Collaboration across Research and Teaching: Attributes Necessary in Forming an Interdisciplinary Team
Presentation by: Joanna Cannon, Anita Hubley, Nancy Norman, Julia O’Loughlin, Lauren Phelan, Alayna Finley
Session C | 10:05 – 10:45 | Room 201
Abstract:
In recent years, interdisciplinary collaborative teaching and research have become central foci in both applied and theoretical studies in education. These team environments bring together differing perspectives, ideas, concepts, data and research techniques and have the potential facilitate deep understanding of topics and enrich overall educational experiences. Dr. Joanna Cannon’s DHH Links to Literacy Lab in the Faculty of Education at UBC is an example of how interdisciplinary research teams can create meaningful learning opportunities for both students and faculty. The attributes necessary for effective collaboration across disciplines include: a team purpose, goals, leadership, communication, cohesion, mutual respect, and reflection (Lakhani, Benzies, & Hayden, 2012). We contend these attributes span across researchers and educators who are working with interdisciplinary teams to find the most effective strategies to provide students who have special needs with appropriate services. This round-table presentation will to discuss how our interdisciplinary research team outlines these attributes, discuss the benefits we see to working on interdisciplinary research teams and how these can be translated to the classroom or school setting, and provide a discussion of the strengths and barriers we have faced along the way.
Learning Outcomes:
1) Participants will gain an understanding of the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork in education.
2) Participants will gain an understanding of the attributes necessary to construct an interdisciplinary team.
3) Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their own collaborative team experiences and how those may be beneficial to not only teachers but also their students.
