What is Synergistic Collaboration

This chapter explains the lessons learned when an English professor and a physical therapist decided to work together. Patients in a clinic and students in a classroom share the need for positive role models to teach them effective strategies to enhance their learning. The official research journey focuses on the connections among writing, positive outlook, and healing. The unofficial journey focuses on the lessons learned from the authors teaching each other about their fields of expertise. They encourage readers to accomplish two tasks. First, think about how to get out of your personal comfort zone and change your outlook about the amount of stress in your life. Second, think about how to get out of your professional comfort zone and change your outlook about working with colleagues in other disciplines. By sharing their experiences, the authors provide ideas on how to participate in interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues in school and community.