GMS 6945 – Team Science

2026 Fall semester, Thursdays, 1:55-2:45 pm (UF period 7), room R5-265

Course Director:  Wayne T. McCormack, Ph.D., CG-72K, 294-8334, mccormac at ufl.edu
Course schedule subject to change before the semester begins.
This course meets in person only.
To register for this course, please contact Christian A. Rodriguez.

Course Description:  Addressing today’s complex research and societal problems requires integration of specialized knowledge bases and cross-disciplinary collaboration. This course offers practical guidance about engaging in Team Science to pursue complex research questions, work effectively with team members, and assess team performance in order to produce high impact research outcomes.

Course Format and Outline:  Readings will be posted at the course Canvas site.  In addition to lectures and class discussions about team science principles, strategies, and evidence of effectiveness, students will be expected to identify a current research team of their choice that they are involved in, and practice team science strategies during the semester.  Assignments will include preparation of a written team vision and mission statement, collaboration plan and authorship agreements, oral presentation of your plan, and an oral report about a team debriefing experience.  Students will be expected to attend every class and actively participate in discussions.  Class sessions will combine lecture and small group discussion.

Learning Objectives:   At the end of this course students should be able to:

• Describe how team science has influenced research
• Differentiate between multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research
• Describe factors to consider when deciding whether join an interdisciplinary research team
• Discuss factors to consider and steps to take when evaluating others as potential collaborators
• Develop a research team vision and mission statement
• Develop a collaboration plan for a new research team
• Develop an authorship agreement for a research team
• Demonstrate an understanding of meta-cognitive processes important for team functioning
• Recognize and resolve conflict that arises during the life cycle of a scientific team
• Use strategies for team evaluation and self-correction
• Describe factors that contribute to the success of a scientific team

Grading

The assignments for this course are designed for each student to put into practice the team science principles and best practices being discussed in class.  The team may be a close collaborator or their research lab group.

Team Name, Vision/Mission Statement, Description

The final product will be a concise statement about your overall goal(s), what motivates your team, and what kind of research culture your team will have.  Your final Vision/Mission statement will be incorporated into each of your oral reports and your final written report.

Collaboration Plan

See October 10 session handout for more detail.

1. Rationale for Team Approach and Team Configuration
2. Collaboration Readiness
3. Technological Readiness
4. Team Functioning
5. Communication & Coordination
6. Leadership, Management, and Administration
7. Conflict Prevention and Management
8. Training
9. Quality Improvement Activities
10. Budget/Resource Allocation

Authorship Agreement

If your team is not currently planning a manuscript, consider the first (or next) manuscript your team plans to write.  See October 10 session handout for more detail.

Team Monitoring Activity

A rubric for Team Dimensional Training will be provided, which will be used to guide a team discussion about performance of the team.  The following four dimensions will be discussed:

• Information Exchange
• Communication Delivery
• Supporting Behavior
• Team Leadership/Followership

The rubric will lead the discussion to seek suggestions for improving performance and ensure that the team agrees on goals, direction and priorities.  The outcome of this activity will not be graded – it is for your benefit as a research team.  However, you will be asked to include a written reflection about the process in your final report.  Please comment on each of the four dimensions of teamwork.  When examples are mentioned in the overall reflection, please mention which dimension they fit with.  Overall reflection about team monitoring should address these questions:

• Which dimensions were helpful? In what ways?
• Were any dimensions not helpful? Why did they not seem to be helpful?
• How open or accepting were team members about participating in this activity?
• Were there any “A-Ha!” moments? What were they?
• Do you think this will help your continuing work relationship in your team? Why or why not?  How?

Final Report (oral presentation and written report)

Format for Final Oral Presentations:  Teams should present together.  Please briefly describe the following to the entire group using a brief PowerPoint presentation.

• Three of the most important things you have learned as a team about collaboration and team science.
• At least one thing you still would like to know or learn about how to collaborate effectively in your team.

Format for Final Oral Presentations:  Part 1 – may be written collaboratively with team members.  The intended audience for this is your team members, whether current or new.  The goal of this portion is for you to have a real working document that can support your project.  Any or all sections previously turned in may be revised further based on what else you may have learned later in the course and/or feedback you receive.

• Team Name
• Team Vision & Mission Statement
• Team Description (List members of your team, and their roles; may be partially anonymous.  Briefly describe any changes to team membership since the beginning of the semester.)
• Collaboration Plan
• Authorship Agreement
• Evaluation Plan – What to Measure (3-5 things, e.g., productivity, competencies) and how you will measure

Part 2 – this must be an individual effort.

• Reflection about Team Monitoring – please see above for more information
• Please briefly describe at least three (3) important things you are committed to implementing or continuing with your team moving forward over the next one year.

Assignments and Point Values:

Aug 26     5 points     DISC & EQi Assessments

Sep 10    10 points     Team Name, Vision/Mission Statement, Description – First Draft

Oct 1       5 points       Team Name, Vision/Mission Statement, Description – Second Draft

Oct 22   10 points      Draft Collaboration Plan

Oct 29    5 points       Draft Evaluation Plan

Nov 5   15 points       Collaboration Plan Peer Feedback

Nov 5     5 points       Draft Team Monitoring Reflection

Nov 12  10 points      Draft Authorship Agreement

Nov 19  15 points      Team Science Final Report, Oral Presentation

Dec 4    20 points      Team Science Final Written Report

Grading Rubric:

A   90-100                  B   80-82                         C   70-72                            D   60-62
A-  87-89                    B-  77-79                          C-  67-69                           F   <60
B+ 83-86                    C+ 73-76                           D+ 63-66

Required and recommended textbooks:  Lecture materials and reading assignments (both required and optional) will be provided in PDF format in Canvas.  There is no required textbook.  Required readings include:

• Bennett LM, Gadlin H, Marchand C.  Collaboration & Team Science Field Guide.  NIH Publication No. 18-7660, 2018.
• Hall KL, Crowston K, Vogel AL.  How to Write a Collaboration Plan.  Science of Science Toolkit.

Other Course Policies:  See UF SimpleSyllabus at https://ufl.simplesyllabus.com/doc/r46lmss4g/Fall-2026-GMS-6945-12388-Team-Science?mode=view