Co-teaching as a strategy of implementing a Competence Based Curriculum. A case of two Teacher Training Colleges in Rwanda.

Abstract

In many parts of the world, co-teaching has been used as an alternative to lone-teaching approaches. Co-teaching entails the collaboration of two or more teachers in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of instruction. Given its flexible nature, co-teaching has been widely used in a variety of educational contexts. While research has extensively dealt with co-teaching in many contexts little is known about co-teaching that brings together expatriate teachers and local ones in settings where both collaborate to enhance the implementation of competence-based curriculum (CBC) goals. This study explored how co-teaching can be used as a tool to facilitate the cooperation of expatriate tutors and their local counterparts in the implementation of teacher training colleges (TTCs) Competency Curriculum. The study employed the qualitative research approach in which tutors from both Rwanda and Zimbabwe co-teaching in TTCs formed the purposive sample. This study employed the multiple case study design using two TTCs. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and observations. Findings from the study showed that despite somewhat positive indicators of mutual collaboration, tutors’ practices lacked a deep understanding of co-teaching and how it could be used to steer a movement from a knowledge-based curriculum to a competency-based one. Other findings showed that concurrent with workshops used to introduce the concept more robust written policies were needed to effectively guide teacher development and implementation of the CBC in TTCs. The study recommends continuous professional development for both the expatriate tutors and the locals to create a common and shared understanding of co-teaching and effective implementation of the CBC in TTCs.

Keywords

• co-teaching
• co-tutor
• collaboration
• capacity-building
• competence-based curriculum