Team teaching as a strategy for enhancing teaching about theory-into-practice

Integrating theory-into-practice is an important skill for professionals to master during their university education; however, students and educators find learning and teaching about theory-into-practice challenging. To address these difficulties 'Transition Workshops' were implemented within a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. A mixed methods evaluation was conducted using pre- and post-workshop surveys and focus groups. Qualitative findings, the focus of this paper, were that team teaching helped educators feel more confident in teaching theory-into-practice as it was more enlivening than solo teaching, it provided opportunity for professional development, it enabled better understanding of the whole curriculum, and it modelled a consolidated professional identity. Team teaching assisted students by providing them with multiple role-models. This study highlighted that some of the challenge in supporting students to learn how to integrate theory-into-practice may be addressed using team teaching.

Automated summary

The study found that team teaching not only helped educators feel more confident in teaching theory-into-practice, but also provided opportunities for professional development, better understanding of the curriculum, and a consolidated professional identity. Team teaching also benefited students by providing them with multiple role models.