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Toward an Optimal Pedagogy for Teamwork
Mark A Earnest1, Jason Williams, Eva M Aagaard
1M.A. Earnest is professor of medicine and division head, General Internal Medicine Division, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado. J. Williams is assistant professor of pediatrics and training director of child psychology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado. E.M. Aagaard is professor of medicine and associate dean for educational strategy, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado.
Explicit team learning, involving interdependent work and direct teamwork instruction, is proposed as a best practice for health professions education. This approach fosters essential collaboration skills for future healthcare professionals.
Area of Science:
- Health Professions Education
- Pedagogical Approaches
- Teamwork Training
Background:
- Teamwork and collaboration are essential competencies in undergraduate health professions education.
- Optimal methods for delivering effective teamwork training remain uncertain.
- Existing training may not adequately prepare students for clinical collaboration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a classification framework for pedagogical approaches to teamwork training.
- To identify explicit team learning as a best practice model.
- To highlight challenges in implementing explicit team learning curricula.
Main Methods:
- Development of a three-level classification system for teamwork training.
- Categorization based on interdependent work and explicit teamwork instruction.
- Presentation of examples illustrating each training level.
Main Results:
- Level 1 (Minimal Team Learning): Group work without key learning factors.
- Level 2 (Implicit Team Learning): Interdependent learning without explicit teamwork focus.
- Level 3 (Explicit Team Learning): Interdependent work with explicit instruction and practice.
Conclusions:
- Explicit team learning represents a best practice for health professions education.
- Implementation challenges include defining a common teamwork model, ensuring transferability to clinical settings, and effective evaluation.
- Further research and curriculum development are needed to support explicit team learning.