Collaboration skills

What is it? 

A team is a group of two or more people united by a common purpose, often used for working on difficult tasks.  Teams are made up of individuals with different sets of skills and effective teamwork involves working with others to complete the team’s task through effective communication, coordination and cooperation.  

Related to teamwork is collaboration, which involves working with someone to produce something.  Collaboration can be between people, teams or organisations and is often used to refer to people or groups who don’t usually work together. 

Why is it important? 

Teamwork and collaboration will be crucial for solving many of the world’s complex problems, including inequality, climate change and ageing population, where cross-disciplinary teams made up of individuals with different skills and knowledge will need to collaborate to identify solutions.

How can you support its development?

Tips:

• Group work is an excellent way to support students with developing teamwork skills and collaborating with others. If possible, try to change groups part-way through your course so that students can experience working in more than one group and have exposure to a variety of working styles
• Have students work in interdisciplinary or cross-year groups if possible as this can be particularly beneficial for sharing different perspectives and developing collaboration skills
• Have students work on real-world case studies or ‘wicked problems.  Employers and other external partners can be a good source of material.  You can find out more about 'wicked' problems on the Wicked Problems Project website:

Wicked problems project website

• Leave time when you’re not talking in lectures to allow time for peer discussions as this also helps to develop teamwork skills
• Consider using a flipped classroom to allow time for students to work on questions in groups
• Students work on real-world problems is a good way to develop teamwork skills.  See the real-world/applied learning page of the curriculum toolkit for more tips:

Curriculum toolkit: Real-world/applied learning

Examples:

• The School of Divinity uses student-led discussions where students are expected to lead discussions in tutorial groups
• The School of Physics and Astronomy uses flipped classrooms to engage students in material at a deeper level
• In the School of Engineering Honours students work on a design project in groups and receive feedback from employer partners

What are they?

Communication is a broad term referring to a two-way process of exchanging and transferring information that can be done in different ways including verbal, non-verbal and in written form.

Related to communication, are interpersonal skills; the skills used to interact with others.  Interpersonal skills include factors such as giving and receiving feedback, managing relationships, being aware of body language, listening, managing conflict and having respect for others. 

Why is it important? 

Communication and interpersonal skills provide a firm basis for individuals to be able to work effectively with others and in teams.  Many reports about the future of work refer to the growth of cross-disciplinary teamwork that will be required for solving the complex problems of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and communication and interpersonal skills will be required for this.

How can you support its development?

Tips:

• A wide range of teaching strategies and assessment methods can support the development of communication and interpersonal skills including group work, presentations and peer discussions
• Have students work in groups on real-world problems or case studies. This will support students with teamwork and collaboration and in communicating their recommendations through presentations and reports
• Use peer discussions and student-led tutorials to encourage students to collaborate and share ideas
• Use presentations or pitches to support students to develop skills in communicating recommendations and concepts to clients and non-experts.  Use employers or other external partners for a more authentic experience

Examples:

• In the School of Divinity student participation in tutorials is expected and forms part of the students’ assessment and course mark
• In the Business School students take a compulsory ‘Strategic Management’ course which involves pitching their ideas to an employer panel
• The School of Education and Sport use blogs as a form of an assessment where students convey their ideas and interest to a lay audience through blogposts
• The School of Law uses presentations and consultancy briefs at Honours level​​​​​​

What is it? 

Emotional intelligence involves individuals understanding themselves and others.  It includes many factors such as self-awareness, being aware of and in control of emotions, understanding how to interact with others and empathy; the ability to understand others.  

Why is it important? 

In the context of the future of work emotional intelligence is a skill that cannot currently be replicated by machines and so will likely give humans an advantage when working in fields such as health and social care. 

How can you support its development?

Tips:

• Group work and peer discussions are an excellent way to support students with understanding others and developing emotional intelligence
• Use real-world problems and case studies that students work on in groups so they can experience dealing with challenging situations and collaborating with others to find solutions
• Have students reflect on their experiences of working with others, how they have dealt with this and what they have learned.  There are resources to support students with reflection in the Reflectors’ Toolkit:

Reflectors’ Toolkit

Examples:

• The School of Law has students work on consultancy briefs in groups which gives students the opportunity to work with others and understand issues from the client’s perspective
• The School of SPS uses reflection as part of assessment where students to reflect on their experiences of working with others in ‘Working with Self and Others’