Team-Teaching
Faculty had a co-teacher or guest lecturer join the class, either live or online.
About
Having a Co-Teacher, or inviting in a Guest Speaker, has the specific benefit of exposing students to a second perspective, or interpretation, of an issue. That voice can bring real-world experience, disciplinary expertise, challenge, or fun to the classroom, and students enjoy the change of pace. But due to the necessary involvement of time to arrange for the guest, or the extensive planning required to reach consensus on how each class will run, this activity is not as commonly used as it could be.
The original study's data and analysis for "Team-Teaching" can be found on this link.
What Faculty Have To Say
Strengths (7)
- Brings a different perspective to the class
- New interpretation can be challenging, but fun
- Students like the change of pace
- Can be engaging and motivating
- Real world examples help students connect their learning
- Can bring the academic and real worlds together
- Faculty can learn from each other
Weaknesses (5)
- Take a lot more prep time
- Takes up class time
- Having two leaders/experts can disrupt class flow
- There can be unequal contributions
- Students are not sure what to make of any potential disagreements/
Pedagogy Usage
Bucknell faculty was asked their best estimate for how often in the semester they used Team-Teaching and the average class time it took.
Average Duration: 51 min (mode=52)
Remote Suggestions
Higher Education's pivot to remote teaching has made everyone into a passable video user. This opens up a world of possiblitles for outside spekers and team teaching. Zoom invitations can be sent to guest lecturers, who can join the session with the rest of the class, and Bucknell faculty are a great source of outside expertise, and many are quite willing to prepare a short presentation.
Resources for Additional Learning
Articles & Books
- Team Teaching: Benefits and Challenges. Leavitt, M. (2006). Interdisciplinary Courses & Team Teaching. Jim Davis (1995).
Websites
- Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
- Miami University of Ohio
- Fordham University Team-Teaching Site