ERIC Number: EJ1084599
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1918-2902
EISSN: N/A
Team-Based Learning in the Humanities Classroom: "Women's Environmental Writing" as a Case Study
Harde, Roxanne
Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v6 n3 Article 11 2015
This essay presents the adaptation of Team-Based Learning (TBL) for a course that uses ecofeminist approaches to environmental literature. Developed originally for use in professional programs, TBL's cornerstones are permanent learning teams, preparation, application, and timely assessment (Michaelsen, Knight, & Fink, 2002). I wanted my students to examine literature about nature and sustainability in a way that would inform their ecological practice in the future. In this essay, I discuss the practice of using TBL in the environmental literature classroom, a strategy that has produced noticeable positive engagement from my students, engendering intellectual engagement with literature, the environment, and ecofeminist theory and criticism. I outline how TBL has proved an effective teaching strategy in the environmental literature classroom, showing the model's value in a Humanities setting. I begin by detailing the goals of a course on women's environmental literature and ecofeminist theory. Second, I explain how I applied TBL strategies of student and teacher accountability to the course by using Readiness Assessment Tests (RATs) and assigning permanent teams of five to eight students for regular discussion and peer evaluation. Third, I discuss ways in which a TBL approach to teaching women's environmental literature encourages collaborative learning among students, and reflects the communal attitude that should be a part of ecofeminist learning and application. I also present students' assessments of their experiences in the TBL classroom, along with my own evaluation, concluding that although the TBL method is initially labour intensive for both students and teachers, it is an ideal teaching method as it encourages accountability, regular feedback, and practical application of course material.
Descriptors: Cooperative Learning, Teamwork, Humanities Instruction, Case Studies, Females, Feminism, Environmental Education, Sustainable Development, Educational Strategies, Teaching Methods, Accountability, Peer Evaluation, Student Experience, Feedback (Response), Writing (Composition), Foreign Countries
University of Western Ontario and Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Mills Memorial Library Room 504, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L6, Canada. Tel: 905-525-9140; e-mail: info@cjsotl-rcacea.ca; Web site: http://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Tests/Questionnaires; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A