A Practical Guide for Developing Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Skills by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783031372209
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Module theme

Prompt

Values

Allowing values to influence scientific research is advocacy

Methodology

Scientific research must be hypothesis driven

Confirmation

There are strict requirements for the validity of measurements

Motivation

My research is driven primarily by intellectual curiosity

Reality

Models invariably produce a distorted view of reality

Communication

We will need to develop a common project language to achieve convergence

By design, a Toolbox dialogue is an exercise in reflexivity and perspective taking, prompting behaviors such as self-awareness, questioning, exploration, elaboration, analysis, negotiation, feedback-seeking, the use of explicit language, learning at a meta level, and challenging one’s own assumptions and those of others [2, 3, 41]. Reflexivity and perspective taking are also related reciprocally: engaging in reflection about one’s own perspective makes one sensitive to alternative perspectives, and examining the perspectives of others foregrounds important aspects of one’s own perspective [41].

However, team reflexivity is unlikely to occur organically [3], and without making time to reflect on current and desired processes it becomes easier for teams to revert to old habits [46]. Reflection requires cognitive energy and effort by all team members, and it could reveal the need for changes to behavior or even additional work. Time pressure combined with juggling multiple projects is likely to create resistance to reflexivity. It is also important to recognize that reflexivity will bring into focus past failures along with past successes, and it can be uncomfortable to discuss past missteps or unhappy aspects of the collaboration. On the other hand, though, if a team is not reflexive, it could stay locked in on current research processes, whether they are effective or not, and stifle creativity and innovation [47].

For the purposes of this chapter, we want to highlight the role that Toolbox dialogue prompts can play in focusing a conversation among teammates. These prompts are written to provoke, which can help disrupt old habits or “business as usual” communication by promoting deeper reflection [48].5 They encourage participants to reflect on their own research worldviews, and the resulting dialogue helps them learn about the research worldviews of others, enhancing mutual understanding and the ability of the team to function in coordinated ways. Because the primary aim of the prompts is to stimulate dialogue, they are intentionally abstract, lending themselves to multiple interpretations and revealing different perspectives among collaborators. One question we ask when writing a prompt is: Will it incline the participant to think, “It depends…” and “It’s not clear…”? These responses increase the likelihood that participants will have a multifaceted conversation about the topic, revealing the complexity of their perspectives. If participants view a prompt as too easy to agree or disagree with, then it’s likely they will not see value in bringing it up for discussion. In what follows, we have this kind of engagement in mind when describing how the Toolbox dialogue method might be used to structure team dialogue practice.

Creating Conditions for Dialogue with the Toolbox Dialogue Method. In this section, we provide suggestions that can help create conditions for team dialogue. These are grounded in our experience running workshops using the Toolbox dialogue method. The first set of suggestions are general and apply across project contexts.

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