A Practical Guide for Developing Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Skills

Solutions to societal and organizational problems require people from diverse fields of expertise to effectively work in team-based, collaborative environments. To create these environments, we need to address a myth in modern culture that people have natural abilities to collaborate and work together. Collaboration and teamwork are skills. As such, these skills need to be learned and practiced. Commonly, collaboration is learned through trial and error. Team members have little or no training in how to effectively and efficiently harness the diversity of strengths among team members and maximize their contributions to the team. The purpose of this book is to provide a practical, process-oriented guide that, at its most fundamental level, is about building relationships and promoting communication and learning among diverse groups of individuals that results in creative, collaborative, and inclusive problem-solving environments. This volume provides explicit approaches and processes that will help team members more effectively and efficiently create new knowledge and solutions for societal and organizational problems through collective action.

Develop more effective collaboration using processes and approaches that work Build relationships, promote communication, and integrate expertise using brain-based learning approaches to maximize everyone's contributions to the team No more trial and error, this practical guide leads to more create, collaborative, and inclusive problem-solving environments

Contenu
Chapter 1. Introduction to Crossdisciplinary Collaboration: Definitions, Systems, and the Brain.- Chapter 2. What's the Brain Got to Do with It? Unlocking and Activating the Brain for Better Collaboration.- Chapter 3. Five Key Questions to Facilitate Crossdisciplinary Collaboration.- Chapter 4. Who is on the Team? Exploring the Diverse Characteristics of Collaborative Teams.- Chapter 5. Communication Practice for Team Science.- Chapter 6. Effective Collaborative Decision-making Includes Stakeholder Analysis and Communication.- Chapter 7. Addressing a University Department Challenge: Applying the CTeAM Key Question Matrix.- Chapter 8. EMBeRS Model for Facilitating Crossdisciplinary Learning and Systems Thinking.- Chapter 9. Implementing EMBeRS in Graduate Courses.- Chapter 10. Application of Model-based Reasoning across an Undergraduate Sustainability Science Curriculum.- Chapter 11. Evidence-based strategies for improving project outcomes.