Team -Teaching as a Tool for Professional Development

Abstract

Team-teaching is a prominent approach used widely in the world especially in interdisciplinary and ESP (English for Special Purpose) teaching to enhance the quality of teaching and learning and foster teachers’ professional development. However, for many Vietnamese teachers, it remains unexplored territory because it is not fully employed in education system of Vietnam. The aim of this study was to explore the team-teaching teachers’ viewpoints and attitudes towards team-teaching as a tool for professional development through an interpretation of qualitative data derived from classroom observations and post-observation in-depth interviews with 5 participants in a People’s Police University setting. The findings of the study revealed that most participants claimed to have benefited from team-teaching as a tool to improve their professional development. They, however, also had to face some drawbacks arising from this approach. Some recommendations for the administrators and team-teachers were given in the hope of fostering the benefits and reducing the difficulties of team-teaching.