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.