An Evaluation on a Team Teaching by University Students and Lecturers in Australia

Abstract

This paper documents the results of an evaluation of ‘Team Teaching’ as an intervention strategy for international students enrolled in a university-level business course in Australia. The team teaching examined here aims to assist students with the successful completion of two assessment tasks: an argumentative/persuasive essay and a business report. Teaching was focused on structure, key language aspects and referencing. A survey was conducted of lecturers and students both at undergraduate and Master levels from six classes to identify their perceptions and to measure the evaluations of team teaching including that of the team teacher. Results show that both students and lecturers displayed positive attitudes towards the team teacher and the team teaching itself. While Master students displayed a less receptive attitude towards the content of team teaching than undergraduate students, they showed a positive attitude to the team teacher’s expertise at a similar degree to the undergraduate students. While students and lecturers alike perceive many benefits in developing academic writing skills, some issues associated with team teaching have been identified and a few strategic measures are recommended.