Conference Agenda

New types of learning spaces allowing for larger cohorts of pupils and teachers working in teams have emerged across the world and are challenging teachers to interact in new ways. These learning spaces are often described as innovative learning environments, and the pedagogical practices that accompany them as team teaching. In light of these developments, this study examines the concept of team teaching, introducing an analytical framework for unpacking it in relation to learning environments and other issues.

In order to prepare pupils for an uncertain future, calls around the world revolve around new capabilities and knowledge, new pedagogies and new learning environments that support such a preparation. Innovative learning environments have been defined as innovative spaces and practices (French, Imms, and Mahat, 2020). Following this line of argument, when new schools are built across the world ordinary classrooms should to be replaced with a more varied collection of spaces that can be shared by larger cohorts of pupils and several teachers (Dovey and Fisher, 2014). These new ways of designing school buildings and learning environments have emerged over time, together with ideas about lifelong learning, an increased degree of individualisation in education and the importance of variation for the individual’s learning, as well as from a contextual perspective emphasising the importance of professional learning communities (cf. Schön, 1983; Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, and Thomas, 2006).

Working in new learning environments require new skills from teachers (Campbell, Saltmarsh, Chapman and Dre, 2013; Charteris and Smardon, 2019; Leighton and Byers, 2020), who have traditionally had sole responsibility for one class but are now expected to transition into new types of spaces, organising and pedagogies. Such transitions mean extensive changes to their teaching practices (Woolner, Clark, Laing, Thomas, and Tiplady, 2014). One response, team teaching, according to Simons et al (2020) means that teachers collaborate around all pupils. Some teachers argue that collaborating in a teaching context benefits their professional growth and pupils’ learning (Ronfeldt, Farmer, McQueen, and Grissom, 2015).

Previous research often refers to the importance of so-called professional learning communities (PLCs) (Datnow, 2018). PLC is a way of organising teachers in groups in order to introduce and increase cooperation between teachers as teams (Lipscombe, Buckley-Walker, and McNamara, 2020; Ronfeldt et al., 2015). This is central from a perspective in which teachers develop and learn from each other by planning together, exchanging experiences, sharing responsibility for a group of pupils and so on as a way of organising activities to build a professional learning community (Ronfeldt et al., 2015). In the long term, teachers’ collaboration organised in teams can provide a more sustainable development of teachers’ professionalism, schools and education (Duyar et al., 2013; Lipscombe et al., 2020). A strong teaching team can also according to Hattie (2012) be a success factor for pupils’ learning.

However, conceptualising and defining a collaboration between teachers can be problematic in that several synonyms and concepts are used (Welch, 2000). In this context, the paper aims to examine and shed further light on the concept of team teaching by the development and presentation of a framework for describing four levels of interaction (from superficial to deep) involving four shared dimensions of pedagogical work (from space to teaching). The framework is illustrated using data from a case study of team teaching in two Swedish innovative learning environments with different layouts and organisations.

Since the seminal article on co-teaching models by Friend and Cook (1995), co-teaching has taken root in both classrooms and research. Co-teaching is widely examined at all levels of education from kindergarten to higher education, covering various subject areas and several research fields such as coaching and co-teaching as a tool of teacher training (e.g., Allen et al., 2014; Guise et al., 2017; Underwood et al., 2016). Co-teaching is generally defined as a collaborative practice in which two or more teachers plan, teach and evaluate together a group of learners (e.g., Fluijt et al., 2016). Moreover, as most of the literature on co-teaching draws from inclusive education, aiming for high-quality education for all learners, it is defined particularly as a practice between a special education teacher and a general education teacher, yet it can be practised between any two teachers (e.g., Härkki et al., 2021). In our understanding, co-teaching is a multifaceted practice based on teachers’ shared vision and responsibilities concerning teaching and learning for all students (Fluijt et al., 2016).

Much of the existing oeuvre of research has focused primarily on co-teaching models, and the trend has resulted in the prevailing understanding of the most common model in classrooms being the simplest one, that is, one-teach one assist (Scruggs et al., 2007). However, relatively little is known about how teachers learn to co-teach.

In general, the aim of teacher learning is change in teachers’ cognition and knowledge, beliefs, behaviour, skills or attitudes (Hoekstra & Korthagen, 2011; Vermunt & Endedijk, 2011). Additionally, the role of teacher identity appears to be playing a role in teachers’ professional learning both as a target of the intended change and interacting with the learning process (Beijaard, 2019; Meijer, 2011). Teachers themselves are also individuals with variation in their willingness to learn new things (Van Eekelen et al., 2006).

In this review, we investigated the relationship of co-teaching and teacher learning in more detail. We decided to limit the scope of our investigation to literature focusing on co-teaching between at least two qualified teachers in K-12 education[1] and chose to look at the studies reporting professional development (PD) programmes related to co-teaching. PD programmes were chosen as the focus of this review because PD inherently contains the premise of goal-oriented teacher learning, aimed at changes in teachers’ thinking and/or practice.

In discussing teacher learning as a focus of research, Kennedy (2019) posed three main questions for researchers: first, what is it that teachers are supposed to be learning; second, what is the process of how teachers learn; and the third, how can teacher learning be evaluated. These questions led this review, as we applied them in the context of co-teaching and teachers’ professional learning.

The aim of this review is to explore the relationship between teacher learning and co-teaching in the context of professional development on co-teaching. We argue that teachers’ learning process within co-teaching is a difficult phenomenon to recognise, and thus often go unheeded. We will address the following research questions:

1. What features of co-teaching are the focus of teacher learning in the studies of professional development programmes on co-teaching?

2. How is teacher learning supported in the studies of professional development programmes on co-teaching?

3. How is teacher learning investigated/evaluated in the studies of professional development programmes on co-teaching?

[1] K-12, from kindergarten to high school, refers to publicly supported education system in US and is similar in many other countries

When hit by the pandemic of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, educational systems across the globe faced the biggest challenge in the modern era. Due to regional or national regulations, schools were closed or their operation drastically restricted. In this unexpected, new environment, teachers were forced to find ways to reach and teach their students and transfer their classes to a sudden emergency remote format (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020). Before the pandemic, most schools primarily had onsite courses, and most teachers lacked experience in an online setting. Thus, the new learning environment forced teachers to adjust their teaching methods and implement new ways of teaching. Therefore, technical and pedagogical support was needed.Through in-depth interviews with upper-secondary teachers in Iceland, this study explores the role of teacher collaboration and collegiality in navigating these disruptions. Since the pandemic has had the most significant impact on the school system in the modern era, it is critical to examine how the pandemic revealed a collaboration culture and teachers’ support network. This research contributes to that.

For the past few decades, researchers have examined and emphasized the importance of collaboration among teachers within schools (Fullan, 2015; Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Hargreaves, 1994; Lieberman, 1990; Louis et al., 1996). Research suggests that collaboration among teachers can improve student outcomes (DuFour & Eaker, 1998), teacher satisfaction and school general culture (Fullan, 2015). A collaborative culture is a key to professional learning communities (PLCs) that can increase teachers’ effectiveness and satisfaction and improve students’ achievement (DuFour & Eaker, 1998; Stoll, 2011). Furthermore, Fullan (2015) argues that collaboration among teachers and PLCs is essential for schoolimprovement and a key aspect of successful school reform. He emphasizes that for collaboration to be effective, it must be focused on student learning and be based on trust and mutual respect among teachers. Leadership within schools during the pandemic changed and shifted to a more shared and distributed leadership (Harris, 2020), which can support collaboration among teachers within schools (van Schaik et al., 2020). Hargreaves and Dawe (1990) have explored the importance of peer coaching and a professional community in which teachers define and develop their purpose and goals. Therefore, the participation of teachers is crucial to school development in a post-pandemic era.

The conference theme of diversity in education highlights the importance of inclusive and supportive learning environments for all educators. This research presentation will further the conversation on this crucial issue.And for education to reach all students, it is essential to focus on collaboration among teachers within and between schools (Ainscow & Miles, 2008). Collaboration can be vital in evolving and maintaining schools‘ inclusive culture (Kugelmass, 2001). Furthermore, better collaborative practices can contribute to the inclusion of all students in schools (Messiou & Ainscow, 2015).