The goal of sustainability is to improve human well-being and quality of life, but the definition of sustainability may depend on context. The core of higher education is to enable academic staff to implement education that is sustainable. Therefore, ensuring sustainability in co-teaching may require providing each lecturer with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to collaborate. Co-teaching is a teaching strategy in which lecturers collaborate to learn from one another's knowledge and expertise while influencing the education environment. The problem is that lecturers in higher education often collaborate in research but seldom collaborate in teaching and learning. This mixed method study investigated lecturers’ experiences of co-teaching, and the strategies the lecturers have devised to promote and sustain co-teaching. The participants were 12 lecturers involved in the teaching of compulsory Educational Foundations modules at an institution of higher learning in South Africa. The findings reveal that sustainability of co-teaching at an institution of higher learning means empowering every lecturer involved in collaborative co-teaching through promoting social equity and democratic values. Although co-teaching is practiced at institutions of higher learning, it is suggested that more training on co-teaching is developed, to enable academic staff to build a sustainable future for collaborative learning settings.

Authors:
Brigitte Lenong, Central University of Technology, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Brigitte Lenong is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Central University of Technology, Free State in South Africa

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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