using the on-line tool twice during the semester: ideally, around mid-term (by March 5) and before classes end (by April 30). The instructor uses the results of the peer evaluation to help evaluate the learning outcomes and performance of individual team members and their contributions.

Individual Team Member Documentation The IPRO Program Office encourages two additional best practices to gauge individual learning and accomplishment: Individual Team Member Semester Project Logbook and Individual Team Member End-of-Semester Project Analysis, described in Best Practices section.

IPRO 497-321 -- Specific Project Information
Title: Developing a Collaborative On-Line Student Research Forum
Sponsor, Community Partner or Other Collaborating Organization: Prof. Karl Stolley (project advisor), Co-director, IIT Usability Testing and Evaluation Center (UTEC) Mr. James Sweet, Project Management Consultant Mr. Anandha Abhay, IIT Undergraduate and IPRO 321 Fall 2009 Team Leader
Description: Three recent phenomena need unification: the proliferation of non-traditional undergraduate coursework and summer programs, the surge in published undergraduate research, and the power of online collaboration to produce high-quality content with high impact. This IPRO team will address these issues by developing and promoting a web-based tool (ResearchWeb) for collaborative research. The proposed priorities of the spring 2010 IPRO team are to: Assess the needs of ResearchWeb stakeholders, including the Office of Undergraduate Research, the IIT chapter of Sigma Xi, the Office of Undergraduate Admission, and the Department of Communications and Marketing; Assess the research, design, requirement documentation, website, and codebase produced by IPRO 321 Fall 2009; and determine what remediation, if any, is appropriate; Conduct outreach and training for IIT student researcher involvement in producing content for and actively using ResearchWeb; and Promote ResearchWeb to students outside IIT, in conjunction with the Office of Admissions and/or the Office of Communication and Marketing, including possibly to Chicago-area undergraduates and high school students, and prospective scholarship applicants at high schools nationally.
Planning Framework: Calendar with responsible agents for project progress Tue Jan 12: Instructor leads introductory meeting; team members bring results of pre-class assignment Thu Jan 14: IPRO Office leads team-building session (regular time, HUB Ballroom) Tue Jan 19: Team determines preliminary team leader(s)/sub-leader(s) and sub-team structure Thu Jan 21—Thu Jan 28: Team develops and finalizes Team Charter and Project Plan; team confirms team leadership structure Tue Feb 2—Thu Feb 18: Team leadership directs work effort through Midterm Report Tue Feb 23—Thu Feb 25: Midterm Review, midterm reflection and assessment, course-correction and re-planning Tue Mar 2—Thu Apr 8: Team leadership directs work effort through Draft Final Report Fri Apr 9—Thu Apr 15: Team leadership directs work on final deliverables Fri Apr 16—Fri Apr 30: Team leadership directs rehearsal, finalization, and delivery of required work products Finals Exam Meeting: Instructor leads closure, assessment, and evaluation activities; team members assess and evaluate Conduct of regular team meetings Due 24 hours before team meeting: The team leadership shall ensure that an announcement proceeds each meeting starting Thursday, January 21, containing the (i) Agenda for the next meeting, and the (ii) Minutes from the previous meeting. The team leadership is responsible for drafting the agenda and ensuring that minutes are kept. Team meetings during the regular class time are appropriate for the following: Progress summary and establishment of shared vision by team leadership Individual reporting progress on and obstacles to tasks Discussion and assignment of tasks Intra-subteam and inter-subteam synchronization Task planning, brainstorming, etc. Some task execution, individual task work, small group work, etc. Instructor-originated announcements, presentations, and assignments Most individual and small group effort is expected to take place outside the regular meetings. Otherwise part of the team would idle in class while waiting for a small number of members to complete tasks. An exception to this is when the leadership carefully plans to ensure that all team members are occupied during the regular meeting time. Suggested scope of work The team is recommended to achieve results in the following areas: (1) substantially improving, or rewriting, the current site http://researchweb.iit.edu/; (2) substantially improving, or rewriting, the supporting documentation of ResearchWeb through documents such as a Software Requirements Specification, a recommendation for applicable design and usability standards, a recommendation to IIT stakeholders for the integration of ResearchWeb into current goals for undergraduate education, an outreach and marketing plan for increasing external participation in ResearchWeb, etc.; (3) a review of discipline-specific standards for the execution and presentation of student research and research-supporting material that will guide development of (1) and (2); and (4) solicitation, procurement, and organized presentation within ResearchWeb of content from active student researchers at IIT and possibly elsewhere. Recommendations for External Review and Team Structure External review is critical for the team to correctly gauge the degree and quality of progress in the project. The team is expected to take advantage of the following pre-arranged reviews. Team leadership will prepare documentation and/or agenda that allows for an efficient review that requires a minimum time commitment from these volunteer reviewers. During the project planning stage, external consultant Mr. James Sweet is available to review the Software Requirements Specification document and make a recommendation between building on the existing code base or starting from scratch, along with a development language and framework in the latter case. During the project midterm review stage, consultants Prof. Karl Stolley and Mr. Anandha Abhay are available to review the web development side of the project from the usability and overall development viewpoints, respectively. Other IIT stakeholders will be invited to review team work products (such as an outreach and marketing plan) at the midterm stage, as appropriate. Team structure is recommended to include an overall content editor, with purview over content of deliverables, supporting work products, and the website itself. The role of the editor is suggested in the article “The role of the editor in the technical writing team,” by Jean Hollis Weber. Other recommended team roles are point persons for a Software Requirements Specification, and for outreach, marketing, and integration with existing IIT programs.
Assessment and Grading Policies: Assessment Assessment will be conducted to identify and produce feedback on strengths, weaknesses, and insights for team performance against specific criteria. Assessments are separate from and do not contribute to grades. The individual or team member invites assessment by the instructor by (a) agreeing to be assessed for a specific performance, and (b) agreeing to improve future performance based on the assessment. The instructor will offer to assess the following individual or team performances: Draft of the Team Charter Drafts of all deliverables Individual performance at intermediate stage (possibly twice) Team performance at intermediate stage (possibly twice) Team leaders’ performance in role (possibly twice) All team members will be asked to assess (and agree to be assessed as the case suggests) on: Team performance and team leader(s)/sub-leader(s) performance at the midterm Team performance and team leader(s)/sub-leader(s) performance at the end Evaluations (assignment of grades) Components of the course grade are as follows: (45%) Components Scored as a Team (15%) IPRO Day judges’ scores. (15%) Faculty evaluation, supported by outside review, of the quality and thoroughness of main work product, such as a website, software requirement document, usability/design document, marketing or recruiting plan, or formal recommendation document to IPRO continuation team or IIT entity, etc. (15%) Faculty evaluation, supported by IPRO Office review, of the quality and completeness of deliverables except for main work product, using rubrics provided by the IPRO Office. (55%) Components Scored as an Individual (15%) Peer evaluation of the individual at end of term – with leader(s) score half-determined and sub-leader(s) score one-third-determined by leadership performance. (15%) Faculty evaluation of individual on quality and completeness of assigned tasks – with leader(s)/sub-leader(s) score half-determined by leadership performance. (15%) Faculty evaluation of completeness and promptness of weekly individual logbook entries, and of meeting expected weekly time commitment and itemized documentation thereof. (10%) Faculty evaluation on quality and completeness of ethics reflective report and all other individual reflective reports and possibly other individual assignments. Follow-Through Penalty/Bonus. In the critical last few weeks of an IPRO there can be a tendency for some team members to switch focus to their other courses, leaving an unfair amount of work to other team members. The instructor reserves the right to assess up to a one letter grade penalty, above and beyond any loss of points in the evaluation component areas, to any team member making an unreasonably small effort in the three weeks before IPRO Day, in order to redress the unfair load shifted to other team members. A minimum average effort of 7-8 hours (of reasonable quality) per week in the last three weeks will ensure avoiding this penalty. On the other hand, the instructor reserves the right to assess up to a one letter grade bonus to any team member who has made at least a normal effort (7-8hrs/wk) throughout the term and an extraordinary effort (14+hrs/wk) in the last three weeks. Exact penalty/bonus will depend on the degree of deficit/excess effort. A strong individual score requires evidence of active initiative-taking by the individual in advancing the goals of the project. Does the student wait for tasks to be assigned and require prompting to complete a task, or does the student actively seek out tasks and complete them successfully within the specified time? Does the team leader/sub-leader fulfill the leadership role in a way that energizes team performance toward producing a high-quality work product and strong deliverables?