Virtual Multidisciplinary Team Science Workshop

Course Dates

Overall Course Objective

To provide diverse teams working on clinical and translational research projects with an introduction to the theory and practical skills required to function in a multi-disciplinary research setting.

The workshop will offer research team leaders and members of the team a theoretical and practical overview of the group development phases that are all necessary and inevitable in order for a research team to grow, face up to challenges, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results.

The importance of team science and the various stages of the Tuckman Stages of Group Development Model, forming/storming/norming and performing, will be addressed separately over a five-week period. Workshops will consist of a 45-60 minute presentation on the respective topic or phase of the model followed by a 30-45 minute discussion amongst participants.

As the goal of this introductory workshop series is to be interactive and offer practical solutions to team building, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and partake in a discussion of team science principles. Participants will be provided with an overview of the Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development Model, as well as an introduction to 20 Team Science Principles.

Participants will be provided with a syllabus listing all topics of discussion for each workshop session.  Participants will also receive a fictional team formation scenario. For each session, we are asking participants to

1. read assigned sections of the fictional scenario in advance,
2. take notes on the fictional scenario to share during workshop, and
3. prepare to discuss their responses during the interactive portion of each session.

Given the amount of material to be covered in a relatively short amount of time and to facilitate group discussion, everyone is asked to read materials provided and prepare for each workshop session in advance. In addition, prior to each week’s session, selected participants will receive notice to (1) review sections of the reading material, (2) answer questions in advance, and (3) discuss the specific team science principles illustrated in that particular section of the material.

Learning Objectives/Knowledge Gained:

Participants will learn team leadership/membership/navigation strategies to facilitate successful team development and subsequent conduct of clinical and translational research projects, including the following:

• Introduction of team leadership concepts
• Selection of a team in a purposeful manner and consideration of the timing and selection of new members
• Facilitation of team’s identification of goals
• Review of best practices for teamwork (roles, responsibilities, respectful communication, effective problem solving)
• Creation of team member agreements (sharing data, credit acknowledgement, writing, managing authorship, etc.)
• Development of mutual trust and creation of a calming team environment
• Receiving feedback from team members
• Facilitation of the transfer of leadership
• Facilitation of flexibility in team roles
• Becoming a resource person to the team

Course Co-Directors

Orsolya Garrison, DrPH, MPH | Director, CTSI Operations
Mike Anello | Program Director

Questions? Please contact Louann Sullivan at lmsullivan@mcw.edu.