← Back to articles The advantages of team teaching Carolanne Tremblay , Monday, August 28 2017

The people I've worked with know that I am devoted to team teaching! This type of teaching greatly facilitates the creation of a project and gives students a new perspective on the world, that of cooperation and collaboration!

The world is changing and society is evolving just like the educational world. Today, several schools value team teaching and for excellent reasons. At the beginning of my career, I had difficulty with team teaching. I found it difficult to take my place and I often tended to separate the classroom to carry out different activities instead of cooperating and collaborating with my colleagues. By working in team teaching, I learned to love, no, to adore this method of teaching.

Why?

Team teaching allows different practices to manifest in the classroom. Yes, we can separate our students to allow some to consolidate while others learn more on the subject. But the real interest of team teaching is to give students access to two visions, two teaching methods, two distinct personalities. Thus, it is easier for each individual to identify with one of the teachers. Two makes it possible to better meet the individual needs of students. While one teacher gives explanations, the other can walk around, answer questions, or test the students.

For team teaching to be effective, it is important that both teachers learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the other while leaving their ego aside. We must give ourselves time. During the first periods of team teaching, we encounter certain disturbances. Whether we think that the other is taking up too much space or disagreeing with how we intervene with our students here, it is all a question of adaptation. We must give ourselves time to learn how to work together. One must consult one another, speak to one another, but above all, one must be well prepared.

Every day, students in our classes are asked to work as a team. Team teaching allows them to experience real collaboration. As teachers, we are their role models. Collaborating with a colleague is a strong example of how students can participate in positive teamwork.

To sum up…

Project-based pedagogy can do great things with students in our classes. However, in my opinion, the biggest thing we can do is discover our students in a new light and see them grow in our class, like butterflies coming out of their cocoon. But for this pedagogy to be pleasant and easy to use, we must allow students to make mistakes and open ourselves to collaboration with our fellow teachers! I will leave you with some ideas of projects to work on with your students!

Examples of projects to be carried out with students:

Recycling awareness day organized for young people from all over the school.

Creating reusable bags

Presentation (in the form of a kiosk) of everyday heroes

Creation of a student newspaper

Organization of a solidarity march

Presentation of a musical concert

Decoration of a room

etc.

All projects are possible. Listen to the students and let them create!