Language arts achievement of fourth graders under the direction of team teachers in the open classroom

The investigation presented the effects of the team teaching approach in the open classroom environment on achievement in the language arts among fourth graders when compared to achievement in a traditional setting among fourth graders in the Midway community of Roane County, Tennessee. The subjects were children attending fourth grade classes in the Midway community of Roane County over a four-year span of time. The control group consisted of fourth graders who participated in traditional classrooms. The experimental group consisted of fourth graders who participated in the open classroom environment under the direction of team teachers. At the end of each academic year, each class was given the Stanford Achievement Test, Intermediate Level, Form J.

The results of the two groups were analyzed and compared. Analysis revealed that there were significant differences at the .05 level favoring the experimental group in the areas of spelling, total reading, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language achievement. No significant differences were found in listening comprehension and word study skills achievement. The results of this study indicate that an open classroom environment under the direction of team teachers can foster greater achievement in some areas of language arts as compared to a more traditional setting and that further research needs to be done in this area.