Technology and Adult Learning: New Tools and Strategies Henry Bernstein, DO Professor of Pediatrics Dartmouth Medical School John Parboosingh, MB Professor emeritus University of Calgary

Strategies to enhance collaboration and interactivity in practice, research and education Why the focus on collaboration and interactivity? Introduction to Communities of Practice Strategies & techniques to enhance collaboration and interactivity Enhancing collaboration and interactivity with technology

Competitive advantage from better interactions companies are looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of top talent what makes these workers valuable is their ability to work collaboratively, to improvise and improve solutions within an environment that fosters trust and constant learning.

Changing nature of PRACTICE Involves complex problem solving, ambiguity, conflict and uncertainty, requiring judgment and drawing on tacit, experiential, knowledge. “Tacit work” C Cole 2000 McKinsey Quarterly, 2005 #

“Ever since the curriculum reforms of the 1950s, the wisdom has been that hands-on experimentation is the heart of science. The new view does not deny the importance of experimentation, but it holds that knowledge advances by bringing experimental findings into a sustained discourse, the purpose of which is to advance the state of knowledge and understanding” Bereiter & Scardamalia 2005 Interaction and Research

“The biggest information repository in most organizations sits in the heads of those who work there, and the largest communication network is the web of conversations that binds them. Together, people, tools, and conversations— these form the “system.” E. Coiera, “Four rules for the reinvention of healthcare” BMJ, 2004;328:

What is meant by the term communities of practice (CoPs)? Why are CoPs used in the practice of healthcare, education and research? Communities of Practice 101

Groups of people with a passion for a practice who share their concerns, successes and challenges and who deepen their understanding and practical knowledge by engaging in a process of collaborative learning. ):

CoPs are used in 3 scenarios 1. To enhance team cohesiveness and quality of care 2. To enhance collaborative learning and integration of knowledge into practice 3. In think tanks and high level research groups creating new evidence-based knowledge

Impact of Relational Coordination on Quality of Care, Postoperative Pain and Functioning, and Length of Stay: A Nine-Hospital Study of Surgical Patients Gittell J et al. Medical Care: 2000 vol 38(8):

“It took seven years for the discovery of the infective agent in Legionnaire’s Disease. It took seven weeks for the infective agent in SARS to be isolated.” John G. Bartlett, MD Professor, Infectious Diseases, John Hopkins University School of Medicine Does collaboration enhance research?

Different types of conversations in practice Practical approaches to enhancing conversations in existing groups Techniques to enhance collaboration

Three different types of conversations in the workplace Practice level Team level CoP

CoPs use STORIES to build conversation "Story is a re-imagined experience narrated with enough detail and feeling to cause your listeners' imaginations to experience it as real.“ From Annette Simmons: “Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins”

Traditional discourse: we are providing a point of view, seeking agreement or settling differences. It is directive, advocating and defensive. Generative dialogue: We use stories to reconstruct practice and express perspectives on issues. Stories generate new understandings and new knowledge. It is a “how can we do this better” conversation Manoj Pawar (2006). Bereiter and Scardamalia. 2006)

RESEARCH PRACTITIONER EXPERIENCE CLIENT VALUES LOCAL INFORMATION SYNTHESIS OF INFORMATION In CoPs we use “evidence” from 4 sources What Counts As Evidence In Evidence-based Practice? Rycroft-malone J., et al (2004) Journal of Advanced Nursing 47(1), 81–90

SERVICE PROVISION Smooth running Job satisfaction ‘Keeps you going’ WORK BARRIERS Immediate problem solving Putting out fires Frustration generator CAREER DEVELOPMENT Achieving new competencies Following evidence Career plans Practice Talk has three components

Mapping Dialogue: A research project profiling dialogue tools and processes for social change, 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa FACILITATION SKILLS ARE ESSENTIAL Harvey G et al (2002) Getting evidence into practice: the role and function of facilitation. Journal of Advanced Nursing 37(6), 577–588

Technology to build community (social presence) Technology to support conversations The role of technology in communities of practice

“The renewed emphasis on collaborative learning is pushing the educational community to develop new forms of interaction and assessment.”

This simple conceptual shift promises profound implications for how we design distance learning courses THE LEARNING COMMUNITY (The next generation of collaborative learning) The network is organized around people, rather than around content The daily successes & challenges of the people determine the content

Examples of collaborative space (The next generation of collaborative learning) Google groups CollectiveX CentralDesktop ning.com community.globeforum.com Sossoon.net

DIGITAL STORYTELLING METHODS

Technology and Adult Learning: New Tools and Strategies Henry Bernstein, DO John Parboosingh, MB