IPEC Domain/Competency

Values and Ethics | Roles and Responsibilities | Communication | Teams and Teamwork

Goals and objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the four IPEC domains—Values and Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Communication, and Teams and Teamwork—and their importance in effective collaboration.
2. Explain how their own discipline contributes to interdisciplinary and interprofessional team efforts.
3. Recognize the relationship between shared values, role clarity, respectful communication, and effective teamwork.
4. Reflect on personal attitudes, experiences, and expectations related to working with individuals from different disciplines or professions.
5. Collaboratively establish team agreements that support ethical conduct, effective communication, role clarity, and teamwork.

Materials

• Matching Activity Worksheet or chart with two columns: 1) Domain/Competency and 2) What This Looks Like in Practice (pre-discussion activity below)

Activity Description

Pre-Discussion Activity:

Matching activity (5-7 minutes)

Give each group a simple chart or workspace with two columns and ask them to collectively complete the chart. Prompt them to think concretely: What would we see or hear if this competency were being applied well?

Allow for groups to share out and discuss.

Main Activity: Small Group Discussion Questions

Use the following questions after students have completed the IPE and IDE Introductory Module.

1. Describe your discipline. How would you describe it to someone who is not from your discipline?
2. What does effective teamwork look like for each team member in an interdisciplinary team, given their specific disciplinary role?
3. In what ways do shared values, role clarity, respectful communication, and teamwork support success when students from different disciplines collaborate?
4. What thoughts or feelings do these domains/competencies bring up for you about working in an interdisciplinary or interprofessional team?
5. What can we agree to do as a team to apply these domains/competencies in how we communicate, make decisions, and collaborate during our upcoming work? [include this question if small group is preparing to work on a collaborative project]

Closing Activity

This is a helpful activity especially if students are expected to work on an interdisciplinary group project moving forward. Following the small group discussion focused on questions above, each group decides via consensus:

• 4 shared values
• 3 communication norms
• 2 strategies to ensure effective teamwork
• 1 strategy for role clarity

Use

Designed for use alongside or after the completion of the IPE and IDE Introductory Module, this activity is best completed in small groups—ideally interprofessional or interdisciplinary teams—as participants begin working in their project teams.

Variation for IPE or IDE Learning Experience

Designed for flexibility, this activity can be implemented in either interprofessional or interdisciplinary learning experiences.

Source

IPE and IDE at JMU’s College of Health and Behavioral Studies (CHBS): An Introduction ©2023 by Linda Plitt Donaldson, Shiree Harbick, Jill Lassiter, Chris Fasching-Maphis, Anne Stewart, Alyssa Decker, & Anna Maria Johnson. James Madison University. Retrieved July 2026 from https://www.jmu.edu/chbs/ipe-ide/module.shtml.

Created by: Vesna Hart
Suggested Citation: CHBS IPE and IDE Council. (2026). IPE and IDE Introductory Module Activity. CHBS IPE & IDE Instructional Toolkit. James Madison University.