Teaching Teamwork Through Coteaching in the Business Classroom

Abstract

Business educators recognize the importance of developing teamwork as an employability skill. However, current methods used to teach teamwork have been met with mixed results from both students and educators. This article integrates research on the importance of teamwork, team development processes, and coteaching through examining a case study wherein coteaching was used as a means of conveying teamwork concepts to students. Coteaching is an alternate approach to teaching teamwork skills. In this case, the core competencies of shared values, complementary expertise, and the willingness to experiment were critical to forming and developing a functional teaching partnership.

Keywords

teamwork coteaching modeling in business education collaborative learning classroom environments higher education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Booth

Dixon-Brown

Kohut

(2003).Shared teaching models for business communication in a research environment.Business Communication Quarterly,66(3),23-38. doi:10.1177/108056990306600304

Brookfield

S. D.

(1995).Becoming a critically reflective teacher.San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass.

Buckenmyer

(2000).Using teams for class activities: Making course/classroom teams work.Journal of Education for Business,76,98-107. doi:10.1080/08832320009599960

Cockburn-Wootten

Cockburn

(2011).Unsettling assumptions and boundaries: Strategies for developing a critical perspective about business and management communication.Business Communication Quarterly,74,45-59. doi:10.1177/1080569910395563

Colby

Ehrlich

Sullivan

W. M.

Dolle

J. R.

(2011).Rethinking undergraduate business education: Liberal learning for the profession.San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass.

Conn

C. E.

(2010).Learning the hard way (but still learning): Using team teaching as a vehicle for pedagogical change.Business Communication Quarterly,73,87-91. doi:10.1177/1080569909358098

Cook

Friend

(1995).Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices.Focus on Exceptional Children,28(3),1-16.

Dugan

Letterman

(2008).Student appraisals of collaborative teaching.College Teaching,56,11-15. doi:10.3200/CTCH.56.1.11-16

Dyrud

M. A.

(2010).Team teaching, part 1.Business Communication Quarterly,73,80-82. doi:10.1177/1080569909358095

10.

Ferguson

Wilson

J. C.

(2011).The co-teaching professorship: Power and expertise in the co-taught higher education classroom.Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly,5,52-68.

11.

Game

Metcalfe

(2009).Dialogue and team teaching.Higher Education Research & Development,28,45-57. doi:10.1080/07294360802444354

12.

Gaytan

(2010).Instructional strategies to accommodate a team-teaching approach.Business Communication Quarterly,73,82-87. doi:10.1177/1080569909358097

13.

Glenn

(2009).Students give group assignments a failing grade.Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved fromhttp://chronicle.com/article/Students-Give-Group/47303/

14.

Gueldenzoph

L. E.

(2007).Using teaching teams to encourage active learning.Business Communication Quarterly,70,457-462. doi:10.1177/10805699070700040303

15.

Hansen

R. S.

(2006).Benefits and problems with student teams: Suggestions for improving team projects.Journal of Education for Business,82,11-19. doi:10.3200/JOEB.82.1.11-19

16.

Harris

Harvey

A. N. C.

(2000).Team teaching in adult higher education classrooms: Toward collaborative knowledge construction.New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,87,25-32. doi:10.1002/ace.8703

17.

Hart Research Associates. (2010).Raising the bar: Employers’ views on college learning in the wake of the economic downturn.Washington, DC:Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved fromhttp://www.aacu.org/leap/public_opinion_research.cfm

18.

Helms

M. M.

Alvis

J. M.

Willis

(2005).Planning and implementing shared teaching: An MBA team-teaching case study.Journal of Education for Business,81,29-34. doi:10.3200/JOEB.81.1.29-34

19.

Hochradel

Long

Johnson

(2010).Team-teaching: Communication is the key when integrating graduate coursework.Business Communication Quarterly,73,196-200. doi:10.1177/1080569910367604

20.

Leon

L. A.

Tai

L. S.

(2004).Implementing cooperative learning in a team-teaching environment.Journal of Education for Business,79,287-293. doi:10.3200/JOEB.79.5.287-293

21.

McKendall

(2000).Teaching groups to become teams.Journal of Education for Business,75,277-282. doi:10.1080/08832320009599028

22.

Michaelsen

L. K.

Cragin

J. P.

Watson

W. E.

(1981).Grading and anxiety: A strategy for coping.Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal,6,8-14. doi:10.1177/105256298100600107

23.

Moon

J. A.

(2006).Learning journals: A handbook for professional development and practice(2nd ed.).London, England:Routledge.

24.

Murawski

W. W.

Swanson

H. L.

(2001).A meta-analysis of co-teaching research.Remedial and Special Education,22,258-267. doi:10.1177/074193250102200501

25.

Oakley

Felder

R. M.

Brent

Elhajj

(2004).Turning student groups into effective teams.Journal of Student Centered Learning,2,9-34.

26.

O’Neill

K. K.

(2010).Teaching across the great divide.Business Communication Quarterly,73,212-215. doi:10.1177/1080569910367611

27.

Plank

K. M.

(Ed.). (2011).Team teaching: Across the disciplines, across the academy.Sterling, VA:Stylus.

28.

Rehling

Lindeman

(2010).Vive la différence: What we learn from each other by teaching together.Business Communication Quarterly,73,91-96. doi:10.1177/1080569909358099

29.

Riebe

Roepen

Santarelli

Marchioro

(2010).Teamwork: Effectively teaching an employability skill.Education + Training,52,528-539. doi:10.1108/00400911011068478

30.

Schermerhorn

J. R.

(2011).Management(11th ed.).Hoboken, NJ:Wiley.

31.

Seibold

D. R.

Kang

(2008).Using critical praxis to understand and teach teamwork.Business Communication Quarterly,71,421-438. doi:10.1177/1080569908325859

32.

Siciliano

(1999).A template for managing teamwork in courses across the curriculum.Journal of Education for Business,74,261-265. doi:10.1080/08832329909601694

33.

Snyder

L. G.

(2009).Teaching teams about teamwork: Preparation, practice, and performance review.Business Communication Quarterly,72,74-79. doi:10.1177/1080569908330372

34.

Sundstrom

De Meuse

K. P.

Futrell

(1990).Work teams: Applications and effectiveness.American Psychologist,45,120-133. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.45.2.120

35.

Thousand

Villa

Nevin

(2006).The many faces of collaborative planning and teaching.Theory into Practice,45,239-248. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4503_6

36.

Walther-Thomas

(1997).Co-teaching experiences: The benefits and problems teachers and principals report over time.Journal of Learning Disabilities,30,395-407. doi:10.1177/002221949703000406

37.

Weimer

(2002).Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice.San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass.