Team teaching is the practice of having more than one teacher in the classroom. Gladman (2014) explains some of the benefits that a group of students in Japan experienced from team teaching. The article stated that students communicate more effectively in a class with two teachers as there is no longer only one point of reference in the classroom. Students begin to understand that no one can be an expert on everything. This resulted in the students trusting their thoughts and ideas more often and, as a result, collaborating more frequently with each other to solve problems. "Classroom interaction is not unilateral to the teacher, but a co-production of all participants” (Gladman, 2014, pg. 133). Understanding that they can benefit immensely by learning from peers, students were more likely to collaborate similar to the way that team teachers were collaborating.
Team teaching can be a challenging experience for some teachers as the philosophy of each teacher may be different. As stated by Marissa Kaplan (2012), “strong co-teachers provide seamless instruction for their students. Both teachers must come to a mutual agreement that they are equals in the classroom, and students must perceive both teachers as invaluable members of the classroom community.” (para. 4) Co-teachers must be positive role models and demonstrate good collaborative work. If done properly, teachers can spend more time separating students into smaller groups and facilitating learning, allowing classes to focus more on problem based learning and authentic tasks that involve collaboration between students.
Team teaching can be a challenging experience for some teachers as the philosophy of each teacher may be different. As stated by Marissa Kaplan (2012), “strong co-teachers provide seamless instruction for their students. Both teachers must come to a mutual agreement that they are equals in the classroom, and students must perceive both teachers as invaluable members of the classroom community.” (para. 4) Co-teachers must be positive role models and demonstrate good collaborative work. If done properly, teachers can spend more time separating students into smaller groups and facilitating learning, allowing classes to focus more on problem based learning and authentic tasks that involve collaboration between students.