The experiences of undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a team teaching curriculum

Abstract

Contemporary nursing education has seen a shift towards student-centred teaching and learning strategies. Team teaching is a student-centred strategy that involves the collaboration of multiple teachers to plan, deliver, and evaluate a course. Team teaching has been used in disciplines outside of nursing education, but there is little literature to support its use within the classroom in undergraduate nursing education. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to examine the experiences of undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a newly revised curriculum at the University of British Columbia School of Nursing (UBC SON) that has adopted team teaching as its main pedagogical teaching and learning strategy. The aim of this research is to provide an evidence-based evaluation of the team teaching strategy with the intent of suggesting ways to improve its delivery. Constructivism and adult learning theory were used to guide this study. Non-randomized convenience sampling produced a study population of 49 third-term undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the UBC Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program starting in September 2009. Students completed a survey consisting of six open-ended questions designed to describe their experiences with team teaching. Content analysis methodology was used to analyze the data. Findings suggested that students supported the use of team teaching and viewed it as a positive influence on their learning experience. Four positive themes from team teaching emerged from the research: challenging student learning, increasing teacher credibility, teams acting as nursing role models, and promoting student learning. The implications of this research focused primarily on nursing education. Seven recommendations on how team teaching delivery can be improved within the UBC SON curriculum are suggested.