Abstract
Co-teaching as an instructional strategy in teaching training programs can generate multiple benefits for pre-service teachers. This strategy refers to having two teachers working together with the same group of students. Co-teachers who participate in this type collaborative approach are not only obtaining feedback from their supervisors but also from their peers and students. Working in pairs to teach a class increases the learning experiences pre-service teachers encounter prior to their future jobs as it might develop interpersonal competencies that boost their negotiation, assertive communication and leadership skills. I present the findings of a qualitative research project that analyzed the experiences of co-teachers in an English as a Foreign Language teaching program in a public university in Costa Rica. The over-arching research question was: What are pre-service English teachers’ experiences when engaged in co-teaching practices at a language mentoring project? The answers to this question came from the perceptions of nine pre-service teachers working in a project that offers free English classes and tutoring sessions to high schoolers. Students in the English Teaching major co-teach classes to teenagers on a weekly basis throughout the school year. The findings of this case study provided information on the role of co-teaching in their development as future teachers. The pre-service English teachers’ perspectives were gathered through three instruments: an interview, a reflective log, and a journal. The findings reveal that co-teaching: promotes the development of teamwork, builds a strong sense of community, helps students develop assertive communication skills, and builds self-knowledge.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Co-teaching, Pre-service Teachers, English Language Teaching, Collaborative Work, Case Study
