Team teaching implementation in engineering education: teacher perceptions and experiences

ABSTRACT

In 2014, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences implemented a fundamental change in its curriculum from small single topic 3–5 credits courses into 15 credits multidisciplinary courses implemented by teacher teams. This paper focuses on how teachers of Information Technology programs experienced the reform. Research data include teacher feedback and opinions that were collected during training sessions and interviews. Team teaching is a substantial change for teachers that raises concerns about time management, getting enough compensation for the work and possible loss of teacher autonomy. However, teacher teams that managed to overcome these challenges saw a variety of benefits in the new approach. Not only was team teaching seen as a means for providing students with the skills they need, but it also was discovered as a way to enhance the teacher’s own professional development.

KEYWORDS:

• Team teaching
• teacher collaboration
• problem-based learning
• project-based learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Petri Vesikivi, MSc Eng., is principal lecturer at Metropolia UAS. He teaches mobile programming and other software engineering courses. His research interests include educational development, collaboration and team work. He is studying computer science education research at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.

Minna Lakkala, Ph.D., title of Docent in Educational Psychology, works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Technology in Education Research Group, University of Helsinki. She is specialised in investigating knowledge creation pedagogy and usage of digital technology in all levels of education. Her doctoral thesis (2010) focused on teachers’ practices in scaffolding and organising students’ technology-enhanced collaborative inquiry. She has published multiple research articles, book chapters and reports nationally and internationally, and has participated in several national and international research projects concerning educational development and pedagogical practices. biographical notes on all contributors here if the journal requires them.

Jaana Holvikivi is principal lecturer at the Helsinki Metropolia UAS. Her research interests include software education in cross-cultural context, educational development and cognitive science. Her career has expanded to four continents when working within the United Nations system in various development projects. She received the Ph.D. degree in information technology from the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.

Hanni Muukkonen is professor in Educational Psychology at the University of Oulu, Finland. She has completed her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Helsinki. Her research interests include collaborative knowledge creation in higher and secondary education. Her publications address collaboration, designing technology-mediated educational practices, project work and inquiry, development of competences for knowledge work, and methodological development including mobile experience sampling on learning and working practices. Muukkonen publishes in and reviews for international journals in education, educational psychology, and technology, engineering, management, and life sciences education. She has experience as a researcher and leader in large educational R&D projects.