interdisciplinary team teaching an effective method to.pdfVIP

The Journal of Effective Teaching an online journal devoted to teaching excellence Interdisciplinary Team Teaching: An Effective Method to Transform Student Attitudes 1 Amanda Little and Anne Hoel Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751 Abstract In order to maximize student development in an interdisciplinary context, we imple- mented and evaluated a business-biology team teaching approach. The class project in- volved teams of environmental science and business students analyzing an industry stakeholder interested in participating in the development of a community composting network. We compared the results of this team-taught section with a more traditionally- taught business section with a sustainability emphasis, with the objectives of identifying student learning gains and reflecting, as faculty, upon the experience. In the affective domain, there was initial discomfort with the interdisciplinary team teaching method on the part of both faculty and students. In the cognitive domain, both team-taught and tradi- tional sections perceived significant gains in understanding both business and natural sys- tems, although the treatment group alone made significant (P 0.10) gains in linking in- terdisciplinary thinking and an understanding of both business and natural systems to fu- ture success. These findings suggest that the affective and cognitive transformations ex- perienced in team-taught settings are important for teaching expanded worldviews and diverse perspectives. Keywords: Team teaching, active l