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Collaboration during the Master of Education in Health Professions Education program. Post 1: What did we learn about collaboration?

There is a saying in Ethiopia, “Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons it is perfume”. This saying reflects the collaboration we experienced in the Master of Education in Health Profession Education (MHPE) program. In this series we share our positive collaborative team experiences. Estimated reading time: ~ 6 minutes

By Aruna Chhikara, Aaron Delph, Chantal Lecuyer, Jen Loewen, Getahun Lombano (Review Team: Jorden Cummings, Sheryl Mills)

This blog series has three posts pertaining to USask’s MHPE program.

  1. In post #1, we share what we learned about collaboration in the program. → YOU ARE HERE 🧐
  2. In post #2, we discuss why we learned about collaboration and share resources used to collaborate.
  3. In post #3, our final post, we discuss indicators of success.

Introduction 

This blog series describes the collaboration we experienced in the University of Saskatchewan's (USask’s) Master of Education in Health Professional Education (MHPE) program. By now, you may have guessed that we are learners (ahem…and graduates) of this program! Our writing team consists of two graduates from the program’s first cohort 🥳 (2022), a learner that is set to graduate in 2023 😁, and three that are set to graduate in 2024 😎… talk about team diversity!! Not only are we at different stages in our MHPE journey and in different timezones, we come from various health professions[1], cultures, and linguistic backgrounds. One thing we do have in common is that we were all novices – at some point – in this program, who had positive collaborative experiences.

What did we learn about collaboration in the MHPE program? 🤔

The Ethiopian saying, “Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons it is perfume”, aligns with the collaboration experience we had in the MHPE program. Based on our experience, collaborating, especially in an online environment, is extremely valuable. Our teams went further together.

The MHPE program provided ample opportunity to collaborate and build connections that have, for us, lasted beyond required coursework and group projects. This blog post series is an example of this lasting collaboration and connection. 

Collaboration was encouraged and supported through various resources and activities. With the master’s program being online, we were introduced to a variety of learning platforms[2]. Collaborative opportunities were supported through discussion boards, peer feedback, and group (although we prefer the term “team” 😏) assignments. For instance, a staple of the program was that we were provided with resources and then, with colleagues, we would comment on discussion boards or complete a project together based on these resources.

This blog gave us the opportunity to reflect on previous collaborative experiences from our “undergraduate days”, and we’ve outlined the differences noted between the “ol’ days” and our re-introduction to collaboration in the MHPE program. (Upon reflection, it seemed that the program intentionally promoted and supported collaboration as an integral part of the learning experience. We, the authors, benefited from it and really appreciated this aspect of the program, so much so that we wanted to write about it.)   

Previous undergraduate experience with collaboration

MHPE experience with collaboration

Motivated by grades: Team members tended to focus independently on getting better grades to improve chances for entry into professional programs

Motivated by learning: Team members tended to focus on creating new opportunities and connections, developing new knowledge, and advancing in their already established or evolving professions

Highly competitive

Supportive and encouraging

Larger class size

Smaller class size

non-”p”rofessional status of students (typically younger and less work experience)

“P”rofessional status of students (mature in age and work experience)

Different priorities and obligations. Although we may have had more availability, we agreed we had limited opportunity for collaborative work

More difficult availability (due to family, work, extracurricular commitments, different time zones) and met often virtually

In-person communication that was less personal

Online communication that was personal and engaging

Thankfully, unlike our undergraduate experience with collaboration, the collaboration experienced during the MHPE program was not a “one-and-done” experience. Collaborative opportunities were frequent and ongoing, and for this we are grateful as it gave us the opportunity to work with individuals we wouldn’t have met had we not been in this program. But like any collaborative experience, we had successes and experienced situations we could learn from. 

⭐ Like all teams, we had opportunities to learn from both positive and less positive experiences[3]. We invite you to take a moment to reflect on your own team experiences, and to contribute to this collaborative Padlet conversation!

Reflection 1: Think of a time you worked on a team that collaborated well; what led to that team’s success?

Reflection 2: Think of a time you worked on a challenging team; what did you do, or what could you have done, to navigate this experience more successfully?

With the support of our instructors and team members in this program, we developed skills to i) prevent less than positive experiences in the first place, ii) recover from less than positive experiences, and iii) build positive team experiences together.

Factors that contributed to successful collaboration in the program included:

  • We assumed that everyone had the best intentions and wanted to learn and succeed in the program
  • We set realistic and clear expectations
  • We clarified and distributed tasks based on team members’ strengths, interests, and schedules

As we reflected while writing this blog post, we realized we had unknowingly and naturally applied factors of social contracts and/or Team Charters!

The table below outlines additional successful approaches we adopted. Some we implemented at the beginning, and others we learnt along the way:

Approaches implemented from the beginning

Approaches we learned along the way

Show that you “want” to contribute. Be curious[4] . Reach out at the ‘right time’[5] - not too early and not too late[6].

Encouraging participation by using “reply all” and including all team members in communication efforts, and ensuring there is agreement before moving on.

Get to know team members early on. We shared our skills, weaknesses, strengths, and experience related to the assignment/task.

Set clear expectations and task distribution. We did this by emails, labeling document sections, and keeping meeting notes. Clarify expected response time. Consider offering inactive team members a “way out”[7].

As a team, agree when to meet, preferred meeting platforms, and communication approaches[8].

Double check that all members are comfortable using the chosen platforms. Not everyone wants to learn the course content along with learning a new platform.

As a team, agree how to collaborate[9].

Speak up to team members. Decide as a team when to reach out to the instructor for help.

Set mini-deadlines. At the completion at each stage, renegotiate and re-clarify together before moving forward5 .

Consider creating a teamwork social contract or Team Charter.

As a team, agree on assignment structure and/or the content.

Reach out to other teams to see what they are doing.

Ask the instructor for clarification about the assignment or its content.

Some of us added an author section at the end of an assignment to indicate differences of opinion.

Insert footnotes to inform the instructor of differences of perspectives/disagreements.

Interestingly, as we learnt positive approaches to adopt (introducing ourselves early on, setting mini-deadlines, and responding to communication attempts in a timely and professional manner), and how to navigate challenges, collaborative opportunities within the program evolved. Early in the program, team members were selected by instructors (or at random possibly 🤔 - we’re not sure), and later on, we were given the chance to decide i) if we wanted to work in a team, and ii) who our team members would be.

“Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons it is perfume”. We realized that team members not only provide an opportunity to lighten the workload; they also fill in skill-gaps which enhances the quality of assignments, and we appreciated our time together.  

We hope you enjoyed Post #1 - Stay tuned for our next post, where we discuss why we learned about collaboration in the MHPE program. We also share what resources contributed to our successful collaboration!

 

[1] Aruna Chhikara (Educator and Researcher), Aaron Delph (Registered Nurse & Simulation Instructor), Chantal Lecuyer (Simulation & Curriculum Specialist), Jen Loewen (Veterinarian), Getahun Lombano (Interprofessional Education Curriculum Specialist), Jorden Cummings (Associate Professor, co-Director of Clinical Training), and Sheryl Mills (Associate Director, Academic Programs & Interprofessional Education)                        

[2] Padlet, Prezi, Zoom (with or without breakout rooms), Canvas, Google Docs, Flipgrid, etc…

[3] Although some people feel you can only learn from “mistakes” or “negative experiences”, there’s so much to learn even if things go well! You may appreciate an approach a team member uses, you may learn about a new platform, or you may even learn how to formulate an excellent introductory email to a new team! 

[4] Curiosity can be demonstrated in different ways: towards team members, towards content, towards your understanding of the content, etc…

[5] There may be such a thing as being too keen. If you haven’t learned the content in the course yet, is your team really at an advantage at jumping right into the assignment? Maybe start by introducing yourselves, setting mini-deadlines, and responding to communication attempts in a timely and professional manner.

[6] Remember, team members have obligations outside of school and some members may be balancing several commitments. Negotiate with your team on all aspects to ensure nobody feels they’re carrying the weight of 50 lemons on their own.

[7] A sentence such as “if we don’t hear back, we will assume you agree on what has been done” or “if you continue to miss agreed upon meeting times, we will assume you do not want to be on this team”.

[8] Face-to-face, Zoom, Emails, WhatsApp, Facebook, text messages, etc…

[9] Most teams chose a working document that team members could access asynchronously. On our teams we left comments in the working documents, we used different coloured fonts, and team members signed up for required tasks.