Unit 2: Interdisciplinary teamwork

 

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit you will be able to,

  • Identify conditions for effective interdisciplinary teamwork

  • Reflect on participation in teamwork

  • Evaluate their own and others’ participation in teamwork

Structure:

 

  • Identifying the characteristics of interdisciplinary teamwork

  • Understanding reflection as a process in learning

  • Evaluating your own and others interdisciplinary teamwork

  • Reflecting on learning

2.1 What are the characteristics of interdisciplinary teamwork?

Task 1: What do I already know?

Think about what you understand by interdisciplinary teamwork. Make notes (you can either write notes or talk, recording your thoughts on your phone or computer)

  • How would you define interdisciplinary teamwork?

  • What do you think are the challenges of working in an interdisciplinary team?

  • What do you think are the benefits of working in an interdisciplinary team?

 

Task 2: Checking ideas

Now read the following Valuing Nature paper (2020) which reports on interdisciplinary working in the Valuing Nature Programme. The report brings together a wide range of experiences and contributions regarding interdisciølinary work. If you prefer to listen, then download this document as a PDF and then from the top left menu, click View, then Read Out Loud.

Task 3: Adding to what I already know

Go back to the notes you took in Task 1 and answer these questions. Add to your notes either in writing or orally.

  • Which of your ideas were mentioned

  • Were there any new ideas?

  • Did you have any ideas that were not mentioned?

  • Why do you think this is so?

Compare and discuss what you now know with someone else who has completed these tasks (either in person, or on a discussion forum) before moving on to Section 2.

2.2. Reflecting on one’s own behaviour in an interdisciplinary team

Task 3: What experience do I have?

Answer these questions

  • What experience do you have of working in an interdisciplinary team?

  • What do you understand by reflection?

Finding out more about reflection.

Reflecting on aspects of your workplace is a useful way of learning for creating change. Effective reflection helps you to identify things that went well so that you can begin to understand the processes behind positive experiences. Reflection also helps to identify where things can be improved so that you can think about what kind of change should be implemented to improve things.

There are many models for reflection that are used in a wide range of workplace situations and professions. In this unit we are going to introduce you to Borton’s (1970) reflective model, further developed by Rolfe et al (2021). The resulting framework has both simplicity and clarity and can therefore be used for most situations.

Here are two sources that use different media to explain this reflective framework. Use at least one to find out more.

  1. What is a Critical Reflection? Introducing the “What, So What, Now What” Model

  2. Rolfe – Reflective writing – LibGuides at University of Hull

 

2.3 Reflecting on your own teamwork

Task 4: Your experience

Think about an incident that happened while you were working in a team to achieve a joint goal?

What? So what? What now?
     

 

Task 5: Share your experience

Compare your experience with someone else who has completed this task, either in person or on a discussion forum. Think about what you have learned from this reflection and what action you could take as a result of this that may help you in the future.

Evaluating interdisciplinary teamwork

Now you can use your understanding of interdisciplinary teamwork to evaluate others and apply what you have learned to your own teamwork.

Task 6: Evaluate interdisciplinary teamwork.

Watch Amy Edmondson’s talk on ‘teaming’ – How to turn a group of strangers into a team | Amy Edmondson

TED Lecture: How to turn a group of strangers into a team | Amy Edmondson

 

Make a note of,

  1. How teaming relates to interdisciplinarity

  2. What are the benefits to working in this way

  3. What are the barriers/challenges to this kind of team work

  4. What are the conditions for effective interdisciplinary teamwork?

 

Discuss your findings on a forum with other participants. This means that you not only put up your own ideas, but you also engage with the ideas of others.

  1. How does what you have heard from Amy Edmondson extend what you understand about interdisciplinary teamwork?

  2. What does Amy Edmonson say that could relate to the use of reflection?

 

Task 7: Write/record a short article/podcast

Write a short article of @ 500 words, or record a short podcast of 3 to 5 minutes aimed at your fellow students where you outline the most important points for achieving effective interdisciplinary teamwork. Share your article/podcast with someone else who has completed this task either in person or online.

 

Takeaways

What have I learned?

Task 8: Create a visual representation

Create a representation of what you have learned about interdisciplinary teamwork in a way that will help others understand what it is about. You could create a poster, a blog post, a short film or any other artefact that you think will be accessible to a wide audience

Remember what you learned in Unit 1 about online research and the use of material and images created by others. Apply this knowledge in your work.

Share what you do here in an online forum. Look at what other participants have produced too.