Co-teaching within diversity: A disruptive productive source of professional development

Abstract

This self-reflective study explores how culturally diverse faculty members can benefit from coteaching in higher education classes. It reflects on a teaching collaboration between two researchers-practitioners from different cultural and academic backgrounds in a South African university. The co-teachers shared equal responsibility for a one-month research seminar. The leading argument of this article is that co-teaching within diversity is a key driver for disruptive and productive professional development, as co-teaching exposes faculty members to pedagogical activities and discourses they would not otherwise have experienced. It enables them to move beyond their comfort zone, take risks collectively, and learn reciprocally. The qualitative findings are organised in a model that conceptualises the co-teaching process, unpacking the relationship between empowering trust, emerging complementarities, reciprocal learning, and professional identity affirmation. The model can help teachers reap the benefits of co-teaching in culturally diverse environments.

Reflecting on a PALAR co-teaching journey in teacher education

“…Initially, co-teaching was offered as a method of supporting children with disabilities in schools (King-Sears, Jenkins, & Brawand, 2020). Co-teaching was first used in schools as an inclusive education method, though it is now being used in higher education too, in heterogenous or blended groups (Bacharach et al, 2010;Jeannin & Sing, 2018;Rabin, 2020).…”

“…Co-teaching can take different approaches, depending on the instructional needs of students and the task to be presented (Jeannin & Sing, 2018). These approaches include parallel teaching, alternative teaching, team teaching, one teaches one assists, and alternative teaching.…”

“…Co-teaching was introduced in schools as an inclusive educational method that allowed general and special education teachers to collaborate to improve learning and meet the needs of all students (Cook & Friend, 1995). It was also introduced in higher education institutions in various domains (Bacharach, Heck, & Dahlberg, 2010;Jeannin & Sing, 2018;Rabin, 2020;Lenong, 2022). Friend (2008) proposes that the word co-teaching should not be defined by the discipline, the type of training of the participants, or the composition of the team.…”

“…Friend (2008) proposes that the word co-teaching should not be defined by the discipline, the type of training of the participants, or the composition of the team. Scholars from a variety of disciplines have looked into co-teaching in higher education (Bacharach et al, 2010;Jeannin & Sing, 2018;Rabin, 2020); however, the reality is that studies have not succeeded in breaking down the resistance to or uncertainties about co-teaching, or addressed the fear of being observed by other lecturers and issues related to the unequal relationships of participants, in order to achieve a common co-teaching goal in the teacher education perspective. Nunes (2018) confirms that lecturers or other professionals may experience difficulties implementing co-teaching.…”