Abstract

Co-teaching has become widespread in elementary and secondary education due largely to the advent of inclusion, which necessitates that general and special education teachers share a classroom and teaching responsibilities. This practice has spawned considerable investigation of team teaching, and some of this research has suggested benefits that may be applicable at all levels of instruction. Potential benefits include the ability to provide students with more diverse feedback, as well as the possibility of improving instruction through peer review and collaboration. In higher education, investigation of co-teaching is in its infancy; most scholarly articles have presented reflective accounts by participating faculty members. This paper builds upon prior research by presenting results of a pilot study that investigated student and faculty perceptions of co-taught classes. The research was conducted in a department where thirty-two courses were team taught in the previous four years. This investigation is intended to provide educators and administrators in higher education with a clearer understanding of the benefits and limitations of co-teaching as well as to suggest areas for future research.