The advantages of co-teaching based on experiences in schools are discussed on the Eskoriatza campus

On January 26, the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences of Mondragon University hosted a conference on co-teaching under the title Teaching experiences in teaching-learning processes. Throughout the morning, teaching and research staff, both from the Faculty and from outside it, shared experiences and gave talks. In addition, a round table took place with representatives from four schools: Arizmendi School in Arrasate, Larramendi School in San Sebastian, Sansomendi School in Vitoria and Zangoza School in Sangüesa. The event was held on the Eskoriatza campus and was attended by 130 teachers.

Learning from experience

The aim of the conference was to present the fundamentals of co-teaching and to share the practices carried out in the classrooms of different schools. To this end, experts in co-teaching from different schools in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and Madrid were invited to speak.

The conference opened with a presentation by Karmele Pérez, Director of Continuing Education in the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences. Perez focused on the topic and highlighted the importance of “systemic co-teaching” to achieve learning objectives and everything that this system integrates: the organization of academic sessions, the spaces, the roles of students and teachers, different ways of working, etc.

In the first talk of the conference, Mondragon University professor and researcher Mikel Etxaburu differentiated between co-teaching and joint action by more than one teacher in the same classroom. “When we talk about co-teaching, always focusing on the individual, we are referring to a collective act: to planning together and carrying out the entire teaching-learning process jointly.” Etxaburu believes that “in order to delve into interdisciplinary dynamics, it’s a very powerful tool to have two, three, four... seven teachers working in the classroom.” Finally, Etxaburu emphasized the “need for commitment from the school” to be able to meet the needs that arise from the work of co-teaching.

Ana Hernández, a teacher at Jules Verne Secondary School in Madrid, shared co-teaching and multidisciplinarity experiences. She added that she has had very positive results with the transformation undertaken at her school, including improvement in students’ grades. But Hernández added that co-teaching and multidisciplinarity “are not about bringing together content that until now was taught separately. It’s about transforming the relationship between space and time in the classroom, about working as a team and giving meaning to teaching.”

Representatives from four schools participated in the round table: Amai Urkiza from Sansomendi School in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nagore Oria and Eneko Alkorta from Zangoza School; Jokin Gilisagasti from Larramendi School in San Sebastian, and Unai Legarda from Arizmendi School in Debagoiena.

The principal of Sansomendi School, Amaia Urkiza, began by explaining the advantages of co-teaching compared to doubling classrooms. She added that, “once you start co-teaching, the faculty wouldn’t go back.” For her part, the principal of Zangoza School, Nagore Oria, explained that, given the characteristics and personality of the school, “the choice to co-teach has been a very natural process at the school.”

In discussing the benefits of co-teaching, the participants pointed out the great and positive influence it has on the faculty: it fosters collaboration, improves mutual trust, facilitates methodological dialogue among teachers and, in addition, makes a great contribution to the educational plan. Furthermore, when listing improvements experienced by students, they added that with co-teaching, students have more role models, a better environment and fewer conflicts in the classroom, and there is greater participation in the teaching-learning process. To conclude, they stated that the need for training on the subject stands out among the challenges they face.

Co-teaching as an educational innovation

Among the methodological and pedagogical innovations that are taking place in education, co-teaching is one of the elements that is taking on greater prominence. The main objective of co-teaching is for two or more teachers to collaborate in the design, refinement and joint evaluation of teaching-learning processes. Co-teaching allows teachers with different skills, areas, knowledge and experiences to interact in the classroom. In fact, co-teaching can be a key element in promoting the learning experiences by area that are included in the new curriculum of the Basque Autonomous Community. By collaborating in the classroom, the teacher offers students the opportunity to have a more enriching experience. Classroom experiences in co-teaching help teachers to give personalized attention to the diversity of the student body and to different learning styles.