Team-teaching and the Application in the Course English Teaching Methodology by Sino-English Teachers in China

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• Team-teaching and the Application in the
  Course English Teaching Methodology by
  Sino-English Teachers in China
• Wang Dianjian Liz Van Wijk
• (Lanzhou Jiaotong University Lanzhou
  Gansu China 730070)

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• Abstract
• Based on our experiences of team teaching the
  course English Teaching Methodology to 2 classes
  of adult in-service teachers in a teacher
  training university in China for one year, this
  paper intends to discuss the concept of the term
  team teaching, summarize how we team taught the
  course English Teaching Methodology and provide
  team teachers with specific tips on how to
  function effectively as equal partners working
  together in the same classroom

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• 1.Introduction
• The term team teaching is often used to describe
  the situation in which two general education
  teachers combine classes and share instruction.
• In team teaching, both teachers are delivering
  the same instruction at the same time. This
  implies that each speaks freely during
  large-group instruction and moves among all the
  students in the class.

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II. Team teaching and co- teaching

•  
• Co-teaching seems to be an approach for meeting
  the educational needs of students with diverse
  learning abilities, may also be a way of
  stimulating thought about teaching practice.

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• Team teaching is one of the forms of co-teaching.
  Team teaching usually happens during a lesson in
  which instructional conversation is appropriate,
  in team teaching situations in which the teachers
  have considerable experiences and a high sense of
  comfort, or when the goals of instruction include
  demonstrating some types of interaction to
  students.

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• Team teaching approach is affected more than any
  other by individuals teaching styles and it is
  the most interpersonally complex team teaching
  approach. If you look at the theory of
  co-teaching, there are various forms of
  co-teaching

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• 1) One teach, one support
• With this model, one teacher has the primary
  responsibility for planning and teaching, while
  the other teacher moves around the classroom
  helping individuals and observing particular
  behavior. For example, one teacher could present
  the lesson while the other walks around, or one
  teacher presents the lesson while the other
  distributes materials

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• 2) Parallel teaching
• In parallel teaching, the teachers plan jointly
  but split the classroom in half to teach the same
  information at the same time. For example, both
  teachers could be explaining the same grammar
  point in two different parts of the room. Each
  half of the class could be involved in a
  literature study group. After the material is
  presented, the groups can get together to share
  ideas and skills.

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• 3) Alternative teaching
• In alternative teaching, one teacher manages most
  of the class while the other teacher works with a
  small group inside or outside of the classroom.
  The small group does not have to integrate with
  the current lesson. For example, a teacher could
  take an individual student out help her catch up
  on a missed assignment. A teacher could also work
  with an individual or a small group for
  assessment purposes, or to teach social skills. A
  small group of weaker or advanced students could
  work together.

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• 4) Team teaching
• Both teachers are responsible for planning, and
  they share the instruction of all students. Both
  teachers who teach the lessons are responsible
  for the work, leading in turns. The teachers
  interact with each other, engage in conversation,
  give examples, demonstrate points, and help
  students. Both teachers are actively involved in
  the management of the lesson, and in discipline.

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• 5) Station teaching
• In station teaching, teachers divide content and
  students. Students rotate from one teacher to
  another and also to an independent station so
  that each teacher repeats instruction three times
  and each student access both teachers and the
  independent station. If appropriate, the third
  station could also be set up to require that
  students work in pairs instead of independently.

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III. Application

• 1.Background
• Classes Class A and Class B, Grade 03 in English
  department in Gansu United University, Lanzhou ,
  China
• Students adult in-service teachers (most of them
  are the English teachers in the different middle
  schools in Gansu province, China)
• Major English education
• Course English Teaching Methodology
• Textbook A Course in English Language Teaching
  by Cheryl Moen and Bob Adamson
• Team teachers Wang, the Chinese English teacher,
  Chinese L1, English L2 and Liz, the native
  speaking English teacher, English L1.
• Time 2003.9-2004.7

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• 2. Instructional planning
• Firstly, the whole process of team teaching has
  to be planned. In order to ensure the planning
  work successfully, both team teachers need to get
  administrative support and the agreement of
  leaders in scheduling common planning periods,
  and permission to apply team teaching in certain
  courses, and must then schedule once or twice a
  week to use part of a period for planning.

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• Secondly, carefully co-planned lesson plan must
  be completed. At the outset, we had to sit down
  and work out how we would divide up the syllabus

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• Based on our experiences, we have identified
  several issues that team teachers should address
  when they are planning if they want to be
  successful

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• Whose classroom management rules do we use?
• Most team teachers know the types of academic and
  social behavior they find acceptable and
  unacceptable. Over the years, both Chinese
  English teacher and foreign English teacher have
  established their own ways to deal with students
  inappropriate behavior. Teachers should discuss
  their classroom management styles and the roles
  they expect of each other in maintaining a
  smoothly running classroom.

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• What do we tell the students?
• The students should be informed that they have
  two teachers and that both teachers have the same
  authority. It is our experience that students
  willingly accept the idea of having two teachers
  and like it very much. In interviews we have
  conducted, many students who have participated in
  team teaching classrooms tell us that having two
  teachers is better because everyone gets more
  help and they can benefit from two teachers.

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• How can we find time to co-plan?
• The most pervasive concern of both teachers in
  team teaching situations is obtaining sufficient
  time during the school day to plan and discuss
  instruction and student progress. Planning often
  comes on our own time. Even when a designated
  period is established for co-planning, this time
  gets taken away to be used for meetings and other
  school management activities. Teachers need a
  minimum of 45 minutes of uninterrupted planning
  time each week if they are likely to have a
  successful team teaching experience.

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• 3. Instructional presentation

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• 4. Assessment

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Implications

• 1. Team-teaching personal relationship
• Team teachers personal characteristics, common
  knowledge, and skills and attitudes will
  influence the process of team teaching.
• Team teachers should have personal
  characteristics that enable them to work
  effectively with another instructor.
• Team teachers should have sets of common
  knowledge and skills.
• Team teachers should have discipline-specific
  knowledge and skills.
• Team teaching should be voluntary

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• 2. The professional relationship
• Team teachers need to have unique professional
  relationships.
• The professional relationship is built on
  parity, communication, respect, and trust.
• Team teachers make a commitment to building and
  maintaining their professional relationship

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• 3. Co-planning
• Team teachers must discuss the following issues
  when they are planning together before beginning
  to teach together to help to prevent conflict
  later and make the team more efficient at the
  outset
• What kind of materials, books and supplies will
  you choose?
• Which materials are mine, which are yours, and
  which are ours?
• How can you set aside several hours of joint
  planning per week?
• Which content should each of us teach?
• What content should be divided?
• What content should be taught jointly?
• How will you keep records? What is the grading
  system?
• What are the strength and weakness of both team
  teachers?

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• What are the things you have in common?
• What are the things that make you different?
• Do you both have the same level of expertise
  about the curriculum and instructing students?
• How will you ensure that you both are actively
  involved and neither feels over- or
  underutilized?
• What feedback structure can you create to
  assist in your regular communication?
• How can you ensure that this schedule will be
  maintained consistently so that both team
  teachers can trust it?
• How will you maintain communication between
  team taught sessions?
• Additionally, team teachers also need to discuss
  and then make decisions about the following
  issues
• How will you make best use of mutual planning
  time, how to evaluate progress, grades?
• How will you develop class rules and behavior
  management?
• How will you communicate with other personnel?
• How will you get to know your partner?

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• 4. Classroom dynamics
• The interactions in a team taught classroom are
  unique to this teaching arrangement. Team
  teachers need to discuss the following issues
• Team teachers should clearly define classroom
  roles and responsibilities.
• Team teachers instructional interactions
  should reflect their professional relationship.
• The curriculum in team-taught classes should
  explicitly address academic, developmental, and
  compensatory criteria, and should reflect the
  needs of students in the class.
• Team teachers should monitor their efforts.

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• VI. Advantages and disadvantages of team teaching
  in universities /colleges
• 1. Advantages
• Chinese teachers can give foreign teachers a
  better insight into Chinese life and customs.
• Foreign teachers will be better integrated into
  the English Departments.
• Chinese teachers can see the communicative way
  of teaching in practice.
• This could be an opportunity for Chinese
  teachers to try the communicative approach in
  more detail with the help of a teacher with
  experience with the communicative approach.
• More English will be used in the classroom,
  i.e., both teachers will be speaking English.

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• Students will benefit from the knowledge and
  skills of two teachers.
• Chinese teachers will have access to more
  material and ways of teaching.
• Chinese teachers can explain in Chinese when
  there is a need.
• Chinese teachers can help foreign teachers
  understand Chinese students difficulties when
  learning English.
• According to the New English Curriculum for
  China (2002), in the future Junior and Senior
  English at schools the teaching methods are going
  to be more student-centered and task-based. Both
  teachers at colleges and students need to learn
  and practice the communicative teaching method.
• Planning lessons together means that teachers
  will share knowledge and skills.

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• 2. Disadvantages
• There may be a shortage of teachers.
• Planning lessons together are time-consuming.
• The skills of team teaching may not have the
  chance to be used in the future.
• The system of having to finish the textbook or
  a certain amount of work rather than teaching
  skills puts the teachers under pressure to work
  quickly and so teachers may feel that team
  teaching will waste time

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• V. Conclusion
• Team teaching in EFL is a new area to study. It
  can be an extremely beneficial and professionally
  rewarding experience if all goes well. In order
  to team teach successfully, both the Chinese
  English teacher and the foreign teacher need to
  cooperate and to maintain respect for each other,
  both inside and outside the classroom. As
  discussed above, team teachers also need to
  develop and establish a special relationship,
  both personally and professionally. Based on our
  experience of team teaching, we can only provide
  some basic tips for successful team teaching

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• Thank you!