By Vision Reporter

LIKE any method, experts say co-teaching is not always successful. “Some teachers are rigid or may be wedded to a single method, while others simply dislike the other teachers on the team,” says Wilbert Weere, a teacher.

Besides, he argues, co-teaching makes more demands on time and energy. Members must arrange mutually agreeable times for planning and evaluation. Discussions too can be draining and group decisions take long.

Dr Yusuf Nsubuga, the director of basic and secondary education in the ministry of education and sports, says for co-teaching to be effective, there should be no gaps like shortage of teachers, individual grudges and lack of team spirit in the system.

“With teacher shortages, co-teaching can turn out to be a luxury. This is our main problem and we are trying to address it by recruiting more teachers,” he says.

“Because of teacher shortages, we are encouraging private schools to adopt co-teaching because at least they have the capacity,” he adds. Nsubuga says teachers need to understand the concept of co- teaching so that they do not conflict with the objective of enhanced learning.

“If one teacher is teaching, while the other is just sleeping or criticising his colleague, then the meaning is lost. “As a teacher, observe who is not paying attention, talking, disrupting others or dozing so that when you go in front, you focus on such a group,” he says.

Nsubuga says school authorities should let teachers work with people they are comfortable with, and those that complement each other. He, however, regrets that despite co-teaching being embedded in the teacher training curricula, many schools are not effectively tapping from this approach.

“In today’s competitive job market, teachers may instead look at themselves as rivals rather than partners,” he notes. Experts advise that co-teachers should assist with keeping order and discipline in the class by moving around and ensuring that no child talks or disrupts the ongoing lesson. They should also help in the distribution of materials, supervision of groups and marking exercises.

Unfortunately, research shows that co-teachers just stand or sit quietly at the back of the class until the end of the lesson. Nsubuga advises teachers to enforce discipline and manage work in the classroom in order to enrich teaching and learning. “The co-teachers can, for instance, plan, teach and reflect on lessons taught together. The greater the agreement on common objectives and interests, the more likely that teaching will be interdependent and coordinated,” he says.

However, critics argue that some students flourish in a highly structured environment that favours repetition, while others are confused by conflicting opinions. Too much variety may hinder habit formation, they say.

Despite the challenges, Nsubuga stresses that co-teaching simply requires planning, skilled management, open-mindedness, imagination, and creativity. But the results are worth it,” he says.

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