Effects of co-teaching on clil teacher trainees’ collaborative competence

Abstract

The effective implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) requires teamwork among teachers in order to coordinate teaching. This study aims to determine whether learning through co-teaching significantly affects teacher trainees’ collaborative competence in three dimensions: knowledge about the foundations of co-teaching, the quality of their learning experience, and the transferability of this teaching strategy in their academic performance and future teaching practice. An ad hoc questionnaire was created and administered to 50 Education degree students before and after taking a co-taught CLIL course. Results show that learning through co-teaching did not have an effect on students’ general collaborative competence (paired samples). However, statistically significant differences were found in their learning experience. Similar results were found when comparing the sample with a control group (N=35) (independent samples), resulting in statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group. Finally, differences in all the three dimensions studied were found in favour of those participants who perceive a greater need for training in collaborative competence. In conclusion, taking the co-taught CLIL course has not influenced on dimensions one and three, but it has led to a more effective learning experience perceived by students. The authors suggest that modelling a collaborative teaching relationship should be accompanied by explicit analysis of the theoretical foundations of co-teaching and the analysis of the influence of variables such as academic ability or language proficiency in order to ensure that the benefits reach all students in the classroom.

La implementación del Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenido y Lenguas Extranjeras (AICLE) requiere trabajo en equipo para coordinar la enseñanza. Este estudio pretende determinar si el aprendizaje a través de la enseñanza en equipo afecta a la competencia colaborativa de los alumnos en tres dimensiones: conocimiento sobre la enseñanza colaborativa, experiencia de aprendizaje y transferencia al desempeño académico y profesional. Se administró un cuestionario, creado ad hoc, a 50 estudiantes de los grados de Educación antes y después de estudiar la asignatura AICLE, impartida por dos profesores en equipo. Los resultados muestran que la docencia colaborativa no tuvo efecto en la competencia colaborativa general de los estudiantes (muestras pareadas). Sin embargo, se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en su experiencia de aprendizaje. Se encontraron resultados similares al comparar con un grupo de control (N=35) (muestras independientes), con diferencias estadísticamente significativas a favor del grupo experimental. Finalmente, se hallaron diferencias en todas las dimensiones estudiadas a favor de aquellos participantes que perciben una mayor necesidad de capacitación en competencia colaborativa. En conclusión, la docencia colaborativa no ha influido en las dimensiones una y tres, pero ha contribuido a generar en los alumnos una percepción de la experiencia de aprendizaje más eficaz. Los autores sugieren que este modelo debe ir acompañado de un análisis explícito de los aspectos teóricos de la co-enseñanza y un análisis de la influencia de variables como la capacidad académica o el dominio del idioma, para garantizar que los beneficios de la co-enseñanza lleguen a todos los estudiantes.