Co-Teaching Goes Online: The Impact of Virtual Co-Teaching on the Practices of a Co-Teaching Partnership During COVID

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study implemented a self-study design to examine the researchers’ own experiences of transferring in-person co-teaching in teacher education courses into a virtual setting during COVID-19. Multiple qualitative data including planning and reflection discussions for each co-teaching session, students’ exit notes, and focus group interviews were collected and analyzed to identify the themes of the experience. Five themes emerged from the data including preparation, technology, instructional management, student engagement, and co-teaching strategies. These themes are described in ways that address how we navigated the transition of co-teaching from in-person to a synchronous virtual setting, steps we took to improve the learning experience of PSTs, and adjustments we carried forward to improve teaching and learning in an in-person co-teaching setting. Related to these themes, we share five lessons we learned about virtual co-teaching and how this experience has also impacted our co-teaching that has returned to in-person. The lessons include depth vs. breath, explicitly detailed planning, maximizing interactions with digital Active Student Response strategies, flexibility, and affordances and constraints of virtual settings for co-teaching strategies.