Co-teaching Two Interdisciplinary Courses in Higher Education

Abstract

Academics are challenged to shift from traditional lecture models to accommodate rising student expectations, digital delivery platforms, and inclusive evidence-based classroom practices. As a solution, co-teaching can add value to undergraduate students' and faculty's learning and problem-solving skills. We investigated effective co-teaching practices in higher education and its impact on students' learning outcomes. We analyzed co-teachers', teaching assistants', and students' interview and focus group data and an external evaluator's assessment of co-teaching classroom dynamics using thematic analysis; surveys on what co-teachers learned from teaching together; and students' self-reported learning assessments with co-teaching using descriptive analysis in two undergraduate Introduction to Public Health and Health Policy courses. Co-teachers learned from one another in teaching styles, troubleshooting, collegiality, and shared goals to improve students' learning outcomes. Given our limited student sample, students appreciated different co-teacher's perspectives, more resources and instructor help, despite not always receiving a balanced biomedical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]