How often, as a trainee, did you get to co-teach with a colleague? It’s likely that you did not do it much, if it all. And this seems bizarre when you consider the strong argument for how beneficial it can be.
The shared dialogue from co-teaching is invaluable in building knowledge of pupils, understanding their learning needs and problem solving around the barriers they face. It certainly helps to fast-track understanding of inclusivity.
These points are just some of those raised in Colette Murphy’s 2016 book Coteaching in Teacher Education. She makes the powerful argument that, for early-career teachers, co-teaching builds effective practice, increases capacity for risk taking and, overall, nurtures trust between the developing teacher and their mentor, which supports professional reasoning.
Importantly, it provides greater opportunity to recognise and explore pupil difference. This was my experience as a trainee teacher and later as a mentor.
Three of us were placed as trainees in a small history department that had just two full-time history teachers. The department head and mentor didn’t see three trainees as too many, they saw only benefit in building the capacity of the team. We had the opportunity to teach collaboratively, to co-teach in pairs or, occasionally, altogether. Our timetables involved teaching together as trainees and time with classes where we taught alongside the head of history or our mentor.
This rich range of opportunity meant we talked about teaching and its impact 24/7. It meant that we didn’t need to wait for the mentor or a sympathetic teacher to respond to a few tentative questions during a time-limited mentor meeting. The enquiry around what to teach, how to teach it and why to teach a concept in a particular way was constant and valued.
Our reflections and collaborative problem solving were built upon and stretched by our own interaction. Sharing insight about the development of pupils was a genuine interest in the staffroom.
After a lesson, I had the freedom to discuss the fact that Charlene had mixed up cause with consequence and to talk about how David had submitted an excellent homework analysis, but I needed suggestions for how to extend his thinking further. It helped me to learn that no pupil is the same.
We all talk about the importance of recognising pupil difference, but sometimes struggle to reflect that principle in practice. Trainees who plan, teach and reflect together, and who don’t have to internalise their concerns about individuals, can come to understand complex and unique cases more easily through solving problems out loud.
Given the increasing challenges of diverse classrooms, we can make far better use of co-teaching as part of our approach to early-career development. A stronger relationship between new teachers and their mentors doesn’t stop at scheduled training. It provides real opportunity to strengthen teaching to meet the diverse needs of all learners in every classroom.
Margaret Mulholland is the SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders
This article originally appeared in the 24 January 2020 issue under the headline “A dynamic duo packs more punch than a lone ranger”
