Abstract:

In order to respond successfully to the rapidly changing society, organizations must become learning organizations with strong and structural collaborations in the work field. A Shared Learning Team (from now on shortened to SLT) is a group of people within a hybrid learning environment, working on a complex problem (mostly social issues), and in which the learning and development of all team members plays a major role. At the Innovation Lab of Fontys ICT (FHICT), these SLT’s consist of a combination of students, lecturers and work field partners who learn and work together on a complex issue. The concept of working in SLT’s is well founded and researched in pilots. Based on several studies, a method was developed in which teams are guided by an expert in the field of team development. The purpose of the developed SLT method is to speed up the team processes in an SLT, so that a sense of cohesion is created more quickly among the team members, and knowledge is shared more quickly that is important to learn with and from each other. We designed guidelines for the SLT, and created a toolkit with interventions to facilitate the teams and researched the added value of the method on the SLT. At the conference we want to present the results.

Overall conclusion:
A kickstart meeting is necessary in order to create a safe and open atmosphere. Using a tool called the Barometer throughout the entire process will increase the development of both the individuals as well as the entire team. This is especially from great importance in the norming and forming phase of the team. This creates the conditions for the team to exchange perspectives, have discussions and get to know each others talents and expertises. It ensures that certain team aspects are discussed that are of great importance in the other team development phases. It creates a fertile ground for the following team phases.
Facilitators are the ones who constantly encourage dialogue, allowing exchange of perspective to take place. The barometer helps with that, not only to map talents, but certainly also to teamcraft and find out if the team has all the expertise needed to bring the project to a successful conclusion. It is of great importance that a Fly on the wall coaches the facilitators on this. To keep this process as safe as possible, it is essential that the fly on the wall is not part of the team process itself. Finally, it is an important task of the facilitator to make sure that there is enough safety in the team, but also to keep checking that everyone has commitment to the team and the task at hand and is willing to make both themselves and the team better. Thus, facilitators will need to have coaching skills.

Recommendations:
To start a shared learning team, it is important to meet the following conditions:
Get commitment from all team members to the SLT principles, not only at the start of the project, but also during the process of working as a team.
Always make sure that all members are present at the Kickstart of the SLT and that the Fly on the wall facilitates the kickstart.
Make sure that the Fly on the wall has coaching skills and is not a team member.
Make sure that the facilitators are willing to develop coaching skills.
There is still one phase missing in the design principles of the SLT, namely the adjourning phase. It is recommended to add this to the principles.

Keywords:

Shared learning, lifelong learning, co-creation, higher education.