ERIN LANE: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA TEAM TEACHING: DO AS I DO, NOT AS I SAY

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Program is grounded in Science Pre-req’s.: First year Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English and Differential and Integral Calculus Choose area of concentration: an Ecology and Conservation or Land, Air and Water Co-op, work study, exchange opportunities All students are required to take: Ecology, Oceanography, Atmospheric Science, Hydrology and Biogeochemistry Physical Chemistry, Coordination or Organic Chemistry, Statistics, Calculus III At least one “tools” course: GIS, MATLAB, Computation, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry Core backbone of environmental science courses

A SERIES OF CORE COURSES Enhance breadth, not depth Broad perspective on global, regional, and local environmental issues Variety of perspectives: scientific, technical, social, political, economic, legal, and ethical. Process-orientated learning objectives Problem-solving, critical thinking, research, team-work and communication Build a cohort Each student will leave our program with a very different set of content knowledge and technical skills Establish connections between core disciplines Project based Student-centered learning Team teaching

WHY TEAM TEACHING? Integrative cross-disciplinary approach Breakdown silos Model how experts think, learn and interact Often no right answer Emulate scholarly discussion and communication that occurs in real professional or academic settings Provide expertise in specific areas covered within one course Provide a wealth of contacts and resources

SEQUENCE OF COURSES Second year Different perspectives/career paths Critical thinking Scientific literacy Team work Communication skills Third year: Build on the skills of second year Data analysis Research proposal Forth year: Project management Work with community stakeholders Market their skills Apply ‘tools’ classes to real world problems

DO STUDENTS IN SPECIFIC COURSES CONSIDER HAVING MULTIPLE INSTRUCTORS AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE? CourseModelNAdv.NeutralDisadv. 2 nd year. Environ. Science TT (2)3681%19%0% 2 nd year. Earth Science Topics HY (2)17100%0% 3 rd year. Oceanography HY (3)13158%22%19% 2 nd year. Majors Geology SM (2)5435%39%26% 2 nd year. Computer Science SM (2)20314%33%54% Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Multiple Instructors to Teach Single Courses; Jones & Harris, Accepted to College Teaching (2012)

ADVANTAGES “… [instructors] working together enriched the class; they could bounce ideas off each other”, and “… you could see how they interacted …” => students recognize true team teaching as bringing aspects of expert thinking, communication and discussion into the class Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Multiple Instructors to Teach Single Courses; Jones & Harris, Accepted to College Teaching (2012)

DISADVANTAGES Resource intensive Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Multiple Instructors to Teach Single Courses; Jones & Harris, Accepted to College Teaching (2012)