CATME Team Tools Software

In team projects, especially in academia, creating balanced teams of students that fit specific project criteria can be a hassle, and no professor wants to waste valuable instruction or research time creating balanced teams or groups. Currently, several team-making applications exist to help instructors create teams and groups for their classes, and some even collect peer evaluation data. However none of them do so with a validated instrument.

Researchers at Purdue University have created a highly intuitive and functional web interface to help professors mitigate peer evaluation and create balanced teams for group projects. This technology, called CATME Peer Evaluation, collects data from instructors and students, analyzes the data for exceptional conditions, provides feedback to instructors and students, manages accounts, and collects anonymous data for research purposes. In this system, students rate themselves and their teammates using a behaviorally anchored scale and a confidential comment system that their instructor can view. The system analyzes the data and creates "exceptional conditions" to alert instructors to teams or students that need specific attention. This system accumulates this data and the "Team-Maker" portion of the application utilizes this data to create balanced teams optimized to the criteria and specifications imputed by a professor.

Advantages:

-Eliminates wasteful time spent by instructors creating teams

-Automatically collects data from students, allowing professors to provide feedback and instruction in a swift manner

Potential Applications:

-Educational supplement

-Computer Software

TRL: 7

Intellectual Property:

Keywords: CATME, Peer Evaluation, Team-Maker, team formation software, balanced teams, group projects, peer assessment, student collaboration tool, educational software, teamwork effectiveness, validated instrument