Redesigning Introduction to Communication Disorders
A class of 58 students in Introduction to Communication Disorders was divided into eight teams of approximately seven students each. The teams sat together all semester and participated in at least one team activity (team discussions, in-class written assignments, and team quizzes) in every class period. Teams also were used for taking roll and reviewing for examinations. There was no decline in student evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the course or in examination scores when compared to when this course was taught with half the number of students and no teams. Students evaluated the team experience highly and appeared to enjoy competition among teams. Using teams was successful in creating experiences that foster student learning as embodied in Chickering and Gameson’s principles of good practice.