Publication Date

2005

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Dorsch, Nina G.

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Teaching and Learning

LCSH

Teaching teams--Study and teaching (Elementary)--Illinois--Chicago--Case studies; Critical pedagogy--Illinois--Chicago--Case studies

Abstract

In the current climate of high-stakes testing and accountability, the true purpose of education is often overlooked. Aside from the traditional belief that teachers simply teach reading, writing, and math, there is an obligation to educate students to become active democratic participants. It rests on teachers and administrators to prepare students for the variety of perspectives they will experience in the classroom, community, and society as a whole. Democratic classrooms provide an environment in which students are able to explore alternative points of view and begin to value the differences, as well as similarities, between all human beings. Team teaching, several teachers sharing the same group of students, is one approach to create a democratic classroom. For teachers, team teaching provides an opportunity to work cooperatively with a common goal of helping a group of students learn. For students, team teaching provides an environment in which they can see compromise, cooperation, willingness to dialogue, and open-mindedness among the adults as well as between themselves and their peers. In order for a team teaching situation to be successful for both students and teachers, each member of the team needs to be open to difference, cooperative in their work, and willing to compromise. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of a team teaching setting on students' and teachers' perceptions of an elementary school classroom. A total of six teachers and ten students from two teams at a suburban elementary school were participants in the study. Interviews, focus groups, and observations were used to collect the data. The analysis of the data was conducted under a democratic theory framework.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [108]-115).

Extent

vii, 124 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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