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Team Debriefing Cards

Teaching Team Interactions: Using debriefing card to reflect on team experiences

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Learning Objectives

As a result of participating in this activity, learners will:

  1. Describe team interactions when prompted to do so from a debriefing card.
  2. Compare and contrast best team practices from recent, real-time experiences.
  3. Assess and discuss the consequences and challenges for teams, particularly in relationship to using a shared mental model.

Description

  1. This activity utilizes the Team Debriefing Cards deck, available through better.teams@rosalindfranklin.edu and incorporates it into one of the following methods to inspire reflective conversations among team members.
  2. Assemble learners into teams of 5-6 using some method to ensure diversity/interprofessionalism on each team.  Inform team members that they will be asked to reflect on their role on the team, the team’s organization and function and specific examples of that, and run a simulation. This will provide real-time, immediate and common experience on which the team can reflect.
  3. Following the simulation experience, gather the team for a period of debriefing and reflection. Remind team members that in this situation, there are not specific right answers being sought by the questions asked. The questions asked are to prompt discussion and reflection.

Size

Small Group, Medium Group, Large Group: 120-250 people

Equipment

Minimal Equipment - Team Debriefing cards

Time

One Hour

Modifications

Lesson

Debriefing Using the Cards

Utilize the Team Debriefing Cards decks by giving one to everyone who participated in the simulation, and if you have adequate resources, to people who were observing, as well. Participants are asked to read aloud the prompt on the card they were given, and reflectively provide an answer based on their experience. Answers can be made stronger by providing examples directly from the simulation. Once the original answer has been given, others may wish to contribute their own insights (including observers who did not directly participate on the team or in the simulation.

Debrief Questions

  1. Considering only the process of asking individuals to answer cards, and not the questions indicated on the cards themselves, reflect on the impact of asking everyone on the team to contribute to the debrief.
  2. Why is this important, or not?
  3. Discuss your thoughts about the importance of post-event debriefing for a team.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Analyze/Apply
Evaluate/Create

TeamSTEPPS domain

Communication
Leadership
Mutual Support
Situation Monitoring

Lesson

Learning to Debrief

Teams with experience in both simulation and debriefing may wish to reflect as a team on the topics presented on the cards. This may take some of the individual pressure off from participants and may redirect concerns about individuals being spotlighted for their performance or lack of it. The team can either draw out a fixed number of cards which they, as a team, must answer, or may simply use the prompts as conversation starters, following the team reflection in its natural course, and returning to the deck only if participation or reflection on the topic dwindles.

Debrief Questions

  1. Who will serve as facilitator for this debriefing? Why is this person a good choice?
  2. What qualities must the facilitator possess to make debriefing successful?
  3. How do you think doing a debrief with the team responsible as a whole for answering prompts is different from asking individuals to reflect?

Bloom's Taxonomy

Analyze/Apply
Evaluate/Create

TeamSTEPPS domain

Mutual Support
Teamwork/Team Structure

Lesson

Team-Led Debriefing for Accountability

Focusing specifically on behaviors that aid the team in reaching their common and valued goal, debriefing for accountability allows the team to reflect upon and reinforce effective behaviors that help optimize team function. Spreading the debriefing cards on a table wit the questions showing, have the team use the prompts to recall and celebrate behaviors that were successful. This is not a time to criticize shortfalls or failures, but rather reinforces team members positive contributions.

Debrief Questions

  1. What behaviors do you think helped your team achieve its goal?
  2. Explain how you think those behaviors were appropriate and positive, and how that integrated into the team’s success.
  3. What additional behaviors could your team reinforce to optimize performance in their next encounter?

Bloom's Taxonomy

Analyze/Apply
Evaluate/Create

TeamSTEPPS domain

Teamwork/Team Structure
Communication
Mutual Support

Summary

Particularly in healthcare simulation, team members may evaluate their work only in terms of medical diagnoses and treatment. Reflecting on team interactions helps optimize team function.

Contact

For more information about how to utilize games, low-fidelity simulation, and interactive learning to teach concepts of teamwork and collaboration, contact Better.Teams@rosalindfranklin.edu

Related Tags

collaboration, communication, conflict, inexpensive, ip communication, leadership, low barrier, low resource, mutual support, outcomes, roles and responsibilities, situation monitoring, team membership, team structure, teams and teamwork, values and ethics