Pair or team teaching

practical purposes, the emphasis is placed on the trainees’ results as compared to CETT standards. At the end of the teaching practice the mentor has to write an evaluation of each trainee, which is designed for the university authorities and prospective employers.

student-teachers work in pairs was born out of necessity, as there were neither enough teacher trainers nor schools to place the trainees. Obviously, in the case of pairing, fewer schools were needed. These were the initial, practical considerations, which preceded a second reason: “by getting student teachers to cooperate with one another, they will get into the habit of cooperating with other teachers, which might guard them against the isolation stress in the future” (Bodóczky & Malderez, 1996, p. 60). Eventually, in reality, this type of cooperation proved extremely useful for student teachers the concept of pair teaching is now accepted and valued as one of the most beneficial aspects of the CETT curriculum (Bodóczky & Malderez, 1996; Medgyes & Nyilasi, 1997). The growing awareness of the general educational value of pairing beginner teachers with the purpose to work together during their teaching practice has led to the view that team teaching is the core around which classroom training builds up.

Pair or team teaching is considered (Bodóczky & Malderez, 1994; 1996; Major, 2003;

Medgyes & Malderez, 1996; Medgyes & Nyilasi, 1997; Révész, 2005) as a useful experience on the way to move students in the direction of personal improvement and change over the course of their studies. The role of working with a partner during the teaching experience is regarded particularly beneficial because it creates an effective learning environment. The explanations revolve around three major dimensions: pre-teaching collaboration, in-class collaboration and post-pre-teaching collaboration. These dimensions are presented and discussed below.

It will be appropriate to elaborate on pre-teaching collaboration first, as the preparation stage is a significant area where working with others can facilitate learning to teach.

Collaboration before classes actually means regularly to plan lessons, collect and discuss

materials and brainstorm ideas. Long-term planning refers to designing the whole period of teaching practice (Bodóczky & Malderez, 1996), whereas short-term-planning associates with making preparations for an individual lesson or several lessons for a week or two (Medgyes & Nyilasi, 1997).

According to my experience as a mentor, student teachers find long-term planning very difficult to cope with; therefore, they require a great amount of mentor guidance and peer support. In practice beginner teachers even articulate that it is merely impossible for them to foresee the objectives of the school teaching period, and in most situations this attitude is justified; but with time they become more aware of the importance and necessity to consider the lessons a part of the whole teaching process. Short-term planning does not usually cause such difficulties; however individuals need both mentor and partner encouragement to confirm the methods, activities, and materials that work for their students.

Partners can also plan cooperatively in order to gather strategies and resources, compare ideas, determine decisions and actions in the classroom. Trainees work as a team to design additional supplementary materials as well. It depends on the motivation and determination of the pre-service teachers but it is normally even more than that. In order to generate new ideas for teaching, trainees again need both mentor and partner suggestions, advice and ideas concerning other course materials and resources which can be used in the classroom. Practical knowledge gained through joint planning appears to be crucial. Consequently, student teachers develop confidence in their ability to plan and carry out activities and learn about how to prevent or handle problems.

Second, a potentially valuable dimension within pair or team teaching is in-class collaboration. With respect to teaching, lessons can be shared or trainees may take turns to conduct them alone (Medgyes, 1995; Medgyes & Nyilasi, 1997). Turn-taking, when trainees prefer it or consider it the best for the situation, is normally associated with regular intervals within the lesson or on a weekly basis. The specific favourable circumstances of working with a partner are related to the concept of observation. When trainees work together multiple opportunities offer themselves for observation, which obviously widens the scope for improvement. Furthermore, participating in a team helps student teachers become more active observers. The basic understanding is that students can develop their own teaching through constantly monitoring and observing in the lessons. My perspective here has roots in the view that collecting objective data goes beyond the classroom to establish a connection with another crucial aspect of the teaching-learning situation, particularly what is known as post-lesson discussions.

The third dimension is associated with the issue of post-teaching collaboration (Medgyes & Nyilasi, 1997) which refers to team discussions of trainees after they have conducted lessons. The process of learning to teach involves thoughtful consideration, understanding and evaluation of alternatives. In this respect the ability for student teachers to develop is seen as dependent on creating classroom experience where teaching behaviours are under contextual discussions. In support for new teachers, increasing the number of people in the discussions correlates with scrutinizing issues from different perspectives. The most positive aspect of the process is that discussions do not aim at making judgements about what was good or bad (Ryan, 1997). In my experience, it is many times the case that student teachers expect to get what they think is a clear picture and find support for what a teacher should or should not do. In fact

involving many people in the professional discussions raises much more profound awareness of what is going on. Team discussions also encourage the trainees to look more deeply into issues and give them practice in communication skills. The purpose of post-lesson discussions is to evaluate each lesson in a sense that it is essential to raise awareness and encourage reflection (Schön, 1987; Wallace, 1991) on the teaching/learning process.

The principles of fostering discussions are closely intertwined with the notion of reflective practice. Working with a partner during the teaching experience at CETT is often promoted (Major, 2003; Révész, 2005) on the grounds that it strengthens the process of reflection. Reflection on the teaching process and the environment fosters teacher autonomy (Ryan, 1996) and overlaps with learner-centredness (Major, 2003), both interlinked with the objectives of training at CETT. It often happens that during the early period of the teaching practice a lot of help has to be given not only on lesson plans, selection and supply of materials, but also on the way discussions are conducted.

As the practice progresses trainees need less help. They take more responsibility, eventually forming and developing their professional opinions, thus developing their own reflective cycles.