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Abstract:
Instructors often teach in isolation with very little collegial interaction guiding their practice. In light
of the research that exists identifying the value of collaboration within learning environments, the
merits of such isolated practice must be questioned. Even though collaboration within educational
settings has been identified as critical to the development of both instructors and students, highly
collaborative approaches to team teaching have not been fully explored. The purpose of this study
was to examine our own experience as team teachers in a team taught, educational psychology
course. Through a phenomenological analysis of our lived experiences as instructors engaged in
collaboratively teaching an undergraduate course, we gained understanding of the benefits of team
teaching within a broader context. A thematic structure emerged that captured our experience of the
process of co-teaching. This shared thematic structure consisted of one ground theme, named we
didn’t have a manual for this/finding our way through, and five themes, each providing insight into
how we made sense of team teaching. The five emergent themes were (a) You can’t shoot from the
hip; (b) Following and leading . . . all of us together; (c) If we walk away disagreeing, is it okay?;
(d) The presence of another pushed us to go deeper; and (e) You build something bigger.
Implications for the use of team teaching in higher education are also explored, highlighting the
value of collaborative praxis.
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