ERIC Number: EJ1126283
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1560
EISSN: N/A
Team-Taught versus Individually Taught Undergraduate Education: A Qualitative Study of Student Experiences and Preferences
Money, Arthur; Coughlan, Jane
Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, v72 n6 p797-811 Dec 2016
Team teaching is becoming more common in undergraduate programmes of study although the relative merits to the more traditional individually taught courses have not been determined for best practice. For this study, 15 final-year undergraduate computer science students were interviewed to gain insight into their learning experiences. A thematic analysis of the interview data identified the perceived advantages and disadvantages of each mode of teaching. The advantages of individually taught courses included: "consistency" of content delivery and advice, "familiarity" with the lecturer's teaching style and better "continuity" of the subject content. The disadvantage of individually taught modules included "missing knowledge", compared to a team approach. Advantages of team-taught modules included: "greater insight into a topic" delivered by multiple team members. Disadvantages included: "content overlap", "conflicting messages" relating to assessment, team members not taking "ownership" of their roles and responsibilities and a belief that overall "team failure" is worse than individual failure to deliver a module well. The results revealed that individually taught modules were generally preferred to team-taught modules. A set of best practice recommendations are proposed to address the challenges when delivering team-taught teaching and become more student focused.
Descriptors: Qualitative Research, Undergraduate Students, Learning Experience, Computer Science Education, Team Teaching, Best Practices, Teaching Methods, Familiarity, Teaching Styles, College Faculty, Course Content, Teacher Role, Ownership, Student Attitudes, Preferences, Semi Structured Interviews
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A