IPEC Domain/Competency

Roles and Responsibilities: Use the knowledge of one's own role and team members' expertise to address individual, community, and/or project outcomes.

Goals and objectives

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

1. Identify their own strengths, expertise, and preferred roles when working in a team.
2. Recognize the value of diverse roles, knowledge, and expertise in achieving shared goals.
3. Describe how individual roles and contributions complement one another in interdisciplinary or interprofessional teams.
4. Reflect on situations in which they may rely on the expertise of others to address individual, community, or project needs.
5. Develop strategies for clarifying roles and effectively leveraging team members' strengths and expertise.
6. Demonstrate appreciation for shared responsibility and collaborative problem-solving within a team.

Materials

• None

Activity Description

Pre-Discussion Activity

Engage students in a self-reflection activity to identify:

• One or two skills or strengths I bring to group work
• A type of role I often take on in teams and a type of role I want to grow into (e.g., organizer/planner, researcher, creative thinker, detail checker, communicator, problem solver, supporter, connector/relationship builder)
• One area where I often rely on others for expertise or support

Share responses in a small group.

Main Activity: Small Group Discussion Questions:

Use the following questions after students have completed Lesson 6 of the IPE and IDE Introductory Module.

1. What do you understand about your own role and strengths, and what kinds of roles or expertise do you expect other team members might bring to an interdisciplinary or interprofessional team?
2. How do you feel about identifying and sharing your role or areas of strength/expertise within a team, and relying on others for strengths/expertise different from your own?
3. Why is it important for teams to understand and respect each member’s role and expertise when working toward individual, community, or project outcomes?
4. What actions can we take as a team to clearly define roles, draw on each other’s strengths, and use everyone’s expertise effectively as we work toward our shared goals?

Closing Activity

Ask each group to:

• Identify one role or strength each person can bring to a project
• Name one situation where they will intentionally rely on another team member’s expertise

Use

Designed for use following the completion of Lesson 6 of the IPE and IDE Introductory Module, this activity is best completed in small groups—ideally interprofessional or interdisciplinary teams—as participants begin forming 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 – Lesson 6: Roles and Responsibilities Activity. CHBS IPE & IDE Instructional Toolkit. James Madison University.