How co-teaching can improve your teaching practice

The benefits of co-teaching in higher education are increasingly acknowledged. Students encounter diverse pedagogical approaches, different areas of expertise and a range of communication styles and lived experiences, which creates a richer and more dynamic learning environment that can enhance engagement and enjoyment of learning. This certainly chimes with our experience co-teaching on the University of Exeter’s Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LTHE) programme for several years. Participants often comment on the variety of the sessions and activities, and the different styles and perspectives, that we each bring to our sessions.

However, something we were not expecting was just how much co-teaching would help develop our own practice as educators. It has proven to be one of the most impactful professional development experiences we’ve engaged in, providing us with ongoing feedback, exposure to different approaches and opportunities to develop our adaptability and responsiveness in the classroom.

Below we explore just three of the ways in which a great co-teaching partner can help support your development and improve your teaching practice.

Fast, friendly, frequent feedback

Co-teaching offers an opportunity to engage in a regular cycle of collaborative feedback and reflection. Unlike in a peer observation, with its more clearly defined methods of capturing and sharing feedback, and its sharper boundaries between observer and educator, co-teaching is dynamic and collaborative. Feedback does not need to be reserved for formal discussions or pro forma after a session: you can share thoughts and reflections with each other mid-session, using breaks and activities to take a moment to reflect and regroup. Such observations can include suggestions for improvement but also positive reinforcement, encouragement and validation that can help calm nerves and boost confidence.

• Two heads are better than one: a practical guide to co-teaching
• Inclusive co-teaching can draw on educators’ lived experience
• How to be an even better teacher

If you teach together over a term or an academic year, you have the benefit of being able to check in regularly and witness how your sessions develop over time. Thus, feedback can become more of an ongoing reflective dialogue between partners, rather than “observer” and “teacher”. And that can accelerate the development of your sessions and your wider practice.

This has certainly been our experience. Although we set aside time at the end of each term to reflect and review, we find that so much of our feedback and dialogue springs up spontaneously, during or immediately around the sessions themselves, that we effectively capture and share things in the moment.

Immersive inspiration

Few forms of continuing professional development are as powerful as seeing another educator teach. Every teacher has a unique approach and persona in the classroom, and it is valuable to witness first-hand how others engage with their learners, handle challenging or unexpected situations and guide their learners towards the desired learning outcomes.

Co‑teaching not only allows you to witness how others approach their sessions, it also gives you an immediate, immersive experience of their practice as an active participant, co‑delivering alongside your colleagues.

Engaging with different approaches to design, communication and delivery can expand your toolkit, nudge you out of your comfort zone and build your confidence, providing the catalyst for you to try something new yourself.

Partners in problem-solving

We’ve all been in situations where something in our sessions hasn’t gone to plan. Perhaps your technology has failed or your meticulously timed session plan is thrown off kilter by activities overrunning and suddenly you’re against the clock. Dealing with these situations is a rite of passage for all educators, and the ability to think on your feet and adapt in real time is hugely valuable.

Co-teaching can make you more adaptable under pressure. If you run behind schedule and need to find an extra five or 10 minutes, or to reprioritise to ensure that your intended learning outcomes are met, having a colleague to help explore options in the moment is incredibly valuable, and can lead you to solutions that you might not have considered.

When we teach together on our LTHE programme, this real-time editing of our sessions is a near weekly occurrence. Whatever this might say about our initial session planning, we embrace the opportunity to show the learners our workings and give them an insight into our thought process. Because they are early career educators themselves, we use this as another chance to model the practices and scenarios that they are likely to encounter. Like the experience of different styles and approaches that co-teaching offers, collaborative problem-solving can help you feel more confident, responsive and better equipped when you need to adapt in your own sessions.

Co-teaching is not simply another way of teaching and engaging students; it is a powerful opportunity for professional learning for educators. If you have the opportunity to teach with a colleague, even in a one-off co-teaching session, we very much encourage you to consider it. If you approach it with an open, collaborative mindset and are willing to engage in some meaningful reflective dialogue, there is so much you can gain. Few other CPD opportunities offer quite the same potential to explore and expand your practice and to inform your understanding of yourself as an educator.

Craig McEwan and Eleanor Hodgson are senior educator developers at the University of Exeter.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.