Best Teaching/Learning Strategies to Foster Collaborative Learning and Team Building: A Literature Review

Monday, 30 October 2017

Jeannie Couper, PhD, RN-BC, CNE
Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, USA

Background

Nurse are foundational to the health of communities and the nation. As global citizens, nursing students remain concerned about their local, national and international communities. Social media, long-distance learning, and study abroad programs have fostered a global learning environment. Many schools of nursing have adopted active learning strategies to facilitate teaching/learning of concepts addressing a holistic approach to patient care in a complex multidisciplinary care environment. Patient care is multifaceted involving the physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social needs of the person being cared for by a team of professional healthcare providers. Collaborative learning appears to foster interprofessional relationship and improve patient outcomes.

In an effort to explore the best evidence available to teach students and foster team building, a narrow literature review of evidence-based active learning strategies that foster collaborative learning was conducted.

Method

This poster provides an overview of the current literature available addressing evidence-based active learning strategies that foster collaborative learning. The purpose of the integrative literature review of primary English peer-reviewed sources published within 2013-2017 was to determine the evidence, the current state of knowledge, and best evidence of sound teaching strategies to foster collaborative learning. Data sources include: CINHAL, ScienceDirect, SAGE, and ERIC.

Results

Numerous strategies were identified in the literature including a global- service learning program (Kreye & Oetker-Black, 2013), inter-professional practice models (Sheppard et al., 2015), the use of social media (Stephens & Gunther, 2016), gaming (Boctor, 2016), simulation (Murphy & Nimmagadda, 2015), and role-playing (Wheeler & McNelis,2014).

Conclusion

Nurse educators are seeking alternative learning/teaching strategies to reach Millennial students who desire to be actively engaged in the learning process. These strategies afford students multiple opportunities to take ownership of their learning, build on previous knowledge and experiences, and learn to function effectively in interprofessional teams. Successful learning should positively impact patient outcomes as graduates are more prepared to practice collaboratively within the multidisciplinary work environment.