Reference no: EM132285534

Discussion Assignment: Common Barriers to Team Collaboration

What were your initial reactions when you learned that this course consisted of an overarching team project? Did you have any concerns about working in a team?

In general, teamwork and collaboration is viewed as a stressful endeavor. In fact, many students and professionals feel that they can complete work better, faster, and quicker on their own. Many might even shy away from the opportunity to collaborate with others for fear of time constraints, miscommunication, conflicting views, and incivility among group members. However, the value of collaboration truly outshines any perceived negative barriers. In particular, collaboration gives educators the opportunity to enrich curriculum with the expertise and experiences of a group of professionals. It also pushes each educator to think "outside of the box" to incorporate innovative strategies, views, and learning opportunities. In fact, the days of one instructor developing a course are being quickly phased out by collaborative approaches. Many of today's institutions require a panel of experts to creatively and critically collaborate on course development. As such, it is imperative that you begin to understand not only how to work effectively in a team but also how to overcome common barriers that can occur during the team collaboration process.

To prepare:

• Review the article "Overcoming Challenges to Collaboration: Nurse Educators' Experiences in Curriculum Change" found in this week's Learning Resources. Consider the benefits of and barriers to team collaboration.

• Reflect on your team's collaborative process. What barriers has your team experienced? How have you and others in your team worked to overcome these barriers? If you believe that your team has not experienced any barriers or difficulties, reflect on common barriers presented in this week's Learning Resources.

• Select one barrier that has a significant influence on a team approach to curriculum development.

• Search the Walden Library to identify an article that presents strategies for overcoming your selected barrier. How could these strategies be used to help nurse educators? In addition, how can these strategies help increase positive team collaboration?

Post an explanation of a barrier that can significantly influence a team approach to curriculum development and why. Describe two strategies you could implement to overcome this barrier, as well as how these strategies could help increase team collaboration. Justify your response by citing references to this week's Learning Resources and your selected article as appropriate. Then, upload or provide a hyperlink to that article.

Read a selection of your colleagues' responses.