Advantages and disadvantages of team and individual teaching - Article Example

Advantages and Disadvantages of Team and Individual Teaching Teaching is the art of spreading knowledge to others. This art is being modified and innovated by the passage of time. Modern technology and new methods of learning have given this art a sheer change. In fact, it is now getting more effective as topics are expounded more clearly and practically by the use of multimedia equipments. Teaching in a team actually means a group of teachers, decisively working with each other on regular basis to facilitate students in groups in order to acquire knowledge about various subjects.

The instructors in team teaching cooperate with one another and make use of the particular skills and abilities of each instructor. This approach of teaching boosts up the student-teacher interaction, allowing both of them to evaluate each other. Contradictory to individual teaching, the goals are set by the consensus of team members and the methods and strategies of teaching are also set by the line of reasoning among the group members, helping to bring about the best of it. (Judson T Shaplin; Henry F Olds, 1964) The students may learn more profoundly by team teaching approach as more than one experts of the very topic defines it with a different approach.

It helps to understand the topic from various frames of references. This approach helps to get rid of students-teacher personality problems. Presence of another team mate abates the yoke of work from the teachers and motivates them more towards their profession. Team working distributes the responsibility, encourages creativity, and brings effectiveness in teaching. (Medill Bair; Richard G Woodward, 1964) However, sometimes this approach is not adapted by the experts. Since, groups are not every time as good as we assume them to be.

Often, teachers do not prefer to teach in teams, due to different reasons. For instance, some dislike having another teacher of the same rank on them; some avoid risk of humiliation and discouragement on expected failures. A minor misunderstanding among the team members leads to dissolution of the group and emerges conflicts. Different to this, individual teaching involves a single instructor performing the task of a team. This approach gives the teacher a chance to know the students from close and understand the general mindset of the pupils; helping him to design the strategy to explain the subject more efficiently in accordance with the attitude of the students.

(Rita Stafford Dunn; Kenneth J Dunn, 1978) One of the advantages of individual teaching is that it gives very specific learning targets for the students. It is easier, comparatively, to determine the output and gain by the students. And so, the teacher has the option here to change pace of teaching on the behalf of their gaining skills. Moreover, interaction of the same teacher for a longer period increases the understanding of him to assess the students and decide the right time to commence a particular topic.

(M C Wittrock; American Educational Research Association, 1986) Besides, such approach in institutions keeps apart students from their peers and emerges differences. Some students do not understand the way of teaching of certain teachers and this approach creates more troubles if the teacher does not meet their marks. This sometimes leads to injustice with other students because of the favoritism. In a nutshell, both the approaches have their successful applications and failures as well. It is the administration of schools to brainstorm and determine, keeping all the factors in mind, whether to go for team teaching, individual teaching or some other approach.

References Shaplin, Judson T, and Henry F. Olds. Team Teaching. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Print Bair, Medill, and Richard G. Woodward. Team Teaching in Action. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964. Print. Dunn, Rita S, and Kenneth J. Dunn. Teaching Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles: A Practical Approach. Reston, Va: Reston Pub. Co, 1978. Print. Wittrock, M C. Handbook of Research on Teaching. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Print.Bottom of Form