Team Teaching

          In the years that I have been in the educational system I only remember having one class that was taught by two different teachers. The class was for math and the teachers switched off every day. One would be upfront teaching us a lesson, and the other would be in the back of the class looking for any hands to pop up so he could help us if needed. The only problem with the class was that the teachers had two very different teaching styles. Fortunately, the teacher who would roam around was there to help me understand the others lesson when I did not get it. Their system of teaching did not last long and by the next semester the two were in their own classrooms.

          After reading the articles related to teaching a class in pairs, I can see why it is so difficult for some instructors to work together. In order for a pair to work well together they must devote an endless amount of time to hammering out any flaws or differences they had. Clearly the experience that I had was not an example of a well-planned team teaching duo. However, it makes me wonder if the teachers meant to teach this way. For instance, if the teachers had such different styles perhaps they meant to teach this way. This way they could reach a larger audience of students. Nevertheless, it is still clear that when the teachers switched that there were some students who had to wait for the other teacher to take over so they could understand what was going on.

In conclusion, I feel as if the best teaching strategy is one that involves both of the teachers being on the same page – and talking to class so they know what will happen throughout the course of the year (or semester).