“…when teachers engage in collaborative practices, they experience a reduction in isolation, enjoy more occasions to share their expertise, and appreciate the opportunity to shape the way the ESL program operates in their schools.”
- Dove and Honigsfeld (2010)
Dove and Honigsfeld’s seven models for co-teaching cover different types of interaction between teachers, such as one teacher covering more general English and the other teaching specific subjects, or even one teaching and one assessing. They give a more informed view of the Director of Studies as someone who is not only looking at administrative matters (ibid) but is also looking more closely at how teachers can, literally, work together.
Until I was actually asked to co-teach, I had my reservations. Clearly we had to have a meeting to discuss our roles in the classroom but who was going to do what? Were we going to take turns and also observe each other or were we going to divide the class into two groups? Thus, I used to always avoid opportunities to co-teach because I needed more guidance before my meeting with my co-teacher.
Teachers' avatars in Languagelab's virtual English City
In Languagelab’s English City (www.languagelab.com), the collaborative teaching model has developed organically. Initially, all of the teachers had to be exactly on the same page and teach items developed from themes. They were all mutually exclusive but intertwined with each other.
These days, the English City is using a variety of collaborative models. You may find two teachers running one story line together, or all of the teachers agreeing on the same general idea for the following week. You will also find that the teachers themselves have the opportunity to come up with their own forms of collaboration. For example, two of our teachers recently created a storyline about genetic engineering at the City’s pharmaceutical company. The class led to many blog responses from students (see Rumors about genetic engineering on the Languagelab student blog).
There is a lot of room for improvement and the development of co-teaching ideas. I am hopeful that that there will be more discussion groups that do look at how co-teaching can enhance the learning process.
- Iffaf Khan, teacher at Languagelab.com
Twitter: iffafteacher
SL avatar name: Iffaf Ling
Bibliography
Dove, M.Honigsfeld, A.. (2010). ESL Coteaching and Collaboration: Opportunities to Develop Teacher Leadership and Enhance Student Learning. TESOL. 1 (1), p3-22.
