Unitec Teaching & Learning SymposiumI Teach Alone or We Teach Together: Exploring Team Teaching and Impact on Teacher Identity

Daniel StampDepartment of Sport

Session Outline Our project Team Teaching

Disadvantages and advantages Identity

Challenges

Sport Science Project Integration of sport and exercise

science courses Interdisciplinary approach Better understanding for students Team teaching approach

All interdisciplinary courses and classes No mono-discipline courses or classes Integrated assignments

Team Teaching A group of two or more teachers

working together to plan, conduct and evaluate the learning activities for the same group of learners. Teaching the same students at the same

time within the same classroom. Working together but not necessarily

teaching the same group of students nor necessarily teaching at the same time.(Shaplin & Olds, 1964)

Team Teaching Traditional Team Teaching Collaborative Teaching Complimentary/Supportive Team

Teaching Parallel Instruction Differentiated Split Class Monitoring Teacher(Robinson & Schaible, 1995)

Collaborative Teaching Team teachers work together in

designing the course and teach the material not by monologue, but rather by exchanging and discussing ideas and theories in front of the learners from multiple perspectives.

Collaborative Teaching Obvious potential in broadening topic

expertise and perhaps reducing individual teacher’s classroom time.

Offers other significant teaching/learning possibilities Model for the learners a wide variety of

professional interactions including Disagreement Exploration Concept evaluation Conflict Resolution Collaboration (Wenger & Hornyak, 1999)

Disadvantages for Teacher Time required prior to implementation

for professional development Learning the rational behind team

teaching Shared readings and discussion Learning co-operative skills Learning time management skills

Many meetings or impromptu chats during the running of the course

Potential conflict

Advantages for Teacher Supportive environment Development of new teaching

approaches Overcomes academic isolation Likelihood of sounder solutions

regarding discipline of problematic students

Augments the opportunity for intellectual growth

Disadvantages for Student Potential frustration and

discontentment about having more than one teacher

Confusion from considering multiple perspectives of an issue

Concern about assignments

Advantages for Students Students benefit from seeing teachers

collaborate and co-operate. Allows students to see how topics are

connected therefore making better sense of the information.

Interdisciplinary learning reinforces understanding of new concepts.

Students observe teachers planning in front of them.

Obtain the ‘bigger picture’.

Making it work Teachers share common beliefs

about learning and students. Teachers will question their own

teaching as well as learning from their teaching colleague.

Teaching colleague will listen and share during classes.

Trusting and open relationships. Practice disagreeing amicably.

Professional Issues Teachers have different

philosophies. Sharing of workloads, equal

contribution required. Exposes professional and personal

points of view. Worry about professional growth.

Expertise?

Teacher’s Emotional Challenges Giving up unitary control of the

classroom Allowing one’s ideas to be publicly

challenged Openly acknowledging the limits of

one’s knowledge Impact on one’s identity

Identity How a person describes him- or

herself to be distinctive or unique (Brettschneider & Heim, 1997).

Who are you? Includes our values and norms.

How will team teaching impact on these?

Will your specific teacher identity change?

Teacher Identity Teacher identity or teacher-self

incorporates the holistic, dynamic, and situated nature of teacher development.

The teacher is an autonomous individual constantly moving between the need to connect with other colleagues and the need to maintain a sense of individuality

Teacher Identity Individuality One key aspect to this transition

from “me” to “we” is the need to overcome the discomfort of relinquishing the autonomy and authority that are inherent to teaching alone (Martin 1975).

Shifts in statuses and roles Power (dominance)

Teacher Identity One’s comfort with one’s “teaching self”

increases dramatically over time as our status enhances (Olson and Einwohner, 2001)

Negotiation of teacher identities Student perceptions

Is fluid and dynamic by nature and can be shaped by social engagements with others. Embrace formation of new and different

identities? Hold on to old established identity?

Teacher Identity Issues Understanding identity and the issues

related to it can be a challenging endeavour. the problem of defining the concept the place of the self related issues of agency, emotion, narrative

and discourse the role of reflection the influence of contextual factors.(Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009)

Challenging the Teacher’s Identity Identity negotiation in team teaching

has the potential to impact one’s teaching, one’s career, and student’s learning (Auster & MacRone, 1994).

Establishing oneself as a credible lecturer who has enough knowledge, experience, and authority to teach class content effectively is an on-going aspect of any classroom interaction.

References Auster, C. J., & MacRone, M. (1994). The classroom

as a negotiated social setting: An empirical study of the effects of faculty members’ behavior on students’ participation. Teaching Sociology, 22(3), 289-300.

Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: an overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175-189.

Brettschneider, W. D., & Heim, R. (1997). Identity, sport, and youth development, in K.R. Fox (ed.). The physical self: From motivation to well-being, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

References Goetz, K. (2000). Perspectives on team

teaching. Egallery, 1 (4), August. Martin, W. (1975). The negotiated order of

teachers in team teaching situations. Sociology of Education 48(2):202-22.

Olson, T., & Einwohner. R. (2001). Forming and transforming the teaching self in different institutional environments: Two teachers’ experiences. Teaching Sociology 29(4):403-22.

Robinson, B., & Schaible, R. (1995). Collaborative teaching: Reaping the benefits. College Teaching, 43(2), 57-60.

References Shaplin, J. T., & Olds, Jr. H. F. (Eds.) (1964).

Team teaching (pp. 1-23). New York: Harper and Row.

Wenger, M. S., & Hornyak, M. J. (1999). Team teaching for higher level learning: A framework of professional collaboration. Journal of Management Education, 23(3), 311-327.