Team Teaching: Rewards and Challenges

At this point, we have a lot of evidence that the lecture-based model isn’t optimal for student learning. We also know that the more active students are in class, the more information they will retain. But the larger question for history professors is how to create an active learning environment in a discipline that has traditionally been dominated by lecture-based pedagogy. This semester, I’m trying one of the most common methods, at least at teaching-oriented institutions: a learning community.

The course is titled “Human Rights, Human Wrongs: Social Justice in American History and Literature.” I team teach the course with a colleague from the English Department. Students taking the course earn credit for US History since 1877 and American Literature. The course is just into its 9th week, but here are some preliminary thoughts for faculty considering team teaching:

You have to fight for enrollment. 

I’ve never worried about filling a class before, but students are a little apprehensive about a learning community. Three hours sounds like a long time, and they need to be reassured. We marketed the course, promoted it in various forums, and learned quickly the best ways to advertise it.

You have to make a strong argument for the course. 

We are lucky to have had administrative support for adding this class. But faculty should prepare to make a good argument about a course’s attractiveness to attract students, its connection to the goals of both departments, and its overall value to the college. This is especially important because, at many institutions, teaching an integrated course fulfills two classes of a typical course load.

You can’t overstate the benefits of interdisciplinary learning. 

I’ve never gotten such positive student reactions in a class. We integrate the material so that students are constantly connecting literature to history; the result is that we are able to cover a lot of material with students processing it quicker than is typical for either of these courses.

Integrating course content is challenging and rewarding. 

As professors, we are typically protective of our course content. Teaching with a colleague forces you to constantly reconsider why you do certain things and whether there is a better approach. My colleague’s use of poetry has led me to completely rework how I structure class discussions of the Gilded Age. We meet for hours each week to discuss how best to structure course discussions.

Team teaching is ideal for creating an active learning environment. 

We spend six hours a week with 15 students. By necessity, we come up with creative ways to get students to take an active role in the learning process. From group presentations to readers’ theater to class debates and projects, we rarely resort to traditional lectures. I’ve come to realize that there is usually a better way to cover material than standing in front of the class talking. It just takes a lot of time and effort to transform lectures into group activities.

On the whole, I’m having a blast. We’re teaching the course again in the spring and have already started preparing. Learning communities have become a lot more common over the past ten years, and I think they are really beneficial for students. I encourage faculty to try one. The rewards far outweigh the challenges.

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