Team Teaching

This week a member of our department, not the department head, suggested we try setting up a day where we teach a class together with another teacher on our same subject level. The logistics can be kind of tricky with all of us having different class periods, but if the subs can be put in place there’s real potential there for our kids.

I was skeptical at first, having tried this before and seeing no real difference in results, but this year I’ve tried it and have had some real success. Earlier this week my department head popped in while I was teaching and got involved. To be clear, I invited him to participate when he just showed up to observe/check in, but it was a great decision. I was already having tech problems, whether he realized it or not, and his participation really helped me recover from a day that would have been less than stellar. Here’s what we all got out of it.

1. The kids got to review concepts we already covered from a different perspective and teaching style. There are some kids who i’ve been having trouble reaching that noticeably responded to my department head. The difference is clear in both discussion and quiz data.
   
   
2. I got to observe a different style and interact with it. It felt like when you practice speaking a new language. I event incorporated things I learned into later lessons. My classes got even better as the day went on.
   
   
3. It freed me up to give real time, one on one assistance to kids that were still falling behind.
   
   

I think the last is the most important benefit. It was a good experience that I’m looking forward to planning and trying. I’d imagine it would be even better than the spontaneous collaboration earlier this week