1. Collaborative Team Teaching
Dr. Susan Mobley, History
Dr. Brian Harries, English

2. Primary Goal
The ultimate goal of collaborative team teaching is to allow the students to benefit from the complementary expertise of two different instructors.

3. Misperceptions
Team teaching means half the load
Each instructor only has to show up for half of the classes
Each instructor can take half the semester
Two teachers split up the responsibilities of tasks
One teacher conducts class and the other grades
The division of labor means a smaller time commitment
Since each person does half the work, it only takes half the time
Team teaching puts disciplines in competition
Having a second person in the classroom is a challenge to the other’s authority and/or ability to teach alone
These misperceptions represent cooperative teaching rather than collaborative teaching.

4. Benefits of Collaborative Team Teaching
For Students
A Teaching Team Reaches a Wider Variety of Learners
Team Teaching Models Respectful Disagreement
Team Teaching Embraces Risk and Exploration
Team Teaching Confronts Students with a Broad Variety of Perspectives
Team Teaching Demonstrates Synthesis, Connection, and Integration
For Instructors
Team Teaching Provides Emotional and Creative Support
Team Teaching Develops Truthful Relationships
Team Teaching Creates a Built-in Critically Reflective Mirror
Team Teaching Provides an Opportunity for Scholarly and Professional Development*
From Stephen D. Brookfield, The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the classroom (Wiley, 2014).
From Stephen D. Brookfield, The Skillful Teacher
On the whole, this model allows instructors to better guide students to understanding the material through a broader range of perspectives
As instructors, it provides and ally and a collaborator in a situation that demands a broad range of knowledge and approaches

5. Best Practices
Team Members Plan, Conduct, Evaluate, and Debrief All Activities Together
Team Makes Explicit Their Approach to Working Together
Teams Exercise Joint Authority in the Classroom
Both Instructors Attend and Participate in All Class Periods
Instructors Respect the Schedule and Teaching Plan
Team Members Remain Flexible

6. A Sample Lesson Plan—Day 4
Chronology work in pairs (10 min)--Susan
Bede (25 min)--Brian
What is the view of human nature? Same as Genesis?
How does he focus this on the “English”, specifically?
Summarize each of the four sections.
What is important? What is “worthy” of his attention?
--description of Britain
--arrival of the English
--Coifi/Paulinus
--conversion of Edwin?
--Hilda of Whitby?
--Caedmon?
[students work in doubled pairs, evaluating how each contributes to Bede’s project]
Based upon these selections, what is the purpose of history according to Bede?
What is the point of writing?
Each of the first three questions under Bede were meant as a general way to start discussion.
The fourth question required a division of labor
Students had about 10 min to develop a list of important aspects described by Bede
The eventual schema on the board showed that Bede’s project is quasi-Biblical
He starts with a description of the created world and then demonstrates how God works through his people

7. [Background on Aelfred] (5 min)--Brian
Alcuin (15 min)--Susan
2 letters in groups
What is the appropriate response in the face of hardship?
What is the purpose of history in these situations?
Aelfred the Great
[Background on Aelfred] (5 min)--Brian
Aelfred’s letter to Wurferth (15 min)
What is Aelfred’s project in light of the situation we’ve seen in Bede and Alcuin?
Why does he have the Pastoral Care translated and distributed?
What is the “aestel”? What is it for?
Look at the Aelfred jewel
Augustine--question for next time
What is Augustine’s understanding of time?
Students given 5 min in groups to answer the two questions about one of Alcuin’s letters
He urges the abbeys to which he is writing to keep their faith and know God protects them
History, he tells them, show them the Divine plan in these situations
This is much the same view of the world that we see in Bede
Aelfred is writing after the Viking attacks that Alcuin speaks about
The class discussion seeks to situate him in the context
Aelfred wants his people to have their history and learning—he makes clear that without it they lose everything their predecessors accomplished
The “aestel” is a mystery in this text—Aelfred says he’s attaching this thing to the book for obvious reasons to help with its preservation
The “Aelfred jewel” may be one of these things—it’s a matter of debate
Augustine represents a return to earlier material and a synthesis moment
We’ve talked about Augustine’s view of creation and scripture as important for the Middle Ages, but we have not yet talked about his discussion of time.
For the following class period (today), students are asked to consider what he says about the difference between Divine and mortal perception of time and how that impacts the way we view our own past.