Team Teach with a Student: New Approach to Collaborative Teaching

Using Simulations and Collaborative Teaching to Enhance Introductory Courses

“…It is difficult to succeed in such a simulation without asking questions; having peers available to answer them allowed students to feel more at ease and therefore learn and retain more. Gray and Halbert (1998) also found that providing undergraduate assistants for students to talk to increases student comfort and learning.…”

“…In addition to helping with this and other issues involved in the design of the simulation, student assistants provide a wonderful sounding board for reflecting on how things are going (Gray and Halbert 1998;Herreid and Kozak 1995;Sidlow, Henschen, and Milstein 1999). To quote Gray and Halbert, "[ilnstead of going to one's office alone after class, the student teacher is there to celebrate classroom successes and figure out how to improve problems" (1 52).…”

Student-faculty team teaching – A collaborative learning approach

“…This learning is also potentially viable to arise during interactions between peer tutors and instructor when using a student-faculty team teaching model. Additionally, when peer tutors exhibit knowledge and confidence in course content, particularly in the application of statistics, they demonstrate to students that they too are capable of grasping the material (Gray & Halbert, 1998). Having peer tutors in the classroom generally reduces student anxiety and encourages engagement (Crowe et al, 2014;M'mworia, 2009;McKenna & French, 2011;Troisi, 2014).…”

“…Peer tutors are usually awarded academic credit for their work, and they report learning a great deal about the subject matter and the role faculty plays in student learning outcomes, as well as becoming more effective educators (Gray & Halbert, 1998;Gray & Harrison, 2003;Odom, Ho, & Moore, 2014;Romm, Gordon-Messer, & Kosinski-Collins, 2010;Stewart, 2006;Whitman, 1988). This practical experience increases peer tutors' self-confidence in interpersonal interactions, as they gain the ability to explain complex concepts.…”

Introduction

“…This benefit can increase exponentially when we include students as collaborative partners, as Werder and Otis's () edited volume notes. Gray and Halbert () point out that having someone with whom to walk back to the office after class provides a valuable opportunity for reflective practice, an idea echoed by Gutman et al. ().…”