Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science (2015) / Chapter Skim
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5 Professional Development and Education for Team Science
5 Professional Development and Education for Team Science
Pages 97-124
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From page 97... ...
The chapter begins with an introduction to team training, its goals and effectiveness. The second section reviews team-training interventions that show promise for increasing the effectiveness of science teams and larger groups, and the third section reviews interventions designed specifically for team science.
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From page 98... ...
When postdoctoral fellows, who have completed their formal education, attend the same presentation, should it now be called professional development or training? In sum, the use of the terms "education" and "training" both in the research literature and in practice can sometimes be arbitrary, although which term is used may affect how learning processes and outcomes are measured and funding is allocated.
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From page 99... ...
. Taskwork training targets the improvement of task-specific competencies (for science teams and groups, this would include scientific knowledge and skills related to the research problem)
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. PROMISING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS Fiore and Bedwell (2011)
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From page 101... ...
among team members. Here, we discuss four research-based training strategies that show promise for enhancing coordination in science teams: cross-training, reflexivity training, knowledge development training, and team coordination training.
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From page 102... ...
However, the institute members are beginning to better understand each other, partly through participation in multiple, structured professional development opportunities. As shown in Figure 5-1, they include • he Friday Focus seminar series, where graduate students and post T doctoral fellows join faculty mentors in presenting research methods and findings to the entire institute staff.
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From page 103... ...
. As noted in Chapter 3, shared understanding of other team members' expertise and roles, referred to as "transactive memory" has been shown to enhance team effectiveness.
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From page 104... ...
Research on new and hybrid cross-training approaches could help address the question of how much knowledge of other disciplines is sufficient for proficient engagement in team science. Team Reflexivity Training Team reflexivity training, if adapted and translated to science contexts, is likely to help science teams and groups develop positive processes such as team self-regulation and team self-efficacy, facilitating the complex coordination of work required for success.
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. Knowledge Development Training Science teams and groups are composed of individuals with distinct sets of knowledge and expertise, which require integration to facilitate effective collaborative performance.
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However, other more general training strategies, such as reflexivity training and team development training, also improve knowledge building and knowledge sharing and, in addition, provide guidance in performance episodes. Team Coordination Training Team coordination training is a promising approach to facilitate the complex coordination of tasks required for success in science teams.
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From page 107... ...
new PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT interventions for team science Professional development designed specifically for science teams and groups is beginning to emerge, but only a few studies have examined its effectiveness for developing the targeted competencies or for improving performance. First, with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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From page 108... ...
, is a training intervention designed to facilitate cross-disciplinary communication in science teams and groups. O'Rourke and Crowley (2013)
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. At the doctoral level, some students participate in science teams and groups, but continue to receive little or no guidance or instruction on how to be an effective collaborator.
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In a two-phase study, the authors first reviewed 104 articles describing student team projects in engineering and computer science. They found that faculty assigned team projects to advance diverse learning goals, including teamwork, communication skills, lifelong learning, sustainability, and professional ethics.
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Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Higher Education Stokols (2014) observed that science teams and groups often address the coordination and communication challenges arising in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research by drawing on online resources and/or providing training on an ad hoc basis.
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argued that, to sustain interdisciplinary teaching and learning, institutional support must be consistent and embedded within the university culture. Defining Competencies for Team Science A critical issue is the lack of conceptual clarity about the learning goals of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary education that aims to prepare students for team science.
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colleagues from outside disciplines Skills and knowledge to think across disciplines and synthesize varied concepts and theories Processes of Develop shared Marks et al.
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; Holt (2013) Interdisciplinary Develop team skills Holt (2013)
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approach, or a specific problem-solving approach, needs to be changed Critical Thinking Critical awareness Borrego and Newsander about one's own (2010)
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Fiore suggested that these competencies be integrated as learning goals for interdisciplinary education to support team science. Stokols (2014)
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In addition, the research to date has not examined how acquisition of the targeted competencies may enhance the effectiveness of science teams. Graduate Education for Team Science The University of California, Irvine's School of Social Ecology offers a doctoral seminar specifically developed to expose students to a broad range of relevant disciplines.
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From page 118... ...
The four TREC centers implemented a variety of training activities to develop these competencies, including interdisciplinary research courses, journal clubs, and writing retreats to develop skills in collaborative writing and research. Many centers also provided co-mentoring and multimentoring to expose trainees to multiple disciplinary perspectives, and a cross-center working group developed additional training activities.
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From page 119... ...
The Role of Mentoring for Team Science The research discussed above consistently identifies mentoring as a crucial component of interdisciplinary education for team science, but only a few programs focus specifically on mentoring. For example, NIH's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Program is designed
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From page 120... ...
Addressing the seven features that create challenges for Team Science In this section, we consider how the research reviewed in this chapter may help guide professional development, training, or education for team science as a way to address the communication and coordination challenges that emerge from the key features that create challenges for team science. High Diversity of Membership The challenges of communication and interpersonal interactions raised by high diversity of team membership can be addressed in part with crosstraining and other types of training focusing on team-specific competencies, to help team members better understand and appreciate the varied knowledge and roles of different team members.
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From page 121... ...
Deep Knowledge Integration As noted in Chapter 1, science teams and groups that seek to deeply integrate, or even transcend, the knowledge of individuals who may have different goals, assumptions, and languages often encounter communication and coordination challenges. Professional development focused on developing shared understanding of each member's knowledge -- such as cross-training, knowledge sharing training, and coordination training -- may help to address these challenges.
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From page 122... ...
High Task Interdependence The high level of interdependency within science teams and groups creates a need for both context-specific and team-specific knowledge. Because one or more members is likely to have the expertise needed to accomplish each piece of the research project (e.g., expertise in statistics)
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From page 123... ...
improve team processes and outcomes. Recommendation 2: Team-training researchers, universities, and sci ence team leaders should partner to translate, extend, and evaluate the promising training strategies, shown to improve the effectiveness of teams in other contexts, to create professional development opportuni ties for science teams. The TeamSTEPPS Program illustrates the approach the committee recommends to improve the training and performance of science teams.
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From page 124... ...
To date, there has been little empirical evaluation of which educational activities are most effective for developing particular competencies, nor whether, and to what extent, acquisition of these competencies contributes to the effectiveness of science teams or larger groups. Conclusion.
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