What were your initial reactions when you learned that this course consisted of an overarching team project?

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:
• 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.
• How could these strategies be used to help nurse educators? In addition,