Modeling teacher trainees' collaborative competence through co-teaching

Abstract

This presentation describes an experience of collaborative teaching in a teacher training degree, in the context of a course on Content and Language Integrate Learning (CLIL) taught to 4th year teacher trainees at Universidad Pontificia Comillas. Whereas it is relatively common to have two or more lecturers teach different modules of a course, the course design described here made a priority to have two teachers co-leading most of the sessions of the course, as a model of the kind of collaborative teaching that trainees will have to develop in CLIL settings in Infant, Primary and Secondary Education scenarios. Research suggests that exposure to co-teaching by trainee teachers may help to reduce the theory–practice gap, to improve reflective practice in the classroom, and to develop further teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (Murphy & Martin, 2015). To contribute with more research-based evidence about the benefits of co-teaching, we will present the results of a quantitative study aimed at determining whether learning through co-teaching significantly affects teacher trainees’ collaborative competence in three dimensions: knowledge about the foundations of co-teaching, the quality of their learning experience, and the transferability of this teaching strategy in their academic performance and future teaching practice. We will also reflect on the rationale for such a teaching model, the main teacher roles involved, and the coordination challenges that must be faced in order to maximize the impact on the collaborative competence of prospective teachers.