The Impact on Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions toward Co-Teaching from Being a Learner in Co-taught College Courses

ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceptions toward co-teaching after experiencing co-taught sessions within a special education methods class and literacy methods class. For two semesters, participants included cohort groups in a dual teacher license program in elementary and special education. We gathered information through surveys, exit notes, and focus-group interviews about pre-service teachers’ perceptions of six different types of co-teaching approaches and the impact of co-teaching on students’ learning. After participating in the co-taught lessons, pre-service teachers expressed more positive perceptions toward co-teaching’s impact on student learning, and a greater willingness to implement co-teaching in their future teaching. The results also suggest that a co-teaching instructional approach used within a university classroom affects pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the benefit and intended future use of that co-teaching instructional approach.