The literature of coteaching in the post-secondary landscape encompasses a wide array of different conceptions. Having multiple meanings of coteaching in higher education may pose some challenges for effectively implementing and researching this collaborative model. We should have a clear picture of the qualitatively different ways in which educators who co-teach in post-secondary settings understand this practice. Aiming to offer one of the first contributions to this effort, we analyzed the experiences of 16 university coteaching practitioners from a top university in Bogotá, Colombia. The sample participants´ interviews were analyzed using a phenomenographic methodology (Marton, 1981), which seeks to capture the variation and complexity of the understanding of a phenomenon. Our findings reveal two perspectives for understanding coteaching, one relying on the meaning (referential conceptions) and the other on the practice (structural conceptions). Participants´ coteaching meanings are determined by four qualitatively different understandings: cooperative teaching, collaborative teaching, pedagogical training, and critical pedagogy. When it comes to practice, the findings show eight categories, some of which have been previously described in narrative accounts about coteaching. The variability emerging from our findings highlights conceptual multiplicity rather than uniformity, thereby shedding light on the complexity of coteaching in post-secondary settings.
Keywords
coteaching, higher education, phenomenography, team teaching, collaborative teaching
Author Bio(s)
Jesús Alberto Pinzón-Ulloa is a biologist with a minor in Critical Studies of Gender and Sexuality from the University of Los Andes, Colombia. He is currently studying an M.A. in Social Justice and Education at the University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. Jesús has consulted education projects in Colombia regarding school policy reforms, co-teaching pedagogies and STEM education at the Faculty of Education of his alma mater. His recent research interest includes queer and feminist pedagogies and the incorporation of critical biology perspectives when teaching gender, sex, race, and (dis)ability. Please direct correspondence to ja.pinzon11@uniandes.edu.co
Mariana Tafur Arciniegas. Assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of los Andes, Bogota-Colombia. Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, Indiana-US; M.S. in Education and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of los Andes, Bogotá-Colombia. 2010 Fulbright Fellow. With more than 15 years of experience, I have participated in STEM teaching and research groups, such as Pequeños Cientificos, Lidie, Educación y evaluación en las disciplinas; and international groups such as Inspire and Freeform Classroom. My research interests are technology and science literacy, teaching and learning using STEM integration, collaborative learning, and mixed-methods research design.
Irma Alicia Flores Hinojos. Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of los Andes. PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Manizales-CINDE, Colombia. MEd in Educational and Social Development from the National Pedagogical University. Specialization Studies on Systemic Family Psychotherapy from SINAPSIS, (Training, Consulting and Psychotherapy Center). Specialization Studies in Farmhousehold Development from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tokyo, Japan. B.D. in Psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Mentor in Community Based Research from the Mentor Training Program of the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium, from the UNESCO Chair Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education Chair. With more than 25 years of experience as a professor in different Colombian universities. I have participated in different research groups such as Educación y evaluación en las disciplinas; Ética, Moral y Ciudadanía. My research interests are Diversity and inclusion in education, Community Based Research, Collaborative Learning. Please direct correspondence to ia.flores24@uniandes.edu.co.
Pinzón-Ulloa, J.,
Tafur Arciniegas, M.,
&
Flores H., I.
(2021).
Two Models of Coteaching from University Teaching Staff: Phenomenographic Research.
The Qualitative Report,
26(11), 3640-3664.
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4274
