The NSF ECR Building Capacity of STEM Education Research (BCSER) program contributes to the NSF mission 42 U.S. Code Chapter 16 by building the US workforce undertaking STEM education research. The BCSER Individual Investigator Development in STEM Education Research (IID) track supports individual investigators who are new to STEM education research to develop foundational skills and gain practical experience to advance STEM education knowledge through mentored professional development and pilot research activities. STEM education research generates the knowledge, theories, and understandings on which viable strategies for improving STEM education and workforce outcomes are based. This project will investigate the change of self-efficacy in students enrolled in the Cal Poly Pomona Civil Engineering culminating senior design course, which is a team-based, two-semester long experience. The framework of this study applies Purkey's (1992) invitational theory to enhance the impact of the engineering teamwork and support the development of invitational teams. The design uses Farrington's (2012) proposed structure and Astin's (1984) model of involvement to incorporate student demographics, other existing characteristics, and self-efficacy as inputs, with the environment narrowed to the classroom where teamwork is the primary pedagogical strategy. It is expected that increases in self-efficacy will enhance the learning experience and the development of professional skills that ar