Co-Teaching – Everyday Life or Terra Incognita of Contemporary Education? [1 ed.] 9783737015004, 9783847115007

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Beata Pituła / Mirosław Kowalski (eds.)

Co-Teaching – Everyday Life or Terra Incognita of Contemporary Education?

With 22 figures

V&R unipress

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available online: https://dnb.de. © 2022 by Brill | V&R unipress, Theaterstraße 13, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, an imprint of the Brill-Group (Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands; Brill USA Inc., Boston MA, USA; Brill Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore; Brill Deutschland GmbH, Paderborn, Germany; Brill Österreich GmbH, Vienna, Austria) Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Hotei, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink, Brill mentis, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau and V&R unipress. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage | www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com ISBN 978-3-7370-1500-4

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Part I: Teacher creator and implementer of co-teaching Jolanta Szempruch Teachers’ communicative and interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

Jolanta Konieczny Reflective Practitioner Attitude as a Basis for Teachers’ Cooperation . . .

29

Inetta Nowosad The potential to learn from each other in the professional development of teachers. An example of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Markéta Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová Co-teaching and other pedagogical approaches to the prevention of burnout syndrom of beginning teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

Part II: Co-teaching in the educational practice of schools Zenon Gajdzica Spatial models in co-teaching versus educational theories – the case of inclusive education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

71

Urszula Szus´cik Co-teaching and art education

81

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

Contents

Zdzisława Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk Elasticity and diversity of co-teaching forms as crucial conditions for the effectiveness of inclusive education of students with disabilities . . . .

91

Anna Potyka / Anna Suchon Using Team Teaching in Work with Children with Special Educational Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Zuzana Svobodová / Jaroslav Vetesˇka / Danusˇe Dvorˇáková Virtual co-teaching through the eyes of primary and secondary school students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Martin Kursch / Roman Lisˇka / Michaela Tureckiová / Jaroslav Krˇízˇ Efficiency of virtual co-teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Part III: Examples of co-teaching in academic education Barbara Grzyb Project-Based Learning – Synergy of Coaching and Co-teaching . . . . . . 163 Katarzyna Tobór-Osadnik / Anna Bluszcz Modern trends in higher education – experiences in the implementation of an international didactic project Erasmus+ CBHE (Capacity Building in Higher Education) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Małgorzata Wyganowska Implementation of co-teaching in Project Based Learning at a technical university . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Anna Waligóra Co-Teaching in the Process of Student Education – Innovative Challenge and Inspiring Practice Using the Example of Model Application in the Proprietary Course Held at the Silesian University of Technology . . . . . 209 Ida Skubis The importance of co-teaching in teaching German varieties

. . . . . . . 223

Part IV: Reflections on co-teaching Beata Ecler-Nocon´ The category of participation in the context of the phenomenon of cooperation in co-teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Contents

7

Jolanta Karbowniczek The connective paradigm a new challenge for early childhood education teachers from a community relations perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Mirosław Kowalski / Łukasz Alban´ski Handbags: Another Look at Everyday Education of Daily Routines and Selves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Beata Pituła Education in Relation – Is Co-Teaching a Chance for a New School/Academy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 Autors list

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Introduction

Multifaceted, multidimensional, rapid transformations of the modern world include all spheres in which the current civilization is manifested. The human condition in this world, marked by the digital revolution, is the resultant of many processes that account for the progress of civilization. Each person must, therefore, in their individual way, face challenges (however, this individual dimension of the process of civilization is inherently connected with civilization on a social level1). Meeting these challenges requires new knowledge and new skills, a different view of reality and continuous learning. Therefore, the question arises how to educate people so that they can not only find themselves in this highly developed modernity, but also function and act responsibly in it. It gives rise to extensive debates and discussions, not only among educators, on the quality and effectiveness of education, strategies, and teaching methods that will optimally support the individual in his or her efforts to build a new, super intelligent society. Following Dawid Juraszek’s statement that education is, in a way, “a conversation (face to face, in the ether, in black and white)”2, the Authors (representing various scientific disciplines and various scientific centers in Poland and Czech Republic) of the considerations published in this paper started a discussion on co-teaching as a proposal for the school/university work in the next decade of the 21st century, hoping that the thoughts contained herein will prove helpful to all critically thinking and continuously improving teachers, academic staff and candidates for the profession. The first part of the book entitled: Teacher creator and implementer of coteaching includes texts about the basic teacher competence for the implementation of co-teaching (Jolanta Szempruch Teachers’ communicative and 1 N. Elias, On the Process of Civilization, Socio- and Psychogenetic Analyses, transl. T. Zabłudowski, K. Markiewicz, W.A.B., Warszawa 2011, s. 11. Cited after D. Kaz´mierczak, M. Szumiec, Bezpieczen´stwo, zdrowie, edukacja, Wydawnictwo Libron, Kraków 2021, s. 7. 2 D. Juraszek, cited after D. Kaz´mierczak, M. Szumiec, Człowiek we współczesnym ´swiecie. Bezpieczen´stwo, zdrowie, edukacja, Wydawnictwo Libron, Kraków 2021, s. 9.

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Introduction

interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching); required for effective cooperation between teachers, the attitude of a reflective practitioner (Jolanta Konieczny Reflective Practitioner Attitude as a Basis for Teachers’ Cooperation); an example of professional learning community in Singapore (Inetta Nowosad Example of Professional Learning Community (PLC) in Singapore) and the use of co-teaching in the prevention of professional burnout syndrome of teachers (Markéta Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová, Co-teaching and other pedagogical approaches to the prevention of burnout syndrome of beginning teachers). The second part is: Co-teaching in the educational practice of schools and consists of reflections on the possibilities and real use of co-teaching in teachers’ everyday work. The problem of space arrangement as a key factor of co-teaching in the context of selected didactic concepts of inclusive education is analyzed by Zenon Gajdzica (Spatial models in co-teaching versus educational theories – the case of inclusive education); possibilities of co-teaching in the process of stimulating activity are considered by Urszula Szus´cik (Co-teaching and art education); Zdzisława Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk (Elasticity and diversity of co-teaching forms as crucial conditions for the effectiveness of inclusive education of students with disabilities) discusses the cooperation of teachers as an essential condition for the implementation of the assumptions of inclusive education; the topic of benefits arising from the use of team teaching in supporting children with disabilities was taken up by Anna Potyka and Anna Suchon (Using Team Teaching in Work with Children with Special Educational Needs); the in-depth analyses of the effectiveness of virtual co-teaching were presented by Zuzana Svobodová, Jaroslav Vetesˇka, Danusˇe Dvorˇáková (Virtual co-teaching through the eyes of primary and secondary school students) and Martin Kursch, Roman Lisˇka, Michaela Tureckiová, Jaroslav Krˇízˇ Efficiency of virtual co-teaching. The third part of the publication entitled: Examples of co-teaching in academic education lists original ideas of the authors, who use the co-teaching method in their work with students of universities and technical colleges. Barbara Grzyb (Project-Based Learning – Synergy of Coaching and Co-teaching) shows that the PBL method works perfectly in educating students, as it combines benefits resulting from the use of coaching and co-teaching; Katarzyna TobórOsadnik and Anna Bluszcz (Modern trends in higher education – experiences in the implementation of an international didactic project Erasmus+ CBHE) share their reflections on new possibilities of cooperative education, illustrating it with the results of an international project, in which co-teaching was applied; Małgorzata Wyganowska (Implementation of co-teaching in Project Based Learning at a technical University) proves that PBL significantly increases the effectiveness of the educational process conducted at universities, as it is based on co-teaching principles; Anna Waligóra presents the author’s teaching programme implemented with the use of co-teaching at one of the faculties of the

Introduction

11

Silesian University of Technology (Co-Teaching in the Process of Student Education – Innovative Challenge and Inspiring Practice Using the Example of Model Application in the Proprietary Course Held at the Silesian University of Technology); the benefits arising from the use of co-teaching in language education are discussed by Ida Skubis (The importance of co-teaching in teaching German varieties). The fourth part entitled: Reflection on co-teaching is an attempt to look at coteaching from a slightly broader perspective. Beata Ecler-Nocon´ (The category of participation in the context of the phenomenon of cooperation in co-teaching) proposes adopting Karol Wojtyła’s theory of participation as a point of reference for the teaching methods used by teachers, including co-teaching; Jolanta Karbowniczek (The connective paradigm a new challenge for early childhood education teachers from a community relations perspective) advocates the implementation of the connective paradigm and creates a model of a teacher-coteacher as one who is compatible with the needs of a contemporary learner; Mirosław Kowalski and Łukasz Albanski (Handbags: Another Look at an Everyday Education of Daily Routines and Selves) emphasize relation as a cardinal condition for common teaching/learning, using the metaphor of a “handbag” they show the way the interlocutors experience and understand the world as well as their strategies for maintaining relations with others, objects and the environment; Beata Pituła (Education in Relation – Is Co-Teaching a Chance for a New School/Academy) presents co-teaching as seen from the perspective of expectations and needs of the emerging super-intelligent society, concluding that it has a chance to become an everyday practice in a new school/academy. The editors would like to thank the reviewers – Prof. dr hab. Krystyna Ferenz and dr hab., prof. UMCS Małgorzata Kus´pit for the effort put into preparing the reviews, and to the Authors for accepting the invitation to work jointly on the book. Beata Pituła Mirosław Kowalski

Part I: Teacher creator and implementer of co-teaching

Jolanta Szempruch

Teachers’ communicative and interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching

Abstract: The subject of the analysis is the teachers’ communicative and interpretative competences, which are considered in this text as key in the professional functioning of coteachers in the same class. The text presents the teachers’ competences, which are discussed with reference to their various definitions and classifications as well as it characterises their components and areas. It also depicts the position of communicative and interpretative competences in the structure of teachers’ competences. The analysis shows that in a dynamically changing world of opportunities and needs, it is the teachers’ duty to reflect on their own work and constantly improve their competences. The conclusion of the text highlights the benefits of co-teaching, emphasising that this model of education creates great opportunities for the development of the teachers’ competences, especially communicative and interpretative ones. Keywords: teachers’ communicative and interpretative competences, co-teaching

Teachers cooperate with many specialists, special educators, psychologists and other teachers in order to efficiently implement the curriculum and meet the individual needs of students. To enable this cooperation, it is necessary to master the competences that determine its success. Such competences include, among others, communicative and interpretive ones. While most teacher training programs address cooperation and related interpersonal communication, many teachers do not sufficiently master the skills necessary for successful collaboration. It becomes essential to reflect on the improvement of their interpretive and communicative competences which are the basis for mutual understanding and co-teaching. Interpretive and communicative competences should be cultivated as early as in the course of professional training and student internships, and then perfected in the following years of the teaching career. Therefore, it seems necessary to include these issues in higher education programmes and practical experiences that will provide candidates for teachers with a firm foundation of educational theory and practice. It is worth employing many examples of effective modelling and developing collaboration skills among future teachers, which have been

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Jolanta Szempruch

indicated, among others, by York-Barr, Bacharr, Salk, Frank, & Beniek1 as well as Wenzlaff, Berak, Wieseman, Monroe-Baillargeon, Bacharach, & BradfieldKreider2. Teaching collaboration skills, combined with developing communicative and interpretive skills among candidates for teachers, is the basis for teachers’ appropriate preparation for co-teaching.

Co-teaching as a challenge for contemporary schools Co-teaching is implemented in a variety of ways. Wenzlaff, et. al.3 agree that coteaching is “two or more individuals who come together in a collaborative relationship for the purpose of shared work … for the outcome of achieving what none could have done alone.” Co-teaching is a widely recognized strategy for supporting students with disabilities in an inclusive learning environment where the general education teacher and the special education teacher work together in the same class with non-disabled and disabled students4. This leads to satisfying the educational needs of both students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers5. The concept of co-teaching can also be related to cooperation between many teachers, and the Global Read Aloud collaboration may serve as its example6. Co-teaching is preceded by an analysis of the students’ needs carried out by cooperating teachers – leading and assisting (supporting). Then, the development of a joint didactic and educational work plan, an agreement on the methods of transferring content at the level of domain and pedagogical knowledge, and also sharing conclusions drawn from observations are required. Co-teaching also 1 J. York-Barr, N. Bacharach, J. Salk, J. Frank, B. Beniek, Team Teaching in Teacher Education: General and Special Education Faculty Experiences and Perspectives, Issues in Teacher Education, vol. 13, 2004, pp. 73–94. 2 T. Wenzlaff, L. Berak, K. Wieseman, A. Monroe-Baillargeon, N. Bacharach, P. BradfieldKreider, Walking our talk as educators: Teaming as a best practice, [in:], Research on Meeting and Using Standards in the Preparation of Teachers, ed. E. Guyton, J, Ranier, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing, Dubuque 2002, pp. 11–24. 3 Ibidem, p. 14. 4 L. Cook, M. Friend, Co-teaching: Guidelines for Creating Effective Practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, (26)3. 5 S. Vaughn, J. Schumm, M. Arguelle, The ABCDEs of co-teaching. Teaching Exceptional Children, 1997, 30; J. Platt, D. Walker-Knight, T. Lee, R. Hewitt, Shaping future teacher education practices through collaboration and co-teaching, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Associationnfor Colleges of Teacher Education, 2001. 6 J.P. Carpenter, S.N. Kerkhoff, X. Wang, Teachers using technology for co-teaching and crowdsourcing: The case of Global Read Aloud collaboration, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2022, vol. 114, 103719, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103719.

Teachers’ communicative and interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching

17

demands joint evaluation and, as a result, modifying the teaching process7. Its openness to the presence of a second teacher in the class and to feedback is a prerequisite. This way of teaching brings numerous benefits for students. Teachers conducting classes have different specialist knowledge, which they mutually enhance during cooperation. Collaboration between them is beneficial for collaboration between students and has a positive impact on improving the overall achievement of students8. During such work, students are activated and democratic atmosphere develops in the classroom. Additionally, a greater variety of pedagogical activities and also multitudes of methods are used9. The analysis of the explored issues with an interdisciplinary approach, combined with the presentation of many, sometimes opposing views, justifying one’s own opinions and assessments encourages students to ask questions and search for answers, which empowers them to develop critical thinking skills. Education is carried out in collaboration, as it is required by the conversation itself 10. It is an element of every interaction. Depending on the type of interaction, the degree of cooperation may vary11. Dialogical interactions and a good mastery of communicative and interpretive competences by the participating teachers are essential for co-teaching.

Teacher competences The meaning of the term “competence” seems to be unclear and multidimensional. There are many who criticise the application of this term in the area of pedagogy for the lack of reflection, imprecision and the lack of determination. The instrumental aspect of the concept of “competence” is determined by the Latin word competentia, derived from the verb competere meaning “to agree”, “to 7 Por. N. Bacharach, T.W. Heck, K. Dahlberg, Co-Teaching in higher education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2008, 5(3), pp. 9–16. https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v5i 3.1298. 8 K.A. McDuffie, M.A. Mastropieri, T.E. Scruggs, Differential effects of peer tutoring in cotaught and non-co-taught classes: Results for content learning and student-teacher interactions, Exceptional Children, 2009, 75(4), pp. 493–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402909 07500406. 9 J. Ferguson, J.Wilson, The co-teaching professorship: Power and expertise in the co-taught higher education classroom, Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, 2011, 5(1), pp. 52–68. https://c utt.ly/JpPTdcD; K.J. Graziano, Navarrete, L. A. (2012). Co-Teaching in a teacher education classroom: Collaboration, compromise, and creativity. Issues in Teacher Education, 21(1), pp. 109–126. https://cutt.ly/FpPYRhT. 10 H. Sacks Lectures on Conversation, 1992, Volumes I & II, Blackwell, p. 379. 11 O. Sutherland, T. Strong, Therapeutic collaboration: A conversation analysis of constructionist therapy, Journal of Family Therapy, 2011, 33 (3), pp. 256–278.

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be suitable”, “to compete”12. The essential meaning of the word applies to the inner potential of the entity that determines its ability to take action or hold a certain position. Competence in this sense determines the subjective ability to adapt to the conditions of the social environment. In pedagogy, it means the capacity for personal self-actualization and the basic condition for a child upbringing. Competence is considered to be the outcome of the learning process that results in the ability to perform specific task areas13. The basic meaning of the concept of “competence”, deriving from its etymology, relates therefore to the individual’s potential which determines their ability to perform certain types of activities14. It also means the scope of one’s knowledge, skills and responsibilities, as well as powers and authorizations.15. Competence, therefore, is determined by the internal context and is described as a subjective potential dependent on something, and it is also determined by the external context and it is assigned a meaning of the capacity for something. Both scopes may overlap. The reference to the term of competence enables to distinguish people who professionally fulfil the tasks entrusted to them, from those who cannot act professionally due to deficiency or lack of competence in a certain scope. Competence is also accounted for as the ability and readiness to perform tasks at a certain level consistent with social standards and also to bear the consequences of such behaviour and take responsibility for it16, though this ability depends both on the knowledge of the abilities involved and the belief in the possibility of using this ability. It can also be considered as a category describing an individual and its relations with the environment, it is possible to distinguish its levels by setting standards of competences recognized as a measure of a person’s suitability to fulfil their role and predicting its effectiveness17. It has major significance in the context of considerations about professionalism.

12 W. Kopalin´ski, Słownik wyrazów obcych i zwrotów obcoje˛zycznych z almanachem, Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM, Warszawa 2007. 13 W. Okon´, Nowy słownik pedagogiczny, Wyd. Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2004, pp. 174– 175. 14 T. Pilch (ed.), Encyklopedia pedagogiczna XXI wieku, Wyd. Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2004, vol. I, p. 693. 15 M. Szymczak (ed.), Słownik je˛zyka polskiego, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1994. 16 J. Szempruch, Pedagogiczne kształcenie nauczycieli wobec reformy edukacji w Polsce, Wydawnictwo WSP, Rzeszów 2000, p. 264. 17 J. Szempruch, Pedagogiczne kształcenie nauczycieli…,op. cit., p. 264; J. Szempruch, Nauczyciel w warunkach zmiany społecznej i edukacyjnej, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2012, pp. 186–197.

Teachers’ communicative and interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching

19

The understanding of competences can be placed in various areas of meaning, in which competence is the basis of subjective involvement in the world18. Therefore, competences can be treated as: (1) the basis for the efficiency of action, (2) the condition for constructing the psychosocial identity of an individual, (3) the ability to take reflective action, (4) the condition for distancing understanding, (5) the potential for taking emancipatory action. In relation to teachers, the term “competence” is most often used in the context of their education, further training and professional development. The aim is to recognize and explain the demand and methods of developing specific competences, necessary for teachers to perform professional tasks effectively in the era of social and educational changes. The dynamically changing world, which poses new challenges for teachers, also forces the ongoing improvement of their competences. Thus, the priority dimension of teachers’ professional competences is the category of change. It means opening the teacher to the subjectivity and creative development of the student, to innovation, coping with the stress accompanying the performance of a professional role, together with tensions and conflicts at school. Openness to change also means tolerance, understanding the contemporary world and awareness of one’s place in the world. In the pedeutological literature, there are proposals to classify teacher competences according to their various types, depending on the theoretical assumptions adopted by the authors, understanding the basic tasks of education or the perception of the role of the teacher in preparing people who will be ready to face the challenges of the modern world19. In the descriptions of teachers’ competences, the groups which are most often distinguished concern the issues of the taught subject, the teacher’s and the student’s workshop in the form of teaching and learning techniques and methods, as well as various ways of influencing students in terms of communication skills, networking, solving educational problems, etc. Teacher’s competences are constantly developing and require constant corrections. This is due to the specificity of the work, which comes from the uniqueness of the situation (openness, non-stereotypical attitude), the non-standard nature of working with people and the communicative character of this work. Correct assessment of teacher competences is restricted by contextual factors, including class behaviour, its size or composition. 18 A. Ma˛czkowska, Od ´swiadomos´ci nauczyciela do konstrukcji ´swiata społecznego. Nauczycielskie koncepcje wymagan´ dydaktycznych a problem rekonstrukcyjnej kompetencji ucznia, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2002, p. 123. 19 cf.: R. Kwas´nica, Wprowadzenie do mys´lenia o nauczycielu, [in:] Pedagogika, vol. 2, Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski (Ed.), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2004, pp. 298–305; K. Denek, Nauczyciel – jego toz˙samos´c´, role i kompetencje, “Wychowanie Fizyczne i Zdrowotne”, 2011, no 3, pp. 9–10; J. Pru˚cha, Pedeutologia [in:] Pedagogika, vol. 2, B. S´liwerski (ed.), GWP, Warszawa 2006, et al.

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In the teaching profession, competences are understood as a cognitive structure composed of the skills, knowledge, disposition and attitudes of teachers necessary for the effective implementation of tasks, which result from a specific educational concept20. Competencies can therefore be defined as personality traits, knowledge, skills and values which characterize a given teacher in performing the assigned professional tasks. This understanding of competences is illustrated in Figure 1. personal traits and a!tudes

TEACHER COMPETENCES

knowledge

skills

Figure 1: Components of teacher competences. Source: J. Szempruch (2013), Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno-pragmatyczne, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków.

The place of interpretive and communicative competences in the structure of teacher competences Teacher competences, understood as a function of the interaction of knowledge, skills, emotions and behaviour, are characterized by: a connection with tasks, as they are manifested in specific behaviours; changeability, which means that they are developing; and measurability, which means that competences can be measured. Therefore, the following areas of competences, important for the teaching profession, can be distinguished: personal, interpretive and communicative, creative and critical, cooperative, pragmatic, ICT and media. This is an open-ended list. Teacher competences are closely related to each other, constituting a comprehensive, dynamic system of one’s professional competences (Figure 2). Due to the topic of the study, the subject chosen for the analysis was interpretive and communicative competences, which are crucial in the professional functioning of teachers who co-teach in the same class. They are expressed in the ability to understand and define educational situations and in the effectiveness of communication behaviours, both verbal and non-verbal. Interpretive competences, in particular, relate to the ability to define and interpret various edu20 E. Goz´lin´ska, F. Szlosek, Podre˛czny słownik nauczyciela kształcenia zawodowego, Wydawnictwo ITE, Radom 1997, p. 52.

Teachers’ communicative and interpretative competence as a basis for co-teaching Pragmatic competences

(Me as a teacher)

Creative and critical competences

(Me as an expert and creator of a specific field of knowledge)

ICT and media competences

(Me as a participant of the education system)

21

Personal competences

(Me as a human being)

Interpretive and communicative competences

(Me as a participant of an interpersonal relationship)

Cooperative competences

(Me as a member of professional group and society)

Figure 2: Areas of teacher professional competences. Source: J. Szempruch (2013), Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno-pragmatyczne, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków.

cational situations related to understanding the student, understanding oneself and the sense of the relationship between oneself and the student, and adapting one’s own style of communication with the student to them. Interpretation of the situation is very important in case of co-teaching and cooperation of teachers in this area, as joint and accurate defining of the situation of students as well as the agreement and general consensus of teachers in the field of diagnoses is the basis for good organization of co-teaching. Interpretive competences are related to diagnostic competences, which are understood as goal-oriented gathering and integrating information in order to reduce uncertainty while making educational decisions21, such as collaborative teaching, lesson planning or student assessment22. Earlier studies of these competences focused on the accurate judgment, that is, the correspondence between teachers’ expectations of learning outcomes and the actual test results of students23. More recent publications signal the need to include qualitative assessment and to understand student misconceptions and strategies24, but also to

21 cf. N. Heitzmann, T. Seidel, A. Opitz, A. Hetmanek, C. Wecker, M. Fischer, S. Ufer, R. Schmidmaier, B. Neuhaus, M. Siebeck, K. Stürmer, A. Obersteiner, K. Reiss, R. Girwidz, F. Fischer, Facilitating diagnostic competences in simulations in higher education, Frontline Learning Research, 2019, 7(4), pp. 1–24, https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v7i4.384. 22 F.W. Schrader, Diagnostische Kompetenz von Lehrpersonen, Beiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung, 2013, 31(2), pp. 154–165. 23 B. Spinath, Akkuratheit der Einschätzung von Schülermerkmalen durch Lehrer und das Konstrukt der diagnostischen Kompetenz, Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 2005, 19, pp. 85– 95, https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652.19.12.85. 24 S. Herppich, A.K. Praetorius, N. Förster, I. Glogger-Frey, K. Karst, D. Leutner, A. Südkamp, et al., Teachers’ assessment competence: Integrating knowledge-, process-, and product-oriented

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investigate the diagnostic process that leads to awarding grades. Diagnostic situations in teaching practice may vary, most of them occur in student-teacher interactions in the classroom25, they are aimed at formative assessment of students’ learning and are closely related to the teacher’s pedagogical activities. Moreover, co-teaching requires a diagnosis of method preferences and the selection of the potentially best team teaching methods. It forces the teacher to learn their ways of working, their strengths and areas of development. It also requires working on developing communicative skills in teamwork. Communicative competences relate to the knowledge of interpersonal communication and the ability to apply it for educational purposes. They are connected with the ability to establish and maintain contact with a student, as well as to properly receive and interpret educational messages. Understanding the dialogical nature of the teacher-student and teacher-teacher relationship and the ability to properly formulate educational messages is the basis for reaching agreement during the teaching-learning process. In addition, other important components of communicative competences are the ability to use non-linguistic means of expression, appropriate to the situation, and to display pedagogical tact in relationships occurring in teaching, which is a manifestation of the orientation towards others – partners in educational interactions. Equally important is the improvement of the correctness, readability and ethics of one’s own linguistic behaviour, e. g. the ability to shape the linguistic sensitivity of pupils, to reveal the value of cultural heritage and the function of language as a tool of thinking and communication, as well as the ability to make moral reflection. Interpretive and communicative competences are the basic component of teaching qualifications which can be used by teachers to maintain and sometimes even restore proper relations in the process of education between “I” and “we”; thanks to them, the development of students can be supported and they can be taught correct self-assessment, but also develop a sense of belonging to a group or the local community. The need to develop them is often signalled in the literature on the subject, as they hold a superior position in the teaching profession due to its specificity26. They are also a prerequisite for the professional cooperation of teachers during the organization and implementation of coteaching. approaches into a competence-oriented conceptual model, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2017, 76, pp. 181–193, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.12.001. 25 J. Klug, S. Bruder, A. Kelava, C. Spiel, B. Schmitz, Diagnostic competence of teachers. A process model that accounts for diagnosing learning behavior tested by means of a case scenario, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2013, 30, pp. 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.10. 004. 26 J. Habermas, Teoria działania komunikacyjnego, vol. 1, trans. A.M. Kaniowski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1999, pp. 121, 160–161.

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In educational activity, communication activities identified by Jürgen Habermas are particularly important, as they serve to set goals, values, norms, rules, renew and construct knowledge, and their essence is reaching an agreement and consensus27. According to Habermas the structure of communication influences: (1) the quality of cognitive processes and methods of constructing knowledge, (2) the shape of relationships with other people and a sense of belonging to a specific community, (3) the development of the autonomy of one’s own self and the ability to express one’s individuality, which altogether determine man’s capacity for moral judgment. The teacher’s communicative competence, i. e. the ability to perform linguistic and extralinguistic behaviours appropriately to the conditions and requirements of the situation and the students, the participants of these situations, requires extensive linguistic knowledge and knowledge about the surrounding world. Its level is determined by communication behaviours manifested in various situations, which are an expression of the ability to function effectively as a sender and recipient of messages. The teacher should possess three types of communication skills: the speaking skill (sending communicative educational messages), the listening skill (proper reception of messages and openness to the student) and the ability to use “body language” (appropriate use of non-verbal messages). The teacher’s communicative competence is manifested in educational situations characterized by changeability and dynamics. It is an open structure, dependent on the personal qualities as well as the willingness and the possibilities of continuous self-development. The results of the research on this competence revealed in the contacts with students, in the group of teachers in grades 1–3 of primary school, do not instil optimism. The results of the observations revealed that there are more teachers with low competences in managing the communication process in the classroom, which prompts us to seriously consider the effectiveness of their pedagogical activities. After all, the implementation of most of the didactic and educational tasks takes place through the direct meeting of the teacher and the student by means of various communicative behaviours. Therefore, teachers need to constantly develop their communicative competences in terms of constructing statements, ethics of speech and the principles of organizing interpersonal contact. It is also essential in the situation when a society embraces other cultures and in the times of rapid exchange of information or information explosion, in which the teacher should demonstrate communicative competences in four dimensions: intercultural communication, intracultural communication (between groups and value systems), interpersonal communication (between task and social groups, in a dialogue between partners) and intrapersonal communication (between identity patterns). 27 J. Habermas, Teoria działania komunikacyjnego, op. cit., pp. 121, 160–161.

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Interpretive and communicative competences of teachers are related to their collaboration competences and together they determine the success of this process. The collaboration competences are perceived as the effectiveness of the teacher’s prosocial behaviours and the efficiency in integrating student teams and other educational entities. They are mainly manifested in the possessed knowledge about the regularities of cooperation and social development of students as well as in the ability to use it properly to create an educational environment within a student group. They require teachers to understand the connections between their own interactive style and the social processes in a student group, and the ability to modify their own style of managing a group of pupils depending on the level of their development and socio-moral maturity. Teachers’ skills in resolving conflicts through negotiation and compromise, as well as teaching students these skills are both necessary to organise efficient cooperation during co-teaching. It is also important to understand the need to cooperate with other teachers and participants of the educational process in order to create conditions for collaborative learning and shared responsibility for its effect. The competences mentioned above are equally important in the work of teachers. Accordingly to the changes in axiology or social and educational teleology, the perception of specific categories of professional competences should change and they must harmonize with the vision, concepts and assumptions of education.

Development of interpretive and communicative competences in the process of co-teaching The teachers’ ability to reflect is an important condition for the development of their competences. The state of awareness of reflection can be presented as a five-stage model – a model for teaching about the “consciousness of competences: (1) unconscious incompetence; (2) conscious incompetence; (3) conscious competence; (4) unconscious competence; (5) conscious competence of unconscious competence”28. The state of unconscious competence occurs when teachers do not know that they lack knowledge or skills – they do not know that they do not know! The task of people supporting their professional development will be to provide assistance and help in identifying problems and attending to those areas of work where teachers prove to be ineffective. In the next stage of competence development, 28 J. Jones, M. Jenkin, S. Lord, Developing effective teacher performance, Paul. Chapman Publishing, London 2006.

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teachers become aware of their incompetence – they know that they do not know. They realize that improving their skills will mean enhancing their effectiveness. Thus, there may be a decline in the teacher’s confidence when they try to introduce new skills but fail. People who create and execute the teacher support program should devote a lot of attention to rebuild their confidence. When teachers become aware of their own competence, they gain a new skill, they become more confident in their actions, provided they focus on what they are doing – they know that they can do something, but do not do it automatically. The duty of the school management is to encourage and support their further development. Once the skills are integrated and well rooted in the teacher’s work, they become a habit. Then, the stage of unconscious competence is reached, it is when teachers no longer have to concentrate on what they are doing. They may have difficulty explaining how they do it (they do not know themselves how they know it). The final stage of competence development is reached when teachers have acquired the ability to recognize deficiencies and are able to teach the skills to others, sometimes it is described as reflective awareness. People responsible for identifying and developing effective support programs in schools should act at this level of awareness. When teaching together, the competences of each teacher are developed. Coteaching requires teachers to get to know each other beforehand, establish mutual relationships and analyse their own teaching styles. Thanks to this, the planned actions will become more effective. Teachers should get to know their strengths and weaknesses, which will allow for a conscious choice of the areas and methods of mutual support during the lesson. Regular discussion of the lesson assumptions and detailed action plans will allow for systematic monitoring of the students’ learning process, as well as improvement of cooperation and development of professional competences. Manifestations of teachers’ competences are related to their personal selfawareness and the sense of their professional worth. It constitutes an important condition for a critical, reflective and independent attitude to everyday school dilemmas. Since modern teachers are perceived primarily as the subject of change, they should also become more active participants as well as more responsible and courageous agents of the change. To do so, they must be aware of the need for continuous development of all competences, especially those responsible for the proper understanding, the interpretive and communicative competences. They are the basis of co-teaching.

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References Bacharach N., Heck T. W., Dahlberg K., Co-Teaching in higher education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2008, 5(3), pp. 9–16, https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v5i 3.1298. Carpenter J.P., Kerkhoff S.N., Wang X., Teachers using technology for co-teaching and crowdsourcing: The case of Global Read Aloud collaboration, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2022, vol. 114, 103719, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103719. Cook L., Friend, M., Co-teaching: Guidelines for Creating Effective Practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, (26). 3. Denek K., Nauczyciel – jego toz˙samos´c´, role i kompetencje, Wychowanie Fizyczne i Zdrowotne 2011, no 3, pp. 9–10; J. Pru˚cha, Pedeutologia [in:] Pedagogika, vol. 2, B. S´liwerski (ed.), GWP, Warszawa 2006 et al. Encyklopedia pedagogiczna XXI wieku, T. Pilch (ed.), Wyd. Akademickie “Z˙ak”, 2003 vol. I, p. 693. Ferguson J., Wilson, J., The co-teaching professorship: Power and expertise in the co-taught higher education classroom, Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, 2011, 5(1), 52–68. https://c utt.ly/JpPTdcD. Goz´lin´ska E., Szlosek F., Podre˛czny słownik nauczyciela kształcenia zawodowego, Wydawnictwo ITE, Radom 1997. Graziano K. J., Navarrete L. A., Co-Teaching in a teacher education classroom: Collaboration, compromise, and creativity, Issues in Teacher Education, 2012, 21(1), 109–126. https://cutt.ly/FpPYRhT. Habermas J., Teoria działania komunikacyjnego, vol. 1, trans. A.M. Kaniowski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1999, pp. 121. Habermas J., The Theory of Communicative Action, vol. 1, Polity Press, 1991. Heitzmann N., Seidel T., Opitz A., Hetmanek A., Wecker C., Fischer M., Ufer S., Schmidmaier, R., Neuhaus B., Siebeck M., Stürmer K., Obersteiner A., Reiss K., Girwidz R., Fischer F., Facilitating diagnostic competences in simulations in higher education, Frontline Learning Research, 2019, 7(4), pp. 1–24, https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v7i4.384. Herppich S., Praetorius A.-K., Förster N., Glogger-Frey I., Karst K., Leutner D., Südkamp A., et al., Teachers’ assessment competence: Integrating knowledge-, process-, and product-oriented approaches into a competence-oriented conceptual model, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2017, 76, 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.12.001. Jones J., Jenkin M., Lord S., Developing effective teacher performance, Paul Chapman Publishing, London 2006. Klug J., Bruder S., Kelava A., Spiel C., Schmitz B., Diagnostic competence of teachers. A process model that accounts for diagnosing learning behavior tested by means of a case scenario, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2013, 30, pp. 38–46, https://doi.org/10.101 6/j.tate. 2012.10.004. Kopalin´ski, Słownik wyrazów obcych i zwrotów obcoje˛zycznych z almanachem, Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM, Warszawa 2007. Kwas´nica R., Wprowadzenie do mys´lenia o nauczycielu, [in:] Pedagogika, vol. 2, Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski (Ed.), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2004, pp. 298–305.

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Ma˛czkowska A., Od ´swiadomos´ci nauczyciela do konstrukcji ´swiata społecznego. Nauczycielskie koncepcje wymagan´ dydaktycznych a problem rekonstrukcyjnej kompetencji ucznia, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2002, p. 123. McDuffie K. A., Mastropieri M. A., Scruggs T. E., Differential effects of peer tutoring in cotaught and non-co-taught classes: Results for content learning and student-teacher interactions, Exceptional Children, 2009, 75(4), pp. 493–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/001 440290907500406. Okon´ W., Nowy słownik pedagogiczny, Wyd. Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2004. Platt J., Walker-Knight, D. Lee, T., Hewitt, R., Shaping future teacher education practices through collaboration and co-teaching, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, 2001. Sacks H., Lectures on Conversation, Blackwell, 1992, Volumes I & II. Schrader F.W., Diagnostische Kompetenz von Lehrpersonen, Beiträge zur Lehrerinnenund Lehrerbildung, 2013, 31(2), pp. 154–165. Spinath B., Akkuratheit der Einschätzung von Schülermerkmalen durch Lehrer und das Konstrukt der diagnostischen Kompetenz, Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 2005, 19, pp. 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652.19.12.85. Sutherland O., Strong T., Therapeutic collaboration: A conversation analysis of constructionist therapy, Journal of Family Therapy, 2011, 33 (3), pp. 256–278. Szempruch J., Pedagogiczne kształcenie nauczycieli wobec reformy edukacji w Polsce, Wydawnictwo WSP, Rzeszów 2000. Szempruch J., Nauczyciel w warunkach zmiany społecznej i edukacyjnej, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2012, pp. 186–197. Szempruch J., Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno-pragmatyczne, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2013. Szymczak M. (ed.), Słownik je˛zyka polskiego, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1994. Vaughn S., Schumm, J., Arguelle, M., The ABCDEs of co-teaching, Teaching Exceptional Children, 1997, 30. Wenzlaff T., Berak, L., Wieseman, K., Monroe-Baillargeon, A., Bacharach, N., BradfieldKreider, P., Walking our talk as educators: Teaming as a best practice, En E. Guyton, J. Rainer (Eds.), Research on Meeting and Using Standards in the Preparation of Teachers, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing. Dubuque 2002, pp. 11–24. York-Barr J., Bacharach, N., Salk, J. F. rank, J. and Beniek, B., Team Teaching in Teacher Education: General and Special Education Faculty Experiences and Perspectives, Issues in Teacher Education, 2004, 13, pp. 73–94.

Jolanta Konieczny

Reflective Practitioner Attitude as a Basis for Teachers’ Cooperation

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present the concept of a teacher – reflective practitioner as a basis for teachers’ cooperation. The first part discusses the role of a reflective practitioner – the theoretical take on the model as well as justification of the adoption of this concept. In the second part, the role of cognitive neuroscience in building of cooperation relations is presented. The article ends with a reflection on the foundations of cooperation, impact on their quality as well as neurobiological basis of this action. Keywords: reflective practitioner, teacher, cognitive neuroscience, teachers’ competences

Introduction In this article I present the concept of a teacher – reflective practitioner as an attitude being the basis for teaching in cooperation. I also discuss the assumptions of cognitive neuroscience as a field of science allowing to understand how the brain creates the mind and neurobiological foundations for the need for teamwork. Teaching in cooperation is a very complex issue, requiring the teacher to possess the right skills and take an attitude of openness to new experiences. The new paradigm offering dialogue between cognitive neuroscience and education allows to understand typical social issues and educational challenges. School should be a place of cooperation of teachers and its superior goal should be building of greater development opportunities for students. Teaching in cooperation is a process consisting in expansion of cognitive capabilities. It becomes a new plane of action, where knowledge about the student is not only observable and conveyed but, first and foremost, constructed by many specialists. Learning about how the human being is biologically adapted to act in cooperation enables broader recognition of its assets. This knowledge may contribute to stimulation of the attitude of a reflective practitioner who is not only a craftsman but also reflects on his or her actions and searches for innovative solutions.

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Reflective Practitioner In the course of social and economic changes, teachers have been brought down to the role of executors of specific pre-determined curricula. They are treated as a part of the school infrastructure, entangled in institutional dependencies, carrying the entire burden of responsibility for the fulfilment of specific standards1. Technical teaching rationality originated in the 19th century as a result of quick development of science and technology; knowledge was used for the good of humanity, had a great impact on industrial development. Important scientific views were based on truth, and truth was treated as a material empirical observation the understanding of which was brought down to posing an instrumental question to be solved based on hard data, facts and consistently applied methods2. However, life and practice are something else. In the real world, problems appear not as data or bare facts. Problematic situations consist of multiple factors and affect their individual nature3. Employment of standard techniques is insufficient, and the situation cannot be solved with traditional methods. Thanks to critical pedagogy introduced by H. A. Giroux,4 new challenges are put before teachers, aiming at activation of the society, encouraging cooperation, pulling out of mental helplessness5. He promoted the attitude of a teacher – transformative intellectual6 who can find the field for action if they have control over their own area of educational activity, assuming a role broader than referring to their didactic and educational role only.7 Such a teacher aims at introduction of democracy in the school, referring to “civil demands” that point to the need for broadly perceived education towards criticism, supporting sub1 M. Kaczmarzyk, Szkoła neuronów: o nastolatkach, kompromisach i wychowaniu, Wydawnictwo Dobra Literatura, Słupsk 2017, p. 129. 2 D.A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York 1983, pp. 31–33. 3 Ibidem, p. 40. 4 L. Witkowski, O stanie i problemach recepcji amerykan´skiej pedagogiki radykalnej w Polsce. Próba ´swiadectwa osobistego i refleksji o ,,dos´wiadczeniu pokoleniowym, [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej, ed. H.A Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010, p. 45. 5 T. Szkudlarek, Po co nam dzis´ pedagogika krytyczna?, w Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej, [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej, ed. H.A Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010, p. 484. 6 H. A Giroux, Radical Education and Transformative Intellectuals, Canadian Journal of Social and Political Theory, 1985,vol. 9, no. 2. 7 B. S´liwerski, Pedagogika krytyczna widziana liberalnie. Glossa do ksia˛z˙ki H.A. Giroux, L. Witkowskiego, [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej, ed. H.A. Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010, p. 408.

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stantially the knowledge of the citizens, participation in self-governance and democratic leadership8. Another concept, also in opposition to perceiving the teacher as a technicianrationalist, refers to professional predispositions, where the teacher is perceived as a professional master-artist. The starting point for this concept was approaching education not as a craft with formal foundations – theory, but rather assuming that education is a form of art. This concept was put forward by D. Fish based on the epistemology of practice of D. A. Shӧn9. Recognising this position entails the perception of education as a disordered, unpredictable and unexpected activity, requiring, by nature, the teachers to demonstrate professional mastery rather than technical effectiveness consisting in verification and grading-oriented work following pre-determined rules10. New challenges are put before teachers, especially in terms of their role. In the old days, the teacher – as a technician-rationalist – fulfilled the role of an executor, an all-knowing authority, an individual covering a specific curriculum. On the other hand, W. Dróz˙ka emphasises that the new professionalism of a teacher should consist in becoming a reflective practitioner11. It is a compilation of a teacher-transformative intellectual and a professional master-artist, creating a vision of a reflective practitioner who is the common denominator of these two dimensions12. D. A. Schӧn, who created the concept of a reflective practitioner, believes that the contemporary world changes so much that we are unable to prepare the students for everything13. One could learn everything if everything was constant, disconnected, but it is not. This concept was not developed for education, but its assets have been recognised and it has become one of the most important points connecting theory and practice14. Practice is complex, uncertain, unstable, and this is the reality the students need to be prepared for and the teacher – reflective practitioner must be the instigator of these activities. “Reflection is understood here as a type of thinking characterised by continuous reflection, considering something, inquiring, pondering on an issue, its various 8 H.A. Giroux, Naga pedagogia i przeklen´stwo neoliberalizmu: przemys´lec´ edukacje˛ wyz˙sza˛ jako praktyke˛ wolnos´ci, [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej, ed. H.A Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010, p. 287. 9 J. Szempruch, Modele kształcenia nauczycieli a zadania edukacji [Models of Teacher Education vs Education Tasks], Studia z Teorii Wychowania [Studies in Education Theory], 2016, VII, no. 4(17), p. 40. 10 W. Dróz˙ka, Nauczyciel We Współczesnych Dyskursach Edukacyjnych, Kieleckie Studia Pedagogiczne i Psychologiczne, 2000, pp. 44–45. 11 Ibidem, p. 39. 12 Ibidem, p. 46. 13 D.A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner, op. cit., p. 17. 14 B. D. Gołe˛bniak, Nauczanie i uczenie sie˛ w klasie, [in:] Pedagogika. Podre˛cznik akademicki, ed. Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2014, Vol 2, p. 204.

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aspects. It is a type of theoretical thinking”15. A reflective practitioner admits that knowledge is in our action and above our action. When we think about what we are doing, we create knowledge in action. The known artefacts evolve culturally through subsequent discoveries and improvements, until a good, satisfying result is reached which, nevertheless, is never finite16. Knowledge is an anchoring point for creation, building of one’s own professional techniques17. A teacher is a lifelong student – adopting this perspective allows to question oneself and encourages work on one’s personality. Reflectivity is not only an intellectual phenomenon, but to a large extent it relates to emotions, experiences, self-understanding and identity building18. To be a reflective practitioner is to possess the cooperation skills, expressed in the relationship “me as a member of a professional and social group”, understood as the ability to take effective action in the scope of integration of student teams and all entities of the educational reality, to direct a group in a manner adapted to the level of development and socio-moral maturity of its members, to solve conflict situations by means of negotiations and compromise as well as to develop this ability in students, to deal with stress resulting from unpredictability of encountered pedagogical situations, to cooperate with the teaching staff as well as other out-of-school participants of the educational process19. Their role in the process of organisation of educational situations is being the agent, creator and co-operator of other specialists. They have one-of-a-kind opportunity to make changes, but also to confront various views, to make the education process a field for development, not only for its recipients but, first and foremost, for its creators. In particular, co-teaching as a context of teachers’ learning consists in cooperation in two ways: firstly, as observations are possible due to common teaching and, secondly, as teachers share their thoughts and practical knowledge. In turn, co-constructed knowledge becomes the property of individual teachers who can use it independently. However, for the co-teaching to become a learning

15 H. Kwiatkowska, Pedeutologia, Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2008, p. 64. 16 D.A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner, op. cit., p. 52. 17 M. Taraszkiewicz, Jak uczyc´ lepiej? czyli refleksyjny praktyk w działaniu, Wydawnictwa CODN, Warszawa 2003, p. 11. 18 J. Karbowniczek, Edukacja zintegrowana w dobie jakos´ciowego kryzysu dydaktycznego, Horyzonty Wychowania, 20(55), DOI: 10.35765/hw.2154, p. 126. 19 E. Kempny, J. Konieczny, Kształcenie kompetencji nauczycieli wobec wyzwan´ zrównowaz˙onego rozwoju, Humanum Mie˛dzynarodowe Studia Społeczno-Humanistyczne, 2017, No. 25, p. 167.

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environment, the teachers need to be willing to share their knowledge of students and accept a new perspective brought in by another teacher20. The success of implementation of change in the school depends greatly on the right preparation and motivation of the teaching staff 21. Therefore, cooperation of parents, teachers and students should be based on an educational partnership relation the foundation of which is that each of these entities pursues a common goal and their activity consists in multi-faceted, equal relations resulting from voluntariness and responsibility, is based on assistance, setting of duties and fields of action in this cooperation22. The supreme principles, however, should always be the interest of the child, its development and future.

Teaching in Cooperation from the Perspective of Cognitive Neuroscience The brain, its activity as well as how it creates the mind form the area of interest of cognitive neuroscience23. Discovering the biological foundations of cooperation provides the plane for development of long-forgotten and disregarded areas of educational activity of teachers. Teaching in cooperation allows not only for development of the student who is the addressee of these activities but, first and foremost, offers new opportunities to teachers who gain a broader field of cognition. A. Rytivaara, J. Pulkkinen, I. Palmu24 developed the concept of teaching in cooperation as a triad of observable, conveyable and co-constructed knowledge. In studies carried out in 2021 they demonstrated that teachers working with the same students had completely different perceptions of them. In the presented conclusions they show that what is required is cooperation as well as reflection on one’s own practical knowledge regarding teaching.

20 A. Rytivaara, J. Pulkkinen, I. Palmu, Learning about Students in Co-Teaching Teams, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021, p. 11, https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021. 1878299. 21 B. S´liwerski, Problemy współczesnej edukacji: dekonstrukcja polityki os´wiatowej III RP, Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009, p. 41. 22 J. Konieczny, The Concept of Neuroeducation in the Learning Process of School Failure Affected Students, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. B. Pituła, I. Nowosad. Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2022, p. 221. 23 M.H. Johnson, M. De Haan, Neurokognitywistyka rozwoju: wprowadzenie, trans. A. Niedz´wiecka, Harmonia Universalis, Gdan´sk 2018, p. 18. 24 A. Rytivaara, J. Pulkkinen, I. Palmu, Learning about Students in Co-Teaching Teams, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021, p. 9, https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021. 1878299.

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Neurobiologists emphasise that teamwork is an essential element of efficient and effective leadership25. Working on accomplishment of a common goal, makes a person gain new competences and broaden the already possessed capabilities. Studies of human brain prove that every organism is biologically adapted to work in a group. Anthropologists also present evidence that it was this very skill that helped primitive people survive and later – develop the civilization26. Cooperation is a continuous process, involving discussions and consultations, having an important effect on the potential of both educators and their students. Co-teaching may become a foundation to build a relation where communication goes beyond the classroom context. It means sharing practical responsibility for the class and students with other teachers, reaching compromise as well as prevention of difficult situations27. A new direction in development of contemporary education is the use of knowledge in the scope of neurobiology and pointing to the rationality of application of such teaching methods that can fully utilise the potential of the brain, where the learning process is more effective and approachable for all participants of education28. Learning about such mental processes as: perception, awareness, thinking, concluding, communication and cognitive processes, teachers may make efforts aiming at in-depth understanding of mechanisms taking place in the brain and recognise patterns and dependencies in the attitudes of co-workers. Cognitive neuroscience provides information regarding social issues and challenges connected with the activity of every person. Cooperation is a norm resulting from mechanisms creating and maintaining its functioning in the brain29. Incentive and reward systems are active in the course of cooperation. Activation of these areas stimulates higher thought processes which make us reject shortterm benefits in favour of long-term benefits30. An important element influencing the quality of teaching in cooperation are emotions, which are stimuli activating organisms to act. Emotions are processed and memorised by the amygdala, a cluster in the brain storing the emotional 25 V.J. Pitsoe, P. Isingoma, How do School Management Teams Experience Teamwork: A Case Study in the Schools in the Kamwenge District, Uganda, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014, No. 3, p. 138, https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p138. 26 V.J. Pitsoe, P. Isingoma, op. cit., p. 139. 27 A. Rytivaara, R. Kershner, Co-Teaching as a Context for Teachers’ Professional Learning and Joint Knowledge Construction, Teaching and Teacher Education, 2012, No. 7, p. 1001, https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.05.006. 28 J. Konieczny, The application of neurodidactics in the modern system of education in favour of the future requirements of business, Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization and Management Series, 2018, No. 132 , p. 342, https://doi.org/10.29119/16413466.2018.132.23. 29 M. Spitzer, Jak uczy sie˛ mózg, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2014, p. 225. 30 Ibidem, pp. 215–16.

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sheath of raw facts the hippocampus memorises31. The depth of relations between emotions and cognition are often underappreciated and misunderstood. The research conducted by scholars dealing with neuroscience presents a new perspective of this relation, pointing to the fact that proper functioning of memory, creation of complex thought constructs or making of important decisions is not possible without the involvement of emotions32. They affect cognition as well, causing physiological and mental changes. Cognitive functions serve purposes regulating life, realised by the emotional system. Human thoughts and feelings are evaluated in the socio-cultural context and help people survive, grow and create the social world. For teachers, teaching in cooperation is an opportunity to develop communication and interpersonal skills. Cooperation of teachers consists in continuous reflection and discussion, often resulting in valuable educational programmes or plans33. An important aspect in their activity is also the influence they have on the attitudes of students who learn by imitation34. Demonstrating the qualities of teamwork and applying it in school classes allows to focus on the strengths of students they bring in the activities of the group. Every student has its own personality, competences and skills, contributing this “capital” during cooperation, and since every student has different resources – individuals become a multi-skilled team. The added value of this activity is stimulating respect for the utterances and ideas of other persons as well as gaining new abilities by learning from others. A crucial element of proper functioning of a group is the right selection of team participants. When organising classes, the teacher should think about the potential of each participant and adjust the groups in a way that lets everybody be active during classes. The organisation of classes based on cooperation should include precise determination of the problem or task to be executed, setting of possible method of works, sharing source materials or study aiding materials35. The teacher’s role is providing substantive care over the activity of the group, the analysis of behaviour of individual team members as well as moderation of work in a manner that makes the students work independently but still have the sense of support in crisis situations. 31 D. Goleman, Inteligencja emocjonalna, trans. A. Jankowskim, Media Rodzina, Poznan´ 2012, p. 26. 32 S.J. Schmidt, What Does Emotion Have to Do with Learning? Everything!: Editorial, Journal of Food Science Education 16, 2017, No. 3, p. 64, https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4329.12116. 33 A. Szkolak-Ste˛pien´, Nauczanie We Współpracy Dla Przyszłos´ci, Biblioteka Współczesnej Mys´li Pedagogicznej, 2016, p. 68. 34 T. Jurczyk et. al., Proces edukacyjny i jego realizatorzy (czyli o współdziałaniu nauczycieli w zmieniaja˛cym sie˛ ´swiecie), [in:] Jakos´c´ edukacji: róz˙norodne perspektywy, ed. G. Mazurkiewicz, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellon´skiego, Kraków 2012, p. 267. 35 F. Berez´nicki, Podstawy dydaktyki, 3. wyd., Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2011, p. 333.

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Cognitive neuroscience, as a field of science dealing with studying the human brain and the course of cognitive processes, allows to understand many dependencies and factors affecting the quality of learning. Neuroscience studies present the conditions to be met by education to become not only more effective but also more student-friendly. The knowledge of the principles of functioning of the human brain and factors affecting its stimulation gives the teachers new opportunities, points to areas underappreciated in creation of the curricula.

Conclusion Reflection on the quality of education encourages switching to a new direction of education where teachers are reflective creators, efficiently changing their strategy of action, thinking critically, possessing their own potential, striving to gain knowledge, assuming responsibility for themselves and others36. The direction that should be taken is education enabling the on-going understanding and integration of new information, high level of flexibility and adaptation. Strong educational culture that will be based on continuous action in a difficult situation where conceptualisation, testing, implementation, review will occur over a short span of time may make taking on challenges cause positive excitement and tension, encouraging action and openness to change. Education is not only teaching, but also development, shaping of a mind ready to navigate through the changes in the face of the digital transformation37. Reflecting on their own activity, a teacher-reflective practitioner recognises problems not only as bare facts, but as multi-factor issues of individual nature. Cooperation of teachers enables reflection on common actions, analysis, discussion as well as improvement of one’s own practice. This allows to look at education from new perspectives. There is a great challenge the decision-makers, principals and teachers need to face – meeting the expectations of the contemporary world. It is not possible to determine one “fixed” scheme of cooperation. It is, however, important to stimulate openness in teachers, encourage development of the attitude of a reflective practitioner who constantly reflects on actions taken and aim at continuous improvement of oneself. Only this attitude guarantees rewarding and deep cooperation of all educators.

36 J. Konieczny, The application of neurodidactics in the modern system of education in favour of the future requirements of business, op. cit. p. 340. 37 S. Saddington, Organizational Agility: Thriving in a State of Constant Change, 2017, https:// conversations.actionable.co.

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References Berez´nicki F. Podstawy dydaktyki [Basics of Didactics], edition 3., Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2011. Dróz˙ka W. Nauczyciel we współczesnych dyskursach edukacyjnych [Teacher in Contemporary Education Discussions], Kieleckie Studia Pedagogiczne i Psychologiczne [Kielce Pedagogy and Psychology Stufies], 2000, 13. Giroux H.A., Naga pedagogia i przeklen´stwo neoliberalizmu: przemys´lec´ edukacje˛ wyz˙sza˛ jako praktyke˛ wolnos´ci [Bare Pedagogy and the Scourge of Neoliberalism: Rethinking Higher Education as a Democratic Public Sphere], [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej [ Education and the Public Sphere: Ideas of Radical Pedagogy], ed. H. A Giroux, L. Witkowski. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, 2010. Giroux H.A. Radical Education and Transformative Intellectuals, Canadian Journal of Social and Political Theory, 1985, vol. 9, no. 2. Goleman D. Inteligencja emocjonalna [Emotional Intelligence], Translated by A. Jankowski. Poznan´: Media Rodzina, 2012. Gołe˛bniak B. D. Nauczanie i uczenie sie˛ w klasie [Teaching and Learning in the Classroom], [in:] Pedagogika. Podre˛cznik akademicki [Pedagogy. Academic Textbook], ed. Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski, vol. 2., Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw 2014. Johnson M.H. , Haan M.De, Neurokognitywistyka rozwoju: wprowadzenie [Cognitive Neuroscience of Development: Introduction], trans. A. Niedz´wiecka, Harmonia Universalis, Gdan´sk 2018. Jurczyk T., Kołodziejczyk J., Komarnicka E., Polan´ski T., Romaniuk J., Staromłyn´ski J., Wojtanowicz-Stadler I., Proces edukacyjny i jego realizatorzy (czyli o współdziałaniu nauczycieli w zmieniaja˛cym sie˛ ´swiecie) [Education Process and its Executors (About Cooperation of Teachers in the Changing World), [in:] Jakos´´c edukacji: róz˙norodne perspektywy [Quality of Education: Various Perspectives], ed. G. Mazurkiewicz. Jagiellonian University Publishing House, Kraków 2012. Kaczmarzyk M., Szkoła neuronów: o nastolatkach, kompromisach i wychowaniu [School of Neurons: about Teenagers, Comprise and Upbringing], Wydawnictwo Dobra Literatura, Słupsk 2017. Karbowniczek J., Edukacja zintegrowana w dobie jakos´ciowego kryzysu dydaktycznego, Horyzonty Wychowania, 2021, 20(55), pp. 121-128. DOI: 10.35765/hw.2154. Kempny E, Konieczny J., Kształcenie kompetencji nauczycieli wobec wyzwan´ zrównowaz˙onego rozwoju [Developing Teachers’ Competences vs Challenges of Sustainable Development], Humanum Mie˛dzynarodowe Studia Społeczno-Humanistyczne [Humanum International Social and Human Studies], 2017, no. 25. Konieczny J. The Concept of Neuroeducation in the Learning Process of School Failure Affected Students, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. B. Pituła, I. Nowosad, Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2022. Konieczny J., The application of neurodidactics in the modern system of education in favour of the future requirements of business, Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization and Management Series, 2018, no. 132, pp. 339–50. https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2018.132.23.

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Kwiatkowska H. Pedeutologia [Pedeutology], Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warsaw 2008. Pitsoe V. J., Isingoma P., How do School Management Teams Experience Teamwork: A Case Study in the Schools in the Kamwenge District, Uganda, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014, 5 no. 3 https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p138. Rytivaara A., Kershner R., Co-Teaching as a Context for Teachers’ Professional Learning and Joint Knowledge Construction, Teaching and Teacher Education, October 2012, 28, no. 7, pp. 999–1008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.05.006. Rytivaara A., Pulkkinen J., Palmu I. , Learning about Students in Co-Teaching Teams, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13 603116.2021.1878299. Saddington S., Organizational Agility: Thriving in a State of Constant Change, 2017, https://conversations.actionable.co. Schmidt S.J., What Does Emotion Have to Do with Learning? Everything!: Editorial, Journal of Food Science Education, July 2017, 16, no. 3, pp. 64–66, https://doi.org /10.1111/1541-4329.12116. Schön D. A., The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York 1983. Spitzer M., Jak uczy sie˛ mózg [How the Brain Learns], Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw 2014. Szempruch J., Modele kształcenia nauczycieli a zadania edukacji [Models of Teacher Education vs Education Tasks], Studia z Teorii Wychowania [Studies in Education Theory], 2016, VII, no. 4(17). Szkolak-Ste˛pien´ A., Nauczanie we współpracy dla przyszłos´ci [Teaching in Cooperation for the Future], Biblioteka Współczesnej Mys´li Pedagogicznej [Library of Contemporary Pedagogical Thought], 2016, 5, pp. 66–78. Szkudlarek T., Po co nam dzis´ pedagogika krytyczna? [Why do We Need Critical Pedagogy Today?], [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej [Education and Public Sphere: Ideas and Experiences of Radical Pedagogy], ed. H.A. Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010. S´liwerski B., Pedagogika krytyczna widziana liberalnie. Glossa do ksia˛z˙ki H. A. Giroux i L. Witkowskiego [Critical Pedagogy in Liberal Perception. Gloos to the book by H. A. Giroux and L. Witkowski], [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej [Education and Public Sphere: Ideas and Experiences of Radical Pedagogy], ed. H. A Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010. S´liwerski B., Problemy współczesnej edukacji: dekonstrukcja polityki os´wiatowej III RP [Problems of Contemporary Education: Deconstruction of Education Policy of the Third Republic of Poland], Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warsaw 2009. Taraszkiewicz M., Jak uczyc´ lepiej? czyli refleksyjny praktyk w działaniu [How to Teach Better? A Reflective Practitioner in Action]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa CODN, 2003. Witkowski L., O stanie i problemach recepcji amerykan´skiej pedagogiki radykalnej w Polsce. Próba ´swiadectwa osobistego i refleksji o ,,dos´wiadczeniu pokoleniowym [About the State and Issues of Reception of American Radical Pedagogy in Poland. An Attempt at Personal Account and Reflection on “Generational Experience”], [in:] Edukacja i sfera publiczna: idee i dos´wiadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej [Education and Public Sphere: Ideas and

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Experiences of Radical Pedagogy], ed. H.A Giroux, L. Witkowski, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, Kraków 2010.

Inetta Nowosad

The potential to learn from each other in the professional development of teachers. An example of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in Singapore

Abstract: The aim of the chapter is to present the potential of mutual learning during the development and professional training of teachers. To illustrate the implementation of such a form of professional development, a Professional Learning Community (PLC) model, which had been introduced in Singapore in 2009, was adopted as a nationwide model. The undertaken case study facilitates a better understanding of an educational policy that is focused on the implementation of concepts developed in different contexts, (in this case from the Anglo-Saxon to Asian context), as well as reinforces the teachers’ driving force and professionalism. Keywords: professional learning communities (PLC), Singapore, new teacher professionalism, teacher professional development.

The aim of the chapter is to present the potential of mutual learning during the development and professional training of teachers. To illustrate the implementation of such a form of professional development, a Professional Learning Community (PLC) model, which had been introduced in Singapore in 2009, was adopted as a nationwide model. The undertaken case study facilitates a better understanding of an educational policy that is focused on the implementation of concepts developed in different contexts, (in this case from the Anglo-Saxon to Asian context), as well as reinforces teachers’ driving force and professionalism. Analyses conducted in Singapore have already revealed many fascinating conclusions. However, they raise further cognitive questions. Among the discussed issues, the researchers attribute an important role to teachers’ professionalism1. Such a focus, supported by numerous studies, indicates that teacher’s working methods are one of the most important factors influencing pupils’ school achievements2. Hence, investing in teachers and increasing their effectiveness is 1 L. Darling-Hammond, R. Rothman (eds.), Teacher and Leader Effectiveness in High-Performing Education Systems, Alliance for Excellent Education and Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, Washington 2011, p. 1. 2 J. Hattie, Visible Learning, Routledge, Abingdon 2009, p. 18.

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considered key to improving pupils’ achievements. The arguments and evidence presented in the study are based mainly on literature review, as well as on research and analysis of source documents3.

Initiatives preceding the introduction of PLCs4 The internationally recognised effectiveness of PLCs comes from embedding teachers’ professional development in the broader context of lifelong learning, selflearning, in-service learning, the development of reflective practices, as well as practices based on inquiry and evidence5. The PLC concept, especially the term “learning community”, was extrapolated from management sciences and Peter Senge’s work on learning organisations6. The importance of community in learning was recognised approximately at the same time by two anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger7, who started using the community of practice term. These researchers highlighted the importance of an individual as an active participant in communal practices and the potential of building one’s own identity within such communities8. The conclusions are overwhelmingly consistent9 and indicate that teachers’ learning communities can lead to their professional development, improvement of teachers’ work skills, and, as a result, improvement of pupils’ learning outcomes. However, the benefits of practicing PLC in schools are much 3 S. Kwiatkowski, I. Nowosad, System kształcenia i doskonalenia nauczycieli w Singapurze. Miedzy utopijna wizja˛ a rzeczywistos´cia˛, Studia Edukacyjne, 2018, no. 47, pp. 147–171. 4 The chapter was compiled on the basis of: I. Nowosad, Professional Learning Community (PLC) w Singapurze: moz˙liwos´ci i ograniczenia w kształtowaniu wysokiej jakos´ci edukacji, Rocznik Pedagogiczny, 2021, 43, p. 63–79. 5 S. Hairon, Action Research in Singapore Education – Constraints and Sustainability. Educational Action Research 2006, 14 (4), pp. 513–523. 6 P.M. Senge, The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Doubleday, New York 1990. 7 J. Lave, E. Wenger, Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991. 8 E. Wenger, R. McDermott, W.M. Snyder, Cultivating communities of practice, Harvard Business Press, Cambridge 2002. 9 R. DuFour, R. Eaker, Professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, [in:] National Education Service, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington 1998; R. DuFour, What Is a “Professional Learning Community”? Educational Leadership 2004, 61(8), pp. 6–11; S. C. Thompson, L. Gregg, J.M. Niska, Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning, Research in Middle Level Education Online 2004, 28(1), pp. 1–15; R., Bolam, A. McMahon, L. Stoll, S. Thomas, M. Wallace, Creating and sustaining effective professional learning communities, Research Report No. 637. UK: Department for Education and Skills, London 2005; S.M. Hord, W.A. Sommers, Leading professional learning communities: Voices from research and practice, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, C.A. 2008; V. Vescio, D. Ross, A. Adams, A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning, Teaching and Teacher Education 2008, 24(1), pp. 80–91.

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broader and relate to increased well-being of the teaching staff, a healthy school culture and a holistic improvement in the quality of school functioning10. In Singapore, the concept of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) was introduced to schools in 2009 as a state initiative providing a platform for teacher professional development by means of promoting greater self-reliance and enabling collaborative learning to be initiated to support curricular innovation11. The state’s decision to implement PLCs was due to tensions between maintaining centralised control over educational matters and decentralisation of some power at school level, i. e. between school management and teachers. Charlene Tan and Pak Tee Ng described this tension as “decentralised-centralism”.12 As a result, schools that were part of a centralised “command and control” system were required to embrace PLC. In this context, it is not surprising that state acceptance was a key factor in Singapore’s high adoption rate of PLC guidelines13. Although the PLC concept was directed at schools as late as in 2009, some of its elements had been successively incorporated into the functioning of schools much earlier. 1997 became a landmark in the history of education in Singapore, i. e. when Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) political initiative was launched. Its aim was to develop schools by providing their head teachers and teachers with a field in which to act and make independent decisions, i. e. school autonomy. The following were considered crucial: firstly, the development of curricula and innovation (achieving wider learning outcomes); secondly, school development in the area of pedagogical processes (the emphasis on school selfevaluation in the use of quality management frameworks – the so-called “School Excellence Model” (SEM); thirdly, strengthening teachers’ competences. After seven years (2004), another political initiative Teach Less Learn More (TLLM) was introduced. These examples show the process of strengthening the quality of teaching and learning and the necessary conditions for it, such as school’s and 10 S. M. Hord, Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin 1998; P. M. Senge, The fifth discipline…, op. cit.; M. Fullan, Leading in a culture of change, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 2001. 11 Ministry of Education (MOE), Address by Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education, at the Teachers’ Mass Lecture, Singapore Expo Hall 2, Wednesday 26 August 2009, [in:] http:// www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2009/08/26/address-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-t.php [accessed: 20. 05. 2019]; Ministry of Education (MOE). (2009). Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2009, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Convention Centre, Thursday 17 September, http://www.moe.gov.sg /media/speeches/2009/09/17/work-plan-seminar.php [accessed: 20. 05. 2019]. 12 C. Tan, P.T. Ng, Dynamics of change: Decentralised centralism of education in Singapore. Journal of Educational Change, 2007, 8(2), p. 155. 13 D. Lee, W.O. Lee, A professional learning community for the new teacher professionalism: The case of a state-led initiative in Singapore schools, British Journal of Educational Studies, 2013, 61(4), pp. 435–451.

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teachers’ autonomy. On the map of changes introduced in 1998, teachers’ cooperation was formally supported by Teachers Network (TN), a unit within the Training and Development Division (TDD) of the Ministry of Education, an entity that was later renamed Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST). Since the inception of the Teachers’ Network, its mission has been to foster teachers’ professional development through sharing knowledge and experience, as well as cooperation and reflection. As part of the “network”, workshops, conferences, or special programs, aimed, for example, at strengthening mental well-being (counteracting professional burnout), a website or a highly developed publishing activity were organised14. However, it was the Teacher Learning Circles (TLC) initiative15 that became a prototype of PLCs. The Circles were created as part of the “Network”, i. e. smaller teams of four to ten teachers, which together with a moderator, a professional development specialist, worked in the following cycle: identification (discussion) and then solutions (research) of typical selected problems. Since 2005, the Ministry of Education has required school management to provide teachers with one hour per week as part of their teaching load to engage in professional dialogue in the workplace. In the period from 1997 to the official implementation of PLCs in 2009, five major trends in teacher professional development policy can be identified in the centralised education system: 1. Strengthening teachers’ responsibility for their professional development. 2. Linking professional development with curriculum development and pupils’ achievements. 3. Integrating teachers’ professional development with apprenticeship. 4. Emphasis on collaborative forms. (It is assumed that collaborative forms of learning lead not only to the development of pedagogical expertise, but also to camaraderie and solidarity between teachers). 5. Reflection, inquiry and research are preferred tools in the development of pedagogical knowledge16. The initiatives cultivated since 1997 show the commitment of the Ministry of Education to turn all schools into learning communities, in line with the assumption that each school is a “thinking school”. The approach adopted in 1997 is considered key in contributing to the implementation of the PLC concept17. 14 D. Tripp, Teachers Networks: A New Approach to the Professional Development of Teachers in Singapore, [in:] International Handbook on the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers, ed. C. Day, J. Sachs, Open University Press, Maidenhead UK 2004, pp. 191–214. 15 S. Hairon, C. Dimmock, Singapore Schools and Professional…, op. cit. 16 Ibidem., p. 411. 17 Training and Development Division (TDD), Schools as professional learning communities, Training and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2010.

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Singapore PLC model At the 2009 seminar on work plan for schools, Minister of Education Dr. Ng Eng Hen announced a plan to increase teachers’ professionalism by means of PLCs18. The Singapore government is the only one in the world to establish PLCs as a national program. In selecting the PLC concept, its consistency and clearly defined framework for the collaborative learning model were of great importance, which are crucial for the implementation of any large-scale initiative. Equally important was the wide dissemination of the publication to ensure easy accessibility19 and, naturally, the evidence of success confirmed by large-scale studies20. The ministry accepted the documented evidence by the researchers that PLCs have a potential to improve teachers’ professionalism relatively quickly and effectively, but also on a lasting basis21. It therefore concluded that PLCs should introduce a culture of teacher-led professional development and contribute to the improvement of the quality of teaching expertise in all Singapore schools and classrooms22. Thus, already in 2009, the implementation of a PLC pilot project in 51 schools was initiated in order to identify the potential of implementation in all schools. Based on this experience, the Ministry of Education developed a starter kit for schools and made all schools join the program in 201023. In the “PLC Starter Kit” distributed to schools in Singapore24, several recommendations were made for school leaders, including: prioritising the professional development of staff; developing and communicating a shared PLC vision; building engagement (building trust, cooperation and responsibility; building a learning culture; dealing with resistance; balancing creativity and autonomy within designated formal boundaries); commitment to transforming staff roles towards a PLC; optimisation of organisational structures and processes, but also the use of the existing structures; providing training, resources, tools; mentoring; empowering 18 Ministry of Education, Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen…, op. cit. 19 See: R. DuFour, R. DuFour, R. Eaker, T. Many, Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work, Solution Tree Press, Indiana 2010. 20 See: R. Bolam, A. McMahon, L. Stoll, S. Thomas, M. Wallace, Creating and sustaining effective…, op., cit; A. Harris, M. Jones, Professional learning communities and system improvement, Improving Schools, 2010, 13(2), pp. 172–181. 21 Ministry of Education (MOE), Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen…, op. cit; Ministry of Education, Address by Ms Ho Peng…, op. cit. 22 S. Hairon, C. Tan, Professional Learning Communities in Singapore and Shanghai: Implications for Teacher Collaboration, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 2016, pp. 1–14 file:///C:/Users/UZ/Downloads/Compare-proof_HaironTan2016% 20(1).pdf [accessed: 11. 11. 2020] 23 S. Hairon, C. Dimmock, Singapore Schools and Professional Learning…, op. cit.; D. Lee, W. O. Lee, A Professional Learning…, op. cit. 24 Training and Development Division (TDD), Schools as professional learning…, op. cit.

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PLCs by celebrating milestone achievements and using PLCs in teachers’ professional development25. The state agency for teacher professional development, the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) at the Ministry of Education, presented schools with a PLC model which is a Fullan-DuFour hybrid. Richard DuFour’s concept was inspired by the adoption of the “three big ideas”: teach pupils to learn, build a collaborative culture and focus on their achievements26. The adopted pillars were combined with conditions favouring PLCs indicated by Michael Fullan, such as27: “deep pedagogy” (understood as teachers’ duty to deepen teaching and learning abilities), “systematic” (as work within intra-school structures interacting with each other) and “school management” (as a duty of head teachers to support teachers in this endeavor).

Figure 1: Conceptual model of PLCs adopted by Singapore, Source: Daphnee Lee & Wing On Lee, British Journal of Educational Studies (2013): A Professional Learning Community for the New Teacher Professionalism: The Case of a State-Led Initiative in Singapore Schools, British Journal of Educational Studies, p. 8.

25 Ibidem. 26 Ministry of Education, Schools as professional learning communities, PLC Team, Training and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2010, s. 7–10. 27 Ibidem., p. 6.

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In implementing the PLC model to schools, the Ministry of Education recommended caution and the need to focus on several practical organisational aspects, such as: – maintaining PLC goal orientation, i. e. combining joint efforts to improve teaching and learning, – allocating the designated time to PLCs, and not to other activities, e. g. school or departmental administration, – maintaining a reasonable size of the learning teams (i. e. no more than 7–8 members), – adjusting professional development (vocational education) to school contexts28. The first PLC assessment in Singapore, carried out at 51 pilot schools, revealed a gap between theory and practice29. At the level of teachers’ work, three potential difficulties in terms of implementation were identified: – heavy workload, – ambiguity of PLC processes and their effectiveness, – bureaucracy that hindered teachers’ professional development. Contextual barriers were also shown, such as leadership styles at school, or excessively strong orientation on the organisational aspect. As a result, the conducted evaluation served by the Singapore Teachers’ Academy to profile the way of creating professional learning communities in Singaporean schools and to modify the working methods of schools and the contextual conditions that can help support these new practices30. It is worth noting that the approach adopted by the Academy also results in a learning process in which not only schools, but also institutions at other levels of educational administration, create communities of practice, proving the value of learning from each other in building a common vision of a “learning society”.

Discussion and conclusions Singapore is a country that has introduced a nationwide PLC model to its schools. Salleh Hairon points to an interesting phenomenon here. Namely, that while the focus of PLCs was a bottom-up motivated collaborative learning, the decision of 28 A. Harris, M. Jones, Professional learning communities in action, Leannta, London 2011. 29 S. Hairon, C. Dimmock, Singapore Schools and Professional…, op. cit. 30 D. Lee, H. Hong, W. Tay, W.O. Lee, Singapore Professional Learning Communities in Singapore Schools, UK Society for Co-operative Studies, 2013, 46(2), pp. 53–56.

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its introduction was top-down motivated by the Ministry of Education. Also, the decision regarding teachers’ involvement in PLC activities is made by school superiors. In other words, teachers’ grassroots activities were introduced by a top down national incentive. It is worth noting that this approach is typical of Singapore and stems from a centralised and hierarchical education system. It ensures a strong, direct alignment of policies with implementational stages and reflects Singapore’s typical tension between centralisation and decentralisation. This stems from economic pragmatism and efficient public administration created in a similar fashion within all other public sectors. The deployment of PLCs in Singapore is characterised by centralised control and hierarchical mentoring relationships also among teachers. This is an aftermath of an entrenched mental model that recognises the importance of the elite in the country’s development. While research has shown that the practice of reflective dialogue has a large impact on transformational change, government agencies in Singapore have not adopted the practice as a significant PLC attribute. The model approved by Singapore thus reflects the specific Asian political climate, which prefers hierarchical vertical structures and, as such, is the opposite of a consensus that favours flat, horizontal ones. At the school level, it also reveals the central importance of effective leadership as a prerequisite for successful implementation, which, while beneficial in the introductory phase, may inhibit the development of the process, which in this case is the implementation of a foreign, “Western” model into the context of Singapore. At this stage, the example of Singapore shows the importance of ministerial support for the implementation of foreign practices to schools and their importance in achieving the sustainability of initial efforts. This legitimacy is complemented by support offered by such state bodies as the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST). The transformation of Singaporean schools into PLCs is perceived by the Ministry of Education as shaping a learning culture for which school leaders and teachers are responsible. Consequently, they have to overcome the cultural biases, working methods and complexities of teachers’ professional lives typical of a centralised system. In this difficult path of top-down development of bottom-up initiatives, it was necessary to direct teachers’ professional development to meet new challenges so that they could effectively implement the ministry’s policy in creating and maintaining PLCs. New solutions are successively introduced in this field. Examples include changes in teacher training curriculum aimed at understanding the importance of school culture in shaping and consolidating learning orientation and obliging pupils to participate in PLC teams. At the level of school and teacher’s work, time constraints (1 additional hour per week) and additional workload are criticised. It can be assumed that schools’ success in achieving a PLC status depends on overcoming obstacles in teachers.

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Equally important is their readiness to change, to learn from each other as the main form of acquisition of professional knowledge, and a clear role of leadership in shaping the new school organisation that oversees and supports PLCs. The example of Singapore makes people aware of the need to pay more attention to this problem as early as at the time of teachers’ training. It is also possible that in the case of Singapore (and other Asian countries with highly hierarchical social and professional structures), the understanding of PLC and its resonance within school environment will probably be limited due to different connotations of teachers’ professionalism than those permeating Anglo-American school systems with an orientation towards agency, empowerment and autonomy. We may assume that PLCs borrowed from foreign contexts can develop in Singapore in a more culturally sensitive way and be adapted to the acceptable limits of the existing systemic power relations. Thus, Singapore shows the potential and limitations of borrowings in educational policy. In other words, it illustrates how an idea born in a foreign (Western) context can be adjusted to Asian conditions. Thus, the experiences gathered in Singapore are extremely inspirational for other countries (not only Asian ones), which intend to develop new teaching and learning processes. They are a very good example of adoption and adjustment methods of foreign concepts, of their structure and practices to home environment.

References Bolam R., McMahon A., Stoll L., Thomas S., Wallace M., Creating and sustaining effective professional learning communities, Research Report No. 637, UK: Department for Education and Skills, London 2005. Darling-Hammond L., Rothman R. (eds.), Teacher and Leader Effectiveness in High-Performing Education Systems, Alliance for Excellent Education and Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, Washington 2011.Hattie J., Visible Learning. Routledge, Abingdon 2009. DuFour R., DuFour R., Eaker R., Many T., Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work, Solution Tree Press, Indiana 2010. DuFour R., Eaker R., Professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, [in:] National Education Service, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington 1998. DuFour R., What Is a “Professional Learning Community”?, Educational Leadership 2004, 61(8), pp. 6–11. Fullan M., Leading in a culture of change, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 2001. Hairon S., Action research in Singapore education – constraints and sustainability, Educational Action Research, 2006, 14 (4), pp. 513–523. Hairon S., Dimmock C., Singapore Schools and Professional Learning Communities: Teacher Professional Development and School Leadership in an Asian Hierarchical System, Educational Review, 2012, 64 (4), pp. 405–424.

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Hairon S., Remaking Singapore schools: A learning teacher to a learning organisation through action research, [in:] Innovation and diversity in education, ed. A. Khoo, M.A. Heng, L. Lim, R.P. Ang, McGraw-Hill, Singapore 2004, pp. 189–206. Hairon S., Tan C., Professional Learning Communities in Singapore and Shanghai: Implications for Teacher Collaboration, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2016, pp. 1–14 file:///C:/Users/UZ/Downloads/Compare-proof_H aironTan2016%20(1).pdf [accessed: 11. 11. 2020]. Harris A., Jones M., Professional learning communities in action, Leannta, London 2011. Hattie J., Visible, Learning, Routledge, Abingdon 2009. Hord S. M., Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin 1998. Hord S.M., Sommers W.A. , Leading professional learning communities: Voices from research and practice, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, C.A. 2008. Kwiatkowski S., Nowosad I., System kształcenia i doskonalenia nauczycieli w Singapurze. Miedzy utopijna wizja˛ a rzeczywistos´cia˛, Studia Edukacyjne 2018, no. 47. Lave J., Wenger E., Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991. Lee D., Hong H., Tay W., Lee W.O., Singapore Professional Learning Communities in Singapore Schools, UK Society for Co-operative Studies 2013, 46(2), pp. 53–56. Lee D., Lee W.O., A professional learning community for the new teacher professionalism: The case of a state-led initiative in Singapore schools, British Journal of Educational Studies 2013, 61(4), pp. 435–451. Ministry of Education (MOE), Address by Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education, at the Teachers’ Mass Lecture, Singapore Expo Hall 2, Wednesday 26 August 2009, in: http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2009/08/26/address-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-t.p hp [accessed: 20. 05. 2019]. Ministry of Education (MOE), Schools as professional learning communities, PLC Team, Training and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2010. Ministry of Education (MOE), Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2009, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Convention Centre, Thursday 17 September 2009, in: http://www.moe.gov.sg /media/speeches/2009/09/17/work-plan-seminar.php [accessed: 20. 05. 2019]. Nowosad I., Professional Learning Community (PLC) w Singapurze: moz˙liwos´ci i ograniczenia w kształtowaniu wysokiej jakos´ci edukacji, Rocznik Pedagogiczny, 2021, 43, p. 63–79. Senge P.M., The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Doubleday, New York 1990. Tan C., Ng P.T., Dynamics of change: Decentralised centralism of education in Singapore, Journal of Educational Change 2007, 8(2). Thompson S. C., Gregg L., Niska J.M., Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning, Research in Middle Level Education Online 2004, 28(1), pp. 1–15. Training and Development Division (TDD), Schools as professional learning communities. Training and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore 2010. Tripp D., Teachers Networks: A New Approach to the Professional Development of Teachers in Singapore, [in:] International Handbook on the Continuing Professional Development

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of Teachers, ed C. Day, J. Sachs, Open University Press, Maidenhead UK 2004, pp. 191– 214. Vescio V., Ross D., Adams A., A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning, Teaching and Teacher Education 2008, 24(1), pp. 80–91. Wenger E., McDermott R., Snyder W.M., Cultivating communities of practice, Harvard Business Press, Cambridge 2002.

Markéta Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová

Co-teaching and other pedagogical approaches to the prevention of burnout syndrom of beginning teachers

Abstract: Co-teaching is one of the current topics in inclusive pedagogy, a number of research studies show high effectiveness in terms of teaching students with special needs. At the same time, the use of co-teaching can have a much more fundamental impact on pedagogical practice, for example in the training of future teachers or in the prevention of burnout syndrome. It is on this position of the use of co-teaching that the paper focuses on and presents co-teaching as one of the forms of burnout prevention. Attention is also paid to other effective forms of burnout prevention that can be used in teaching practice (Balint groups, colleaggue sharing, casual cases… etc.). Burnout syndrome arises not only as a result of personality dispositions and excessive expectations of the effects of practice, which we could describe as miracle enthusiasm, but very often also as a result of insufficient and inappropriate introduction to pedagogical practice during undergraduate training and at the very beginning of the teaching career. In many pedagogical systems, at the beginning of their pedagogical career, the teacher encounters the mentoring of the teacher – methodology, but unfortunately at a theoretical level. Any attempts at discussion tend to be marked as a lack of professional competence and incompetence, and many beginning teachers find the reluctance of older colleagues to share experiences and discuss issues that the beginning teacher encounters (and for which the best undergraduate training may not prepare teachers). Co-teaching and other forms of pedagogical professional development, by their nature, enable teachers to gradually gain professional confidence directly in practice. Keywords: teacher, burnout prevention, co-teaching

Introduction As mentioned above, co-teaching has been considered in recent years as one of the most effective ways of teaching in inclusive education1, nevertheless, it is appropriate to address the topic of co-teaching from the point of view of pre1 T. Iacono, O. Landry, A. Melgar, J. Spong, N. Hyett, K. Bagley, C. McKinstry, A systematized review of co-teaching efficacy in enhancing inclusive education for students with disability, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021, [access: 05. 05. 2021]; Brendle, J., Lock, R., Piazza, K., A Study of Co-Teaching Identifying Effective Implementation Strategies. Interna-

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paring teacher trainees for future practice and as one of the important forms of burnout prevention. In a safe environment of shared teaching, the beginning teacher can verify their competencies, their ideas about the fulfillment of didactic and methodological procedures, methods of communication and at the same time has the opportunity to adequately correct their procedures by perceiving students’ reactions to the other teacher (in selected forms of co-teaching).

Definition of Co-teaching Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers planning, instructing, and evaluating together2. Barach et al. report that co-teaching has recently been put forward as a collaborative approach to students’ pedagogical practice in a number of training centers for teachers3. The traditional model of student-teaching has remained the same since its inception in the 1920s; rather than collaborating, teachercandidates observe a mentor-teacher until they teach independently with little to no collaboration4. In a co-teaching model of student-teaching, a mentor-teacher and teachercandidate teach together, practicing strategies requiring shared authority, consistent engagement from both teachers, and collaboration over planning, instruction, and assessment, toward gradual assumption of the role of solo teaching5. It is these aspects that can be considered a very important factor in the prevention of burnout syndrome, which we encounter especially at the beginning of our pedagogical career. At the same time, co-teaching is not one way of organizing teaching, but includes several different variants of how we can implement co-teaching in practice.

2 3 4 5

tional Journal of Special Education. 32, (3), 2017. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1184155. pdf [access: 05. 05. 2021]. N. Bacharach, T.W. Heck, K. Dahlberg, Changing the face of student teaching through coteaching, Action in Teacher Education, 2010, 32, pp. 3–14. Ibidem. J. Fraser, A. Watson, Bring student teaching into the 21st century, Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 25, New York 2013. N. Bacharach, T.W. Heck, K. Dahlberg, Changing the face of student teaching through coteaching, op. cit.

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Models of co-teaching implementation in practice Friend and Bursuck6 defined the research-based co-teaching models. These models include: 1) one teach, one observe involves one of the co-teachers leading large-group instruction while the other teacher gathers academic, behavioral, or social data on specific students or the class group; 2) station teaching involves dividing students into three groups and rotating the groups from station to station taught by the co-teachers at two stations and working independently at the third; 3) parallel teaching requires each of the co-teachers to instruct half of the students presenting the same lesson in order to provide instructional differentiation and increased student participation; 4) alternative teaching involves one teacher providing instruction to the majority of students while the other teacher works with a small group for remediation, enrichment or assessment; 5) teaming requires the co-teachers lead large-group instruction by both lecturing, representing different viewpoints and multiple methods of solving problems; 6) one teach, one assist, also identified as supportive teaching, involves one coteacher leading instruction while the other teacher circulates among the students providing individual assistance. Supportive teaching and parallel teaching were identified as the most widely used co-teaching models because they require less organization and collaboration7. Scruggs et al. reported the one teacher, one assist model was most frequently implemented in elementary classrooms8. The station teaching variant is interesting (and also very motivating for children, not only for the beginning teacher), it resembles working in Start by Together program centres (program step by step), but it does not suit pupils with activity or attention disorders. When applying individual models with beginning teachers, it is therefore necessary to consider the composition of the pupil group 6 M. Friend, W.D. Bursuck, Including Students with Special Needs. A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers (5th Ed.), Columbus, OH, Merrill, 2009; [in:] Brendle J., Lock R., Piazza K., A Study of Co-Teaching Identifying Effective Implementation Strategies. International Journal of Special Education, 32, (3), 2017. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1184155.pdf [access: 05. 05. 2022]. 7 M. Friend, W.D. Bursuck, Including Students with Special Needs. A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers op. cit.; J. Thousand, R.A.Villa, A.I. Nevin, The Many Faces of Collaborative Planning and Teaching, Theory Into Practice, 2009, 45 (3), pp. 239–248. 8 T.E. Scruggs, M.A. Mastropieri, K.A. McDuffie, Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 2007, 73(4), pp. 392–416.

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(take into account whether there are pupils with significant difficulties based on ADHD in the classroom – see more9). Co-teaching can encourage student participation, open opportunities for students to receive feedback, and support critical thinking as co-teachers model dialogue10. The relationships that teachers form when they collaborate serve as powerful protective factors that promote resilience11, which also acts as a preventative factor in the development of burnout. Traditionally, a mentor-teacher gradually releases responsibility until a teacher-candidate teaches independently12. In this gradual release model during co-teaching process, teacher-candidates and mentor-teachers alternate teaching responsibilities rather than reflect on their teaching to improve practice through collaboration13. Usually, mentors guide candidates’ socialization into existing beliefs and structures; candidates are expected to replicate what they see thus preserving the status quo rather than critiquing structures to transform them14. Likewise, the potential for mentors learning with their candidates – from reciprocal observations of each other’s teaching, feedback, and reflection – goes untapped. Not surprisingly, Achinstein and Barret found candidates experience “practice shock” as they faced the complexity of teaching15. They struggled with relational aspects of teaching, such as classroom management and they often 9 M. Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová, Techniques of Personal Development for Teachers, Grada, Praha 2018. 10 M.P. Friend, Co-teach! Building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools, NC, M. Friend, Inc., (2nd ed.), Greensboro, NC: Author, 2014; Kohler-Evans P. A., Coteaching: How to make this marriage work in front of the kids. Education, 127, 2006, pp. 260– 264; Patel N., Kramer T., Modeling collaboration for middle-level teacher candidates through co-teaching. The Teacher Educator, 48, 2013, pp.170–184. 11 B. Bernard, Resiliency. What We Have Learned, CA: WestEd Regional Educational Laboratory, San Francisco 2004. 12 J. Fraser, A. Watson, Bring student teaching into the 21st century, Phi Delta Kappan, 2013, 94 (7), p. 25; R. Patrick, “Don’t rock the boat”: Conflicting mentor and pre-service teacher narratives of professional experience, The Australian Educational Researcher, 40, 2013, pp. 207– 226; Publication – Reflective Teaching Journal (reflectiveteachingjournal.com). 13 L. Darling-Hammond, J. Baratz-Snowden, A good teacher in every classroom: Preparing the highly qualified teachers our children deserve, Educational Horizons, 2007, 85, pp. 111–132; S. Feiman-Nemser, Helping novices learn to teach: Lessons from an exemplary support teacher, Journal of Teacher Education, 52, 2001, pp. 17–30; C. Rabin, Co-Teaching. Collaborative and Caring Teacher Preparation, Journal of Teacher Education, 2019, 71 (1), pp. 135–147. 14 J. Dewey, The relation of theory to practice in education, [in:] John Dewey on education, ed. R. D. Archambault, pp. 313–338. Chicago, 1965, IL: The University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1904). 15 B. Achinstein, A. Barrett, (Re)framing classroom contexts: How new teachers and mentors view diverse learners and challenges of practice, Teachers College Record, 2004, 106, pp. 716– 746.

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defaulted to an authoritarian and control focus16. Arguably, candidates and mentors would benefit from student-teaching as an opportunity to learn from teaching – not just for the candidate to learn for teaching17. Summing up the advantage of co-teaching, then this mentorship model provides more support for beginning teachers and thus more reflection towards learning from teaching. Not only co-teaching models, but also other forms of prevention of the burnout syndrome of beginning teachers cope with various difficulties of educational practice – Balint groups, case studies seminars, collegial sharing, selfmentoring, self-reflective diary etc. At the same time, it is desirable to implement all the following methods into co-teaching models, thus increasing the maximum effectiveness of this form of preparation of future teachers.

Methods of burnout prevention used in co-teaching Balint groups The so-called Balint groups can be an important support for beginning teachers. These groups represent a group method of solving a problem. They were originally established as groups to address the relationship problems of doctors and nurses with patients. It works similarly to a case study seminar, in which participants present a specific case study (while maintaining all ethical rules) and discuss the process of their work with the person concerned (client, patient, pupil). Unlike the case study seminar, in the Balint group, attention is focused more on the relationship between the expert and the client (in this case, the teacher and the student), the motivation and the emotional component in the relationship. Balint groups have three main training goals: to understand the relationship, to overcome prejudices, and to change oneself. In particular, systematic training in partner listening, in empathic understanding of the pupil’s verbal and nonverbal communication and in an appropriate teacher’s response is recommended. Help requires a two-stage process: first, identification with the student and, second, objective distance and reflection on the message heard. Emphasis is also placed on the perception of one’s own feelings, it is important to respond with due diligence. 16 C. Rabin, G. Smith, My lesson plan was perfect until I tried to teach. Care ethics into practice in classroom management, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2016, 30, pp. 600–617; C. Weinstein, S. Tomlinson-Clarke, M. Curran, Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management, Journal of Teacher Education, 2004, 55, pp. 25–38. 17 C. Rabin, Co-Teaching. Collaborative and Caring Teacher Preparation, op. cit.

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There should be an accepting atmosphere in the Balint groups that will not hamper the sincere self-opening of the speaker. The group leader is a key factor influencing the quality of this technique. Restraint and neutrality, indecisive but persistent attention, without a tendency to internal censorship, are desirable in his inputs.The group aims to provide teachers with a safe way to share relationship issues and get feedback and alleviate their uncertainty or anxiety. The Balint group optimally includes 8 to 10 members and one or two leaders. Balint groups are open, meaning that they are not always the same closed community, but group membership is constantly changing. Meetings begin regularly by evaluating the previous meeting of all participants, great emphasis is placed not only on the reflection of the group, but also on the reflection of the benefits for those who presented a particular case study. Group reflection is followed by a short autogenous training, which contributes to inducing calm before starting a new group work. After the initial opening and reflection, there are fixed stages: – presentation – the protagonist elected by the group acquaints the members of the group with their own relationship problem (i. e. with problems in relation to a specific person); – questions – other participants of the Balint group ask the protagonist in order to gain a more complete and accurate “insight” into the situation, the protagonist responds to them – answers at his own discretion; – fantasy – from this moment on, the protagonist only listens, the other participants of the Balint group verbalize their own ideas, feelings and impressions about the presented problem; – the topic “what would I do” – the protagonist again only listens, the other participants of the Balint group present (in the form of “I would do … would do …”) some “related” proposals, ideas about the possibilities of solving the problem. A practical description of how the Balint Group works is interesting for teachers: – Model problematic situations will be implemented and the people who design them will be noted. Then one specific case is selected from them. – When analyzing the case, questions are asked to the person who raised the winning case (the petitioner) and the members of the group try to find out as much detail as possible. – Everyone tries to empathize with the behavior of the protagonist of events and the people around him, similar events are recalled from the previous experience of the participants. – Practical solutions to the model situation analyzed so far are generated. – The situation designer chooses from the material heard and names the solution that suits him best.

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To summarize the benefits of Balint groups for teachers, it is necessary for the teacher to realize what prevents him from his own attitudes, experiences, and behaviors in helping the student more effectively. Put simply, it is an insight into one’s own unconscious motivation, that is, one’s own countertransference. It is about recognizing a personal emotional approach and one’s own reactions to specific elements of the client’s behavior. We see very similar approaches in the field of coaching. Here, too, we focus on the factors that prevent us from achieving an effectively set goal (i. e. adequate and effective communication with the student).

Case studies seminars Another form of burnout prevention is case seminars, which usually present practical examples that the teacher encounters. At the same time, casuistic seminars can be used very well in co-teaching models. The aim of the seminars is to pass on practical experiences, approaches and specific procedures through case studies, which have proved and worked in working with pupils with specific disabilities. Case studies seminars always take place under the guidance of an experienced methodologist. The purpose of case studies seminars is also to present examples of good practice and to support a multidisciplinary approach to working with students with various difficulties. Case studies seminars can also be used as part of preventive measures, where teachers get acquainted with the possibilities of solving a given problem in specific case studies, without yet solving a similar problem in their own practice. The participation of beginning teachers in case seminars is very important in order to get acquainted with various situations from school practice.

Self-monitoring Self-monitoring means that one keeps a record of one’s own actions and experiences. The records are kept in the form of a diary; a self-reflective diary can be a similar technique. We can record anything – feelings, how social interactions went, how well we are doing in keeping to our work schedule, our own resolutions to change our lifestyle, what situations made us feel good, what makes us feel guilty or weak. Simple recording charts can also be used to self-monitor a particular phenomenon (here, life attitude change) – see Table 1.

Markéta Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová

60 Reaction of the surOther Activity/ roundings/ Date Time Place people thought/ My present situation thoughts, feelings

The following events after the reaction of the Notes surroundings, thoughts, feelings

Table 1: Record sheet

Self-reflective diary The self-reflective diary is in a written form and can be very useful for the personal development of anyone. In it our experiences, insights from the process of our own personal development can be written down. The self-reflexive diary can serve us as a benchmark to monitor the effectiveness of our own self-efficacy enhancement. Example of using reflective diary can be found in Table 2. Components Rational Affective Psychosomatic

Examples of questions What I’ve accomplished? What I can do better? What were my feelings about the activity? In what ways do I feel a change? Do my feelings reflect into the somatic area? How do I breathe during the activity?

Evaluative/Assessing How did the activity enrich me? Does it benefit me? Table 2: Example of the components of a content analysis of an evaluation

An interesting suggestion how to reflect during teaching/co-teaching process are published on the Reflective Teaching Journal (see more: reflectiveteaching journal.com).

SWOT analyses Relating to personal development and increasing self-efficacy competencies as an important self-protective resource in the search for psychological balance is a technique commonly encountered in project management. This is SWOT analysis18, which is very useful for both promoting self-reflection and increasing selfefficacy (in the sense of I can do it, I will overcome it). 18 See more eg. S. Ünsal, R. Ag˘çam, A swot analysis of teacher-parent communication in edu-

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The four quadrants are the basis of the technique (Table 3): Strengths (what we are good at) Weaknesses (what we could “improve”) Opportunities – anything in our external environment that can help us – e.g. good social relationships with colleagues, friends, quality leisure activities, interesting work. Threats – anything that can harm us from the external environment – e.g. toxic environment at work, negative social events, poor social relationships, etc.

Strengths

Reserves

Opportunities

Threats

Table 3: SWOT analysis

Closely related to the SWOT analysis is the use of time-management techniques, which help to organize time better, divide time for work and rest activities and help to find time resources for activities contributing to mental health19.

Coaching The main goal of coaching is to motivate to perform better and to find one’s own resources for self-development20. From this point of view, it is also possible to include this technique among personal development techniques, as well as we could include this chapter in the section devoted to development methods with the support of a professional or one of ways of co-teaching. One of the option in the teaching team may be the use of team coaching, support for teamwork of teachers can significantly contribute to improving the social atmosphere at school. During coaching, there is a search for inspiration to solve a specific problem, or to develop one’s own potential and unblock obstacles that prevent the achievement of maximum development of the individual. Coaching is governed by precisely defined rules, the basic ones ensuring that there must be sufficient trust between the coachee (in this case teacher – becation: evidence from Turkey, International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 2019, 6(2), pp. 416–430, http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/574 [access: 05. 05. 2022]. 19 See e. g. M. Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová, Techniques of Personal Development for Teachers, Grada, Praha, 2018. 20 See more eg. M. Atkinson, R. Chois, The Art & Science of Coaching. Inner Dynamics of Coaching, Exalon Publishin, Kanada 2007.

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ginner) and the coach (in this case teacher mentor/coach), not only in the coach as such, but especially in the coachee who has all the resources for their own development. We emphasize the client’s activity, we use frequent reflection, but without evaluation aspects. When coaching, it is appropriate to use the types of questions that lead the cooperating coachee to seek answers. Typical questions are: – What knowledge and skills do we need to develop in order to achieve the goal (specific improvement)? – What activities will help us in this? – How can we measure this skill? – What is the current level of this skill? – What levels of performance would we like to achieve by a specific date? – This way of leadership is related to clear planning of the schedule of activities, means and methods of measurement and the already mentioned possibility of using the technique “Positive Life Scenario”21 (Sˇauerová, 2011).

Self-reflective inventory This technique is based on similar principles as the previous one. It also consists in processing specific situations, but there is no requirement for regularity of entries and the specific form itself is different in some respects. Self-reflective inventories can be created in any form and adapted to current needs and situations. Inventory patterns in this script can be used as an idea (see below). Even in this case, the same requirements for authenticity and processing apply in the shortest possible time interval.

Example of using self-reflexive inventory Example I: – How did the situation go (description of the situation)? – Who was active and who was passive in the situation (description of the participants in the situation and their “roles” in it)? – What did I experience in the given situation? – How did I handle the situation? – What were my feelings after the solution was suggested? 21 M. Sˇauerová, The Personal Development of Wellness Practitioners in Lifelong Learning, Lifelong Learning Journal 1, 2011, pp. 72–85. From: The Personal Development of Wellness Practitioners in Lifelong Learning | Lifelong Learning (mendelu.cz)

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What were the other possible solutions? How did the pupils (students) react? How was the solution accepted by the rest of the group (pupils, students)? How did the solution stand in terms of pedagogical theory (or practice)? What are the consequences of the given solution (or situation)? How satisfied am I with the outcome of the situation and what could have been done differently? What prevented me from resolving the situation better (calmer, more vigorously, more objectively, faster, etc.)? What specific procedures, activities (words, gestures, feelings, thoughts, etc.) can I be proud of in this situation? What specifically did I do? Is the solution generally appropriate and can I use it in similar (other) problem situations? How do I view the situation (and its solution) over time?

Example II: – What did I actually do? What was it about? – In what context did the situation arise? – Why did it happen? Who initiated it? – How was the communication with the pupils (students)? – What happened? – How did I get along with the students? How did I try to arouse their interest? – Why did I act in this situation? What led me to this? – What influenced my actions? What did I rely on to solve this situation and why? – How could I have acted differently? – What does it mean? What changes would need to be made (professionally and personally)? – Is the change realistic for me? What are the complications, if any? – What should I change in my communication (or approach in general) with the pupils? – How would another solution affect the pupils (students)? – Who can help me? – How can I help myself ?

Self-reflexive conversation The teacher conducts a self-reflexive conversation with herself. This interview can be conducted orally or in writing. This form of self-reflexion can be appropriately incorporated into the co-teaching model.

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We can conduct a self-reflexive conversation intentionally or accidentally. In a deliberate structured interview, we set goals. A random internal conversation is not as accurate and effective because we do not set goals in advance. These are internal and external issues, and we have three categories of questions. The descriptive ones allow you to realize and describe your experiences. For example – What was I actually doing? The causal ones allow a more detailed analysis of one’s actions. Why did I act like this? Decision makers make it possible to find other opportunities for professional development. What to do differently? In self-reflection, it is important to be able to conduct a dialogue with oneself within the “I observed” and the “I am observing” split.

Professional portfolio Portfolio is another important part not only of co-teaching, but also of burnout prevention. The introduction of career portfolios is often initiated by school management rather than teachers, which is a pity. The benefits of using a portfolio for greater teaching efficiency are indisputable yet it is necessary to convince teachers of its importance. To implement this evaluation tool, educators must respect several rules22: – Educators accept change when they believe it makes sense. – it is not enough to just provide information on how the portfolio is managed and how it is handled; – Primary is the knowledge of why do it and the knowledge of what follows; – many educators have a university degree, so they require arguments, many educators are not satisfied with being told they have something to do, – If school management (director) decides to implement this change, argumentation and motivation are needed. – Educators accept change positively when they believe it will also benefit them personally. – explaining to educators that the portfolio will enable them to present the quality of their work; – The portfolio serves not only professional but also personal growth; – Educators accept change when they believe the management is serious; – Educators also need an example – professional portfolios should thus be available to those who meet with the educator over the analysis of their portfolios, portfolios should not be taboo, if portfolios are introduced, they should be worked with. 22 M. Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová, Techniques of Personal…, op. cit.

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– Educators will work with a professional portfolio if they have a suitable background, environment and the necessary IT skills. – Possibility of managing the electronic form of the portfolio requires technical skills such as scanning, various file modifications – image conversion,…, etc. Therefore, software equipment, information literacy, training for these purposes is required. For educators, the portfolio can serve as a tool for feedback and development of the educator’s personality, as improving the performance of the profession is not possible without self-reflection23 (see more e. g.: This can be done with the help of the portfolio by the person looking for and selecting portfolio items proving the answers to the following questions: – Do I plan my own teaching and students’ work effectively? – Do I create a targeted environment in the classroom in which the pupils feel good, do I approach the pupils individually? – Do I systematically use the reflection of my pedagogical work to improve my professional activities for the benefit of pupils? – Do I systematically devote myself to my professional and personal development? The following text describes the four phases of portfolio implementation: – In the first phase of the portfolio, no special documents are created, it is much more important to focus on quality so that the portfolio items are of meaningful value. The portfolio must be functional, the point is that the educator should be able to answer the question: “Why did I include this material in my professional portfolio?” – In the second phase, there is analysis and reflection on documents including answers to the above questions. Everything is then evaluated: what has been achieved and what it would be good to improve. – In the third phase, the school management, most often the school principal, will meet with the teacher of the above-mentioned portfolio. The aim of the third phase is to gain a comprehensive view of the performance of the profession of the teacher. – The fourth phase of working with the professional portfolio is the formulation of a personal development plan for the next period, with the participation of a school worker. The structure of the professional portfolio includes a structured professional CV, personal educational platform, professional develop-

23 See more eg. M. Mahmood, K. Qudsia, Professional Development Portfolio: A Tool for Student Teachers’ Development, Journal of Educational Research, 2014, 17, (1), pp. 60–76.

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ment plan and documents proving the fulfillment of the framework of professional qualities of a teacher24.

Conclusion Co-teaching is one of the important forms of support for beginning teachers. In the text, we introduced the basic models of co-teaching process realization and specific methods of reflection of own pedagogical practice and professional development, which we can use in the process of co-teaching. These methods include, for example, Balint groups, self-monitoring, self-reflection diary, SWOT analysis, etc. Their use in the educational process will significantly increase the effectiveness of co-teaching process and at the same time play a significant role in preventing the burnout syndrome.

References Achinstein B., Barrett A., (Re)framing classroom contexts: How new teachers and mentors view diverse learners and challenges of practice, Teachers College Record, 106, 2004, pp. 716–746. Atkinson M., Chois R., The Art & Science of Coaching. Inner Dynamics of Coaching, Exalon Publishin, Kanada 2007. Bacharach N., Heck T. W., Dahlberg K., Changing the face of student teaching through coteaching, Action in Teacher Education, 32, 2010, pp. 3–14. Brendle J., Lock R., Piazza K., A Study of Co-Teaching Identifying Effective Implementation Strategies, International Journal of Special Education. 32, (3), 2017. https://files.eric.e d.gov/fulltext/EJ1184155.pdf [access: 05. 05. 2022]. Darling-Hammond L., Baratz-Snowden J., A good teacher in every classroom: Preparing the highly qualified teachers our children deserve, Educational Horizons, 85, 2007, pp. 111– 132. Dewey J., The relation of theory to practice in education, [in:] John Dewey on education, ed. R. D. Archambault, pp. 313–338. Chicago, 1965, IL: The University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1904). Feiman-Nemser S., Helping novices learn to teach: Lessons from an exemplary support teacher, Journal of Teacher Education, 52, 2001, pp. 17–30. Fraser J., Watson A., Bring student teaching into the 21st century, Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 2013, pp. 25–25.

24 J. Trunda, Professional Portfolie of Teacher, NUV 2012.

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Friend M., Co-teaching: A simple solution that isn’t simple after all, Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 2(2), 2008, pp. 9–19. Friend M. Bursuck W.D., Including Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers (5th Ed.). OH: Merrill, Columbus 2009. Friend M., Cook, L., Hurley-Chamberlain, D., Shamberger, C. (2010). Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 9–27, Thousand,Villa, &Nevin, 2006. Friend M., Co-teach! Building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools (2nd ed.), NC: Author, Greensboro 2014. Iacono T., Landry O., Melgar A. G., Spong J., Hyett N., Bagley K., McKinstry C., A systematized review of co-teaching efficacy in enhancing inclusive education for students with disability, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021, DOI: 10.1080/1360 3116.2021.1900423 [access: 05. 05. 2022]. Kohler-Evans P. A., Co-teaching: How to make this marriage work in front of the kids, Education, 127, 2006, pp. 260–264. Mahmood M., Qudsia K., Professional Development Portfolio: A Tool for Student Teachers’ Development, Journal of Educational Research. 17 (1), 2014, pp. 60–76. Patel N., Kramer T., Modeling collaboration for middle-level teacher candidates through co-teaching, The Teacher Educator, 48, 2013, pp. 170–184. Patrick R., “Don’t rock the boat”. Conflicting mentor and pre-service teacher narratives of professional experience, The Australian Educational Researcher, 40, 2013, pp. 207–226. Publication – Reflective Teaching Journal (reflectiveteachingjournal.com). Rabin C., Smith G., “My lesson plan was perfect until I tried to teach”. Care ethics into practice in classroom management, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30, 2016, pp. 600–617. Rabin C., Co-Teaching: Collaborative and Caring Teacher Preparation, Journal of Teacher Education. 71 (1), pp. 135–147. Scruggs T. E., Mastropieri M. A., McDuffie K. A., Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms. A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 73(4), 2007, pp. 392–416. Sˇauerová M., The Personal Development of Wellness Practitioners in Lifelong Learning, Lifelong Learning Journal 1, 2011, pp. 72–85. From: The Personal Development of Wellness Practitioners in Lifelong Learning | Lifelong Learning (mendelu.cz). Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová M., Techniques of Personal Development for Teachers, Grada, Praha 2018. Trunda J., Professional Portfolie of Teacher, NUV, 2012. Thousand J., Villa R. A., Nevin A. I., The Many Faces of Collaborative Planning and Teaching, Theory Into Practice, 45 (3), 2009, pp. 239–248. Ünsal S., Ag˘çam R., A swot analysis of teacher-parent communication in education: evidence from Turkey, International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 6(2), 2019, pp. 416–430. http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/574. Weinstein C., Tomlinson-Clarke S., Curran M., Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management, Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 2004, pp. 25–38.

Part II: Co-teaching in the educational practice of schools

Zenon Gajdzica

Spatial models in co-teaching versus educational theories – the case of inclusive education

Abstract: Spatial arrangement in the classroom is one of the key elements in the coteaching concept. It is reflected in the most frequently distinguished models of co-teaching (One Teach, One Observe; One Teach, One Assist; Parallel Teaching; Alternative Teaching; Team Teaching; Station Teaching). In the static form, spatial arrangements show the places reserved for the teachers (observer, assistant) and usually also the board spot marking the centre (or one of the centres) of the classroom. Designing the space may either enhance or hinder the implementation of particular teaching strategies. The paper is aimed at an analysis of the indicated spatial arrangements in terms of creating a centre and border areas in the classroom, the placement of learners with disabilities, and the usefulness of the designed arrangements in the context of selected didactic concepts (educational theories) and of implementing specific inclusive education strategies. Keywords: co-teaching, space, classroom arrangement, inclusive education, didactic concept, learners with disabilities

Introduction The concept of space is entangled in various connotations, which is why many meanings are ascribed to it: for instance that of a social and cultural product of society, an attribute of matter, an abstract mathematical idea, or the natural environment.1 Delimiting the boundaries of space and taming it makes it become a place.2 Closed spaces create an interior and at the same time an exterior, and giving it a meaning creates its boundaries.3 A place is a certain micro-space which can play specific roles in the individual’s life4. For the purposes of further ar1 B. Jałowiecki, M.S. Szczepan´ski, Miasto i przestrzen´ w pespektywie socjologicznej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warszawa 2006, p. 314. 2 Y. Tuan, Przestrzen´ i miejsce, Pan´stwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1987, p. 13. 3 M. Lewicka, Psychologia miejsca, Scholar, Warszawa 2012, p. 41. 4 M. Mendel, Pedagogika miejsca i animacja na miejsce wraz˙liwa, [in:] Pedagogika miejsca, ed., M. Mendel, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnos´la˛skiej Szkoły Wyz˙szej Edukacji TWP we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2006, p. 21.

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gumentation, it is assumed here that educational space is an element of social space. Tangible items such as furniture and other equipment are located in this space. Their placement and interrelationships contribute to the social and cultural dimension of the area in which processes take place. The traditional territory of educational space is the classroom. The placement of items (furniture, etc.) and of people within it contributes to the creation of specific educational models. In turn, the processes taking place in it (on the basis of relationships between items and people) either favour or hinder the implementation of specific teaching/learning strategies. Spatial arrangements can therefore reinforce inclusion- or separation-oriented tendencies when educating students with disabilities in mainstream schools. An example of inclusive tendencies is the placement of learners with disabilities in the centre of the classroom, which promotes their presence in the mainstream of the lesson. On the other hand, making off special places for them (off-centre placement) limits their interaction with the other learners and with the lead teacher, naturally reinforcing their exclusion. The physical structure of the space and its social implications remain therefore inextricably linked to coteaching models.

Spatial arrangements in co-teaching The authors of co-teaching definitions usually define this form of education as a partnership (sometimes metaphorically compared to a professional marriage5) between the teacher and a special educator (or a different professional). This partnership is focused on providing specialist support to learners with disabilities or with other socialisation and learning difficulties.6 In a broader approach, the aim of partnership is to jointly teach a diversified group of learners, including students with disabilities or special educational needs, in classes in mainstream schools.7 Defining co-teaching has its implications for the design of specific teaching models. An example of treating co-teaching as support for learners with special educational needs in non-segregated education is provided by Lorna Idol, who

5 T.E. Scruggs, M.A.Mastropieri, K.A. McDuffie, Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 2007, 47, pp. 392–416. 6 J.M. Sileo, Co-teaching: Getting to know your partner, Teaching Exceptional Children, 2011, 43, (5), pp. 32–38. 7 M. Friend, L. Cook, A. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20, pp. 9–27.

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distinguishes four concepts of co-teaching aimed at having the lead teacher supported by the special education teacher (assistant): – Cooperative teaching (the classroom teacher and the special education teacher cooperate and teach together in the classroom). – Consulting teaching (the special educator assists the classroom teacher in planning, assessing, developing materials and adapting them to the needs and abilities of the specific students, but does not work directly with the students). – Supportive resource programs (the special education teacher and the classroom teacher work together to develop special programmes for the students). – Instructional assistants (the assistants accompany students requiring special support in the mainstream classroom).8 This concept, although researchers classify it within traditionally understood coteaching9, goes beyond the framework of direct cooperation in the classroom and direct teaching of students, especially in the consulting teaching and supportive resource program models. The most frequently recalled models of co-teaching in a non-segregated classroom include a slightly more extended proposal already fully involving the presence of both teachers in the classroom: – One Teach, One Observe (one teacher teaches while the other teacher observes and collects data on the students and on the class as a whole). – Station Teaching (activity in class consists of three parts, with the students divided into three groups, moving from station to station. At two stations, teaching takes place under the supervision of teachers, and at the third station, the group works independently in accordance with the presented instructions). – Parallel Teaching (two teachers teach in parallel in groups of equal numbers, which increases student activity. The teachers cover the same material, but are allowed to vary their working methods). – Alternative Teaching (one teacher works with a larger group of students while the other teacher teaches a smaller group. This allows the latter teacher to present the content in a richer way, or to pursue other objectives adapted to the needs and abilities of the students in the respective group). – Team Teaching (both teachers teach using the lecture method in two large groups, presenting different views, illustrating the problem in a different way, which is why this model is also sometimes referred to as debate).

8 L. Idol, Toward Inclusion of Special Education Students in General Education: A Program Evaluation of Eight Schools, Remedial and Special Education, 2006. 27 (2), pp. 77–94. 9 D. Paulsrud, C. Nilholm, Teaching for inclusion – a review of research on the cooperation between regular teachers and special educators in the work with students in need of special support, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2020, 27, pp. 1–15.

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– One Teach, One Assist (one teacher teaches, while the other teacher focuses on selected students and offers them individual support).10 The six models described above are presented graphically in many scientific and methodological studies. The figure below is taken from one of the numerous methodological websites dedicated to co-teaching. Its presentation can also be found in scientific works.11

Figure 1: Co-Teaching models12

The spatial arrangements reflect the conceptual assumptions of the individual models, at the same time exemplifying their potential usefulness in the implementation of the principles of inclusive education and the use of specific didactic strategies. Spatial arrangements and the implementation of inclusive education strategies using the example of the inclusion of learners with disabilities The analysis of graphical models of co-teaching makes it possible to formulate conclusions about their potential with regard to implementing the assumptions of inclusive education of learners with disabilities. It is assumed here that a static design of the classroom space generates a centre of sorts as well as spaces typical of border areas and periphery. The centre includes places near the main board. This is also the place reserved for the lead teacher. This place fits within the space of mainstream education. The 10 M. Friend, L. Cook, A. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, op. cit. 11 M. Friend, W.D. Bursuck, Including Students With Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers, Columbus, OH, Merrill, 2009, p. 92. 12 Downloaded from: Co-Teaching Activity, https://canvas.humboldt.edu/courses/13936/page s/co-teaching-activity (May 2022).

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centre is where the base processes take place. This is also the decision-making hub for the creation of methodological work concept. If only the mainstream activity is pursued during the lesson, the centre covers the whole classroom space. In graphical and organisational terms, this reflects the One Teach, One Observe model, which appropriates the entire classroom space for a single methodological work concept. A border area is a place of contact and interpenetration of at least two different cultures13 (in the case discussed here: of two concepts of work with learners with and without disabilities). Depending on how the border area is defined, it may be based on the clash of two cultures or on their integration and the creation of a new culture, peculiar to the border area.14 In practice, it often coincides with broadly understood inclusive education combining special needs and mainstream school cultures.15 This work concept is fostered by the One Teach, One Assist model, as the special educator often undertakes actions aimed at supporting and individualising learners with disabilities in an area not separated from the entire classroom space. The periphery, on the other hand, is marked out by places typical of nonmainstream education, remaining on the margins of the main activities pursued in the classroom. This tends to be a place intended for individualised work with learners with special educational needs, and designated to pursue objectives different from the mainstream ones. The periphery space can therefore be described as separation within inclusive education. This assumption is consistent with the Alternative Teaching model, as implementation of this model requires a special place to be designated for work with learners with disabilities. This place is usually distant from the centre of the classroom. The relationships presented above are organised and summarised in Table 1. Classroom work methodology Mainstream educational work

Places within the classroom Centre Student with a disability in the centre of the classroom (close to the desk and to the board)

Favourable co-teaching model One Teach, One Observe

13 J. Nikitorowicz, Pogranicze, toz˙samos´c´, edukacja mie˛dzykulturowa, Trans Humana, Białystok 1995. 14 L. Gołdyka, Pogranicze polsko-niemieckie jako przestrzen´ socjalizacji, Scholar, Warszawa 2013. 15 Z. Gajdzica, Uczen´ z lekka˛ niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ w szkole ogólnodoste˛pnej. Nauczyciele o (nie)zmienianej sytuacji w konteks´cie kultury szkoły inkluzyjnej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2020.

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(Continued) Classroom work Places within the classroom Favourable co-teaching methodology model One Teach, One Assist Border areas Partially convergent mainstream and marginal teach- Student with a disability in an off-centre place, which is, ing work however, not isolated or distinguished in any particularly visible manner Alternative Teaching Separate (marginal) stream Periphery of teaching work Student with a disability in a specially designated offcentre place (on the side or at the back) Table 1: Places within the classroom and the co-teaching model

The co-teaching models not referred to above (Team Teaching, Parallel Teaching, and Station Teaching) may fit within the space of the centre or within the border areas of the classroom, depending on the didactic strategy adopted.

Spatial arrangements in co-teaching and the didactic concept Among the numerous didactic concepts based on the learning process, two are indicated here as examples for the analysis, representing approaches which are (in many ways) opposite. The first one is described here as instructional didactics. In simple terms, its basic assumptions involve strict planning of the educational process, as well as recognising that knowledge objectively exists and that the teacher plays a leading/dominant role.16 The second one is described here as constructivist didactics. Its foundations (again to put it in somewhat simpler terms) are based on the following assumptions: learning triggered by cognitive conflict, recognition of the key importance of procedures of arriving at knowledge in a subjective way, no detailed planning of lessons, treating mistakes as a natural part of the learning process, appreciation of learning taking place outside the teacher’s direct control, and consequently not reserving the dominant role for the teacher.17 As a result, the learning process takes on different forms. The phases of this process are shown in Table 2.

16 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Paradygmaty dydaktyki. Mys´lec´ teoria o praktyce, PWN, Warszawa 2018. 17 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Dydaktyka wobec chaosu poje˛´c i zdarzen´, Wydawnictwo Akademickie Z˙ak, Warszawa 2010.

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Phases of the learning process Instructional didactics18 Learning process preparation

Constructivist didactics19 Knowledge diagnosis

Knowledge reception and understanding Disclosure of preliminary ideas Integration of new knowledge with existing Knowledge restructuring/reconstruction knowledge Knowledge retention and consolidation Use of knowledge

Application of new knowledge Relating changed ideas to previous ones

Table 2: Phases of the learning process in instructional and constructivist didactics

Leaving aside a detailed analysis of the two proposals, it is worth noting the divergence emerging with regard to the paths of learning treated as assimilation, possibly discovery of knowledge20 or its construction in the course of students’ own activity.21 The spatial arrangements of the co-teaching models discussed here support to varying degrees the implementation of the learning process in instructional and constructivist didactics. Assimilation of knowledge can take place practically in all the three places distinguished within the classroom (centre, border area, or periphery). In this didactic strategy, the dominant role of the lead teacher is important, and it is the lead teacher who should be given a prominent place, preferably in the centre of the classroom. Consequently, the typical co-teaching model that favours assimilation of knowledge is One Teach, One Observe. Nevertheless, this didactic strategy can also be successfully implemented with the help of other models, as teaching based on instruction and activity design can also take place in smaller groups and consequently also in different spaces delimited by specific frameworks. For example, if knowledge is transmitted to learners with disabilities using other means or different educational content, the Alternative Teaching model becomes useful. In turn, the One Teach, One Observe model (working in a single stream) is of little use in the constructivist strategy. Focusing the learning process on cognitive activity and constructing knowledge without following carefully planned instructions requires working in smaller groups in the periphery or border area spaces. Consequently, the One Teach, One Assist and Alternative Teaching models are more useful in this strategy. In the constructivist didactic strategy, the Parallel Teaching model may also be appropriate, especially when implemented in the form of debate, i. e. presentation

18 Kojs, W., Działanie jako kategoria dydaktyczna, US´, Katowice 1994. 19 S´niadek, B., Konstruktywistyczne podejs´cie do nauczania o ´swietle i jego włas´ciwos´ciach, [in:] S. Dylak (ed.), Przyroda, badania, je˛zyk, CODN, Warszawa, 1997, pp. 485–492. 20 W. Okon´, Wprowadzenie do dydaktyki ogólnej, Z˙ak, Warszawa 1995. 21 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Dydaktyka wobec chaosu poje˛´c i zdarzen´, op. cit.

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of a particular aspect in two groups in a different way.22 This remains inextricably linked to perceiving the world in a subjective way typical of the assumptions underlying constructivism. Arguably, however, the most accurate model implementing the assumptions of constructivist education is Station Teaching. It makes it possible to divide the educational content into logically distinguished fragments and to construct knowledge at the individual stations under the supervision of one of the teachers or without supervision, according to prepared instructions leaving a certain framework of freedom to the learners in separately designated areas of the classroom.

Conclusion An attempt was made in the paper to demonstrate that the places generated by co-teaching models: centre, border areas, and periphery, constitute an important element of such models. According to this approach, these models either enhance or hinder the interactions of learners with and without disabilities. They are therefore linked to the concept of inclusive education. The inclusive or segregated nature of space in co-teaching is an extremely important element of the lesson, which tends to be treated as a key element of the activities designed in an inclusive school culture. However, it is worth bearing in mind that in designing lessons, an important role is also played by the adopted educational strategy, which must not be neglected when choosing the most appropriate model to pursue the formulated educational objectives.

References Friend M., Bursuck W.D., Including Students With Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers, Columbus, OH, Merrill, 2009. Friend M., Cook L. Hurley-Chamberlain A., Shamberger C., Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20, pp. 9–27. Gajdzica Z., Uczen´ z lekka˛ niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ w szkole ogólnodoste˛pnej. Nauczyciele o (nie)zmienianej sytuacji w konteks´cie kultury szkoły inkluzyjnej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2020. Gołdyka L., Pogranicze polsko-niemieckie jako przestrzen´ socjalizacji, Scholar, Warszawa 2013.

22 M. Friend, L. Cook, A. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, op. cit.

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Idol L., Toward Inclusion of Special Education Students in General Education: A Program Evaluation of Eight Schools, “Remedial and Special Education”, 2006. 27 (2), pp. 77–94. Jałowiecki B., Szczepan´ski M. S., Miasto i przestrzen´ w pespektywie socjologicznej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warszawa 2006. Klus-Stan´ska D., Dydaktyka wobec chaosu poje˛c´ i zdarzen´, Wydawnictwo Akademickie Z˙ak, Warszawa 2010. Klus-Stan´ska D., Paradygmaty dydaktyki. Mys´lec´ teoria o praktyce, PWN, Warszawa 2018. Kojs W., Działanie jako kategoria dydaktyczna, US´, Katowice 1994. Lewicka M., Psychologia miejsca, Scholar, Warszawa 2012. Mendel M., Pedagogika miejsca i animacja na miejsce wraz˙liwa, [in:] Pedagogika miejsca, ed., M. Mendel, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnos´la˛skiej Szkoły Wyz˙szej Edukacji TWP we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2006. Nikitorowicz J., Pogranicze, toz˙samos´c´, edukacja mie˛dzykulturowa, Trans Humana, Białystok 1995. Okon´ W., Wprowadzenie do dydaktyki ogólnej, Z˙ak, Warszawa 1995. Paulsrud D., Nilholm, C., Teaching for inclusion – a review of research on the cooperation between regular teachers and special educators in the work with students in need of special support, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2020, 27, pp. 1–15. Downloaded from the website: Co-Teaching Activity, https://canvas.humboldt.edu/course s/13936/pages/co-teaching-activity (May 2022). Scruggs T. E., Mastropieri M. A., McDuffie K. A., Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 2007, 47, pp. 392–416. Sileo J. M., Co-teaching: Getting to know your partner, Teaching Exceptional Children, 2011, 43, (5), pp. 32–38. S´niadek B., Konstruktywistyczne podejs´cie do nauczania o ´swietle i jego włas´ciwos´ciach, [in:] Przyroda, badania, je˛zyk, ed. S. Dylak, CODN, Warszawa, 1997, pp. 485–492. Tuan Y., Przestrzen´ i miejsce, Pan´stwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1987.

Urszula Szus´cik

Co-teaching and art education

Abstract: The article contains the author’s reflections on the use of co-teaching in children’s art education. The interpretation of co-teaching and its models of work with the students are listed. The topic of considerations is taken in a broader sense of this style of work with the student in the context of their work. The author refers to her experiences as a teacher and researcher. From the point of view of assumptions, one of the author’s studies is presented in the field of stimulating children’s artistic creativity by educating their visual perception and the key ideas presented there about co-teaching are applied. Keywords: art education, co-teaching

Introduction An attempt to present one’s opinion in a discussion on the values and roles of colearning is a difficult and ambiguous issue in the process of its understanding, especially when the notions of creativity and the conditions conducive to its development are taken into account. In the case of organization and use of specific teaching methods in strictly artistic classes with students, co-teaching is difficult to implement when such aspects as the factor of the individual involvement of the students, the element of freedom and their independence in creative activity are considered. As I pointed out, it is difficult, but not impossible. It is terra incognita which will be shaped by the philosophy of education prevailing in a given country, its models, cultural and social conditions, tradition, educational policy, economy, research in pedagogy and educational psychology, social awareness of the role of education and evaluation of the value of the teacher’s work; in other words, the issues that determine the school culture, teachers’ work style and the social value of their work. It is a commonly known truth that co-learning is recognized as a model of team learning that engages teachers and students in order to improve the effectiveness of their joint work, the level of education, and self-development. It has a 50-year-old tradition and has been applied in American and European edu-

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cation and other parts of the world since the 1950s. Its promotion is especially strong in those countries which educate children, adolescents and adults from other countries-emigrants, as well as in special, inclusive education and therapy in their education systems. In Polish pedagogical literature, co-teaching has been described by such authors as Władysław Okon´, Alicja Siemak-Tylikowska, Ewa Alicja Moszczyn´ska, Joanna Giebułowska1. What distinguishes co-teaching from other methods of working with the student is that it “defies the one-class-one teacher principle, teacher isolation and sole responsibility for students.”2 Władysław Okon´, on the other hand, understands co-teaching as team teaching and Alicja Siemak-Tylikowska as “teaching in collaboration (between teachers”3 Important features of co-teaching are cooperation and shared responsibility between teachers. There are different styles of co-teaching with regard to the goals, place and personal characteristics of students, such as: supportive coteaching – one teacher conducts classes with the whole class and the other assists her/him, which does not disturb the contact with the group; parallel co-teaching – simultaneously two or more teachers work with different groups of students in the same room; and complementary co-teaching – teachers divide the content they will share with students on the topic under study among themselves4. In the Polish education system, one can notice co-teaching in integration classes, in integration kindergartens, and/or in special schools. I am inclined to defend my opinion that in general education it has a supporting dimension; at the same time, at the level of secondary schools (high schools, technical schools) and universities, one can observe the use of one of the parallel learning types, such as: co-operative group monitoring, experiment or lab monitoring, learning style focus, or supplementary instruction5. Also students, as part of their teaching internship at university, educate and improve themselves in their teaching practice based on assisting the teacher conducting the classes, enhance their 1 W. Okon´, Nowy słownik pedagogiczny, Wydawnictwo Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2007, p. 416. A. Siemak-Tylikowska, Pedagogika z technologia˛ kształcenia. Słownik angielsko-polski, Wydawnictwo Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa p. 57. E. A. Moszczyn´ska, Team teaching – wczoraj i dzis´, [in:] “Przegla˛d Glottodydaktyczny” no 18/2003, pp. 49–63. J. Giebułowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, [in:] “Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio J”, Paedagogia-Psychologia, no 34(1)/2021, pp. 45–55. 2 E. A. Moszczyn´ska, Team teaching – wczoraj i dzis´, Przegla˛d Glottodydaktyczny, no 18/2003, p. 50. 3 See: J. Giebułowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, no 34(1)/2021, p. 46. 4 J. Giebułowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, no 34(1)/2021, pp. 47–48; A. Perry, CoTeaching: How to Make it Work. Feburary 5, 2017 http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967751.pdf (access: 19. 04. 2022) 5 J. Giebułowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, [in:] Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, no 34(1)/2021, p. 48.

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teaching experiences when they learn from each other and support each other. In my experience as an art teacher in kindergarten, elementary school and university teacher, I am inclined to lean towards supporting co-teaching in art education. It should be noted that the selection of artistic activities (such as happening, art action, art installation) in educational practice creates educational and aesthetic situations for pupils and students with the use of many other models of co-learning. However, it is not often realized by the teachers themselves that what they do actually is co-teaching.

Reflection on education Human nature consists in a constant effort to cross the boundaries inherent in man and to rise above them with the issue of humanity. The teacher is the person who organizes the situations of contact with the world of senses and knowledge for the students. S/he shapes and sharpens the ability to evaluate each of such contacts and to stimulate their further development. In the dialogue taking place between teachers-and-pupils, as well as pupilsand-teachers, personal values are realized between these entities, the outcome of which are the results with different moral, cognitive, creative and utilitarian values. As a result of the development of such valuation skills, values are updated in certain situations – such as awareness of their existence and/or their inherent nature. After all, “[w]ith this term we mean all processes and acts of awareness as well as real actions that are related to recognizing certain objects or states of things as valuable and responding to them appropriately.”6 As children grow up, their development allows them to see, get to know, accept or reject the world of values in which they grow and mature. It is first the family microworld. Later, it gradually increases through the consecutive stages of education. Educating children from kindergarten up to the moment of their acquisition of a profession in adulthood introduces them to the world of broadly understood values, helping them to discover and develop creative values in it. These will be their abilities and skills. A responsible educator is a person with high substantive and methodological competences. S/he is a person open to constructive changes in working with students, respecting their individuality and/or their abilities. She can also see these abilities in students and create situations for their disclosure and development. Such conditions shape the attitude of self-acceptance and emotional security in students. They give them a sense of mental balance and motivation to learn. The student can develop their abilities and at the same time discover them. 6 M. Gołaszewska, Istota i istnienie wartos´ci, PWN, Warszawa 1990, p. 93.

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The responsibility of teachers for their work and the work of students should be the main feature of their (i. e. the teachers’) creative personality. A creative teacher develops, among others, his/her imagination and the imagination of students; at the same time she gives the pupils a sense of realism and appreciation of the value of life. The process of education is a creative process which consists of rational and irrational factors determined by the personalities participating in it. Teaching is a practical art, a process that requires intuition, creativity, improvisation and expression7. A responsible educator performs tasks such as: 1. goal setting 2. organization 3. developing people 4. communication 5. evaluation and analysis8 For effective communication to take place, the following rules must be met: 1. It is necessary to exchange information 2. Any information provided should be as clear and complete as possible. 3. The information must be meaningful to the recipient 4. It is necessary to try to get confirmation that the message just communicated was understood 5. Information can be communicated in many ways. The more ways are used, the clearer and more credible it will be – but the information must always be the same, consistency is extremely important. [It is necessary to] remember that actions speak louder than words.9” The aim of pedagogical activities should be to create the child’s internal need for creativity and to activate his/her knowledge in the creative experience. Such an approach requires from teachers a change in the awareness of pedagogical work and greater subjectivity in the mutual relations between the teacher and their students, and vice versa. It is essential to develop the ability to integrate various fields of knowledge and practice. In a new pedagogical situation, the teacher discovers the limits of exceeding his/her abilities and opening up to new problems and ways of solving them. S/he also educates such attitudes and behaviors among students at all levels of education. There is a specific and

7 A.T. Pearson, Nauczyciel – teoria i praktyka w kształceniu nauczycieli, WSiP, Warszawa 1994. 8 R.E. Allen, Szkoła menedz˙erów Kubusia Puchatka, Dom Wydawniczy “Rebis”, Poznan´ 1995. 9 Ibidem, p. 90.

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unique crisis of the educator’s identity10. It is a challenge and the opening up of new forms and ways of working. Co-learning creates a space for the activities of many entities, their cooperation, support, mutual trust and self-realization. Subjectivity is a concept “which manifests itself in three aspects: (a) the internal organization and identity of a person and his/her relationship with the environment; (b) the ability to recognize one’s own situation and turn it into a task to be performed; (c) the ability to select and interpret incoming stimuli in terms of the given task”11. The issue of subjectivity and the related development of self-creative competences are related to the adopted model of upbringing. In the modern world, three models of raising a child coexist12. In the first model, the most traditional one, the basis for raising a child is the belief that an adult knows better what a child is allowed to do in order to become fully human. A child does not create a culture, s/he participates in it passively. The second model is the model of equality, isonomy in the relationship of a child with an adult, i. e. “being the same human as an adult”. The child is the same human as the adult is and they are authorities for one another. They learn from each other. The third model – autonomous, of the child-adult relationship, is defined as the child’s self-education, or self-socialization. The child lives by experiencing, learning and trying. Is it possible to speak of co-learning in these different models of education? I think it will depend on the awareness of the teacher (or teachers) of how important and constructive they are in the process of learning the notions of responsibility and openness to other people by children and/or the youth.

Art education and co-teaching In my research and pedagogical work, I used the supportive co-teaching model where I was assisted by a second teacher, who was also expected to assist the students when necessary. It was also interesting to develop situations in which children supported each other by explaining the activity related to artistic creation and the organization of the place for artistic activities. Art education is woven into the whole of general pedagogical assumptions. It assumes various functions, ranging from purely utilitarian, through cognitive up to fully educational. Art education, interpreted as teaching drawing, sets the path of education in the field of manual dexterity, the ability to imitate reality and the development of 10 L. Witkowski, Rozwój i toz˙samos´c´ w cyklu z˙ycia. Studium koncepcji Erika H. Eriksona, WITGRAF, Torun´ 2000. 11 S. Seul-Michałowska., Podmiotowos´c´ ucznia i nauczyciela, [in:] “Edukacja i Dialog” no 9/ 1998, p. 25. 12 B. S´liwerski, Studium dziecka. Studium pajdocentryzmu. GWP Gdan´sk 2007.

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utilitarian drawing – mimetic pedagogy with the longest tradition to observe. In the 1930s, there appeared the pedagogy of expression. Its assumptions are related to the change of views on the child’s creativity and its psychological justification. The direction was also based on such trends in art as Impressionism, Expressionism and Abstractionism. In its assumptions, it uses the psycho-physiological spontaneity of human creative activity. The most important thing is the emotional-cognitive experience, which has to be reflected in the student’s work. The teacher is a companion and organizer of the creative process without the right to authoritative statements and orders. At the same time, the pedagogy of the visual form was developed. It emphasizes the training of perception and logical thinking. Its assumptions are based on, among others, the following art directions: constructivism, cubism, neoplasticism, geometric and visual abstraction. The teacher introduces students to the principles of constructing compositions into logical systems and structures13. Depending on the adopted concept of art education, while remaining in conjunction with co-teaching, we deepen and improve our own skills, knowledge and ways of working with students. In the course of one of my research activities14, which I will outline in general below, I was following the model of supportive education. I carried out the research with children of early childhood education. During the research project, I was assisted by an early childhood education teacher – who was also the class teacher. It was a longitudinal study in which I carried out a natural pedagogical experiment with children. The degree of difficulty of classes increased at individual stages of education of this group of children at the level of early school education. The research was the result of my observation and subsequent analysis of the artistic creativity of younger school-age children and the conducted pilot studies, as a result of which I formulated a hypothesis that the skillful shaping of their visual perception is the factor in the development of children’s artistic activities. I assumed that shaping visual perception through visual quality develops the artistic creativity of early school children and contributes to the development of their artistic activities as independent and conscious ones. The aim of the exercises was to shape and develop conscious perception and artistic experience in the field of: color (visual perception of chromatic qualities of different color brightness), lines (perception of lines of various shapes, lengths, widths, directions) and solids (seeing solids of various shapes, thicknesses, and sizes). The artistic activities of children consisted in a free plastic interpretation 13 A. Trojanowska: Współczesna koncepcja wychowania plastycznego, [in:] “SZTUKA” 1976 nos ¾, pp. 59–62. 14 U. Szus´cik, Kształtowanie percepcji wzrokowej jako stymulator działan´ plastycznych dziecka, Uniwersytet S´la˛ski Filia w Cieszynie, Cieszyn 1999.

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of the perceived visual qualities in the perceptual patterns I prepared. In the experimental group, after completing the series of exercises for a given visual quality, I presented the children with selected examples of works of art in the form of slides. I drew their attention to how the visual artist presented an art problem that they perceived in perceptual patterns and presented visually. It created an opportunity to confront their visual-artistic experiences with the “seeing” and experience of the artists whose works they saw. The implemented research program was a program referring to the general assumptions of the pedagogy of form, but as a consequence of artistic experiences it was the implementation of the assumptions of the pedagogy of expression. This program also shaped children’s aesthetic experiences during classes, which also influenced their perception of art. The methodological program used in the research was in opposition to the methodological assumptions of the subject of “art” in grades 1–3 of primary school in Polish education, which defines the artistic activities of children according to the principles of realism. The artistic activities undertaken in the experimental program anticipated the period of descriptive realism appropriate for children and stimulated their creativity towards creating an artwork based on a perceptual – visual pattern. The art tasks for children were art problems that they solved on their own by shaping their visual perception on visual qualities. The visual qualities contained in the perceptual patterns were seen as sets of visual stimuli. Perceptual patterns were perceived as records of the idea of activities, not presenting specific subjects known to children. They were abstract – and thus open – compositions, giving children the possibility of their creative perception and artistic interpretation. I analyzed the results of the research using the technique of analysis of the products of action – children’s artworks made during the experiment – quantitative and qualitative analysis of the works. They were the documents intentionally created by them. The described experiment forms the basis for the conclusion that there are unused creative possibilities of children, and thus indirectly an incentive to stimulate their artistic creativity during didactic activities. The conducted research is a good starting point for creating a new pedagogical concept of stimulating children’s artistic activities. This stimulation “opens” the way for children to experiment in the field of visual and plastic problems, providing them with the opportunity to refine their own structure of specific visual qualities. Since visual perception determines the nature and quality of children’s art to such an extent as presented in the results of the experiment, it would be worth revising the existing system of art education. The teacher, the home-room teacher of this class, assisted and supported me during the whole duration of the experiment (3 years). She stated that this method of working with children, which I proposed, was new to her and she would like to gradually change her approach to con-

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ducting art classes with children. Together, the children analyzed the activities carried out, the degree of their difficulty, and expressed their satisfaction with the artistic activities carried out. I, in turn, observed whether the degree of difficulty of the classes was a situation that forced the children to seek solutions on their own, which I had to modify in the course of research with children. It was a mutual complementation as a result of solutions to problems posed in the course of classes, and mutual support. Co-teaching offers an educational proposal that creates a learning environment that is favorable for the student, stimulating the development of the students and teachers as well. It should definitely not be perceived as a closed system, but the one that will evolve towards improving the joint work of students and teachers.

Conclusion The aim of pedagogical activities should be an attempt to let the children invent an internal need for creativity, to activate their knowledge in the creative experience. There is a need to recognize the artistic element in teaching. A child does not need dexterity when in the act of creating. What s/he needs is an element of emotional independence, freedom in discovering new things and experimenting in the field of artistic form. Artistic creativity grows out of his/her mental needs. It is fully integrated with the mental life of the individual and their environment. It is an expression of the individual mental development of a person, and thus one of the ways of his/her self-knowledge. Creativity is the highest expression of the realization of the image of oneself. It can be said that pedagogical work is also a constant crossing of boundaries, frames that inhibit the development of both teachers and students. Teachers need to be aware of their responsibility in terms of the child’s development, so as not to harm them, but to support them and constantly help them rediscover the world and all its beauty. The use of co-teaching creates new opportunities for improving the teacher’s work and creating situations that stimulate the development of students.

References Allen R.E., Szkoła menedz˙erów Kubusia Puchatka [Eng.: Winnie-the-Pooh’s school of managers], Dom Wydawniczy “Rebis”, Poznan´ 1995. Brühlmer A., Edukacja humanistyczna [Eng.: Humanistic education], Impuls, Kraków 1994.

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Giebułowska J., Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, [Eng.: Team-teaching – experiencing co-teaching], [in:] Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, 34 (1), 2021, pp. 45–55. Gołaszewska M., Istota i istnienie wartos´ci [Eng. The essence and existence of values], PWN, Warszawa 1990. Moszczyn´ska E.A., Team teaching – wczoraj i dzis´ [Eng.: Team-teaching – yesterday and today], Przegla˛d Glottodydaktyczny [Eng.: The Glottodidactic Review], 2003, 18/2003, pp. 49–63. Okon´ W., Nowy słownik pedagogiczny (Eng.: A new dictionary of pedagogical sciences], Wydawnictwo Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2007, p. 416. Pearson A.T., Nauczyciel – teoria i praktyka w kształceniu nauczycielskim [Eng.: Teacher – theory and practice in teacher education], PWN, Warszawa 1994. Perry A., Co-Teaching: How to Make it Work, Feburary 5, 2017. Avaible at: http://files.e ric.ed.gov/ fulltext/EJ967751.pdf (access: 19. 04. 2022). Seul-Michałowska S., Podmiotowos´c´ ucznia i nauczyciela (Eng.: Subjectivity of the student and teacher], Edukacja i Dialog [Eng.: Education and Dialog], 1998, 9/1998, pp. 23–28. Siemak-Tylikowska A., Pedagogika z technologia˛ kształcenia. Słownik angielsko-polski. [Eng.: Pedagogy with education technology. English-Polish dictionary], Wydawnictwo Akademickie “Z˙ak”, Warszawa 2000p. 57. Szus´cik U., Nauczyciel wobec wartos´ci [Eng.: Teacher in the face of values], [in:] Edukacja aksjologiczna. Wybrane problemy przekazu wartos´ci [Eng.: Axiological education. Selected problems of value transfer], ed. K. Olbrycht, vol. 4, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu S´la˛skiego, Katowice 1999, pp. 41–45. Szus´cik U., Obraz dziecka w jego twórczos´ci plastycznej [Eng.: The image of a child in his/her artistic creativity], [in:] Szkice pedagogiczne [Eng.: Homo Communicus. Pedagogical Sketches], ed. W. Kojs with the participation of Ł. Dawid, Homo Communicus., Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu S´la˛skiego, Katowice 2000, pp. 149–155. Szus´cik U., Kształtowanie percepcji wzrokowej jako stymulator działan´ plastycznych dziecka [Eng.: Shaping visual perception as a stimulator of a child’s artistic activities], Uniwersytet S´la˛ski Filia w Cieszynie, Cieszyn 1999. S´liwerski B., Studium dziecka. Studium pajdocentryzmu [Eng.: Child study. A study of pajdocentrism], GWP, Gdan´sk 2007. Trojanowska A., Współczesna koncepcja wychowania plastycznego [Eng.: Contemporary concepts of art education], SZTUKA [Eng.: ART] 1976 nos ¾, pp.. 59–62. Witkowski L. Rozwój i toz˙samos´´c w cyklu z˙ycia. Studium koncepcji Erika H. Eriksona, [Eng.: Development and identity in the life cycle. A study of the concept of Erik H. Erikson], WIT-GRAF, Torun´ 2000.

Zdzisława Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk

Elasticity and diversity of co-teaching forms as crucial conditions for the effectiveness of inclusive education of students with disabilities

Abstract: In the text, I shall present the following points one after another: In the introduction, I will point to the current – pro-inclusive educational preferences of students with disabilities and their impact on the education of the latter. Secondly, I would like to formulate a thesis according to which the popularisation of inclusion in the Polish educational system, although socially desirable and expected, is hampered by the problems that exist within it, which, in my opinion, create an unfavourable climate for inclusion and its effectiveness. In support of this thesis, I shall identify and describe these disadvantages, which are mainly related to the deficiencies in the competent preparation of teachers, in particular with regard to the ability to cooperate with each other (co-teaching), to meet the objectives and tasks associated with its implementation – skills deficits of the implementors. I would, therefore, like to point out the benefits of such cooperation, which, in flexible and differentiated forms, can transform the culture and functioning of an inclusive school into a (self)learning organisation, with an elaborated vision of the common aims and objectives of all those involved in education (workers, parents and representatives of the local community), who are open to cooperation and dialogue and able to correct their own mistakes and failures, and therefore, able to self-reflect and to choose solutions that are beneficial to the students and the institution, taking into account the need and possibilities of cooperation with the local environment. At the same time, these measures provide a good framework for building up the school’s social capital as a basis for the inclusion of pupils whose disability may be multiplied by the low socio-cultural status of the family of origin or by other deficits or disruptions. That is why I will also examine this issue as an equally important prerequisite for the effective inclusion of students. I therefore acknowledge that the flexibility and diversity of forms of cooperation between teachers create a favourable climate for the exchange of professional experience and ideas in solving the didactic and educational problems of students with disabilities in school and local environments. This makes it an indispensable prerequisite for the efficiency of their inclusive education. Keywords: co-teaching, inclusive education, school as a (self-)learning organisation, students with disabilities

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Introduction Current – proinclusive educational preferences of pupils with disabilities and their parents/supervisors – substantially verify the existing educational offer in Poland. The previously prevalent programmatic and organisational solutions in the domestic education sector – groups/classes, integrative and special institutions – are increasingly being replaced by desseminated inclusion, which should fully meet the different needs of all pupils1. It presupposes personalised teaching, which is committed to promoting the harmonious and sustainable development of learners in accordance with their needs and opportunities, which include not only their academic achievements, but also their socio-emotional development and general mental well-being2. Meeting these conditions requires modification and improvement of the work of the system of inclusive education through periodically published regulations and actions reforming its functioning. It should be emphasised that their effectiveness depends crucially on the involvement of schools, which should play an active part in this process. It should also be noted that the aim of the proposed changes to the system is to create highquality learning (including lifelong learning) for all learners, including those with disabilities, a flexible, wide-ranging, and accessible (non-redundant) support package provided by close co-operating teachers and other professionals, parents/caregivers and representatives of local communities involved in these changes to varying degrees and levels3. The right of pupils to such education should limit or even eliminate the exclusion, discrimination, social stratification, or objectification they experience while dealing with people without disabilities. These issues, which are relevant to all pupils, are addressed in the Strategy for People with Disabilities 2021–20304 adopted by the Government of the Republic of Poland for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons 1 Z. Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, Elastycznos´c´ i róz˙norodnos´c´ prowła˛czaja˛cych działan´ i rozwia˛zan´ w systemie edukacji jako remedium w kształceniu uczniów o specjalnych potrzebach, Konteksty Pedagogiczne, 1, 2013, pp. 79–89, Z. Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, (Nie)dojrzałos´c´ proinkluzyjnych zmian w kształceniu osób z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛, Niepełnosprawnos´c´, 22, 2016, pp. 47–59. 2 G. Szumski, Conception of inclusive education, [in:] Inclusive education in kindergarden and school, ed. I. Chrzanowska, G. Szumski, Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji, Seria Naukowa, t. 7, Warszawa 2019; G. Szumski, Wokół edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej, efekty kształcenia uczniów z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ w stopniu lekkim w klasach specjalnych, integracyjnych i ogólnodoste˛pnych, Akademia Pedagogiki Specjalnej, Warszawa, 2010. 3 P.M. Senge, Pia˛ta dyscyplina. Teoria i praktyka organizacji ucza˛cych sie˛, Oficyna Ekonomiczna, Kraków 2003, J. Nies´cioruk, Z. Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, Szkoła jako organizacja (samo?)ucza˛ca sie˛ [in:] Edukacyjno-terapeutyczna podróz˙ w lepsza˛ strone˛, ed. K. Moczia, Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, tom 1., (W przestrzeni niepełnosprawnos´ci), 2017, s. 25–38. 4 MONITOR POLSKI 2021 R. POZ. 218, Uchwała nr 27 Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 lutego 2021 r. w sprawie przyje˛cia dokumentu Strategia na rzecz Osób z Niepełnosprawnos´ciami 2021–2030. Available at: https://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/MP/rok/2021/pozycja/218 (access: 12. 05. 2022).

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with Disabilities5. The Strategy, similarly, to the Convention, highlights priority actions, and one of them is, of course, education. The focus is in particular on the need to respect pupil’s right to inclusive education at all of its levels, and integration in all areas and spheres of social life6. However, the dissemination of inclusion in the Polish education system and thus the implementation of the legislative regulations and measures indicated as socially desirable and expected may be hindered by the problems present in the education system, which create an unfavourable climate for the inclusion of students with disabilities and diverse needs. A major challenge/problem for inclusion and its effectiveness is the shortage of competence in preparing teachers to cooperate with each other (in various forms or dimensions) to fulfill the objectives and tasks related to its implementation7. This issue is particularly important when considering inclusive schools as learning organisations. I would therefore like to highlight the benefits of teacher cooperation, which allow, in a flexible and diversified way, for the development of a vision of common objectives and goals for all entities, including local communities. This activity of the school, based on cooperation and dialogue, creates a space for all participants to build cultural and social capital and to exchange experiences and ideas in solving the didactic and educational problems 5 DZIENNIK USTAW RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ POLSKIEJ Warszawa, dnia 25 paz´dziernika 2012 r. Poz. 1169 Konwencja o prawach osób niepełnosprawnych, sporza˛dzona w Nowym Jorku dnia 13 grudnia 2006 r. Available at: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20120001 169/O/D20121169.pdf (access: 5. 05. 2022). 6 This right is particularly emphasised in Article 24. Convention (in the Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Poland this is a priority III). It should be noted that previous documents also include Standard Principles on Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities (ONZ 1993). Available at: http://www.tus.org.pl/uploads/dokumenty/standardowe_za sady_wyrownywania_szans_osob_niepelnosprawnych.pdf (access: 6. 05. 2022), Deklaracja z Salamanki – Wytyczne dla działan´ w zakresie specjalnych potrzeb edukacyjnych, THE SALAMANCA STATEMENT AND FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION ON SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION, Salamanca, Spain, 7–10 June 1994. Available at: https://www.right-to-education.org/si tes/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/Salamanca_Statement_1994.pdf (access: 6. 05.2022) or Deklaracja Madrycka (Madrid Declaration) (2002). Available at: http://www.niep elnosprawni.pl/ledge/x/1878 (access: 6. 05. 2022). 7 I emphasize this problem having in mind the need to prepare staff for the implementation of inclusive education. The relevant measures are planned between 2021 and 2025. They are coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) and the partners are the Centre for Educational Development (ORE), the Institute for Educational Research (IBE), teacher training institutions, universities and non-governmental organisations. Available at: https:// dziennikustaw.gov.pl/M2021000021801.pdf (access: 11. 05. 2022). I would like to add that the leading role of teachers in working with other professionals in the field of inclusive education can be seen as a priority over other team members. Now, as studies show, the model of collaboration – one Teach, one Assist has dominated others and is so far most commonly used, even in the Polish school Szumski G., Smogorzewska J., Narkun Z., Tre˛bacz-Riter A. Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´. Co-teaching and its importance for educational proces. Review of research. “Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej”, 44, 2021, pp. 76–96.

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of the pupils. I would like to point out that the problems of integrating pupils with disabilities may be exacerbated by other, additional dysfunctions and deficits caused by, among other things, being brought up in a family with a low socioeconomic status. That is why I will also investigate this issue in the context of promoting inclusive education in our country.

Teacher cooperation – a key factor for the effectiveness of inclusive education for pupils with disabilities The popularisation of inclusive education requires that professionals, and in particular teachers, who play a leading role, are suitably qualified8. The necessary preparation of teachers in the field of disability issues and the different needs of pupils was included in the teacher training standards in 2012, but the module dealing with this issue could not and did not have to be carried out as part of the major and subject-specific preparation. Although the possibilities of creating curricula for teaching and pedagogical studies at that time allowed for its introduction in the dimension recognized by universities, its scope, especially considering the practical or methodical preparation, today, can be assessed as insufficient. Aspects of inclusive education, its principles, and possibilities for implementation, as well as the different needs of pupils and the resulting responsibilities of the school in relation to the adaptation of education and training processes, are included in the currently valid Teacher Education Standards (as of 2019). It is noteworthy that the competences expected of them also consider the need to develop their teamwork skills, to take on different roles and to work with teachers, educators, professionals, parents or caregivers of pupils and other members of school and local communities9. However, the development of these competences, particularly in the field of co–learning, depends on the content, methods and learning outcomes10 of the subjects defined by the lecturers. Both 8 Z. Gajdzica, R. McWilliam, M. Potmeˇsˇil, G. Ling, Inclusive Education of Learners with Disability – The Theory versus Reality, Peter Lang, Berlin 2020. 9 DZIENNIK USTAW RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ POLSKIEJ Warszawa, dnia 2 sierpnia 2019 r. Poz. 1450 ROZPORZA ˛ DZENIE MINISTRA NAUKI I SZKOLNICTWA WYZ˙SZEGO z dnia 25 lipca 2019 r. w sprawie standardu kształcenia przygotowuja˛cego do wykonywania zawodu nauczyciela. Available at: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20190001450/ O/D20191450.pdf (access: 11. 05. 2022). 10 Currently they are called learning outcomes; However, this does not change the fact that these are effects that are created for a course of study and then “transformed” into results that are formulated during the implementation of each subject in that course of study. In my opinion, these results are at least an average of the demands placed on learners, and it is therefore not a challenge for ambitious students to achieve them.

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pupils without disabilities and pupils with disabilities who participate in the socalled “youth hearings” point to the need to develop such skills in teachers. In their expectations of inclusive education and its main implementers – teachers – more than a decade ago, they emphasized that it is effective when it provides appropriate teaching-learning conditions, support that meets their needs, and qualified teachers who are committed to their work – ones who know and understand their oftentimes very diverse abilities. “They should be well educated, ask us what we need, and co-ordinate what we do throughout the entire schooling period”11. The need for joint co-ordination of the activities of teachers/educators and other professionals should be combined with the need to consider different forms of community learning12 which encourage personalised work with all learners. It is therefore important to continuously improve the knowledge of these professionals about disabilities and different needs of learners, as well as the methods of working with them, which, according to the respondents to the interviews, is still insufficient. It was also considered necessary to change the negative attitudes of all participants of the school community towards pupils with disabilities and special needs. It is therefore expected that a culture of integration and inclusion will be created in every school, enabling such students to make their presence in the school positive13. This problem should also take into account the latest challenges related to the creation of an inclusive and multicultural school in Poland in the context of increasing migration of Ukrainian citizens to our country. Many Ukrainian children and young people learn together with Polish pupils14, therefore, as 11 V. Soriano, M. Kyriazopoulou, H. Weber, A. Grünberger (eds.) Young Voices: Meeting Diversity in Education (Głos Młodych: Wychodza˛c naprzeciw róz˙norodnos´ci w edukacji), European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, Odense 2008, s. 24; M. Kyriazopoulou, H. Weber, (reds.) Opracowanie zestawu wskaz´ników – dla obszaru edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej w Europie, OdenseEuropean Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, Denmark. 2009. 12 M. Friend, L. Cook present possible approaches or forms of co–learning in a captivating way and with great precision. These are the following options: 1. One teach, one observe, 2. One teach, one Assist, 3. Parallel teaching, 4. Station teaching, 5. Alternative teaching and 6. Team teaching. In my opinion, all forms proposed by the authors can be used in different dimensions and configurations for all pupils, including those with disabilities, with great benefit and satisfaction for inclusive education. M. Fiend, L. Cook Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, 9th Edition, Pearson, Boston 2020. 13 The problem of finding ways to promote school culture as part of a comprehensive reform of the education system, in which rehabilitation is supported not only at the level of the school as an organisation, but also by institutions and individuals/leaders at the local or systemic level, is addressed by I. Nowosad in her monograph. The issues raised can be related to the creation of an inclusive education culture. See: Nowosad I., Kultura szkoły w rozwoju szkoły, Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls, Kraków 2019. 14 According to the information of the Minister of Education and Science on 4 April 2022, 161 thousand Ukrainian children have been admitted to the Polish education system since

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Tomasz Knopik aptly states, “the Polish school becomes an authentic laboratory for intercultural education (…)”15. The encounter with the “other”, the author adds, obliges schools to quickly implement the principles of inclusive education, which ensures that teaching-learning is accessible to all participants in the process. Teachers and school staff must provide students with the means and learning tools to work with groups with different learning needs, based on a common area of focus and not based on individualisation, where each pupil is given different material, which is undoubtedly a very demanding task. The principles of universal design for learning (UDL) as well as guidelines for the creation of easily readable texts (ETR – easy to read) and the role of the school as a learning organisation may be helpful in its implementation. Co-teaching and team-teaching (one of the co-teaching strategies) are essential to enable teachers and other professionals working with children to create and share common areas of focus and co-responsibility. There are other possibilities as well, since many variants of organizing the work of teacher teams have emerged from pedagogical practice. This may include cooperation within one or more classes, at one particular or different levels, but also with different teaching arrangements depending on the content and forms of work with pupils, in small or large groups or in the form of independent work. However, it is important that at least two teachers work together, teachers who are jointly responsible for preparing and implementing the tasks and objectives. In team teaching, it is important to jointly plan, evaluate, make decisions, share, support, complement and monitor the progress of the students. To achieve the set goals, all team members need to get to know each other very well16. One of the members of such a creative team of teachers should be a special education teacher who, due to the characteristics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the preparatory stations only 10% of this group participate in learning. This means that the vast majority have been integrated into existing classrooms and implemented the basic Polish curriculum together with Polish students, or least he tries, because the effectiveness of these measures raises many doubts even at the stage of assumptions, as T. Knopik points out. Uczniowie z Ukrainy w polskich szkołach – komentarz ekspercki. Available at: https://www.umcs.pl/pl/aktualnosci,4622,uczniowie-z-ukrainy-wpolskich-szkolach-komentarz-ekspercki,115023.chtm# (access: 14. 05. 2022); Che˛c´ przysta˛pienia do matury wyraziło 26 ukrain´skich uczniów. Ilu ukrain´skich uczniów przysta˛pi do egzaminu maturalnego. Available at: https://serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/edukacja/artykuly/ 8390094,czarnek-liczba-dzieci-z-ukrainy-w-szkolach-polska.html (access: 14. 05. 2022), https:// serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/edukacja/artykuly/8394094,egzamin-maturalny-czarnek-uczniowi e-z-ukrainy.html (access: 14. 05. 2022). 15 Uczniowie z Ukrainy w polskich szkołach – komentarz ekspercki. Available at: https://serwi sy.gazetaprawna.pl/edukacja/artykuly/8390094,czarnek-liczba-dzieci-z-ukrainy-w-szko lach-polska.html (access: 14. 05. 2022), https://www.umcs.pl/pl/aktualnosci,4622,uczniowie -z-ukrainy-w-polskich-szkolach-komentarz-ekspercki,115023.chtm# (access: 14. 05. 2022). 16 J. Giebułtowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania, Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, 2021, 34 (1), pp. 45–55.

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the completed course/studies17, is fully competent to work with students with disabilities or different needs. I do not see his/her role as a subordinate or supporting18, but as equal to other professionals, since all cooperating teachers are equally responsible for inclusive education. He/she is not only a co-organiser of the process of inclusion of pupils in school, concentrating mainly on supporting pupils (including other teachers) and organising certain forms of teaching, but also a committed professional who is fully involved in the activities of the whole team of teachers and who is equally engaged in the didactic, education and therapeutic work with each student and his or her family. In my opinion, only the cooperation of teachers, understood in this way, which is implemented flexibly and in different fields and forms, will create a real basis for an effective and satisfying inclusive education for children and their parents. The cooperation of teachers as well as other characters involved in the process of inclusion of all pupils in varying degrees obliges co-planning of lessons with them so as to make maximum use of their own individual competences and knowledge in the development of curricula and teaching methods that provide the best possible conditions for pupils’ effective learning and education. Involvement in the work promotes the mutual understanding of each team member’s abilities, interests and limitations, the sharing of tasks, but also the creation of partnerships, which also increases the efficiency of the students’ work and their integration into the school community19. Such cooperation can be a longterm process in which participants do not only get to know each other, but also 17 Currently, a five-year, unified master’s degree in special education is being conducted in Poland. Students are prepared for working with students with disabilities and different needs as well as for the topic of inclusive education. The full-time Master’s program in Special Education lasts at least 9 semesters. The number of teaching hours, including traineeships, must be at least 2690. Standard kształcenia przygotowuja˛cego do wykonywania zawodu nauczyciela pedagoga specjalnego, nauczyciela logopedy i nauczyciela prowadza˛cego zaje˛cia wczesnego wspomagania rozwoju dziecka. Available at: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/ download.xsp/WDU20190001450/O/D20191450.pdf (access: 15. 05. 2022). 18 Based on an in-depth analysis of Western literature and the work of Polish researchers, G. Szumski et al., rightly refer to the fact that it is precisely this role of special educators in inclusive education that is most often played It is simply subordinate and amounts to being an assistant to the so-called senior teacher. The authors rightly argue that this type of organisation of community learning does not help in using the potential of special education teachers, nor does it create synergies and promote knowledge transfer between them. Finally, special education teachers find themselves in an unpleasant situation because their recommendations and suggestions are not considered, and the tasks are imposed by the teachers. In: Szumski G., Smogorzewska J., Narkun Z., Tre˛bacz-Riter A. Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´. Co-teaching and its importance for educational proces. Review of research., Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej, 44, 2021, pp. 76–96. 19 S.M. Pratt, S.M. Imbody, L.D Wolf, A.L. Patterson, Co-planning in co- teaching: A practical solution. Intervention in School & Clinic, 2017, 52(4), 243–249.

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seek to reach a consensus, define their roles and responsibilities, and adapt their personalities to achieve the common objectives as far as possible. There are both factors that improve and hinder that process. Lack of time for joint planning, implementation and evaluation of the next tasks could be one of such obstacles. This problem can be addressed more effectively by scheduling work meetings and enlisting the help of school personnel to perform the necessary administrative work. Difficulties may also arise in defining or negotiating cooperation rules and in ensuring that they are consistently respected in school day-to-day life. Not all teachers have the ability and willingness to work together, to set or negotiate rules and to apply or adhere to them consistently in their school practice. Their characteristics, openness to building relationships based on mutual trust and respect for competencies (professionalism, organisational capacity, professional development), commitment and experience, as well as the contribution of the partners’ work, may be relevant/crucial. Another, no less important, obstacle to effective cooperation is the excessive workload and thus the overload of partners with a multitude of tasks, which may lead to tiredness, irritation, conflict, or avoidance of undertaking new challenges. This problem should be addressed by a joint agreement on establishing an action plan (shortterm and long-term). Another point to which attention must be paid is the voluntary choice of one’s associates. Failure to take teachers’ views into account when planning cooperation can be detrimental to both teachers and pupils and to their inclusion. Teachers should therefore have some possibility of choosing their partner/associate, even if they are formally entrusted with certain tasks by their supervisor. However, they (especially the head of the institution) should take into account the conditions for good and responsible cooperation and, in particular, the willingness and openness of all members of the team. Respect for professional ethics in their relations with each other and with the pupils promotes a real, unfeigned (merely physical) educational and social inclusion of the pupils. However, this attitude of teachers requires the development of a unique relationship between them and will not always be achievable20. To sum up the above analyses, several factors (theoretically isolated and empirically confirmed) can be identified which are important for the effectiveness of community learning in inclusive education. These include factors related to the organization and preparation as well as the ways in which teachers are selected for collaboration, their personality traits and style of mutual communication, their professional preparation for co-teaching (within teacher educa-

20 A. Zamkowska, Współpraca nauczycieli w klasie wła˛czaja˛cej, Co-operation of teachers in an inclusive class, Biblioteka Współczesnej Mys´li Pedagogicznej, Tom VII, 2017, pp. 117–131.

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tion programs and special educators21) and the characteristics of student teams22. These factors are part of the concept of a school acting as a self-learning organisation, creating the conditions for the development of a culture of inclusion and the building of social capital. By being open to collaboration and interaction with all actors in the local environment, it becomes an inseparable part of the local environment. This systemic functioning of the school makes it open to all possible forms of mutual and empowering cooperation between teachers and other professionals, with pupils’ parents, but also with local managers, representatives of key administrative bodies and businesses23.

Disadvantages hindering the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in inclusive education In the context of promoting inclusive education, it is also important to identify the weaknesses or phenomena which, in addition to those already mentioned, may hinder the effective inclusion of pupils with disabilities to varying degrees. I associate them above all with practices of social stratification, but also with gaps in support, which are particularly destructive for students with intellectual disability. Adverse developments identified in the education system are still common practices of social stratification of students correlated with the socio-economic status (SES) of their families. The role of education as a factor of inequality in modern society should therefore not be underestimated24. This is all the more true as children are already affected by this problem in pre-school and later in the subsequent stages of education. At the same time, it is not uncommon for students with disabilities to leave or drop out of school too early, making it difficult for them to acquire the competencies enabeling them to enter and remain in 21 This issue should also apply to the professional preparation of other professionals – team members. 22 G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Riter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji, Przegla˛d badan, [Co-teaching and its importance for educational proces. Review of research.], Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej, 2021, 44, pp. 76– 96. 23 P.M. Senge, Pia˛ta dyscyplina. Teoria i praktyka organizacji ucza˛cych sie˛, Oficyna Ekonomiczna, Kraków 2003, J. Nies´cioruk, Z. Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, Szkoła jako organizacja (samo?) ucza˛ca sie˛ [in:] Edukacyjno-terapeutyczna podróz˙ w lepsza˛ strone˛, ed. K. Moczia. Oficyna Wydawnicza “Impuls”, tom 1., (W przestrzeni niepełnosprawnos´ci), 2017, s. 25–38. 24 Z. Melosik, Współczesne amerykan´skie spory edukacyjne. Mie˛dzy socjologia˛ edukacji a pedagogika˛ postmodernistyczna˛, UAM, Poznan´ 1995, s. 21–35, Z. Melosik, Edukacja i stratyfikacja społeczna [in:] Nierównos´ci społeczne. W trosce o otwarcia horyzontów edukacji, ed. K. Błasin´ska, S. Pasikowski, G. Piekarski, J. Ratkowska-Pasikowska, Fundacja Instytut Równowagi Społeczno-Ekonomicznej, Gdan´sk 2015, pp. 15–34.

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employment. The above problems have a negative impact on the school and life path of children with low SES25. Children from urban and rural areas, at risk of educational failure and often social and territorial isolation, who, for coincidental reasons, live in economically and culturally difficult conditions, need intensive and differentiated support from all those responsible for their education, rehabilitation, and inclusion in all areas of social life. They are offered an opportunity to compensate for their environmental, cultural, and social deficits26. Good quality and timely care and development services (within family, in kindergarten, at school) can help to improve the child’s educational abilities. Therefore, children who do not receive such education or who were not included in the educational process early enough, from families with low socio-cultural capital and with disabilities, may not be able to make up for deficits, defects and other disruptions which make it difficult to learn and interact with peers at a later stage27. It is worth recalling that, among other things, the possibilities of such multidimensional support for children and their families in the indicated areas are included in the already mentioned Strategy for Persons with Disabilities, the implementation of which is planned for the period 2021–2030. The measures taken by the Finnish education system in this field are undoubtedly very interesting and thought-provoking. They are designed to eliminate the negative effects of social background on students’ academic achievement quickly and effectively. Various forms of cooperation between teachers are introduced within the framework of the projects, which contribute to the effectiveness of their educational and social inclusion. To provide equal opportunities for children, a specific “network” was created, consisting of four levels of interaction. The first is the class teacher, who recognizes students’ problems and works out a solution with them. The second stage relates to the activity of a teacher’s assistant (who has pedagogical training) who works with the pupils individually or in small groups under his/her direction. The assistant can also work with the teacher during the class and is primarily concerned with pupils who have difficulty mastering the content of the curriculum. The third level of action is carried out by a special education teacher who has usually completed a one-year training course in special education. They work with the teacher of a given class to solve the problems of the students that could not be solved at the 25 B. Murawska, Segregacje na progu szkoły podstawowej, Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Warszawa 2004, B. Murawska, Edukacja wczesnoszkolna [in:] Niezbe˛dnik dobrego nauczyciela, ed. A.I. Brzezin´ska, Instytut Badan´ Edukacyjnych, Seria I, Tom 3, Warszawa 2014. 26 T. Gmerek, Edukacja i nierównos´ci społeczne (perspektywa porównawcza), Dialogi o kulturze i edukacji, 1(2) 2013, pp. 73–108. 27 E. Tarkowska, “Nie masz kasy, jestes´ nikim”. O pogłe˛bianiu nierównos´ci przez szkołe˛, [in:] Wychowanie. Poje˛cia – Procesy – Konteksty. Interdyscyplinarne uje˛cie, ed. M. Dudzikowa, M. Czerepaniak-Walczak, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2008.

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first and second levels. He or she takes care of students without specialist diagnoses, whereas the diagnosed pupils are supervised by special education teachers. With reference to Polish reality, the indicated measures or therapy of both groups of pupils (with and without specialist diagnosis) may be carried out by a teacher – a special educational needs teacher. The last – fourth element of the interaction is a specialized team. This team includes, in addition to the class teacher, the special education teacher, a psychologist, a social worker, the school principal and, if necessary, representatives of medical services. The task of the team, which has access to a wide range of resources and activities, is to identify and remediate student problems that are beyond the school’s capacity in scale or severity. The work of interdisciplinary teams is designed to relieve the teacher of the burden of dealing with students’ social and family problems and to enable the teacher to focus solely on teaching28. This cooperation is characterised by a good division of roles between all professionals, which I believe promotes the effective involvement of students in the school environment and the local community. In this way, it prevents their marginalization, to which in our home reality students with disabilities who grow up in unfavourable educational conditions are particularly vulnerable. I mean pupils with intellectual disabilities here, who, as studies show, are most often affected by the lack of acceptance by teachers and peers29. These behaviours and the consequences of educational deficits may lead parents to transfer these pupils to special schools. Moreover, the transfer of the student to a special institution correlated with the socio-cultural status of his family30. Unfortunately, the reason for the decision to transfer the child was also, in addition to those already mentioned, the underestimation of the child’s efforts and commitment to school tasks, while the positive perception and evaluation of these tasks is crucial for the development of a sense of competence31. Thus, pupils 28 T. Gmerek, Edukacja i nierównos´ci społeczne (perspektywa porównawcza), Dialogi o kulturze i edukacji, 1(2) 2013, pp. 73–108. 29 S. Sadowska, Ku edukacji zorientowanej na zmiane˛ społecznego wizerunku osób niepełnosprawnych, Akapit, Torun´ 2005, S. Sadowska, Jakos´c´ z˙ycia uczniów z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ w stopniu lekkim, Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls, Kraków 2006; S. Sadowska, Z. Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, The blessing of The Good Old Special School in Terms of Mandatory Education of Pupils with Disabilities – The Tension Between the Idea of Integration and Reality, “Educational Studies Review“, 2015, 21 (2), pp. 137–152. 30 B. Grzyb, Uwarunkowania zwia˛zane z przenoszeniem uczniów niepełnosprawnych ze szkół integracyjnych do specjalnych, Oficyna Wydawnicz “Impuls”, Kraków 2013. 31 K. Materny, Biografia miejsca – obraz szkoły specjalnej w narracjach uczniów, [in:] Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej. Szkoła dla osób z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛. Wzory – Codziennos´´c – Wyzwania, ed. A. Krause, J. Belzyt, S. Sadowska, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdan´skiego, Gdan´sk 2012; D. Krzemin´ska, O edukacji (nie)integracyjnej kilka refleksji, [in:] Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej. Szkoła dla osób z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛. Wzory – Codziennos´c´ – Wyzwania, ed. A. Krause, J. Belzyt, S. Sadowska, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdan´skiego, Gdan´sk 2012.

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emphasise the importance of the emotional and social conditions of teaching and learning, which should be considered when implementing the assumptions and practical solutions in inclusive education. In the field of collaboration between teachers and professionals it is as important not to overlook these issues, as well as others, such as those related to personalizing curricular requirements or determining the profile of support32. It is therefore essential to develop programmes that are vital to these people, rather than programmes that often deviate from the realities and demands of the present. This approach to their education will be of a preventive dimension, as it will reduce early school leavers, criminal behaviour, but also mental disorders33. As a result, it will also make the public and us – professionals – more aware of the problems of supporting undiagnosed people and those on the borderline of intellectual norm and intellectual disability, including results just above the borderline of intellectual disability (70– 75 IQ). In adulthood, and therefore after completing their education, these individuals are unrecognized and in turn, their psychosocial and health situation, in the absence of support, can be disadvantageous and debilitating. The lack of support exacerbates the gap between the abilities of these individuals and the demands of the environment, which over time become overwhelming and impossible to meet. The same may be true of people with higher IQ scores who, for fear of being stigmatized, may try to hide their disability, and therefore do not make use of the facilities and assistance available to them, which affects their quality of life and social relationships. Long-term experience with reduced intellectual and adaptive abilities makes these people defenceless and helpless when trying to meet the expectations of the family, the education system, and the labour market. Their dependency on the family is growing, and skills deficits hinder a self-determined life and the assumption of different social roles. The situation of pupils with an intellectual disability, which is multiplied by additional deficits or disorders, can be no less difficult. Hence their very different possibilities, but also their limitations, represent a major challenge for inclusive education. Lack of professional support can hinder inclusion and even lead to social exclusion. The dialogue and cooperation between parents and guardians with professionally diversified pedagogical staff, teachers, managers of state and non-governmental institutions, representatives of companies and work establishments should be promoted. Well-organised co-operation between the des-

32 R.L. Schalock, R. Luckasson, M.J. Tassé, Intellectual disability: Definition, diagnosis, classification, and systems of supports (12th Edition), DC: American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Washington 2021. 33 A.M. Jankowska, M. Bogdanowicz, M. Łockiewicz, Children in the twilight zone – a review of psychosocial functioning of children with below average intelligence, Edukacja, 2013, 1 (121), pp. 24–36.

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ignated characters ensures effective support to minimise the social and personal consequences of their disability34.

Final thoughts Inclusive education, which is currently widespread, requires constructive changes to the existing school system, which must be open to the often very diverse possibilities, abilities, and interests of all pupils, including those with disabilities. I associate these changes with the creation of a community climate at school and in the environments that cooperate with it, open to difference, otherness, or disability, but also oriented towards eliminating or at least limiting the negative phenomena that disrupt it. Therefore, I pointed out some weaknesses in the teachers’ ability to communicate and collaborate in an interdisciplinary team and its importance for the effectiveness of educational inclusion of students with disabilities. This collaboration, carried out in a flexible way, that is, in different forms or dimensions by the teacher and other professionals, makes it possible to develop a vision of common goals and aspirations that change the school space to become culturally and socially open and inclusive for all students. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare future as well as in-service teachers to cooperate with one another, resolve conflicts, exchange experiences, jointly plan and implement the assumed objectives, but also to skillfully share responsibilities and support them with a sense of co-responsibility. Such cooperation also takes into account the need to initiate activities and solutions that most effectively eliminate practices that socially stratify students at school and compensate for deficiencies in the support of individuals balancing on the edge of intellectual norm and intellectual disability, including those with results slightly above the edge of this disability. I therefore recognise that the flexibility and diversity of forms of cooperation between teachers create a favourable climate for the exchange of professional experience and ideas in solving the didactic and educational problems of pupils with disabilities in school and local environments. This makes it an indispensable prerequisite for the efficiency of their inclusive education.

34 R.L. Schalock, R. Luckasson, M.J. Tassé, Intellectual disability: Definition, diagnosis, classification, and systems of supports, op. cit.

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Szumski G., Conception of inclusive education, [in:] Inclusive education in kindergarden and school, ed. I. Chrzanowska, G. Szumski, Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji, Seria Naukowa, t. 7, Warszawa 2019. Szumski G., Wokół edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej, efekty kształcenia uczniów z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ w stopniu lekkim w klasach specjalnych, integracyjnych i ogólnodoste˛pnych, Akademia Pedagogiki Specjalnej, Warszawa, 2010. Szumski G., Smogorzewska J., Narkun Z., Tre˛bacz-Riter A. Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´. Co-teaching and its importance for educational proces. Review of research, Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej, 44, 2021, pp. 76–96. Tarkowska E., “Nie masz kasy, jestes´ nikim”. O pogłe˛bianiu nierównos´ci przez szkołe˛, [in:] Wychowanie. Poje˛cia – Procesy – Konteksty. Interdyscyplinarne uje˛cie, ed. M. Dudzikowa, M. Czerepaniak-Walczak, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2008. Zamkowska A. Współpraca nauczycieli w klasie wła˛czaja˛cej. Co-operation of teachers in an inclusive class, Biblioteka Współczesnej Mys´li Pedagogicznej, Tom VI 2017, pp. 117–131.

Anna Potyka / Anna Suchon

Using Team Teaching in Work with Children with Special Educational Needs

Abstract: In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of supporting children with special educational needs through organisation of classes in the team teaching model. They discuss the system of teachers’ work in Poland resulting from the idea of social inclusion and present, surprisingly high interest of teachers in the possibility of work based on the co-teaching system. At the end, the authors discuss an example of psychomotor classes in a group of children with special educational needs conducted in the team teaching system. Keywords: special educational needs, inclusion, co-teaching, team teaching, psychomotorics

Introduction The recent years have been full of changes in psychological, pedagogical and social concepts. As a society, we are trying to open ourselves to the needs and capabilities of other people. We are slowly “opening the door” to common functioning for “other”, “strange” individuals (disabled persons, religious minorities, cultural minorities). It must be noted that, as the “able society”, we are still far from providing real support to people with special educational needs and from fully accepting them as important members of our society. Opening the door of the Bauman’s supermarket is not enough. In this supermarket, as described by Bauman1, there is space for everyone. Everybody walks through this supermarket, pass one another and pays attention to no one. And, after all, that is not the place we want. Tolerance of one’s presence is not equal to acceptance. A noticeable change in the way of thinking of the world, ourselves and others requires further transformation of the existing education system. For years, the principle effective in cooperation with disabled children has been cooperation in therapeutic teams of educators, therapists, psychologists 1 Z. Bauman, Kultura w płynnej ponowoczesnos´ci [Culture in Liquid Postmodernity], Agora, Warsaw 2011.

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with representatives of various medicine-related areas and parents of the child. Similarly, work in teams, with support of para-professionals and specialists is nothing new in special education2. However, along with the increasing prevalence of ideas of inclusive education and due to the existence of over a half of children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN) in public schools3, ad hoc cooperation with even the best specialists may be insufficient. According to the assumptions of the inclusive educational policy, the number of students learning outside the special education system increases. In school year 2016/2017, 45% of students held certificates attesting their need for special education at a special school, while in school year 2019/2020 they accounted for only 35%4. This tendency entails also an express increase in interest of teachers in the idea of coteaching. In this article, we will present briefly the concept of co-teaching of children with special educational needs in the pedagogical reality, aiming at full inclusion, and we will present an example from the area of best practice in application of team teaching.

The Place of the “Other” in the Society The transformations required for functioning in the contemporary society require the assumption of various roles, frequent changes in a person, adaptation to changing life standards5. Everybody undergoes these transformations, but for people with special educational needs, especially those who are disabled, it is a significantly bigger challenge. These challenges cannot always be met without adequate assistance. One must remember that any of us can be the “other” one, even if only temporarily. For example, a person with a broken leg needs to use the facilities in the form of spatial adjustments, and in the case of an injury or 2 M. Friend, L. Cook, D. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger C, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20:1, pp. 9–27. 3 T. Buchner, M. Shevlin, M.-A. Donovan, i in., Same progress for all? Inclusive education, the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and students with intellectual disability in European Countries, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 18, 2021, pp. 7–22. 4 Supreme Audit Office, Information on Audit Results. Education in Special Schools, Department of Science, Education and National Heritage, 2021. 5 J. Kruk-Lasocka, Empowerment – szansa czy zagroz˙enie dla społecznej adaptacji dorosłych osób upos´ledzonych umysłowo [Empowerment – an Opportunity or a Threat for Social Adaptation of Mentally Retarded Adults], [in:] Wybrane problemy pedagogiki specjalnej: teoria, diagnoza, terapia [Selected Issues of Special Pedagogy: Theory, Diagnosis, Therepy], ed., M. Sekułowicz, TWP Scientific Publishing House of the University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław 2006, pp. 56–62.

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aphasia, such a person must communicate using the means of supporting communication. This also includes socially maladjusted persons, the elderly, the disabled, persons suffering from non-neurotypical development, having special educational needs, at risk of exclusion or belonging to national or religious minorities. We should not forget about particularly gifted persons, either. The Habermas’ theory of ethics of discourse includes principles according to which “everybody has the right to be listened to, nobody can be excluded and we all have an equal right to challenge ideas and justifications others put forward and to ask them questions”6. These views open previously inaccessible areas to “the other”. Thus, how are they supposed to enter this world opening before them? Habermas considered the issue of vale: “I know wherein our most basic values are rooted – in compassion, in our sense for the suffering of others”7. Thus, one may assume that a person with special educational needs, entering the unknown area of functioning of the “society of the abled” should be welcomed with openness and cordiality. The prerequisite for social interactions is effective communication. Habermas created the notion of communication competences meaning orientation on the other person during the activity taken in connection with acting in a specific professional role. In addition to the technical or practical competences, “interaction skills – focusing on the other, care, justice and point of view of another (person)”8. Habermas noted that “significant others are already always nearby which meant that our sense of identity depends strictly on the relations into which we enter with others”.9 Using a type of construct explaining the social situation of persons with disabilities, Z. Gajdzica describes the types of “reserves” where obstacles hindering the functioning of its members are revealed. He lists the following types10: – physical – material or connected with shaping of the space; – mental – connected with self-assessment, aspirations and own attitude towards experienced failures and successes of disabled persons inadequate to social expectations; – socio-cultural – including issues of organisation of the society, e. g. education system, access to work and attitudes towards persons with disabilities based on cultural patters and own experience. 6 R.A. Barkely, K. Murphy, M. Fischer, ADHD in adults: What the science says. The Guilford Press, London 2010. p. 14. 7 M. Murphy, T. Fleming, Habermas, teoria krytyczna i edukacja [Habermas, Critical Theory and Education]. DSW, Wrocław 2012, p. 236. 8 Ibidem, p. 238. 9 Ibidem, p. 13. 10 Z. Gajdzica, Człowiek z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ w rezerwacie przestrzeni publicznej [A Disabled Person in the Public Space Reserve], Impuls, Kraków 2013, p. 19.

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The original meaning of the reserve refers to an area where its certain resources are controlled to protect them from destruction and threats of the external world. In the “reserve” we can meet in our everyday reality, the disabled persons are given special care and protection against failures and defeats. However, the limitation of potentially “difficult situations” concurrently means less experience which, in turn, results in a lower level of competences in terms of independent and satisfying functioning in the society. Inclusive education takes us from this experience of isolated spaces to a school, by default accepting diversity, presence of the Other/the Strange, overcoming barriers in the scope of learning and participation of all students in the process of learning and teaching.

Educational Concepts Regarding Upbringing, Education and Teaching of Children with Special Educational Needs The term “special educational needs” was put into use already in 1978 by Mary Warnock11, and was then popularised in the declaration published by UNESCO in 1994. SEN – special educational needs is also sometimes extended to SEND – special educational needs and disabilities, as not every child with special educational needs is a disabled person (e. g. a student with ADHD). According to Marta Bogdanowicz, the term “special educational needs” applies to students who are unable to meet the requirements of the effective curriculum. This results from bigger, when compared to their peers, difficulties in learning12. Inclusive education is a concept of education of all children, irrespective of their health condition, physical abilities, intellectual capabilities, etc. in the school closest to their place of residence. “The paradigm for inclusive education is a school for all children and teaching adapted to individual capabilities and needs of every student”.13 The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education states that the main distinguishing features of inclusive education are: common access to

11 The Warnock Report, Special Educational Needs, Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young People, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London 1978. 12 M. Bogdanowicz, Solidarity with students with specific learning disabilities, Psychologia Wychowawcza [Educational Psychology], 2015, NO. 7, p. 221. 13 J. Kruk-Lasocka, Dostrzec dziecko z perspektywy edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej [To See the Child from the Perspective of Inclusive Education], Scientific Publishing House of the University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław 2012, p. 13.

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the school for all students, development-oriented education objectives, common curriculum, system of support for collaborating specialists14. As noted by Grzegorz Szumski: “Inclusive education is not a uniform theoretical and practical concept, but rather different complementary ways of understanding it”15. Time is required for development of not only new but also common thinking patterns and complementary, coherent practical solutions taking into consideration broadly understood social integration and prevention of the process of exclusion. Not only must the needs resulting from disability must be taken into consideration, but also those arising from the different diversification of people, equalising their opportunities and giving them perspectives for self-fulfilment, development of personal potential and possessed capabilities as well as sense of dignity and self-esteem.16 In Poland, there are three basic education methods: segregation – according to which children with special educational needs should learn and develop in centres offering a special curriculum and special qualifications of teachers; integration assuming children attending the same schools as their peers but under continuous care of the so-called assistant teachers, and inclusion – also referred to as inclusive education. it is a concept of education of children, irrespective of their health condition, physical abilities, intellectual capabilities, etc. in the school closest to their place of residence.17 In a generally accessible and integrated school, supporting the teacher in implementation of inclusion of the child in the group of healthy peers requires hiring an additional teacher. The current guidance provided for in the Regulation of the Minister of National Education on conditions of organisation of education and upbringing of children and youth with disabilities, socially maladjusted and at risk of social maladjustment18 allowed for employment of teachers having qualifications in the scope of special pedagogy at integrated schools/generally accessible schools with integrated classes for the purpose of co-organisation of integrated education. This possibility – of hiring teachers having qualifications in 14 D. Podgórska-Jachnik, Raport merytoryczny. Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca – bilans otwarcia 2020 [Substantive Report. Inclusive Education – Opening Balance 2020], Centre for Education Development, Warsaw 2021. 15 G. Szumski, Koncepcja edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej [Concept of Inclusive Education], [in:] Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w przedszkolu i szkole [Inclusive Education in Kindergarten and School], ed. Chrzanowska I., Szumski G., Wydawnictwo FRSE, Warsaw 2019, p. 15. 16 Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 27 of 16 February 2021 on adoption of the document “Strategy for the Disabled 2021–2030”, M.P. 2021, item 218. 17 K. Mudło-Głagolska, M. Lewandowska, Edukacja inkluzyjna w Polsce [Inclusive Education in Poland], Przegla˛d Pedagogiczny [Pedagogical Review], 2018, 2, pp. 202–214. 18 Announcement of the Minister of National Education of 9 July 2020 on publication of the consolidated text of the Regulation of the Minister of National Education on conditions of organisation of education and upbringing of children and youth with disabilities, socially maladjusted and at risk of social maladjustment, Journal of Laws 2020 item 1309.

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the scope of special pedagogy for the purpose of co-organisation of education of disabled students – exists also in a generally accessible school. If education is provided to a student for whom a certificate of the need for special education was issued due to autism, including Asperger’s syndrome, or multiple disability, this requirement is obligatory. On the other hand, if education covers students holding certificates of the need for special education issued due to disabilities other than specified below or due to social maladjustment, risk of social maladjustment, this form of education is possible but the lead authority must agree to it. The presence of a person helping such students meet their hygienic, self-care, physiological needs, i. e. the so-called teacher’s aide, is also a form of support for students with special educational needs. In special kindergartens and schools (grades 1–4) and in kindergartens and schools with integrated classes (grades 1–4), hiring a teacher’s aide is requires in the case of classes attended by pupils or students: – with moderate to major intellectual disability, – with motor disability, including aphasia, – with autism, including Asperger’s syndrome, – with multiple disabilities. This possibility may be also taken advantage of in other forms of education, but it is not obligatory. In 2012, Poland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This showed that the introduction of the inclusive model to schools and kindergartens is an objective for the activities covered by the educational policy. The Centre for Education Development and Ministry of Education and Science commission prepared the report19 regarding the state of education from the perspective of implementation of inclusive education for the year 2019/2020. It results from the conducted studies that in 2019/2020 162 054 school students and 40 120 kindergarten children received certificates of the need for special education resulting from disability. The 3 prevalent groups were: students with mild intellectual disability (25.7%), with multiple disability (21%) and autism, including Asperger’s syndrome (19.9%). Thirteen thousand persons were hired to act in the capacity of the assistant teacher for the purpose of implementation of the indications presented in the certificates of need for special education. The activity of teachers in self-development, including preparation for new educational challenges must be emphasised. All teachers’ education centres func19 M. Mroczek, Raport statystyczny. Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w Polsce [Statistical Report. Inclusive Education in Poland], entre for Education Development, Warsaw 2021.

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tioning in Poland declared that they offer forms of professional training in inclusive education. Data obtained from the System on 30. 09. 2019 showed that, for example, in 2018 over 80 000 teachers were in training in longer education forms (at least 20-hour post-graduate courses and studies).

Co-Teaching (Collaborative Teaching) and Relations with Inclusive Education It must be noted that collaborative teaching is not a completely new approach to teaching, its functioning is well consolidated especially in the area of special pedagogy (recently it has, however, started penetrating other areas). In coteaching, we are dealing with the partnership of the teacher and qualified specialist, usually a special pedagogue, by default20. Appropriate preparation of collaborative teaching may be a response to the natural diversity found in human populations and the different needs in the scope of education entailed by it, without the need for temporary exclusion of certain individuals or groups of students from the entire class team (including students with disabilities and other special educational needs, e. g. particularly gifted students or students who do not speak fluently the language used by teachers). It is also a response to the increased substantive, methodological and psychological difficulties of the “lonely” teacher in the face of the complexity of challenges connected with satisfaction of increasingly diversified educational needs of students attending public schools, requiring specialised educational strategies that could emerge in the teaching process. This is mentioned also, inter alia, by Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain & Shamberger21. Therefore, coteaching clearly realises the idea of an inclusive society, accepting heterogeneity in many areas of the functioning of its members. Generally speaking, co-teaching includes educational situations where two or more persons share responsibility for teaching all or some students in a given group (usually a class), which applies to the issue of planning, organisation, conveying knowledge, grading. Concurrently, the partner teachers support and complement each other in terms of ability to recognise and respond to the needs

20 G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Ritter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´ [Co-Teaching and Its Significance for the Education Process. Research Review], [in:] Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej [Disability. Discourses of Special Pedagogy], No. 44, 2021, pp. 76–98. 21 M. Friend, L. Cook, D.Hurley-Chamberlain, Shamberger C, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20(1), p. 9–27.

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of students as well as learn work methods from each other and gain a broader perspective on the educational context. The co-teaching organisation models referred to in the literature include:22 1. One teach, one observe – where one teacher teaches, while the other collects specific data regarding selected students or the entire class; 2. One teach, one assist – where one teacher teaches, while the other stays with students requiring individual assistance. 3. Parallel teaching – where two teachers plans the classes together carefully, after which each of them presents the same material for a half of the class in the manner adjusted to the needs of his/her group. The assignment to the groups during consecutive subsequent classes is based on various criteria and they do not have to be permanent. 4. Alternative teaching – one teacher teaches most of the class, the other works with a smaller group of students which allows to adjust the methods to individual capabilities and needs of students to a greater extent, but may be conducive to labelling and sense of exclusion of students learning in the smaller group. 5. Station teaching – teaching consists in division of the class material into several non-sequential parts (in case of two instructors – usually two parts), where students divided into groups go through the stations for which individual teachers are responsible and through stations intended for independent work of students. 6. Team teaching – both teachers teach the entire group, sharing their knowledge and skills together and assuming equal responsibility for accomplishment of teaching results. In this teaching model, the students have the opportunity to acquire additional social competences by observation of the partnership relation between the instructors who can enrich the students’ experiences, e. g. representing different views in a debate or demonstrating a different problem and task solving methods. Observing the process of building truly partner-like relations between the instructors in the class team, often representing different personality traits, different world outlooks or communication styles, but pursuing common goals, gives a better change for identification with an important adult (significant other, SO). It also allows us to use one of the basic learning processes through which the socialisation process occurs – modelling, with use of these experiences 22 Por. L. Cook , M. Friend, Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, 28(3), pp. 1–17. M. Friend, L. Cook, D.Hurley-Chamberlain, Shamberger C, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, op. cit. J.Thousand, R.Villa, A.Nevin, The Many Faces of Collaborative Planning and Teaching, Theory Into Practice, 45, 2006, pp. 239–248.

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for the purpose of building positive interactions not only with adults, but also translating them into relations with peers. It seems that out of the above specified methods of realisation, co-teaching brings the most benefits. The reasons for that include the lack of asymmetry in the roles of co-instructors and providing the students with an opportunity to observe the methods of solving the difficulties connected with sharing of all stages of the educational process. It is also one of the most demanding models for teachers in terms of organisation and preparation of classes, mutual trust, communication and coordination of activities23. It must be noted that, on the other hand, from the perspective of the instructors, the sense of functioning in a partnership-based dyad not only enriches the professional methods of teachers, is conducive to the transfer of knowledge, reflectiveness and assumption of a broader perspective24, but the opportunity to experience real understanding becomes an adequate support conducive to satisfaction with professional work and an important prophylactic means counteracting burnout. Obviously, this occurs when the composition of the team is not pre-determined by superiors (as they need to cooperate in many planes), the co-teaching process is voluntary and realised by competent professionals equipped with important substantive, methodological as well as social and interpersonal skills. A particularly important issue requiring appropriate preparation already at the stage of student education and, later on, at the stage of post-graduate training are well-developed communication skills, “the ability to cooperate, resolve conflicts, share experiences, plan and pursue goals together, share work, support the other person and accept co-responsibility”25, as emphasised by, inter alia, Giebułtowska. Simmons & Magiera26 referred to the claims of many scholars (including but not limited to Friend & Cook, 2003; Dieker, 2001; Rice & Zigmond, 2000; Salend, Gordon, Lopez-Vona, 2002; Wallace, et al., 2002) pointing to elements allowing for a truly effective co-teaching, such as appropriate matching at the personal and professional level of the persons co-conducting the classes, equality in the roles

23 R.Villa, Co-Teaching, 2017, Available at: https://www.ravillabayridge.com/wp-content/up loads/Co-Teaching-Full-Day-20171024.pdf. 24 G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Ritter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´ [Co-Teaching and Its Significance for the Education Process. Research Review], [in:] Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej [Disability. Discourses of Special Pedagogy], 2021, No. 44, pp. 76–98. 25 J. Giebułtowska, Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania [Team Teaching – CoTeaching Experience], Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio J, PaedagogiaPsychologia, 34(1), 2021, p. 54. 26 R. J. Simmons, K. Magiera, Evaluation of co-teaching in three high schools within one school district: How do you know when you are TRULY co-teaching? TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 2007, 3(3).

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played in the group and, concurrently, the employment of a more active and diversified teaching of students. Even though the review of studies presented by Szumski et al.27 indicates moderate effectiveness of co-teaching for students with disabilities, the authors also point to “other advantages, such as providing students with disabilities with access to education close to their place of residence and overcoming prejudice”28. Taking the above into consideration as well as the requirement to teach the students the teamwork skills provided for in the curriculum, the effects of which are more difficult to measure and less often measured in research than typical school accomplishments, it seems that the benefits resulting from co-teaching are significant for developing openness and flexibility of the entire school community. The curriculum of general education for the primary school effective as of 201729 determines primary school education as the foundation of education. The task of the school is the gentle introduction of the child into the world of knowledge, preparation for performance of the student’s duties and introduction to self-development. It must be noted that most tasks are connected with competences the co-teaching experiences are conducive to. These include, without limitation: – reinforcement of the sense of individual, cultural, national, regional and ethnic identity; – development in the students of the sense of own dignity and respect for the dignity of others; – development of such competences as: creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship; – development of the ability of critical and logical thinking, reasoning, augmenting and concluding; – presenting the value of knowledge as the basis for the development of skills; – stimulation of cognitive curiosity and motivation to learn in the students; – equipping the students with information resources and developing skills that enable as mature and ordered understanding of world as possible;

27 G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Ritter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´ [Co-Teaching and Its Significance for the Education Process. Research Review], op. cit. 28 Ibidem, p. 93. 29 Regulation of the Minister of Education of 14 February 2017 on the core curriculum for preschool education and general education core curriculum for the preliminary school, including students with moderate or intense intellectual impairment, general education for tier I vocational school, general education for the special school preparing for work and general education for the post-high school, Journal of Laws 2017, item 356.

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– supporting the student in recognition of own predispositions and determination of the future path of education; – comprehensive personal development of the student through broadening of knowledge as well as satisfaction and stimulation of natural cognitive curiosity; – development of an attitude of openness to the world and other people, activity in social life and responsibility for the community; – encouraging organised and conscious self-learning based on the ability to prepare own workshop. The most important skills developed in general education at the primary school level include teamwork and social activity, problem solving, also with the use of mediation techniques. An essential matter is the assumption that the collaboration of teachers translates into the collaboration of students. Through imitation, students learn to cooperate in peer teams and in the group comprised of adults. However, only those who can cooperate with others and have experienced positive effects of cooperation can teach it to others. The team action of the teachers is currently the basis of development of every school. The education regulations determine the framework of teamwork of teachers, as specified, inter alia, in Article 111(5) of the Education Law30 – the statutes of each institution lays down the conditions and mode of creation of teams of teachers that perform the statutory tasks. On the other hand, the general principles and scope of work in the case of team activities are presented in the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 28th February 2019 on detailed organisation of public schools and public kindergartens31. Anna Szkolak-Ste˛pien´32, who investigated the level of professional competences of early education teachers (including teachers’ self-assessments regarding cooperation and ratings assigned by the principals), states that a decisive majority of teachers rated their ability to cooperate with all educational entities as high. The opinion of principals confirms the high rating of their employees. The author signalled, however, the reasons for the unwillingness of the examined persons to cooperate. In her opinion, these are: poor atmosphere among the school employees, competition, burnout. The teachers also reported concerns regarding public discussion of their doubts and problems. 30 Law on Education of 14 December 2016, Journal of Laws 2017 item 59. 31 Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 28 February 2019 on detailed organisation of public schools and public kindergartens, Journal of Laws 2019 item 502. 32 A. Szkolak-Ste˛pien´, Mistrzostwo zawodowe nauczycieli wczesnej edukacji. Istota, tres´c´, uwarunkowania [Professional Excellence of Early Education Teachers. Essence, Content, Conditions], Attyka, Kraków 2013.

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Example of Application of Team Teaching in Work with Children with SEN To show the course of work with children, sharing of roles and effective cooperation of teachers holding meetings in the team teaching model in practice, we will present exemplary classes in the area of psychomotorics. The described classes were held as part of the programme of comprehensive support for families “Za z˙yciem” (For Life), priority II Early support of development of the child and its family. The classes provided for activities in the scope of early support with participation of a group of four children each of whom had a certificate of disability or a certificate of the need for special education or a medical certificate of requirement of assistance. The children were simultaneously taken care of by two teachers having qualifications and experience in this scope. Teacher A – 13 years of professional experience, degree in the scope of special pedagogy and, additionally, qualifications for work with persons with autism, children manifesting sensory integration disorders, conducting training in social skills. Multiple courses and trainings in psychomotorics (including some in Germany), 5 years of experience in conducting psychomotor classes with groups of children with special educational needs. Strengths – IT skills (coding, use of applications and generators for the purpose of preparation of didactic materials), meticulousness in preparation of classes, photography. Teacher B – 30 years of professional experience, degree in the scope of special pedagogy, multiple courses and trainings in psychomotorics (including those in Germany), 5 years of experience in conducting psychomotor classes with groups of children with special educational needs. Strengths – creativity, ability to improvise, ability to evaluate the child’s development both in the physical and emotional aspects. The specifics of psychomotor classes is based, inter alia, on getting the children interested in and motivated to participate. Due to the differences in the individual style of conducting classes (Teacher A – calmness, consistency; Teacher B – improvising, impulsiveness), gaining the children’s attention was much easier than in the case of a single teacher. Furthermore, the presence of two persons conducting classes in a group of children with special educational needs guarantees immediate intervention in case of difficult behaviours (autoaggression attack, epileptic episode, etc.). This gives the opportunity for continuation of the classes by one of the instructors with simultaneous individual reaction to the child requiring support by the other instructor.

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Differentiation of attitude and even the tone and strength of voice (Teacher A – quiet and calm, Teacher B – loud) enhances classroom dynamics, facilitating differentiation of both static and motor tasks. The individual interests of Teacher A, who systematically incorporates his passion – coding – in the classes, makes them more attractive. In the case of the said specialists, direct communication as well as the attitude of mutual openness to suggestions result in an increase in professional competences. The on-going exchange of information by the teachers significantly facilitated perceiving the other person holistically. We present a short scenario of sample classes below. The preparatory stage included common preparation of classes by the instructors the choice of the plot, tasks and adjustment of the difficulty level to individual capabilities of participants. Planning the support of individual potential of each child, which allowed them all to be successful, was extremely important. The possibilities of cooperation and communication among children were also determined. The main plot of the discussed classes was the search for the Great Traveller who got lost in the Frozen Land. To find him, the children had to perform various tasks (melt down ice cubes, traverse a mountain path, move in a coordinated manner in pairs, solve a moral problem). As an example, we will describe the course of the first and last task.

Task 1 Objective: improvement of small motor skills and creativity. Teacher A – Introduces the children to the plot of the classes and explains the task. The Great Traveller was to start his expedition at the Great Frozen Lake – let’s go there and look for his tracks! The lake is really frosty, look cold how the water is and how much ice there is in it! But what is that? Can you see that? There’s something shimmering in some ice cubes! We need to check what it is!

Notes: Big ice cubes float in a big container filled with water. You can see that some cubes contain an aluminium foil ball. The children’s task is to pick those cubes and remove the aluminium balls. There is information hidden in the balls. The following can be read from numbered pieces of paper: 1 I’m, 2 in trouble, 3 I’ll, 4 continue, 5 climbing, 6 the mountains. Teacher B – prepared a short obstacle course and instructed the children how to traverse it to reach the Great Frozen Lake.

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Having completed the obstacle course, the children picked the ice cubes from the “lake”. Then, Teachers A and B discussed the options of getting the hidden information from the cubes with the children. The ideas were put forward by the children (breaking the cubes, melting the cubes by holding them in hands, melting the cubes by throwing them into a container with hot water). Two children chose to break the cubes and two decided to use a container with hot water. Teacher A prepared pads and tools (a wooden meat pounder, wooden mallet) together with 2 children and they broke the cubes down. Meanwhile, Teacher A went to the bathroom with the other children to melt the cubes. Then, they gathered and shared their experiences (it turned out that breaking the cubes down is not so easy). The children reviewed the pieces of paper and discovered they have to be put in order and the resulting sentence must be read out. The entire group performs this part of the task together. Then, Teacher A guides the group again through the short obstacle course, giving the children instructions, and Teacher B carries out quick cleaning works (mopping the floor to ensure safety for the rest of the classes).

Task 6 Objective – improvement of motor coordination, stimulation of the sense of empathy, improvement of auditory perception. Teacher A and Teacher B take the children out from the classroom to return to a completely dark room. The children receive torches. Look where we are. The snowman stood in front of a cave. Let’s check what’s inside!

The participants “check” the discovered area. Suddenly, they hear the sound of snoring (a recording played from a hidden speaker). They are looking for the source of the sound and discover Teacher A dressed as the Great Traveller with a plush Yeti on his lap. What is thaaaat??? The Great Traveller is sitting in the cave with … a little Yeti snuggling with him! The little Yeti is fast asleep and snoring. It turned out at the beginning of his journey, the Great Traveller met the little Yeti who needed care. He decided to take him back to this cave in the valley. On their way, the Traveller built a snowman to make the little Yeti happy. The little Yeti liked it so much that he now refuses to leave his side! He just wants to keep building snowmen with him. Do you have any idea what to do in this situation?

The children present their proposed solutions (taking the little Yeti with them, drawing pictures presenting snowmen, making snowmen out of white socks that will never melt down, so the little Yeti will be able to keep them forever and the Great Traveller will be able to go back home).

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Initially, the children find it difficult to choose the right solution, taking into consideration the needs of the little Yeti. To make the choice easier, Teacher A and Teacher B act out scenes accentuating different emotions connected with the proposed action. After discussion, the children make the sock snowmen.

The summary stage of the classes commenced already during the classes with children who expressed their reflections regarding tasks, method of their performance and shared their experienced at the end. After the children had left, the teachers exchanged comments regarding the course of the classes and proposed solutions for problematic situations. An important element of this stage was the discussion of individual successes and difficulties of the children. As can be seen in the described example, good development of soft skills of instructors enables proper communication between them and, thus, fruitful cooperation.

Summary Dynamic changes taking place in the contemporary world force us to employ skills and present attitudes enabling easier adaptation and flexibility in the face of continuous transformations. According to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development33 adopted in 2015 by 193 UN member states – “leave no one behind”, the culture of openness and inclusion is becoming a priority in all areas of human functioning, including education. However, as noted by Szumski34, the dynamics of development of the idea of inclusion have slowed down a little in recent years. This is caused by various social, political and economic factors. Despite that, in our opinion, we have the human resources required to pursue it. What we mean here are active teachers, open to the changing pedagogical reality surrounding them, ready for self-development and cooperation. The search for the most optimal model of co-teaching organisation brought our attention to team teaching. The experience of good practice showed that this method of conducting classes – by two teachers with the same competences but with different communication styles and, which is important, personal traits, introduces the atmosphere of invigoration, interest, participation in co-created classes expected by the recipients (students). Through imitation, observation of 33 Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015. 34 D. Podgórska-Jachnik, Raport merytoryczny. Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca – bilans otwarcia 2020 [Substantive Report. Inclusive Education – Opening Balance 2020]. Centre for Education Development, Warsaw 2021.

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mutual relations of instructors, the students learn to cooperate with peers and adults alike. We, as a society, are making increasingly frequent efforts in joint creation of space for everybody. The task of the persons introducing young people to the real life world is creation of conditions and opportunities for the acquisition of required competences. This requires continuous work on oneself and improvement of work methods so as not to settle for consolidated patterns of action, to overcome own limitations and take up challenges, including those regarding the use of new work methods.

References Barkely R.A., Murphy K., Fischer M., ADHD in adults: What the science says. The Guilford Press, London 2010. Bauman Z., Kultura w płynnej ponowoczesnos´ci [Culture in Liquid Postmodernity], Agora, Warsaw 2011. Bogdanowicz M., Solidarity with students with specific learning disabilities, Psychologia Wychowawcza [Educational Psychology], N7/2015, 220–237 DOI: 10.5604/00332860.116 1617, p. 221. Buchner T., Shevlin M., Donovan M.-A., Gercke M., Goll H., Sˇisˇka J., Janysˇková K., Smogorzewska J., Szumski G., Vlachou A., Demo H., Feyerer E., Corby D., Same progress for all? Inclusive education, the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and students with intellectual disability in European Countries, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 18, 2021, pp. 7–22. Cook, L. Friend, M., Co-Teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, 28(3) pp. 1–16. Friend M., Cook L., Hurley-Chamberlain D., Shamberger C., Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20 (1), p. 9–27, DOI: 10.1080/10474410903535380. Gajdzica Z., (ed.), Człowiek z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ w rezerwacie przestrzeni publicznej [A Disabled Person in the Public Space Reserve], Impuls, Kraków 2013. Giebułtowska, J., Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania [Team Teaching – CoTeaching Experience], Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia, 2021, 34(1), pp. 45–55. DOI: 10.17951/j.2021.34.1.45-55. Kruk-Lasocka J., Empowerment – szansa czy zagroz˙enie dla społecznej adaptacji dorosłych osób upos´ledzonych umysłowo [Empowerment – an Opportunity or a Threat for Social Adaptation of Mentally Retarded Adults], [in:] Wybrane problemy pedagogiki specjalnej: teoria, diagnoza, terapia [Selected Issues of Special Pedagogy: Theory, Diagnosis, Therepy], ed. M. Sekułowicz, TWP Scientific Publishing House of the University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław 2006, pp. 56–62. Kruk-Lasocka, J., Dostrzec dziecko z perspektywy edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej [To See the Child from the Perspective of Inclusive Education], Scientific Publishing House of the University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław 2012.

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Mudło-Głagolska K., Lewandowska M., Edukacja inkluzyjna w Polsce [Inclusive Education in Poland], Przegla˛d Pedagogiczny [Pedagogical Review], 2, 2018, pp. 202–214. DOI: 10.34767/PP.2018.02.12. Mroczek M., Raport statystyczny. Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w Polsce [Statistical Report. Inclusive Education in Poland], entre for Education Development, Warsaw 2021. Murphy M., Fleming T. ed., Habermas, teoria krytyczna i edukacja [Habermas, Critical Theory and Education], Scientific Publishing House of the University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław 2012. Supreme Audit Office, Information on Audit Results. Education in Special Schools, Department of Science, Education and National Heritage, 2021. Available at: https:// www.nik.gov.pl/kontrole/wyniki-kontroli-nik/pobierz,kno~p_20_021_2020042013150 91587381309~01,typ,kk.pdf (access: 04. 05. 2022). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015. Available at: https:// www.gov.pl/attachment/e84cee75-7991-4fc5-83a1-da7d2fc10635 (access: 13. 05. 2022). Podgórska-Jachnik D., Raport merytoryczny. Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca – bilans otwarcia 2020 [Substantive Report. Inclusive Education – Opening Balance 2020], Centre for Education Development, Warsaw 2021. Simmons R. J., Magiera, K., Evaluation of co-teaching in three high schools within one school district: How do you know when you are TRULY co-teaching? TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 3(3), 2007. Available at: http://escholarship.bc.edu/education /tecplus/vol3/iss3/art4 (access 27. 04. 2022). Szkolak-Ste˛pien´ A., Mistrzostwo zawodowe nauczycieli wczesnej edukacji. Istota, tres´´c, uwarunkowania [Professional Excellence of Early Education Teachers. Essence, Content, Conditions], Attyka, Kraków 2013. Szumski, G., Koncepcja edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej [Concept of Inclusive Education], [in:] Chrzanowska I., Szumski G. (ed.), Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w przedszkolu i szkole [Inclusive Education in Kindergarten and School, Wydawnictwo FRSE, Warsaw 2019, pp. 14–25. Thousand J., Villa, R. & Nevin, A., The Many Faces of Collaborative Planning and Teaching. Theory Into Practice. 45. 2006, pp. 239–248. DOI: 10.1207/s15430421tip4503_6. Villa R., Co-Teaching, 2017, Available at: https://www.ravillabayridge.com/wp-content/u ploads/Co-Teaching-Full-Day-20171024.pdf (access: 28. 04. 2022).

Legislation Announcement of the Minister of National Education of 9 July 2020 on publication of the consolidated text of the Regulation of the Minister of National Education on conditions of organisation of education and upbringing of children and youth with disabilities, socially maladjusted and at risk of social maladjustment, Journal of Laws 2020 item 1309. Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 28 February 2019 on detailed organisation of public schools and public kindergartens, Journal of Laws 2019 item 502. Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 27 of 16 February 2021 on adoption of the document “Strategy for the Disabled 2021–2030”, M.P. 2021, item 218. Law on Education of 14 December 2016, Journal of Laws 2017 item 59.

Zuzana Svobodová / Jaroslav Vetesˇka / Danusˇe Dvorˇáková

Virtual co-teaching through the eyes of primary and secondary school students

Abstract: The paper focuses on the topic of virtual co-teaching, which is a way of teaching in which one educator is physically present and the other is present virtually. Based on a qualitative study relying on methodological approaches of qualitative description, it presents authentic learners’ views on the implemented co-teaching lessons. The aim is to find out and describe how the participating pupils reflect on the lesson conducted by physical and virtual co-teaching, what benefits it brings them and what potential limitations they see in it. To achieve the objective, firstly, expert studies dealing with teaching effectiveness and effectiveness of co-teaching were analysed and then qualitative research was conducted in two primary and one secondary school. In the results’ section, we present the discovered categories, which vividly show how the students themselves perceive and reflect on the pedagogical process guided by the co-teaching method. Keywords: co-teaching, virtual co-teaching, educator collaboration, students’ views, teaching effectiveness

Introduction The issue of co-teaching is currently important and relevant not only with regard to the global pandemic of covid-19, but also in the light of the need to innovate methods and approaches to teaching and education. Another important factor influencing the needs are the requirements arising from the Industry 4.0 concept1, in particular the emerging robotics, automation, artificial intelligence and new technological and knowledge processes in general. The emphasis on the interaction and collaboration of educational actors and knowledge sharing in the educational process is another significant fac-

1 J. Vetesˇka, M. Kursch, Paradigma, “Vzdeˇlávání 4.0” v érˇe digitalizace a globalizace, [in:] Vzdeˇlávání dospeˇlých 2018 – transformace v érˇe digitalizace a umeˇlé inteligence = Adult Education 2018 – transformation in the era of digitization and artificial intelligence: proceedings of the 8th International Adult Education Conference, 11–12th December 2018 Prague, ˇ eská andragogická spolecˇnost, Praha 2019. ed. J. Vetesˇka, C

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tor2. The importance of cooperation, sharing and the involvement of different actors in the educational process is also a topical issue at the level of educational policy, both national and European. As the text of Strategy 2030+ points, “Sharing examples of good practice is proving to be one of the most effective methods of improving the quality of the education system, and it is imperative that it is applied both across levels of educational management and among teachers themselves.”3 One way to meet the requirement of collaboration and sharing in the educational process is to use the method of co-teaching, meaning teaching that is led by more than one educator. The exact definition of co-teaching is not well established. Experts usually work with the terms co-teaching, collaborative teaching4 or team teaching5. In the Czech environment, the name tandem teaching has also taken hold. It is important, however, that both educators are simultaneously engaged in the educational process. The implementation of co-teaching is also possible in several ways, and the literature distinguishes between five to nine different types of co-teaching lessons6, which are briefly presented in Table 1. Selected form of co-teaching Tandem teaching

Description of realization

Leading and supporting

The teaching process is comprehensively planned only by Teacher A. Teacher B then participates in the individual lessons/lessons. Teachers divide students into several groups with different levels of knowledge/skills and then give them individual attention according to their level.

Skill groups

Both teachers share/work with each other throughout the teaching process.

2 J. Novosák, Z. Modrácˇek, P. Suchomel, O. Andrys, T. Zatloukal, D. Prazˇáková, Spolecˇné znaky ˇ SˇI, Praha 2021. vzdeˇlávání v úspeˇˇsných základních ˇskolách: Tematická zpráva, C 3 J. Frycˇ, Z. Matusˇková, P. Katzová, et al, Strategie vzdeˇlávací politiky Cˇeské republiky do roku 2030+, Ministerstvo sˇkolství, mládezˇe a teˇlovýchovy, Praha 2020, p. 62. 4 A. Beninghof, Co-Teching That Works: Structures and Strategies for Maximizing Student Learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 2012. 5 M. Wobak, W. Schnelzer, Teamteaching: Kollegiale Kooperation für gelingendes Lehren und Lernen, School of Education, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck 2015. 6 See: A. Beninghof, Co-Teching That Works: Structures and Strategies for Maximizing Student Learning, op. cit., W.W. Murawski, Beyond Co-Teaching Basics: A Data-Driven, No-Fail Model for Continuous Improvement, ASCD, Virginia 2017. M. Dove, A. Honigsfeld, Co-Teaching for English Learners: A Guide to Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment, and Reflection, Thousand Oaks Corwin A SAGE Company, California 2018. J. Vetesˇka, M. Kursch, Z. Svobodová, M. Tureckiová, L. Paulovcˇáková, Longitudal co-teaching projects – scoping review, 17th International Conference On Cognition And Exploratory Learning In Digital Age, 2020. M. Kursch, Skrytý potenciál virtuálního co-teachingu, Prohuman, [online] [cit. 2021–8–18]. Retrieved from: https://www.prohuman.sk/pedagogika/skryty-potencial-virtualniho-co-teach ingu.

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(Continued) Selected form of co-teaching Form of station Learning styles Parallel form Supplementary form

Description of realization Teacher A leads the whole group/class. Teacher B is directly involved with only a small group of students. Teachers plan lessons together and divide their fields of activity. For example, teacher A is responsible for one form of teaching, teacher B for another form. Teachers divide the class into two groups. Teacher A leads one group, Teacher B leads the other.. Similar to ”learning styles”. Teacher A is responsible for the leadership and the content of the lesson. Teacher B complements him/her based on his/her requirements.

Table 1: Selected forms of co-teaching

The method of co-teaching is also proven by the Czech School Inspectorate as highly effective for the development of literacy, key competences, the development of inter-subject relationships and effective teacher collaboration7. Pupils also achieve positive results in challenging subjects, such as mathematics. Lehane & Senior8 found a positive impact of co-teaching on standardized test scores in mathematics for all students. All of the students involved in this study performed better on the standardized achievement test in mathematics after receiving co-teaching. However, other data from research studies speak ambiguously about the effectiveness of the method. The ambiguity of the results is mainly due to the limitation of the measurability of the impact of co-teaching on the deepening of students’ knowledge9. An effective pedagogical process will not be realized if the school climate is not stimulating, and students are not moti-

7 Z. Svobodová, Virtual Co-Teaching: reflection, reality and potential, [In:] Vzdeˇlávání dospeˇlých 2020 – reflexe, realita a potenciál virtuálního sveˇta, Adult Education 2020 – Reflection, Reality and Potential of the Virtual World, M. Kursch, J. Vetesˇka, (eds.), proceedings of the 9th ˇ eská andragogická spoInternational Adult Education Conference: 16 December 2020, C lecˇnost, Praha 2021. 8 P. Lehane, J. Senior, Collaborative teaching: exploring the impact of co-teaching practices on the numeracy attainment of pupils with and without special educational needs, European journal of special needs education, 2020, 35(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2019.1652439. 9 E.L. Campbell, A.R. Reedy, M.J. Baird, D.M. Baird, Better Together: Co-Teaching in Undergraduate Applied Psychology Courses, Psychology Teaching Review, 2018, 24(2), 3. P.N. Eckardt, V. Giouroukakis, The Impact of Co-Teaching on Pedagogical Approaches and Student Conceptual Understanding in a Graduate, Adolescent Literacy Course, Journal for leadership and instruction, 2018, 17(2), 40. S. Jurkowski, B. Müller, Co-teaching in inclusive classes: The development of multi-professional cooperation in teaching dyads, Teaching and teacher education, 2018, 75, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.06.017.

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vated. Expert studies demonstrate a clear relationship between these categories and effective teaching10. The climate is quite a key factor for the realization of an effective learning process for students. School climate usually refers to the quality and character of school life. Students, families, and educators are all involved in the functioning of the school and the care of the physical environment, therefore the school climate represents a group phenomenon. In other words, students’ individual perceptions of school climate aggregate into the climate of the whole school, with both factors influencing students’ results and behaviour11. In co-teaching sessions, students and teachers emphasized the need for so-called ‘good chemistry’ between co-teachers, which then creates a positive atmosphere, a friendly, funny and safe environment12. Feeling safe at school is a proven basic need for all students. Safety not only refers to the absence of crime and violence, but also includes a supportive social environment where students can feel safe from harassment, bullying, and other acts of hostility or hostility itself 13. Thus, it is logical that this requirement is also emphasized in the implementation of coteaching lessons and is a crucial category for meeting the requirement of quality and effectiveness of co-teaching14. The school expects all pupils to be motivated. However, the truth is that there is a big difference between the ideal conditions and reality. Some pupils are motivated from the start and stay that way, others lose motivation as they progress 10 P. Urbánek, M. Chvál, Klima ucˇitelského sboru: dotazník pro ucˇitele, Národní ústav pro vzdeˇlávání, 2012. M. Lungu, Motivation as part of the educational process, Educat,ia-plus, 2019, XXII(1). T. Nishimura, M. Wakuta, K.J. Tsuchiya, Y. Osuka, H. Tamai, N. Takei, T. Katayama, Measuring school climate among japanese students – development of the Japan school climate inventory, International journal of environmental research and public health, JASC, 2020, 17(12), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124426. C. Forsberg, E.H Chiriac, R. Thornberg, Exploring pupils’ perspectives on school climate, Educational research Windsor, 2021, 63(4), https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1956988. A. Dehnan, M. Jalali, S. Shahabi, P. Mojgani, S. Bigdeli, Students’ view on supportive co-teaching in medical sciences: a systematic review, BMC Medical Education, 2021, 21(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02 958-4. 11 J. Cohen, L. McCabe, N.M. Michelli, T. Pickeral, School Climate: Research, Policy, Practice, and Teacher Education, Teachers College Record, 2009, 111(1). P. Urbánek, M. Chvál, Klima ucˇitelského sboru: dotazník pro ucˇitele, Národní ústav pro vzdeˇláván, 2012. T. Nishimura, M. Wakuta, K.J. Tsuchiya, Y. Osuka, H. Tamai, N. Takei, T. Katayama, Measuring school climate among japanese students – development of the Japan school climate inventory (JASC). C. Forsberg, E.H Chiriac, R. Thornberg, Exploring pupils’ perspectives on school climate, Educational research Windsor, 2021, 63(4), https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1956988. 12 V. Strogilos, M. E. King-Sears, Co-teaching is extra help and fun: perspectives on co-teaching from middle school students and co-teachers, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12427. 13 T. Nishimura, M. Wakuta, K.J. Tsuchiya, Y. Osuka, H. Tamai, N. Takei, T. Katayama, Measuring school…, op. cit. 14 V. Strogilos, M. E. King-Sears, Co-teaching is extra help…, op. cit.

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and there are those who only become motivated over time. It is logical, therefore, that the issue of learner motivation is crucial to a quality pedagogical process, and it is essential to find ways that promote motivation and activate learners15. Learner motivation and activation in co-teaching classes was also seen in the context of individualising the curriculum and being able to meet the specific needs of individual learners. The stimulating environment that was created in coteaching classes was also found to be a motivating factor and encouraged a creative atmosphere16. The opportunity to provide individualised feedback to pupils was also an important motivating factor, which is sometimes not feasible when there is only one teacher in the class17. Similarly, Takala & Uusitalo-malmivaara18 describe the motivational aspect of co-teaching, stating that students can not only get more attention and time from individual teachers, but also see for themselves the possibilities and ways of effective collaboration between professionals, thus gaining appropriate role models. We have defined the specific category that brings a specific benefit to the teaching process in co-teaching that cannot be achieved in a regular classroom if being taught by only one teacher as “value added”. This is essentially the unique benefit that is created by the synergy between two teachers and the various specific benefits that emerge in different subject contexts of co-teaching lessons. For example, it may be the use of different perspectives and contributions of individual teachers, the integration of theory and practice, the use of different teaching styles and the mutual support of colleagues in the implementation of the pedagogical process19. The presence of an expert also encourages pupils to move towards the so-called zone of proximal development, which logically differs from pupil to pupil and can be opened up to a larger number of pupils with the collaboration of two educators and the necessary individualization20. Also, in the context of climate, this added value implies increased safety, har-

15 M. Lungu, Motivation as part of the educational process, Educat,ia-plus, 2019, XXII(1). 16 A. Dehnan, M. Jalali, S. Shahabi, P. Mojgani, S. Bigdeli, Students’ view on supportive…, op.cit. 17 M. Cavanagh, H. Mcmaster, A professional experience learning community for secondary mathematics: developing pre-service teachers’ reflective practice, Mathematics education research journal, 2015, 27(4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-015-0145-z. 18 M. Takala, L. Uusitalo-malmivaara, A one-year study of the development of co-teaching in four Finnish schools. European journal of special needs education, 2012, 27(3), https://doi.org /10.1080/08856257.2012.691233. 19 M. E. King-Sears, A. Brawand, T.M. Johnson, Acquiring Feedback from Students in Co-Taught Classes, Support for learning, 2019, 34(3), 312–325. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12262. A. Dehnan, M. Jalali, S. Shahabi, P. Mojgani, S. Bigdeli, Students’ view on supportive… 20 M. Takala, L. Uusitalo-malmivaara, A one-year study of the development of co-teaching in four Finnish schools…

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mony, and a creative environment that encourages creativity and collaboration among pupils21. Based on the analysis we can summarize the following areas and categories of positively perceived co-teaching lessons from the perspective of students. For a successful implementation, it is necessary to effectively combine the possibilities offered by teacher collaboration and the internal factors expressed by the climate and atmosphere in the classroom. Teacher co-teaching is then able to trigger intrinsic motivation and interest in the subject matter. The results of the process are then a response to the teacher’s actions and confirm well-chosen methods and forms, working collaboration and a supportive teaching climate. These categories are clearly illustrated in Figure 1. The above categories of positively perceived co-teaching lessons are logically implemented in successful and well-executed lessons. Of course, potential threats, limitations and risks have also been identified in the above studies. Instead of the added value, there may be losses consisting of uncoordinated collaboration between educators leading to chaos, bustle and confusing information. Uncoordinated teaching can also stem from poor relationships and dysfunctional chemistry between teachers22. Distraction and inattention can be caused by differing information provided by individual educators, which in turn leads to stressed learners who are unsure of how to behave in the classroom, who to turn to and who to communicate with, which naturally negatively affects motivation, activation and the overall learning climate23.

21 M. Cavanagh, H. Mcmaster, A professional experience learning community for secondary mathematics: developing pre-service teachers’ reflective practice… A. Dehnan, M. Jalali, S. Shahabi, P. Mojgani, S. Bigdeli, Students’ view on supportive… J.M. Willey, Y.S. Lim, T. Kwiatkowski, Modeling integration: co-teaching basic and clinical sciences medicine in the classroom, Adv Med Educ Pract, 2018, 9:739–51, https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S169740. 22 A. Dehnan, M. Jalali, S. Shahabi, P. Mojgani, S. Bigdeli, Students’ view on supportive…, op. cit. 23 J.M. Willey, Y.S. Lim, T. Kwiatkowski, Modeling integration: co-teaching basic and clinical sciences medicine in the classroom, op. cit.

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Figure 1: Categories of positively perceived co-teaching lessons

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Methodology The present qualitative study is part of the research project number TL03000133 supported by the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic. Within the threeyear project, an experiment24 was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of virtual co-teaching, seeking specifically to answer the question of whether virtual or traditional co-teaching is more effective. The results of the experiment showed that the difference between the physical and virtual presence of a second teacher was statistically insignificant, and it was not possible to clearly identify which of these forms was more effective in terms of the cognitive outcomes of the students25. However, in order to fully understand and comprehend the phenomenon of co-teaching, focusing only on the experiment and the impact on cognitive outcomes is insufficient, and therefore, in the project, we complemented the quantitative approach with a qualitative study that focuses on the experiences of individuals, i. e.: students and teachers26. This qualitative study specifically focuses on the pupils’ perspectives of the implemented lessons in order to identify and describe how the engaged pupils reflect on the lessons conducted by physical and virtual co-teaching, what benefits they perceive it brings and what potential limitations they see in it. Qualitative description was used as a research design as it is particularly suitable for capturing the lived experience of an individual or group27. This research approach involves describing and interpreting experiences and allows the researcher to focus on authentic responses to questions about what the respondents experienced, and also on how and why they describe and perceive the experience. As a data collection method, a semi-structured interview, either with an individual or a group, is most appropriate in qualitative description28. The qualitative descriptive approach does not require a highly abstract rendering of the data compared to other qualitative designs29, but of course some 24 See next chapter; M. Kursch, R. Lisˇka, M. Tureckiová, J. Krˇízˇ, Efficiency of virtual co-teaching, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, B. Pituła, I. Nowosad, V&R unipress, 2022. 25 Ibidem. 26 Z. Svobodová, Virtual Co-Teaching: reflection, reality and potential…, op. cit. 27 V.A. Lambert, C.E. Lambert, Qualitative descriptive research: An acceptable design, Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 2012, 16. U.H. Graneheim, B. Lindgren, B. Lundman, Methodological challenges in qualitative content analysis: A discussion paper, Nurse education today, 2017, 56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.06.002. V. Dostalova, A. Bartova, H. Blahova, I. Holmerova, The experiences and needs of frail older people receiving home health care: A qualitative study, International journal of older people nursing, 2022, 17 (1), e12418-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12418. 28 U.H. Graneheim, B. Lindgren, B. Lundman, Methodological challenges…, op. cit. 29 V.A. Lambert, C.E. Lambert, Qualitative descriptive…, op. cit.

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interpretation logically occurs30. For our study, we chose as a data collection method group interviews with students who had attended co-teaching sessions (both physical and virtual) as part of the experiment31. The data were collected between September and November 2021 by a member of the author’s team (ZS). During the implementation of the focus groups, attention was paid to the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions, in line with the methodology. A total of six focus group interviews were conducted, lasting 15–25 minutes. A detailed list of the interviewees, their composition, length, and format of the interviews is described in Table 2. Group Primary school A1

Age 11 years old

Number of pupils 5

Co-teaching type Physical

Primary school A2 Primary school B1

11 years old 12–13 years old

5 6

Virtual Physical

Primary school B2 High school1

12–13 years old 15–16 years old

6 5

Virtual Physical

High school2 15–16 years old Table 2: List of respondents

6

Virtual

All respondents were asked the same initial question: How do you like it when two teachers are teaching together and why? Which was intended to introduce the topic and engage the participating individuals in discussion. Further, to understand their overall experience and to achieve the research objective, additional questions were asked to discuss the topic in depth and to uncover the respondents’ feelings and opinions about the classroom experience. Thus, overall, the following basic questions were asked to all students: do you often have such lessons?, in which subjects would they be best and why?, what do you like and dislike about co-teaching and why?, what did you like and dislike about virtual co-teaching and why?, when do you find virtual co-teaching meaningful and why? Prior to the group interviews, respondents gave informed consent to participate in the research. The interviews were anonymised, and each school was coded; exact transcripts are stored on a password-protected computer. Informed consent forms were signed and collected.

30 M. Sandelowski, Focus on research methods: Whatever happened to qualitative description?, Research in nursing & health, 2000, 23(4). C. Bradshaw, S. Atkinson, O. Doody, Employing a Qualitative Description Approach in Health Care Research, Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2017, 4, https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393617742282. 31 See next chapter; M. Kursch, R. Lisˇka, M. Tureckiová, J. Krˇízˇ, Efficiency of virtual See next chapter; M. Kursch, R. Lisˇka, M. Tureckiová, J. Krˇízˇ, Efficiency of virtual…op. cit.

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Data analysis was based on inductive and deductive content analysis32. Content analysis is a systematic method of analysing oral or written communication using a coding and categorization approach that is suitable for research on opinions, experiences, and attitudes33. During the analysis, the defined categories were regularly discussed by the research team (the authors). The first stage of the analysis was inductive, where meaning units (i. e., words, sentences, and paragraphs) relevant to the research aim were tagged and coded. These codes were then grouped into subcategories according to their similarity. The final step of the analysis was deductive, where the resulting subcategories were grouped into superordinate categories based on the research conducted and the emerging conceptual framework of this study.

Results With regard to the stated goal, which was to identify and describe how the participating students reflect on the lesson conducted by physical and virtual coteaching, what benefits it brings them and what potential limitations they see in it, we analysed the data from individual students’ perspective and based this purely on their opinions. During the analysis we identified three main categories – motivation and activation, added value and barriers to virtual co-teaching. However, it is also possible to include the category of learners’ learning effectiveness, which is a kind of an umbrella term for the other categories and subcategories. The subcategories and categories are listed in Table 3. Categories Motivation and activation

Subcategories Taking individual needs into account Novelty of teaching

Added value

Different perspectives Attention and pace Appropriate subjects Virtual environment limitations Confusion

Barriers to virtual co-teaching Table 3: Categories and subcategories

If the individual categories are positively applied and if the teaching is implemented with good quality, the pupils are activated and their learning is supported – then the whole process is more effective. Conversely, if the defined

32 P. Mayring, Qualitative Content Analysis, Forum, qualitative social research, 2000, 1(2). U.H. Graneheim, B. Lindgren, B. Lundman, Methodological challenges…, op. cit. 33 P. Mayring, Qualitative Content…, op. cit.

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categories are not applied well, there is a negative impact on pupils’ learning and effectiveness decreases. The results section of the study is clearly structured according to the defined categories, which are described from the perspective of the respondents, i. e., the pupils, either in a positive or negative sense. For an authentic description, the respondents’ statements have been left unedited and were translated into English as they were spoken.

Motivation and Activation Overall, students emphasized that new elements in the lessons always attract their attention. Although they no longer find virtual teaching new after the period of school closure, the new composition of teachers and the presence of one on the screen in the classroom did attract their attention more … normally we don’t, right, so then we’re like more focused… If there is a new teacher, the students are more willing to listen and focus… the first day we try to give the impression that we’re a good class and then a week later they think we’re a bunch of animals…

Another motivating element that emerges in multi-teacher teaching is the possibility to take into account individual needs and to provide the necessary support to some pupils or to progress more quickly. This aspect is very difficult to implement in virtual teaching, but in physical co-teaching, pupils reported that this was a big advantage … of course, you can just treat everyone the way they need to be treated… Some pupils are faster and others slower in the classroom, of course not in all subjects equally, but the difference in pace can have a negative effect on the motivation of both groups, the faster one has to wait for the slower one and the slower one cannot keep up with the overall pace of the class. In such a case, co-teaching could be very beneficial and help both groups to progress to the best of their ability, as one pupil said using the example of mathematics …me, for example, we’re like that, we’re like that, for example Tomas, he’s a classmate who was here just now, he’s sitting there and just staring and he asked the teacher today how to divide 200 into two odd numbers. And I’m looking at him, I’m just… I… we were supposed to do two exercises on one side and finish the pages we haven’t finished. Well, I did the two exercises because it’s quick, it just didn’t take me any time at all and I did the whole side, and now I have to wait because Thomas is just doing the two exercises, so that would be good…

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Added value Co-teaching can have a high added value from the learners’ point of view in many areas – it allows to individualize (as mentioned above), to increase the pace of learning, to improve discipline, to bring different perspectives on the content discussed, etc. However, it is essential to be clear that the presence of both brings something to the teaching that one could not do alone. In some cases, pupils did not see this added value and reported that … it didn’t seem to me that there was such a need for the teacher, that I think the teacher himself would have been enough for us … or … even the activities, for example, the way we picked up the slips, so like I think the teacher could have done that …

In a positive conception, different perspectives are used when two teachers speak and can explain a topic in different ways, which then leads to better understanding, as stated by a respondent from High School Group 2: we had, like, two points of view, that there were just two people who could explain it in different ways… just two people are more than one.

Different perspectives on teaching and topics can be a great added value for students, but there was also a concern in the interviews that teachers would not agree and then the lesson would be rather worse, as stated by one respondent: … they both want to do the same thing, and they have to keep it as if it’s just important to them, that they each have to do something different …. So they’ll disagree and then they’ll argue…

It is also essential that the pupils believe that the teachers are able to get along and set up cooperation. If each of them had a different style and did not agree beforehand, confusion could arise, as stated, for example, by a pupil from the High School 1 group … So, if we learn one way and the other one starts to impose his way, it might be a bit confusing. … One pupil from the High School 2 group summarised the advantages and disadvantages of different perspectives and approaches quite clearly and succinctly: … two people could explain it in a different way… you know, you have people there who might not understand, so the other teacher will explain it to them… you just have two ways and you choose one. But again, it could be confusing…

On the topic of differing perspectives, there is another aspect to consider, which is the overall difference of the individual teachers, which brings not only a different perspective on teaching but also on life in general, i. e., they may not fit and understand each other personally. Then of course it is difficult to collaborate qualitatively and synergistically on teaching and add the necessary value to it, as one respondent mentioned

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…those teachers like they can have completely different personalities like they can’t sit down, and they can’t be like those friends…

Attention and tempo Students also mentioned that there is better concentration when there are two teachers in the classroom (either virtually or physically) … It seemed to me that we were paying some more like attention, when we don’t really focus on normal German that much in my opinion….

and the lesson in general goes at a brisker pace … I think that the lesson like everything we have to do we do faster because of the fact that the two teachers sort of take turns. One teacher will say one part, the other teacher will say the other part… that it’s more like action… .

However, not all students perceive this aspect in the same way, some on the contrary feel that the presence of two educators brings confusion to the lesson … actually I don’t know whether to perceive this or that.

Suitable subjects for virtual co-teaching All respondents were also asked in which subject they would find virtual coteaching most appropriate. Overall, they stated that it would be better if they could have both teachers physically, that they could both be better used in organizing the teaching (for example, one handing out materials and the other already explaining), and possibly in individualizing the teaching (where one can attend to those who do not understand the material, repeat it, or on the contrary go faster with those who already understand). They also mentioned the advantage of two teachers for older students because …first graders are actually afraid of those teachers too, so they actually pay attention to those too. And the fourth graders are like, they don’t pay attention anymore, so that’s where the other one would kind of fit in…

which of course with virtual co-teaching, you couldn’t make sure that one was more supervising for discipline and focus. If virtual co-teaching were to be implemented, then there would have to be the aforementioned added value in the virtual component, i. e., primarily because the teacher cannot physically be in the classroom…. I think it would be, like, interesting to talk to someone… we don’t know, on, like, the other side of the globe.

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If there is the possibility of both being physically present, then students saw no advantage in the virtual connection of the other teacher, as one respondent stated … it was weird that she sat in her classroom and was on the computer instead of coming here and teaching us…

Thus, it was not so much the suitability of individual subjects for virtual coteaching that was discussed, but the meaningfulness of virtual presence, with students finding various reasons for how the method could be used. For science, they mentioned the possibility of using one teacher directly from the field to show them something directly from nature, for languages, the possibility of communicating in a foreign language with someone who is directly sitting in a foreign city, the possibility of looking at some places where they could not be and seeing them directly and authentically, seeing what the weather is like directly in a given place, seeing some interesting activities in practice, etc.: …And it also seems to me that if he was like a stranger connected from Germany, who we don’t know, that we’d be like more focused, we’d listen more, we’d learn more…. that we’d see the head like that, but maybe we’d also see something like behind him, what if he was outside, so we could see some of that, well…

Students also mentioned the possibility of virtual co-teaching in the case of teacher’s illness or quarantine, which is quite a common situation in schools nowadays and virtual co-teaching could enable at least some teaching.

Barriers to virtual co-teaching A major obstacle to virtual co-teaching is, of course, technical equipment and connectivity issues. Similar results have already been reported in a scoping review34, where it was clearly shown that without good technology it is not possible to teach effectively either in pairs or independently. If the technology does not work, that positive effect of two educators and the claimed added value does not happen and everything revolves around removing technical barriers. Technique was also mentioned in interviews by interviewees and reported to have an overall negative impact on the flow of co-teaching sessions, as demonstrated by this comment (one of many others like it): …most of the time we were on that online learning, it was just like that, everything was just choppy, everything was just… – Or something wasn’t working – Exactly. Technology is a great thing, but the more electronics, the more it can go wrong, right…

34 J. Vetesˇka, M. Kursch, Z. Svobodová, M. Tureckiová, L. Paulovcˇáková, Longitudal co-teaching…, op. cit.

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Communication between individual teachers is also more challenging in a virtual space because they cannot interact naturally and immediately, as one respondent also stated: …I think maybe even the teachers would be shouting over how it’s… you physically eavesdrop, you can tell when someone finishes speaking. And from the computer… behind that computer somewhere, I think they’d be, like, shouting…

Another problematic area mentioned by students was some confusion caused by the presence of a second teacher on the screen. Only three groups of respondents, i. e. those who had received virtual co-teaching, commented on this part. They did not have a good enough understanding of why the other teacher should actually be there on the screen, what his/her role actually is and who they should look out for in particular. As one girl said … I didn’t know where to look or what to listen to … and another who said …. it was very distracting. … It is true that this aspect was certainly influenced by the fact that the experimental lessons were carried out without a more comprehensive connection to the standard curriculum of the schools involved, and it would certainly have made more sense if the method had been introduced to the pupils beforehand and placed in the context of other methods used in teaching.

Discussion While the added value of co-teaching lies in the collaboration of two educators, it can also be found in the context of the subject content and its attractiveness to learners. When co-teaching is successfully incorporated, it is also possible to target the attractiveness of the whole subject taught. For example, in science subjects it is possible to involve experts who would otherwise be inaccessible to pupils and physically unable to get to school. Virtual co-teaching thus opens new doors to make teaching and subjects more attractive and to increase interest in technical subjects that are still not sufficiently interesting for young people35. Considering further in the context of the use of native speakers in language education, it is widely known that their involvement has started to develop widely, and they are now a common part of the educational process. In contrast, it is of course more difficult to engage authentic backgrounds and experts in chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy, geology and other natural sciences in this mass way. The method of virtual co-teaching allows precisely the effective ˇ eské republice (2001–2020). (2021). C ˇ eský statistický 35 Studenti a absolventi vysokých ˇskol v C úrˇad. [online]. Retrieved from https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/163247822/23006121. pdf/2a13727d-91bf-46b7-b171-b5243a58b95b?version=1.3.

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involvement of experts from these fields in the educational process without the need for their physical presence, and at the same time to mediate the didactic situation synchronously, thus enabling an authentic learning experience for the students. A lesson conducted in this way then logically activates the pupil’s learning and allows the maximum possible learning efficiency to be achieved. What has its positives, certainly has a negative side to it. Diametrically different perspectives on a topic can cause confusion for students and are ultimately counterproductive. It is therefore essential that the co-teachers actually agree on the content of the lesson and consider whether their different perspectives make co-teaching possible at all. Extreme views of one of the co-teachers are particularly problematic and confusing for the pupils. For example, consider a presentation of a nuclear power plant by a standard chemist and an environmental activist. Co-teaching in such a pair can of course also be very activating if teachers can exploit the differences didactically and not take the lessons as a platform for presenting their own views. It is therefore clear that the observed views of students and the evidence from research studies point to virtual co-teaching as a method of extending the pedagogical space into environments where schools do not normally reach. However, it is also a method that places high demands on both co-teachers and their collaboration and preparedness. It is therefore essential to explore the topic not only from the perspective of the students, but also from the teachers’ perspective, to find out how they reflect on the lessons delivered by virtual coteaching and what support they might need for its effective and meaningful inclusion in the classroom.

Conclusion The qualitative study aimed to find out and describe how engaged learners reflect on the lesson conducted by physical and virtual co-teaching, what benefits it brings to them and what potential limitations they see in it. To achieve the stated aim, we chose a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured group interviews with pupils. In the results section, we presented the identified core categories that are necessary from the pupils’ point of view to fulfil in order to implement an effective virtual co-teaching lesson. We described the issues of motivation and activation and the role of co-teaching in supporting it. We also paid attention to the category described as “added value”, i. e., phenomena that cannot be realized in a single educator – for example, the importance of different perspectives, the possibility to individualize and optimize the pace of learning, etc. Last but not least, obstacles that reduce the effectiveness were mentioned, which in the case of virtual co-teaching was mainly the technical

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aspect of the matter, but also a certain confusion that the virtual presence itself caused in the students. In the discussion, we opened the topic of the future use of virtual co-teaching and its potential in solving the problems of contemporary education, i. e., the lack of attractiveness of technical fields or the lack of native speakers. However, in order to assess these possibilities, it is of course necessary to conduct further research and to observe the effectiveness also through the perpective of the opinions and experiences of the teaching staff.

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Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank the participants for their willingness to share their experiences. The authors would also like to thank the cooperating schools for selecting participants and facilitating data collection. This study was supˇ R: TL03000133). ported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAC

Martin Kursch / Roman Lisˇka / Michaela Tureckiová / Jaroslav Krˇízˇ

Efficiency of virtual co-teaching

Abstract: The study focuses on the efficiency of virtual co-teaching in comparison to traditional co-teaching. In its introductory part, the basic definitions of co-teaching are given and its models (strategies) explained. Based on the study of professional sources, the most frequently presented advantages as well as limitations of the application of co-teaching are further described. Until now, co-teaching has been mainly associated with the joint teaching of special and general educators. Also, very little quantitative research on co-teaching has been carried out so far to confirm the effectiveness of this method, and the emphasis has been on traditional co-teaching (in face to face, frontal teaching). Further attention is given in this study to the application of classical and virtual co-teaching in mainstream schools. The text of the study describes the design, implementation and evaluation of the experiments, which were carried out in primary and secondary schools under strictly monitored conditions. The experiments show quite convincingly that the results of the test of students from the learned curriculum from teaching using virtual co-teaching are not statistically significantly better or worse than the results of the test of students from the learned curriculum from teaching using classical frontal co-teaching. Keywords: co-teaching, virtual co-teaching, efficiency, experiment

Introduction and theoretical framework Co-teaching is traditionally defined in educational practice as “the cooperation of a general educator with a special pedagogue in teaching duties and working with all the students in the classroom”1. Murawski2 then elaborated on this definition and describes co-teaching as a process consisting of joint planning, teaching and evaluation. Similarly, according to Dove and Honigsfeld3, it is 1 S.E. Gately, F.J. Gately, Understanding Coteaching Components. Teaching exceptional children, 2001, 33(4), p. 41, https://doi.org/10.1177/004005990103300406. 2 W.W. Murawski, Student Outcomes in Co-Taught Secondary English Classes: How Can We Improve?, Reading & writing quarterly, 2006, 22(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560500455703. 3 M. Dove, A. Honigsfeld, Co-Teaching for English Learners: A Guide to Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment, and Reflection, Thousand Oaks Corwin A SAGE Company, California 2018.

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possible to describe co-teaching as a process of preparation and implementation of teaching, which includes planning, division of roles of educators and teaching. This is followed by its evaluation, feedback and assessment of the process of planning the next teaching day. In fact, according to the authors, it is a cyclical process of planning, preparing and implementing the teaching itself as well as its evaluation. While the teaching segment includes interaction with students and possibly among teachers, the evaluation process consists of preparation for the next teaching session. Friend et al.4 and Murawski5 divide co-teaching according to the predominant roles of teachers and the type of support for students into 6 types, namely: 1. Traditional interactive pair teaching – both teachers participate equally during the lesson. 2. Complementary pair teaching – one teacher explains the material while the other provides additional instructions. 3. Station teaching – students are divided into subgroups among which teachers circulate. 4. Parallel co-teaching – students are divided into two equal groups, each teacher teaches one group. 5. Alternative pair teaching – students are divided into groups according to their learning needs. 6. Pair teaching, in the style: one teaches, one helps. This type is most commonly used in practice6. From the above definitions and an overview of co-teaching types, it can be deduced that co-teaching practice does not have to be limited to the cooperation of general and special education teachers and that co-teaching can be included in different forms and types of education. However, in a global context, the concept of co-teaching is often associated with the concept of inclusion – the assumption that the traditional classroom environment is the most appropriate environment for most students, and therefore the greatest possible support must be provided here7. It is pair teaching that is often recommended due to the diverse needs of

4 M. Friend, L. Cook, D. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger, Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010. 5 W.W. Murawski, Collaborative teaching in secondary schools, Thousand Oaks: Cowin Press, California 2009. 6 M. Friend, L. et.al., Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education…, op. cit. 7 G.L. Wilson, J. Blednick, Teaching in tandem: Effective co-teaching in the inclusive classroom, ASCD, Virginia 2011.

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heterogeneous classes8. The importance of co-teaching for students with special educational needs in joint education is repeatedly emphasized. When taught by means of co-teaching, students with special educational needs receive more help with starting, performing and completing assigned tasks. As a result, they will learn to monitor and assess their own learning habits. This results in the development of a positive approach to studying itself 9. Compared to traditional teaching, co-teaching has a positive effect on the degree of interaction between teachers and students, as well as on the degree of interaction between students themselves10. Since most studies focus on the effectiveness of co-teaching as such, there are few studies that address different types of co-teaching11. It is assumed that the effectiveness of each type of co-teaching varies. Othman12 aims to examine the impact of co-teaching on students and the possibilities of using co-teaching to improve general teaching practices. He carried out a study on a group of 30 students of applied linguistics, who were divided into a control (common model) and an experimental (co-teaching model) group. The performance of all students was examined before and after the introduction of experimental collaborative teaching. According to the results, co-teaching has proved to be more effective in developing students’ skills. Yang published a study on the effects of co-teaching on eighth grade math teachers, specifically addressing student performance and co-teaching perceptions by teachers. He implemented the quasi-experimental method on a sample of four selected classes of the experimental group (63 students) and the control group (61 students). The main research method was a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The research data included student scores, questionnaires, teacher self-reflection, video recordings of pedagogical performances, and the researchers’ interviews with the teachers. The results of the research showed that the average score of the final exams of students who completed teaching through co-teaching was higher than that of students who 8 M. Friend, L. et.al., Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education…, op. cit. 9 J. Hattie, H. Timperley, The power of feedback, Review of Educational Research, 2007, 77(1). 10 N. Spörer, T. Henke, S. Bosse, Is there a dark side of co-teaching? A study on the social participation of primary school students and their interactions with teachers and classmates, Learning and instruction, 2021, 71, 101393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020. 101393. 11 A. Carty, M. Farrell, Co-teaching in a mainstream post-primary mathematics classroom: an evaluation of models of co-teaching from the perspective of the teachers, Support for learning, 2018, 33(2) https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12198. 12 O.N. Othman, Incorporating Collaborative Teaching in Student-Teacher Education, Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 2020, 33(8) [cit. 2021–08–20] https://journaljesb s.com/index.php/JESBS/article/view/30246/56749.

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completed traditional teaching. More than half of the students in the experimental group preferred team teaching over traditional teaching. A discrepancy between the expectations of co-teaching educators from team teaching and its implementation was observed. Differences in teaching strategy also exposed team teachers to challenges and peer comparisons among the students in the classroom. In his 2001 meta-analysis, Murawski analyzed articles on co-teaching in general and special education. Of the 89 articles reviewed, only 6 provided sufficient quantitative information to calculate the magnitude of the effect. The effect sizes for each study ranged from low (0.24) to high (0.95), with a mean overall effect size of 0.40. Murawski13 stated that co-teaching is especially beneficial for students with disabilities. Another experimental study was conducted by Fontana in 2005 who also found positive effects of teaching English and mathematics to students with special educational needs. In 2006, Murawski conducted another research study, which specifically analyzed 110 students with special educational needs in 6 English language lessons. In this study, Murawski confirmed that co-teaching does not have any negative effects. Cook et al. in 2011. Rea14 also found significant positive effects using certain types of tests in the linguistic and mathematical fields. Other exploratory research has been conducted in the past. One of the most important is the research of McDuffi et al.15. The research confirms the significant positive effects of co-teaching, especially in cumulative posttests. Another important research is the observational study of Magieri et al.16 and Mastropieri17, which suggests that students with special educational needs responded much better to co-teaching compared to mainstream teaching. Further quantitative research18 describe other positive effects. 13 W.W. Murawski, L. Swanson, A Meta-Analysis of Co-Teaching Research, Remedial and special education, 2001, 22(5), https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250102200501. 14 P.J. Rea, V.L. Mclaughlin, C. Walther-Thomas, Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive and Pullout Programs, Exceptional children, 2002, 68(2), https://doi.org /10.1177/001440290206800204. 15 K.A. Mcduffie, M. A. Mastropieri, T.E. Scruggs, Differential Effects of Peer Tutoring in CoTaught and Non-Co-Taught Classes: Results for Content Learning and Student-Teacher Interactions, Exceptional children, 2009, 75(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290907500406. 16 K. Magiera, C. Smith, N. Zigmond, K. Gebauer, Benefits of Co-Teaching in Secondary Mathematics Classes, Teaching Exceptional Children, 2005, 37, 10.1177/004005990503700303. 17 M. Mastropieri, T. Scruggs, J. Graetz, J. Norland, W. Gardizi, K. McDuffie, Case Studies in Co-Teaching in the Content Areas, Intervention in School and Clinic – INTERVENTION SCHOOL CLINIC, 2005, 40, 260–270. 10.1177/10534512050400050201. 18 K. Magiera, et.al., Benefits of Co-Teaching in Secondary Mathematics Classes…, op. cit. G. Harbort, P.L. Gunter, K. Hull, Q. Brown, M.L. Venn, L.P Wiley, E.W. Wiley, Behaviors of teachers in co-taught classes in a secondary school, Teacher Education and Special Education,

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Despite the apparently positive effects mentioned above, many authors point out that co-teaching should not be considered an effective or evidence-based method19. For example, in their meta-analysis, Murawski and Swanson have so far identified only six quantitative co-teaching studies that met their inclusion criteria – three of which were ERIC documents and none of which explicitly measured the magnitude of the effect. Similarly, Zigmond and Magiere20 recommended that co-teaching should be used with caution. The Covid-19 pandemic has provided a new perspective on co-teaching, with education systems around the world facing an unprecedented challenge as a result of massive school closures ordered in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic. Strategies and methods are currently being sought to ensure the continuity of learning through online technologies as effectively as possible and to facilitate learning in situations where students or teachers are prevented from participating directly in learning. In the Czech educational environment, the Czech School Inspectorate and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports also draw attention to the need for flexible use of teaching methods in the online environment in a number of thematic reports and recommendations, both, in the education of students with special educational needs, and in primary and secondary education.21 The Czech School Inspectorate also stated that teachers often choose methods and forms of work that do not allow for active involvement of students in the educational process and draws attention to the need to use activating teaching methods22. Coteaching shows one way in which teaching can be provided to students through technology by a qualified teacher across classes without physical contact (such as quarantine), which can help school leaders to organize teaching in case of mandated teacher isolation. The possibilities of using co-teaching mentioned in this text can of course also be used in other situations, outside the mandated

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2007, 30. N. Zigmond, D. Matta, Value added of the special education teacher on secondary school co-taught classes, [in:] Research in secondary schools: Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities, T.E. Scruggs, M.A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Elsevier Science/JAI, Oxford UK 2004, Vol. 17, pp. 55–76. W.W. Murawski, Student Outcomes in Co-Taught Secondary English Classes: How Can We Improve?, Reading & writing quarterly, 2006, 22(3), 227–247. https://doi.o rg/10.1080/10573560500455703. W.W. Murawski, L. Swanson, A Meta-Analysis of Co-Teaching Research…op. cit. M.P Weiss, F.J. Brigham, Co- teaching and the model of shared respon- sibility: What does the research support? [in:] Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities: Educational interventions, T.E. Scruggs, M.A. Mastropieri (Eds.), CT: JAI Press, Stamford 2000. N. Zigmond, K. Magiera, Current practice alerts: A focus on co-teaching. Use with caution, DLD Alerts, 2001,6. Metodické doporucˇení pro vzdeˇlávání distancˇním zpu˚sobem, Ministerstvo sˇkolství, mládezˇe ˇ R 2020. a teˇlovýchovy, C Zkusˇenosti zˇáku˚ a ucˇitelu˚ základních sˇkol s distancˇní výukou ve 2. pololetí sˇkolního roku ˇ eská sˇkolní inspekce, 2020. 2019/2020, C

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isolation of teachers, whether due to epidemics or other individually justified absence of the teacher in teaching. However, the Covid-19 pandemic period opened up space for, among other things, a wider discussion on the use of virtual co-teaching as an organizational framework and teaching method.

Methodology The experiment was carried out at a primary school in Louny and a secondary school in Prague. At the primary school, the experiment took place in two classes of six-year students during mathematics, at the secondary school the experiment took place within the teaching of history in the first years of the four-year educational program. We present our procedures, methods and limits so that it is possible to repeat the experiment at any time. Our methodological procedure is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Methodology of experiment preparation

The application guarantors were teachers of the respectiver schools, who participated in the experiment as co-teachers. The planners of the experiment were represented by our researchers, who provided the necessary and sufficient conditions for its successful course. The division of primary and secondary school students into groups was always carried out before the experiment itself. The most difficult and time-consuming element of the whole preparation was the work on a detailed teaching scenario, a detailed description of the whole lesson. The result of this action was a relatively extensive script linked by timestamps with individual events that were to take place in the class, including the syllabus of interviews, topics and the division of roles of both teachers. The whole preparation culminated in a general exam, which was part of the whole process before the experiment itself. This test helped to clarify controversial points in teaching, capture the unwanted effects and to fine-tune insufficiently prepared parts.

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As part of this preparation, we focused primarily on the fundamental criteria that guaranteed the separation of interfering variables. Table 1 describes all the experimental variables and actions implemented to measure or eliminate them. Variable

Type

test result

measured dependent variable

Action in order to eliminate disturbing factors such as the forgetting curve, additional learning of students on the topic, advice, etc., we performed the test within one hour of teaching in both groups

both groups’ grades

independent variable

we selected the groups in order to make them as similar as possible (based on the evaluation of their grades in previous years), in following experiments we proceeded with a randomized selection

teachers

possible interfering variable

both groups had the same teachers

teacher’s role

possible interfering variable

teacher behavior

possible interfering variable

spatial status of teachers

possible interfering variable

technical equipment possible interfering in the classroom variable

unpredictable student behavior

possible interfering variable

fear of recording

possible interfering variable

Table 1: The experimental variables

to eliminate the disruptive factors of this variable, we ensured the same roles of both teachers in both classes to eliminate the disruptive factors of this variable, we ensured the same scripts for both classes to eliminate the disturbing factors of this variable, we ensured the same spatial position. In classic co-teaching, the teacher who taught virtually did not move and stood where the television was placed to eliminate the interfering factors of this variable, we ensured minimization of outages, ease of use and especially FullHD picture quality and sound quality to eliminate noise (use of a microphone with noise elimination) to eliminate the disturbing factors of this variable, we provided the same scripts for both classes, where the timestamps that defined the time frames in which students had the opportunity to enter the class, always focused on the same issues, so that both classes continued in a predictable direction the lesson was not recorded but checked in both cases by the planner and the controller of the experiment, who was always present in both cases.

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For quantitative research, we performed a statistical analysis of the results. In both groups, we first verified the normality of the sample so that we could use the t-test. Although we can allow the assumption that the knowledge of students follows normal distribution, we nevertheless checked whether both groups of students in both experiments had a roughly normal distribution of grades from the subject and whether they are from the same age group. There were no outliers and the p-values of the ShapiroWilk test were greater than 0.05, so we could use the t-test. We chose the Welch test assuming the ignorance of equality of variances (note: we considered this method to be more accurate). Therefore, we also proceeded to compare Glass delta instead of Cohen’s d. Even if we were not sure of the normal distribution of grades, we obtained similar results in non-parametric tests. However, we did use parametric tests due to the greater strength of the test and also due to the discontinuity of the test results, which was scored with a step of 1 point. Another important factor was the qualitative survey of the entire research, guided interviews with students and teachers. This part of the research is published in the previous chapter23. The research took place in May and June of 2021. Planners and controllers were Dr. Zuzana Svobodová and Dr. Martin Kursch, who also guaranteed the fulfillment of all experimental conditions, set criteria and the elimination of interfering variables.

Results After two experiments, we came to interesting results. The results of the first experiment conducted in Louny, in the Czech Republic in 2021, where coteaching was carried out in a math class in a control group using classical coteaching and in an experimental group using virtual co-teaching are shown in 1. Note that the control group numbered 19 students and the experimental group had 21 students. The test was performed to verify the knowledge of the lesson and had a maximum of 25 points. Next, we present Figure 2, where you can see the difference between the test results in both groups. For the first experiment, the Glass delta is approximately 0.08. Therefore, we do not reject the null hypothesis.

23 Z. Svobodová, M. Kursch, J. Vetesˇka, Problems and obstacles of distance learning in the point of view of primary school teachers in the “Covid period”, [In:] Proceedings of the International Conferences Mobile Learning 2021 (ML 2021) and Educational Technologies 2021, I.A. Sánchez, P. Kommers, T. Issa, P. Isaías, (eds.), ICEduTech 2021, virtual 3–5 March 2021.

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The results of the second experiment conducted in Lipí, Czech Republic, where co-teaching was carried out in a history lesson in a control group using classical co-teaching and in an experimental group using virtual co-teaching is shown in Table 3. Note that the control group numbered 30 students and the experimental group had 30 students. The test was performed to verify the knowledge of the lesson and had a maximum of 25 points. Next, we present Figure 3, where you can see the difference between the test results in both groups. For the second experiment, the Glass delta is approximately 0.02. Therefore, we do not reject the null hypothesis again. From both experiments, we conclude that virtual co-teaching is a full-fledged alternative to classical frontal co-teaching. Our experiments show quite convincingly that the results of the test of students from the learned curriculum from teaching using virtual co-teaching are not statistically significantly better or worse than the results of the test of students from the learned curriculum from teaching using classical frontal co-teaching. The impact of the effect represented by the Glass delta is negligibly small in both cases. However, when considering the effectiveness of teaching itself, which we define as achieving a cost-effective goal, virtual co-teaching seems even more effective. Higher efficiency is achieved through lower transportation costs, optimization of time lost and greater flexibility of virtual teacher availability, which has an impact on schedule planning. The higher range of virtual teacher selection is also very attractive, both in terms of the teacher’s reputation and in terms of their availability.

14,84211 14,33333

Average Average of group of group 1 2

0,270273

Value of t

p

38 0,788413

SV

SV

p 2 pages

0,268666 36,27395 0,789709

t’s expected variable

19

group 2’s standart dev.

Value of t

14,76667 14,80000 -0,051807

Average Average of group of group 1 2 p

t’s expected variable SV

p 2 pages

58 0,958861 -0,051807 57,04639 0,958864

SV

30

group 2’s standart dev.

0,488182

F ratio p and var- variances iance

30 2,648140 2,325273 1,296981

number number group of valid of valid 1’s groups 1 groups 2 standart dev.

Table 3: Results of statistical t-test with correction (Welch test) of the difference of mean values in the experimental and control groups

1A vs. 1B

group 1 vs group 2

T-test for independent samples Note: Variables were selected as independent samples.

0,610143

F ratio p and var- variances iance

21 6,300469 5,606544 1,262860

number number group of valid of valid 1’s groups 1 groups 2 standart dev.

Table 2: Results of statistical t-test with correction (Welch test) of the difference of mean values in the experimental and control group

6A vs. 6B

group 1 vs group 2

T-test for independent samples Note: Variables were selected as independent samples.

154 Martin Kursch / Roman Lisˇka / Michaela Tureckiová / Jaroslav Krˇízˇ

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Figure 2: Comparison of test results as a result of teaching in a mathematics lesson conducted by classical co-teaching versus virtual co-teaching

Figure 3: Comparison of test results as a result of teaching in a history lesson led by classical coteaching versus virtual co-teaching

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Discussion and conclusions In our study, we tried to separate the variables to avoid side effects and eliminate all possible interfering factors. Therefore, we selected groups of students with the same average results in their last two years of study. These students were selected at random, from a reference group provided by the principals of the schools where the research was conducted. They were students of the same educational program, on average the same current and past study results. Regarding other independent variables (apart from the homogeneity of the control and experimental groups), we paid attention to a uniform course of the whole experiment. We focused on ensuring the consistency of teaching virtual vs. classic. As an example, we can mention the same location in the space of the teacher implementing classical, frontally guided teaching and co-teaching. With some simplification, we can say that we instructed one of the teachers in classroom education not to move so that his later static virtual image was not disadvantaged. We also tried to establish the same situations during the whole teaching unit in terms of content and form. As already mentioned, in both cases, the whole teaching took place according to the rehearsed script. We also eliminated all risks related to the failure of the technical background for virtual teaching. We always prepared the infrastructure for teaching in advance. The limit for us was the sample size and minor individual differences, which would not affect the average, as well as the impossibility of ensuring complete agreement throughout the teaching unit. Nevertheless, we discovered that virtual co-teaching was no less effective than traditional co-teaching. We can interpret this finding with statistical significance. Since the value of “p” does not approach the limit at which errors of the first or second type can be considered, we can say with certainty that the differences between classical and virtual co-teaching do not show either a significantly positive or significantly negative effect. This is conceptually confirmed by the strength of the effect. In power analysis using G * Power software version 3.1.9.7, the number of students in the sample was the limit for test strength at a given alpha of 0.05 and the magnitude of the observed effect strength, therefore we could not detect small effects without reducing test strength in parallel. For that reason, we also repeated the experiment and plan to repeat it further. We would like our research to be ˇ R project we have repeated by other research teams, which is why in our TAC opened the methodology and source data to them to make it possible to repeat our research accurately. Our study is complemented by the qualitative research presented in the previous chapter, which brought forth the observations of teachers and students in terms of secondary externalities of both positive and negative nature and suitably complemented our quantitative research as well.

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References Carty A., Marie Farrell A., Co-teaching in a mainstream post-primary mathematics classroom: an evaluation of models of co-teaching from the perspective of the teachers, Support for learning, 2018. 33(2), 101–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12198. Cook B. G., McDuffie-Landrum K. A., Oshita, L., Cook, S. C. Co-teaching and students with disabilities: A critical analysis of the empirical literature, [in:] The Handbook of Special Education, Hallahan, D. P. Kauffman, J. K. (Eds.), Routledge, New York 2011, pp. 147– 159. Dove M., Honigsfeld A., Co-Teaching for English Learners: A Guide to Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment, and Reflection, Thousand Oaks Corwin A SAGE Company, California 2018. Fontana K. C., The effects of co-teaching on the achievement of eighth grade students withlearning disabilities, Journal of At-Risk Issues, 2005, 11(2), 17–23 (1), (PDF) Coteaching Perspectives from Secondary Science Co-teachers and Their Students with Disabilities. Friend M., Cook L., Hurley-Chamberlain D., Shamberger C., Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20, 9–27. Gately S. E., Gately F. J., Understanding Coteaching Components, Teaching exceptional children, 2001, 33(4), 40–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/004005990103300406. Harbort G., Gunter P. L., Hull K., Brown Q., Venn M. L., Wiley L. P., Wiley E. W., Behaviors of teachers in co-taught classes in a secondary school, Teacher Education and Special Education, 2007, 30, 13–23. Hattie J., Timperley H., The power of feedback, Review of Educational Research, 2007, 77(1), 81–112. Jang S., Research on the effects of team teaching upon two secondary school teachers, Educational research, Windsor 2006, 48(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131880 600732272. Magiera K., Smith C., Zigmond N., Gebauer K., Benefits of Co-Teaching in Secondary Mathematics Classes, Teaching Exceptional Children, 2005, 37, 20–24, 10.1177/00400599 0503700303. Mastropieri M., Scruggs T., Graetz J., Norland J., Gardizi W., McDuffie K., Case Studies in Co-Teaching in the Content Areas, Intervention in School and Clinic – INTERVENTION SCHOOL CLINIC, 2005, 40, 260–270, 10.1177/10534512050400050201. Metodické doporucˇení pro vzdeˇlávání distancˇním zpu˚sobem, 2020, Ministerstvo sˇkolství, ˇ R. mládezˇe a teˇlovýchovy C Mcduffie K.A., Mastropieri M. A., Scruggs T. E., Differential Effects of Peer Tutoring in CoTaught and Non-Co-Taught Classes: Results for Content Learning and Student-Teacher Interactions, Exceptional children, 2009, 75(4), 493–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144 0290907500406. Murawski W.W., Student Outcomes in Co-Taught Secondary English Classes: How Can We Improve?, Reading & writing quarterly, 2006, 22(3), 227–247, https://doi.org/10.1080/1 0573560500455703.

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Murawski W.W., Collaborative teaching in secondary schools, Thousand Oaks: Cowin Press, 2009. Murawski W.W., Lee Swanson H., A Meta-Analysis of Co-Teaching Research, Remedial and special education, 2001, 22(5), 258–267 https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250102200501. Othman O.N., Incorporating Collaborative Teaching in Student-Teacher Education, Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science [online], 2020, 33(8) [cit. 2021–08–20]. Dostupné z WWW: https://journaljesbs.com/index.php/JESBS/article/view/30246/56749. Rea P J., Mclaughlin V.L., Walther-Thomas C., Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive and Pullout Programs, Exceptional children, 2002, 68(2), 203– 222. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290206800204. Spörer N., Henke T., Bosse S., Is there a dark side of co-teaching? A study on the social participation of primary school students and their interactions with teachers and classmates, Learning and instruction, 2021, 71, 101393, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learnin struc.2020.101393. Svobodová Z., Kursch M. Vetesˇka J., Problems and obstacles of distance learning in the point of view of primary school teachers in the “Covid period”, [in:] Proceedings of the International Conferences Mobile Learning 2021 (ML 2021) and Educational Technologies 2021, eds.Sánchez I.A., Kommers P., Issa T., Isaías P., ICEduTech , 2021, virtual 3–5 March 2021 (pp. 83–90). Svobodová Z., Vetesˇka J., Dvorˇáková D., Virtual co-teaching through the eyes of primary and secondary school students, [in:] Education –Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. B. Pituła, I. Nowosad, V&R Unipress, 2022. Vetesˇka, J., Kursch, M., Research on gamification usage in distance learning during the Covid-19 period, [in:] Vzdeˇlávání dospeˇlých 2020 – reflexe, realita a potenciál virtuálního sveˇta. = Adult Education 2020 – Reflection, Reality and Potential of the Virtual World : proceedings of the 9th International Adult Education Conference : 16 December ˇ eská andragogická spolecˇnost, 2020, Prague, Vetesˇka, J. & M. Kursch (eds.). Praha: C 2021, pp. 46–56. Weiss M. P., Brigham F. J., Co- teaching and the model of shared respon- sibility: What does the research support? [in:] Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities: Educational interventions, ed. T. E. Scruggs, M. A. Mastropieri, pp. 217–246, Stamford, CT: JAI Press 2000. Wilson G. L., Blednick J., Teaching in tandem: Effective co-teaching in the inclusive classroom. ASCD, Virginia 2011. Zigmond N., Magiera K., Current practice alerts: A focus on co-teaching. Use with caution, DLD Alerts, 2001, 6, 1–4. Zigmond N., Matta D., Value added of the special education teacher on secondary school cotaught classes, [in:] Research in secondary schools: Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities, ed. T.E. Scruggs, M.A. Mastropieri, Vol. 17, pp. 55–76, Oxford 2004. Zkusˇenosti zˇáku˚ a ucˇitelu˚ základních ˇskol s distancˇní výukou ve 2. pololetí ˇskolního roku ˇ eská ˇskolní inspekce. 2019/2020, 2020, C

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Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank the participants for their willingness to share their experiences. The authors would also like to thank the cooperating schools for selecting participants and facilitating data collection. This study was supˇ R: TL03000133). ported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAC

Part III: Examples of co-teaching in academic education

Barbara Grzyb

Project-Based Learning – Synergy of Coaching and Co-teaching

Abstract: Project-Based Learning is more and more often becoming one of the main teaching strategies pursued at Polish universities. Such a state of affairs results from the necessity to seek out ever more effective didactic strategies allowing the student to be equipped with the skills of the future (critical and creative thinking, effective communication, satisfactory teamwork, innovative problem solving). As the method assumes cooperation of two or more academic teachers, it can be perceived as a special form of coteaching that is additionally supported by elements of coaching. And exactly this perspective was assumed in this article. The assumptions of the PBL method, co-teaching and coaching were discussed and their interconnections and interrelations were pointed out. Keywords: Project-Based Learning, coaching, co-teaching, student

Introduction The current discussions about effective didactic strategies at universities boil down not only to the question of which one of them is optimal and the most satisfying, but also to the question of what possibilities it creates in support for the student in achieving specified education goals. Given that the basic purpose of education at every university – including technical universities – is to provide graduates with skills which will allow them to find their place in the labour market1, the words of M. Kaz´mierkowski seem valid: that graduates are to be educated so that they have skills and experience in solving issues motivated by the expectations of employers2. Such an approach requires, firstly, looking at the process of obtaining practical skills as a bipolar process, referring on the one hand to professional (subject-matter) skills with simultaneous shaping of psychosocial (pedagogical) skills and on the other, to placing the student in the 1 M. Kaz´mierkowski, Kształcenie inz˙ynierów w systemie PBL [Teaching engineers in the PLB system], 2013, https://prenumeruj.forumakademickie.pl/fa/2013/09/ksztalcenie-inzynieroww-systemie-pbl/ [retrieved on: 24. 05. 2021]. 2 Ibidem.

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centre of the didactic process and concentrating on classes targeting solution of the current problems of the local environment or problems with a wider range. This justifies the necessity to work with the student in accordance with the socalled didactic triad, which allows respecting all aspects of teaching: subjectmatter, social and psychopedagogical. Unfortunately, it needs to be pointed out that in the traditional education system pursued at technical universities, the lecturer most frequently focuses only on the first facet, omitting or merely sliding over the other two. The effort of the teacher and the student is concentrated on solving the given problem/implement the given project; it is not focused on the beneficiary or such focus is little. Meanwhile, everything that is created within various scientific disciplines is directed mostly to the human being. Hence, the basic criterion should be to combine scientific disciplines in order to use the achievements of the contemporary world’s knowledge to the broadest possible scope in solving problems that appear. Only such an interdisciplinary approach will let us talk about the success of the science of the future in the general meaning of this word3. This means that the proposed triad becomes the answer, and the method allowing achievement of this goal is known as project-based learning. The interdisciplinary approach can also be supplemented by inclusion of coaching as support in the process of striving to achieve the goals set.

New perception of student education with project-based learning According to its definition, project-based learning is a teaching method where the student acquires knowledge and skills by working for a certain period of time on a comprehensive solution to a problem or issue4. F. Stoller specifies ten basic assumptions of this method: 1) equivalence of the process and the product; 2) grant of (partial) ownership of the project to students; 3) turnaround time of several days, weeks or months; 4) integration of skills; 5) development of understanding of the topic by students through integration of language and content; 3 E. Multan, Metoda problemowa (PBL) w procesie dydaktycznym uczelni wyz˙szej [Problembased learning (PBL) in the didactic process of the university], Administracja i Zarza˛dzanie [Administration & Management], 40 (113), 2017, pp. 169–184. 4 S. Han, R. Capraro, M.M. Capraro, How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) affects high, middle, and low achievers differently: the impact of student factors on achievement, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13, 2015, pp. 1089–1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9526-0 [retrieved on: 21. 04. 2022].

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6) 7)

cooperation with other students and independent work; making team members responsible for their own learning by gathering, processing and reporting information; 8) assignment of new roles and obligations to students and teachers; 9) provision of a tangible final product; 10) reflection over the process and the product5.

According to I. Zdonek, project-based learning assumes, first and foremost, teaching by defining the goals, conveying standard-based content and shaping skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and self-organisation. During a given project, the student solves a difficult problem which is, however, adapted to their level. The problem regards affairs of the actual world or is even connected to the interests and problems from the students’ lives6. The main assumptions of the PBL method have been presented in the diagram below.

Figure 1: Assumptions of the project-based learning method. Source: I. Zdonek I., Wykorzystanie Project Based Learning w edukacji klasy kreatywnej [Using project-based learning in education of a creative class]. Research Papers of the Silesian University of Technology, Organisation and Management Series, 102, 2017, pp. 412.

5 F. Stoller, Establishing a Theoretical Foundation for Project-Based Learning in Second and Foreign Language Contexts, [in: ] Project-Based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, ed. G.H. Beckett, P C. Miller, Greenwich, Present, and Future, 2006, pp. 19–40. https://www.sci rp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=66995 [retrieved on: 17. 04. 2022]. 6 I. Zdonek, Wykorzystanie Project Based Learning w edukacji klasy kreatywnej [Using projectbased learning in education of a creative class], Research Papers of the Silesian University of Technology, Organisation and Management Series, 102, 2017, pp. 407–422.

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The assumptions of the method in question are quite precise, but they are also conducive to creative education. The tasks proposed as part of it are to engage the student intellectually and emotionally and motivate them to attempt solving the problem using out-of-the-box steps. Classes taught by the PBL method bring in the added value in the form of creating conditions for work in a interdisciplinary team, where students do not only need their theoretical knowledge, but also their psychosocial skills7 (interpersonal communication, assertiveness, constructive conflict resolution, public communication – presentations and speeches, teamwork, dealing with change, innovativeness and creative problem solving). Therefore, P. Guo, et. al. regard PBL as a promising approach that improves higher education students’ quality of learning8. They claim that the method will allow provision of innovative teaching to students who will enter the labour market in the future. In addition, experience gained through working by the PBL method will improve their competitive edge in the ever-changing labour market9. Looking at the aspect of students’ work on a project according to the projectbased learning method, the teacher, who plays the role of mentor supporting the team with their knowledge and experience, cannot be omitted. According to the method, the teacher provides counselling in different forms and is an expert, consultant, guide, laissez-faire leader and often a trustworthy guardian. With such an approach, and according to the expectancy-value theory, students can combine specific needs and goals into one whole10. If a teacher working with students by the PBL model selects the proper model of operation, it will contribute to the emergence of the sense of self-worth and efficiency, and in turn to the achievement of better results by the group and each of its members. On this basis – in our opinion – it might be inferred that the PBL method allows for the union of the most effective didactic strategies used in academic education, i. e. coaching and co-teaching.

7 E. Krzystała, Project Based Learning jako metoda kształcenia inz˙ynierów [Project-based learning a method of education of engineers], [in:]: 1st Scientific Conference as part of the Engineers Without Borders project. Engineers Without Borders – modern teaching approaches based on supranational cooperation, Gliwice, pp. 85–90. 8 P. Guo, N. Saab, Ł.S Post., W. Admiraal, A review of project-based learning in higher education: Student outcomes and measures, International Journal of Educational Research, 2020, 102, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. 9 G. Crosling, M. Nair, S. Vaithilingam, A creative learning ecosystem, quality of education and innovative capacity. A perspective from higher education, Studies in Higher Education, 2015, 40 (7), pp. 1147–1163, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2014.881342 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. 10 S. Myeong-Hee, Effects of project-based learning on students’ motivation and self-efficacy, English Teaching, 73(1), 2018, pp. 95–114. DOI: 10.15858/engtea.73. 1. 201803.95 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022].

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Coaching and co-teaching in performance of tasks by the project-based learning method In current times, coaching is understood as assisting another person in strengthening and refining their functioning by reflection over how they use specific skills or knowledge11. In a slightly different approach, coaching is a non-directive method of psychological assistance based on the tenets of empirical psychology (particularly in terms of human personal development) and management science, and it is focused on helping an individual increase their effectiveness in a chosen area12. A.M. Zemełka emphasises that the identity of coaching can be determined by attributing the following features to it: – short-term nature, – non-directive form, – goal-orientation, – non-cyclical nature, – flexibility13. Due to a multitude of definitions and ways to understand coaching, it seems impossible to draw an exact line between counselling and coaching even though professionals frequently express willingness to delineate their own profile of work with their clients and so stand out from the rest14. This article will therefore discuss solely those elements of coaching that can be used in classes taught on the basis of project-based learning. As pointed out by J. Z˙ukowska, coaching is a process of refining skills in the area selected by the student, based on a peer-like relationship and mutual trust. It brings out and strengthens what is the most valuable. Moreover, it strengthens the team not only by the development of individual skills, but also by shaping proper attitudes. Coaching is a process that takes time and is placed in time, so that every effect achieved today leads to effectiveness tomorrow as well15.

11 S. Thorpe, J. Clifford, Podre˛cznik coachingu [Coaching textbook], REBIS Publishing House, Poznan´, 2004, p. 17. 12 A.M. Zemełka, Wczesna historia coachingu: poszukiwanie definicji i interferencji idei [Early history of coaching: seeking the definition and interference of idea], Educational Forum, 2016, 28 (56), pp. 143–160. https://forumoswiatowe.pl/index.php/czasopismo/article/view/439 [retrieved on: 24. 04. 2022]. 13 Ibidem, p. 147. 14 L. Best, Die Schnittstelle zwischen Beratung und Coaching aus der Perspektive der Professionellen und Klient_innen, Coaching Theor. Prax. 6, 2020, pp. 65–73. https://doi.org/10. 1365/s40896-020-00037-x [retrieved on: 21. 04. 2022]. 15 J. Z˙ukowska, Coaching jako instrument rozwoju zawodowego [Coaching as an instrument of professional development], [in:] Współczesne problemy zarza˛dzania zasobami ludzkimi

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As regards co-teaching, one of its popular definitions was developed by M. Friend et al. They refer to this method as a partnership between the teacher or another specialist with the aim of joint teaching of a diverse group of students16. Co-teaching was more widely defined by A. Sajdak-Burska: she claims that it involves: (…) classes taught by two cooperating individuals. It may also be expressed in providing a young teacher with individual supervision of a more experienced colleague. (Two academic teachers cooperating in conceptualisation of the syllabus and active teaching of classes can discuss a lot of questions significant from the didactic viewpoint; ponder together over difficulties that arouse under way, their sense and source; and work out an alternative solution). Co-teaching is mutual counselling and discussing reflectively everything that happened in class17.

According to R. Villa, co-teaching is also a co-teaching strategy consisting of three fundamental components: supportive co-teaching, parallel co-teaching and complementary co-teaching18 (Fig. 2). The co-teaching strategies proposed by the author present a range of possibilities for supporting learners. In addition, cooperation of the teachers and specialists, frequently representing different scientific disciplines, is beneficial for all class participants. It allows direct description of the analysed topic, support and counselling with the purpose of achieving the set goals. However, from the point of view of the transformation of the contemporary skills and the visible development of science, T. Härkki et al. create a new image of education, an image that corresponds to the assumptions of the 21st century in its own, specific way. The authors claim that today’s skills should include critical thinking and problem solving, teamwork, creativity and innovativeness. Therefore, the teaching goals shift from replaying the information taught to learning at a higher

[Contemporary problems of human resources management], ed. S. Lachiewicz, A. Walecka, Monographs of Lodz University of Technology, Łódz´, 2010, pp. 230–249. 16 M. Friend, A. Cook, L. Hurley-Chamberlain, C. Shamberger, Co-Teaching: An Illus-tration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20, pp. 9–27. 17 A. Sajdak-Burska, Paradygmat humanistyczny w dydaktyce akademickiej – utopia, koniecznos´c´, szansa? [Humanistic paradigm in academic didactics – utopia, necessity, opportunity?] Pedagogika Szkoły Wyz˙szej, 2 (22), 2018, p. 23, DOI: 10.18276/psw.2017.2-01 [retrieved on: 29. 04. 2022]. 18 R. Villa, Effective Co-Teaching Strategies, Retrieved from: www.teachhub.com/effective-co -teaching-strategies, 2016, (retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022). R. Villa, Co-Teaching. 2017, retrieved from: www.ravillabayridge.com/wp-content/uploads/ Co-Teaching-Full-Day-20171024.pdf; za: Giebułtowska J., Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania [Team teaching – experience of co-teaching]. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie Skłodowska XXXIV, (1), Lublin, 2021, p. 48.

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Figure 2: Components of co-teaching according to R. Villa. Source: own study based on: Villa R., Co-Teaching. 2017 Retrieved from: www.ravillabayridge.com/wp-content/uploads/Co-Teaching -Full-Day-20171024.pdf; after: Giebułtowska J., (2021). Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania [Team teaching – experience of co-teaching]. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie Skłodowska XXXIV, (1), Lublin, 2021, p. 48. DOI: 10.17951/j.2021.34.1.45–55.

level. This level reform, however, requires creating new possibilities19 for education both from teachers and from broader school communities. It might be that the answer to researchers’ questions is to combine teaching didactic methods, which are at the same time creative and which correspond to the expectations of the young generation. These might include project-based learning, and with the support of elements of coaching and co-teaching, higher education will be able to aspire to become innovative and expected by students and the super-intelligent society of the 21st century, currently in development.

19 T. Härkki, H. Vartiainen, P. Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, K. Hakkarainen, Co-teaching in nonlinear projects: A contextualised model of co-teaching to support educational change, Teaching and Teacher Education, 97, 2021, pp. 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103188 [retrieved on: 30. 04. 2022].

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Project-based learning, coaching and co-teaching in education Grasping those interconnected and changing interactions between project-based learning, coaching and co-teaching requires, first of all, contextual co-teaching models, which – according to T. Härkki i et. al. – are not limited to the analysis of teachers’ actions but also take into account other factors that are significant for education transformation20. Teaching aided by coaching tools, in turn, changes the perception of the teacher–student relationship. Coaching allows an individual approach to students on the basis of their diagnosed personality traits, temperament and learning styles21. Including elements of coaching in lessons will supplement them: like students, teachers – observing positive effects of their work resulting from such inclusion – acquire a sense of higher agency and feel the creators of those changes, which leads to higher work motivation and engagement22. This is particularly significant in view of the development of young people as the awareness of one’s own potential, as pointed out by J. Whitmore, leads to quicker acquisition of new skills and the development of the already acquired ones23. It is also worth underlining other values of coaching when discussing the possibility of its use in education. These values include: – a significant role in the professional development of teachers and in their relations with others, – better exam results, – improved mental resilience of students, – higher involvement of students in goal achievement, – positive effect on students’ attitudes to learning, – supporting students in identifying their own strengths and resources24. Therefore, teachers are more and more often seen looking for creative didactic methods in their professional work. These activities show a new path followed by educators and teachers with the aim of achieving the goals of contemporary 20 Ibidem. 21 J. Kozielska, Coaching w edukacji. Uczyc´ lepiej [Coaching in education. To teach better], 1, 2016, pp. 4–5. http://hdl.handle.net/10593/14005 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. 22 Ibidem. 23 J. Whitmore, Coaching. Trening efektywnos´ci: rozwój ludzkiego potencjału w oparciu o model GROW. Zasady oraz praktyka coachingu i przywództwa [Coaching. Effectiveness training: development of the human potential on the basis of the GROW model. Principles and practice of coaching and leadership], G+J Gruner+Jahr Polska Publishing House, Warsaw 2011. 24 L. Kupaj, Szkoła Coachingu [Coaching school], 2018, http://szkolacoachingu.edu.pl/o-mnie/ [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022r.]; after E. Toran´czak, E. Toron´czak, Coaching edukacyjny jako efektywna metoda wyrównywana szans w edukacji [Educational coaching as an effective method for equalisation of educational opportunities], [in:] Szkoła równych szans. Namysł teoretyczny i rozwia˛zania praktyczne [School of equal opportunities. Theoretical discussion and practical solutions] (198–2018), ed. P. Kostyło, Bydgoszcz, UKW, FRSE, 2019.

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teaching. However, J. Veteska i et. al. pay attention to quite a peculiar issue, as the main directions of educational policy for the next decade should be towards promoting educational innovations and their verification through vocational training of the teaching staff and examination of learning effectiveness. One of the possibilities of achieving that aim is co-teaching and its forms, which are constantly in evolution25. As a result, a modern approach to education warrants unavoidable and, in fact, expected changes which position the obligatory and thus-far-unchanged pedagogical concepts and paradigms in confrontation with the contemporary possibilities of effective education, achieved through innovative methods of work. Therefore, from the vantage point of possible application of coaching and toteaching in classes taught on the basis of project-based learning, there are numerous advantages of such a solution. This is so, as problem-based teaching is a teaching philosophy which, describing a set of principles and standards required for effective teaching26, allows for including other teaching methods. However, the basic condition for effective teaching and refinement of independent thinking is to teach knowledge presented in the form of problems27. If such a didactic approach is to be applied, it will be necessary to support, advise and hold discussions, often reflective, but with the purpose – according to A. Scoular, of bringing out the unrealised potential lying dormant in people28. Coaching as a process of encouraging people to make an effort to transform their dreams into values and goals and to strive for them consequently29 is easily included in the practice of PBL-based classes: in many cases the undertaken projects are a potential of concepts and aspirations, often scientific, which are the path for development of the young person. Let us not forget, too, that PBL allows for cooperation of even three specialists (project supervisors, including the chief supervisor), and from different scientific disciplines at that. In turn, co-teaching allows cooperation around a project in order to achieve that which the partic25 J. Veteska, M. Kursch, Z. Svobodova, M. Tureckiova, L. Paulovcakova, Longitudinal Coteaching Projects. Scoping Review, [in:] Orchestration of Learning Environments in the Digital World, Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital World, ed. D. Ifenthaler, P. Isaías, D.G. Sampson, Cham, Springer, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90944-4_3 [retrieved on 02. 05. 2022]. 26 J.M. Nunes de Oliveira, Project-Based Learning in Engineering. The Águeda Experience [in.] Management of change implementation of problem based and project-based learning in engineering, ed. E. Graff, A. Kolmos Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2007, pp. 161–180. 27 S.G. Zembski, Nauczanie problemowe w praktyce [Problem-based teaching in practice], Research Papers. Quality. Production. Improvement, 2 (9), 2018, pp. 177–187. https://www.resea rchgate.net/publication/332888844 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. 28 A. Scoular, Coaching biznesowy [Business coaching], Sopot, Gdan´sk Psychology Publishing House, 2014. 29 J. Szafran, Coaching jako specyficzna forma dialogu i wsparcia wychowawczego [Coaching as a specific form of dialogue and upbringing support], Education Research Quarterly, 2018, 63, 2 (248), p. 37.

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ipants would not attain independently30. In practice, teaching leads to new insights that would otherwise probably not occur in a different context31 because each case of problem solving in practice is exceptional and allows transformation of the existing knowledge32 in a new, often innovative, manner. The reflections that come to mind lead to the statement that most curricula warrant dramatic changes. They should lead to expanding teaching possibilities with new, or in fact familiar, methods such as project-based learning, co-teaching or coaching. Such solutions will make classes more interesting, allow for achieving goals, optimising efficiency and monitoring learning progress, and they will allow teachers to intervene if the performance is suboptimal33. The purpose of this approach is first and foremost to boost motivation, involvement and the potential of students/learners in the scope of learning about the world using contemporary and interesting methods.

Summary Project-based learning responds to the current needs of higher education of future teachers and engineers. Their education through the solution of problems, often highly innovative and interdisciplinary, should result in them proposing this didactic method in curricula (education modules) at universities. Working with this method has numerous benefits: it integrates knowledge and actions of students/learners through practice, not only technological, but also psychopedagogical and social; it helps learners solve problems; and it supports cooperation with other students, including those studying other scientific disciplines. It must be remembered that PBL is not an additional curriculum; it is a process of defining and solving problems in the context of proper knowledge and skills34. 30 N. Bacharach, T. Heck, M. Dank, Co-teaching: A partnership in the classroom, Jacksonville, FL. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, after: N. Bacharach, T. Washut Heck, K. Dahlberg Co-Teaching In Higher Education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2003, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v5i3.1298 2008, [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. 31 C. Henderson, A. Beach, M. Famiano, Promoting instructional change via co-teaching, American Journal of Physics, 77(3), 2009, pp. 274–283. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3033744; after: H. H. Scherer, M. O’Rourke, R. Seman-Varner, P. Ziegler, Coteaching in Higher Education. A Case Study of InstructorLearning. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 3, (1), 2020, https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/37/29 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. 32 Ibidem. 33 T. Härkki, H. Vartiainen, P. Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, K. Hakkarainen, Co-teaching in non-linear projects. A contextualised model of co-teaching to support educational change, Teaching and Teacher Education, 97, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103188 [retrieved: 30.04. 2022]. 34 C.L. Chiang, H. Lee, The Effect of Project-Based Learning on Learning Motivation and Problem-Solving Ability of Vocational High School Students, International. Journal of In-

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Opinions of researchers dealing with these issues, and their findings show that learning on the basis of projects and problems has a positive impact on creativity and critical thinking of students35. Moreover, inclusion of elements of coaching and co-teaching supports the process even more, stimulating the development of significant personality traits. According to J. Kozielska, these traits are the sense of self-worth, stimulation of the skill of independent learning and self-control, readiness to take risk, the development of critical, reflective and analytical thinking, increase in motivation to learn, the development of emotional intelligence and acquisition of life skills, readiness to function in different roles and to deepen interpersonal contacts36. A similar stance is expressed by A. Syakur et al.: in whose opinion the PBL method may stimulate students’ motivation to learn and can optimise their educational achievements37. Researchers also underline that this method is remarkably useful in preparing students to deal with challenges that are being forecast in unclear ways now38. It is underscored that deriving the above benefits would not be possible without effective cooperation of a team of teachers carrying out a project together with students. N. Bacharach i T. Washut Heck point out that respondents agreed that the greatest advantage of co-teaching was the possibility to use the knowledge and experience of teachers representing different scientific disciplines. Regardless of the composition of the teaching team, students appreciated the potential of access to rich scientific knowledge and the fact that they experienced support of different sorts from the teachers39. It needs to be pointed out that the currently suggested didactic approach within the project-based learning method includes elements of coaching or coteaching anyway, which might be observed when watching a class taught by this method. However, professional experience suggests that the performance of the students/learners can be much higher as a result of properly applied elements of coaching.

35 36 37

38 39

formation and Education Technology, 2016, 6, (9), pp. 709–712, DOI: 10.7763/IJIET.2016.V6. 779 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. R.D. Anazifa, D. Djukri, Project- Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning: Are They Effective to Improve Student’s Thinking Skills?, Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 6 (2), 2017, pp. 346–355. DOI: 10.15294/jpii.v6i2.11100 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. J. Kozielska, Coaching w edukacji. Uczyc´ lepiej [Coaching in education. To teach better], 2016, 1, pp. 4–5. http://hdl.handle.net/10593/14005 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. A. Syakur, E. Junining, Y. Sabat, The Effectiveness of Coopertative Learning (STAD and PBL type) on E-learning Sustainable Development in Higher Education, Journal of Development Research, 2020, 4(1), pp. 53–61, DOI: https://doi.org/10.28926/jdr.v4i1.98 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. A. Syakur, E. Junining, Y. Sabat, The Effectiveness of Coopertative Learning… op. cit. N. Bacharach, T. Washut Heck, K. Dahlberg, Co-Teaching In Higher Education. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 2008, 5 (3), 2008, p. 15, DOI: 10.19030/tlc.v4i10.1532; https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/298796401_CoTeaching_In_Higher_Education/link/5d70 231a92851cacdb219422/download [retrieved on: 02. 05. 2022].

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Contemporary education is facing a challenge that leads to modification of old and long-established didactic paths into new ones, more adequate to the needs of learners and the requirements of Society 5.0. It is also known that it is not possible to stop the technological advancement anymore and, according to Syakur et al., it cannot be either avoided or rejected. Modern technologies are changing the world and the way people live,40 and education should be the area of life that changes quickly, flexibly and innovatively. Therefore, the PBL method enriched by co-teaching in different forms and elements of coaching can become a proposition that will make the didactic process a fantastic adventure engaging the student’s intellect and emotions to equal degrees.

References Anazifa R.D., Djukri D., Project- Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning. Are They Effective to Improve Student’s Thinking Skills? Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 2017, 6 (2), pp. 346–355. DOI: 10.15294/jpii.v6i2.11100 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. Bacharach N., Heck T., Dank M., Co-teaching. A partnership in the classroom, Jacksonville, FL, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, 2003. Bacharach N., Washut Heck T., Dahlberg K., Co-Teaching In Higher Education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2008, 5(3), https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v5i3.1298 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. Best L., Die Schnittstelle zwischen Beratung und Coaching aus der Perspektive der Professionellen und Klient_innen. Coaching Theor. Prax. 2020, 6, pp. 65–73. https://doi.o rg/10.1365/s40896-020-00037-x [retrieved on: 21. 04. 2022]. Chiang C.L., Lee H., The Effect of Project-Based Learning on Learning Motivation and Problem-Solving Ability of Vocational High School Students. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2016, 6, (9), pp. 709–712, DOI: 10.7763/ IJIET.2016.V6.779 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. Crosling G., Nair M., Vaithilingam, S., A creative learning ecosystem, quality of education and innovative capacity. A perspective from higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 2015, 40 (7), pp. 1147–1163, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2014.881342 [retrieved on: 20. 04. 2022]. Friend M., Cook L. Hurley-Chamberlain A., Shamberger C., Co-Teaching: An Illus-tration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2010, 20, pp. 9–27. Giebułtowska J., Team teaching – dos´wiadczanie współnauczania [Team teaching – experience of co-teaching]. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie Skłodowska Lublin – Polonia, XXXIV, 2021, (1), pp. 45–55.

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tion: Past, ed. G. H. Beckett, P. C. Miller, Eds., Greenwich, Present, and Future, 2006, pp. 19–40. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=66995 [retrieved on: 17. 04. 2022]. Syakur A., Junining E., Sabat Y., The Effectiveness of Coopertative Learning (STAD and PBL type) on E-learning Sustainable Development in Higher Education. Journal of Development Research, 2020, 4(1), pp. 53–61. Szafran J., Coaching jako specyficzna forma dialogu i wsparcia wychowawczego [Coaching as a specific form of dialogue and upbringing support]. Education Research Quarterly, 63, (2), 2018, pp. 37–54. DOI 10.5604/01.3001.0012.1155 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. Thorpe S., Clifford J., Podre˛cznik coachingu [Coaching textbook]. REBIS Publishing House, Poznan´ 2004, p. 17. E. Toron´czak, Coaching edukacyjny jako efektywna metoda wyrównywana szans w edukacji [Educational coaching as an effective method for equalisation of educational opportunities], [in:] Szkoła równych szans. Namysł teoretyczny i rozwia˛zania praktyczne (198–2018) [School of equal opportunities. Theoretical discussion and practical solutions (198–2018)], [ed.] P. Kostyło, FRSE Bydgoszcz, UKW, Warsaw, 2019. Veteska J., Kursch M., Svobodova Z., Tureckiova M., Paulovcakova L., Longitudinal Coteaching Projects. Scoping Review, [in:] Orchestration of Learning Environments in the Digital World. Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital World, ed. D. Ifenthaler, P. Isaías, D.G. Sampson, Cham, Springer 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0 30-90944-4_3 [retrieved on: 02. 05. 2022]. Villa R., Effective Co-Teaching Strategies. www.teachhub.com/effective-co-teach ing-stra tegies 2016, (retrieved on: 20. 06. 2019). Villa R., Co-Teaching. www.ravillabayridge.com/wp-content/uploads/Co-Teach ing-FullDay-20171024 2017, (retrieved on: 20. 06. 2019). Whitmore J., Coaching: trening efektywnos´ci : rozwój ludzkiego potencjału w oparciu o model GROW. zasady oraz praktyka coachingu i przywództwa [Coaching. Effectiveness training: development of the human potential on the basis of the GROW model. Principles and practice of coaching and leadership]. G+J Gruner+Jahr Polska Publishing House, Warszawa, 2011. Zdonek I., Wykorzystanie Project Based Learning w edukacji klasy kreatywnej [Using project-based learning in education of a creative class]. Research Papers of the Silesian University of Technology, Organisation and Management Series, 102, 2017, pp. 407–422. Zembski S. G., Nauczanie problemowe w praktyce [Problem-based teaching in practice]. Research Papers. Quality. Production. Improvement. 2 (9), 2018, pp. 177–187. DOI: 10.30657/qpi.2018.09.13. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332888844 [retrieved on: 01. 05. 2022]. Zemełka A. M., Wczesna historia coachingu: poszukiwanie definicji i interferencji idei [Early history of coaching: seeking the definition and interference of idea]. Educational Forum, 282(56), 2016, 143–160. https://forumoswiatowe.pl/index.php/czasopismo/arti cle/view/439 [retrieved on: 24. 04. 2022]. Z˙ukowska J., Coaching jako instrument rozwoju zawodowego [Coaching as an instrument of professional development], [in:] Współczesne problemy zarza˛dzania zasobami ludzkimi [Contemporary problems of human resources management]. (ed.) S. Lachiewicz, A. Walecka, Monograph of Lodz University of Technology, Łódz´, pp. 230–249, 2010.

Katarzyna Tobór-Osadnik / Anna Bluszcz

Modern trends in higher education – experiences in the implementation of an international didactic project Erasmus+ CBHE (Capacity Building in Higher Education)

Abstract: Building new possibilities for collaborative education can be achieved in different ways. In this chapter the authors describe an ongoing didactic project within the Erasmus+ programme. The aim of the project is to strengthen capacity building at Asian partner universities. The construction of twin 6 master’s programmes and their launch at all 6 universities is an activity that requires the creation of a platform for knowledge exchange among European and Asian partners. The use of the experience of the European partners is complementary to the building of compatible competences within the project team. The cooperation is based on co-learning and exchange of experience. Therefore, the chapter discusses not only the essence of the project, but also the didactic methods used in Europe to be applied in the course of the planned Master’s studies. This presented holistic approach to the realisation of the project goals makes it possible to integrate culturally and area-diverse educational activities. For this reason, in the conclusion of the chapter, the authors refer to the possibility of using the presented didactic methods in the implementation of the described project. Keywords: cooperation, capacity building, co-learning, knowledge platform

Introduction The dynamic development of modern IT service technologies has a significant impact on innovative education models not only at the level of education at universities. The continuous improvement of curricula and increase in the quality of education in higher education is the main priority of the strategy of each university. The popularization of innovation and good practices in this area becomes the main goal of many EU-funded programs in order to create optimal models of education of global importance. Among the many practices and forms of training used in modern education systems in the European Union countries, there are many common trends that are becoming more and more popular and bring measurable didactic effects that can be applied in related scientific fields in other countries outside the European Union. This publication presents the experiences of a project aimed at developing optimal models of university educa-

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tion that can be implemented in other developing countries around the world. The phenomenon of globalization of economic activity has made education a national problem in developing countries. Human capital and highly qualified employees determine the strength and competitiveness of global enterprises. Hence, there is a need for dynamic changes in education systems in higher education in developing countries in order to provide qualified personnel necessary on the labor market. In addition, the publication analyzes the needs of higher education for globalization in developing countries and discusses the main challenges that globalization has brought to higher education, presents the results of experiences from the project implementation Erasmus+ CBHE (Capacity Building Higher Education) in the Geomatics (geoinformatics) field. Geomatics is the field of knowledge (and technology) dealing with the problems of acquiring, collecting, maintaining, analyzing, interpreting, transmitting and using geospatial (spatial, geographic) information, i. e. related to the Earth. The economic development of the world is closely dependent on natural resources and the ability and economic profitability of exploiting these resources, which requires the employment of specialized technical staff. The observed climate changes resulting from the intensive exploitation of natural resources have many side effects that humanity has to deal with. The risk of catastrophes is still growing, hence the demand for specialists in geomatics is increasing at the same time. The implementation of the project in question is therefore part of the broadly understood popularization of knowledge and skills in this field.

Project characteristic Climate change impacts both the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters, while reducing resilience that can increase vulnerability in all kinds of natural hazards. Reducing disaster risk can, thus, contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in countries of the South-east Asia which are already among the most vulnerable, globally, to climate change1. The project is primarily aimed at building the capacity of academic, administrative and technical staff of universities from partner countries in the creation and effective delivery of master’s degree programs in “Geomatics for Disaster Risk Reduction”. The planned studies are multidisciplinary in nature. Therefore, although Partners from Universities in Asia have some qualifications, they are 1 L. Mehta, S. Srivastava, S. Movik, H.N. Adam, R. D’Souza, D. Parthasarathy, L.O. Naess, N. Ohte, Transformation as praxis: responding to climate change uncertainties in marginal environments in South Asia. “Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability”, 2021, vol. 49, p. 110–117, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.04.002.

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dispersed. The planned studies will allow for developing a unified program for all six partners using their different teaching qualifications. Therefore 12 joint courses are planned which will involve the exchange of students between Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Each of the 6 Asian partners is tasked with developing 2 courses in which they have experience. Experienced partners from European universities in Greece, Spain and Poland will take care of the content of the teaching materials. Building knowledge exchange and support in the development of new modern study programs is the basis of the project. The material that will be used for the training of staff will be freely available in the Virtual “GIS for DRR” Learning Environment (VLE), thus any other staff member who wishes to build their capacity will be able to do so through asynchronous, distance learning. Especially for Malaysian HEIs, the use of online courses and the creation of open online course is a top priority, according to the Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2015–20252. The next project targets undergraduate and graduate students of engineering schools, information technology departments, environmental sciences, and others who wish to study using the latest technological developments of geo-information science in identifying natural hazards, reducing the risk, and managing and recovering from natural disasters. Through attending the MSc in “Geomatics for Disaster Risk Reduction”, the new generation of scientists will be able to assess vulnerability and risk with the use of geomatics, as well as contribute to building more resilient communities by detailed planning and mapping of the disaster risk, potential impact, and appropriate mitigation and relief actions. Reduction of disaster vulnerability is a key priority for Cambodia3 and the Philippines4, while building resilience is Malaysia’s pressing5, mid-term objective. The MSc will be offered from all partners from Asian countries and will be available to all interested students that fulfil the requirements set by the institutions. For students and all other interested parties who do not wish to enrol on the MSc programme but are interested in building their knowledge and skills in geomatics and disaster risk reduction, relevant coursed developed by Pro2 S. Abd Rahman, L. Zakariyah, A.S.binti Saiful Bahrin, The Relationship between Maqasid AlShari’ah and Key Intangible Performance for Teaching and Learning: A Content Analysis in Light of Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education), “Journal of Islam in Asia”, 2021, 18(1), p. 137–162. https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v18i1.1043. 3 Report 2021: Completion Report for the MRC Strategic Plan 2016–2020: Achievements, Mekong River Commission, 15 March 2022, [https://www.mrcmekong.org/news-and-events/ne ws/pr-15032022/]. 4 Report 2019: Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines, UNDRR, 2019, [https://www.unisdr.o rg/files/68265_682308philippinesdrmstatusreport.pdf]. 5 M.W.A. Ramli, N.E. Alias, H. Mohd Yusof, Z. Yusop, S.M. Taib, Development of a Local, Integrated Disaster Risk Assessment Framework for Malaysia, “Sustainability”, 13, 2021, p. 10792. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910792.

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gramme Country HEIs will be freely available in the Virtual “GIS for DRR” Learning Environment (VLE). Enhancing access and visibility of training offers is included in all Asian Partner Countries’ strategies for modernisation and quality improvement of higher education. The project also aims to raise awareness among local communities and mobilize authorities to act on disaster risk reduction through structured, participatory policies that address prevention, impact mitigation and preparedness. Therefore, the project envisages meetings and promotional activities not only for academic groups, but also for the public and local authorities. The Project, also, intends to develop links between academia and the labour market, especially by adequately equipping future professionals with all the necessary skills to thrive under constantly changing circumstances. Employment and training opportunities are key to attracting students to the planned Master’s degree program. For this purpose, already in the first phase of the project in 2021, a needs survey of the stakaholders was conducted in order to identify the needs of the labour market. Within the implemented project, a special role is played by the use of new methods of distance learning, self-improvement and building the knowledge platform. The Moodle platform will be used as a direct tool. Building a common platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience between all universities participating in the project is also possible through the construction of programs based on 12 common courses. Each program contains common core courses and content. This is what the capacity buildng effect is based on. Each partner has its own specific learning and experience but through joint training and education study together they achieve the positive synergy effect. Within this framework, different methods for supporting student work were brought together. Based on the experience of the European partners, different forms of education were put forward and dedicated to the particular form of classes.

New directions of higher education There has been a large amount of research in the literature on higher education, including in the areas of teaching and learning6,7. In general, teaching is considered as the part of education which is planned and programmed. Teaching includes the whole of the interaction between the instructor and learners. In 6 J. Biggs, The reflective institution: Assuring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. “Higher Education”, 2001, 41(3), p. 221–238. 7 O.S. Pitan, C. Muller, University reputation and undergraduates’ self-perceived employability: Mediating influence of experiential learning activities. “Higher Education Research & Development”, 38(6), 2019, p. 1269–1284. doi:10.1080/07294360.2019.1634678.

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other words, education is the result of teaching and learning activities. Teaching is an activity which is carried out to provide information to humans and develop abilities and mental capabilities of a human being8. The effectiveness of education largely depends on the didactic methods used, which should optimize the education process9,10. The publication presents modern trends in education at universities, shares the experience of a project aimed at developing education programs for developing countries with the support of experts in their implementation. Human capital, including skills and competences, are currently the basis for creating economic and social prosperity. Universities, which should be pioneers in innovation and popularization of modern knowledge intensive for the benefit of the economy and society play a key role in this matter. Therefore, higher education is subject to constant transformation in order to adapt to the changing market requirements, so as to fulfill its role in the development of society in the most effective way. If we look at education as a process of programming we can identify two ways of doing it11: – imperative – describes the execution process as a sequence of procedure-based instructions (we introduce student procedures of behavior to students), – declarative – a set of declarations of the properties of the object we want to output (we define goals, but students find their own way to achieve them). At the same time, we must recognize another form of knowledge base building in today’s young person living in the Digital Age. Its knowledge consists of: – internal knowledge base – knowledge, skills and competences acquired through learning, – external knowledge base – bibliographic sources, digital sources, multiple sources, oral sources. This form of education is in correlation with a new method of learning – connectivism. Its main principles are: – the key competence is to distinguish what is relevant and what is not, 8 P.W. Musgrave, Sociology of education, Methuen, London 1983. 9 Z. Zainuddin, S.H. Halili, Flipped classroom research and trends from different fields of study, “International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning”, 2016, 17(3), p. 313–340. 10.19173/irrodl.v17i3.2274. 10 T. Nikitina, I. Lapina, Overview of trends and developments in business education. The 21st World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2017, Vol.2, USA, Orlando 2017. 11 K. Tobór-Osadnik, M. Wyganowska, The 21st century engineer in response to industry 5.0 challenges. [in:] Innovation and entrepreneurship. Theory and practice, ed. K. Poznan´ska, K. Szczepan´ska-Woszczyna, J. Michałek, Da˛browa Górnicza 2022, p. 217–230.

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– the traditional “know-what” or “know how” (know-how) is giving way in connectorism to “know-where”. The concept of connectivism developed by Georgie Siemens is a response to contemporary educational challenges – the ability to select incoming information, the use of technology, learning by being in networked communities. In contrast to behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, it does not place the acquisition of personal experience as the main value in the learning process. Much more important is the ability to see the connections between ideas and the ability to apply knowledge. Some significant trends in learning12: – Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated fields over the course of their lifetime. – Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience. Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning. Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks. – Learning is a continuous process, lasting for a lifetime. Learning and work related activities are no longer separate. In many situations, they are the same. – Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking. – The organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning. – Many of the processes previously handled by learning theories (especially in cognitive information processing) can now be off-loaded to, or supported by, technology. – Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where (the understanding of where to find the required knowledge). However, methodologists pay attention to a number of threats of such a perception of education: – can the educational process be reduced to information seeking? – dehumanisation of the role of the individual in the educational process, – it is important to develop learning to think and critical minds and not just uncritical digital natives. 12 G. Siemens, Connectivism. A learning theory for the digital age, International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2005, 2(1), Available at: https://lidtfounda tions.pressbooks.com/chapter/connectivism-a-learning-theory-for-the-digital-age/ [02 May 2022].

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In summary, it can be said that: changing the construction of study programmes is a necessity from the point of view of the changing needs of the labour market. It is important to build on the knowledge acquired by students, on the one hand, to be able to build their own study paths and to be able to critically use external (not only digital) resources, on the other. When managing organizations, it is important to remember to apply the policy of continuous change. The same principle also refers to universities. The dynamically changing characteristics of the next generation are a challenge not only for the education system, but also for employers, who must constantly adapt their companies to the new face of human resources.

Innovative teaching methodology Mentoring and tutoring The key task of universities is to ensure appropriate methods of providing knowledge, education and improvement of specific skills and attitudes, as well as methods of their verification. Therefore, it is important to choose the appropriate didactic methods that will allow the student to acquire specific skills and social competences. The effectiveness of the education process is also determined by the effectiveness of the communication process between the teacher and the student13. Mentoring and tutoring are among the didactic methods that meet the above requirements. Both of these methods are a personalized education tool. Mentoring is a partnership relationship between a mentor and his/her student, aimed at discovering and developing the student’s capabilities. The earliest studies identified two major trends in mentoring which could be distinguished by psychosocial functions such as counseling, acceptance, and social functions such as coaching, challenge14,15. Successful mentoring programs socialize students to a set of high expectations of academic progress16,17. In

13 B. Pituła, Correlation of communication relations between the teacher and the student in the teaching process and theories of individual personality traits, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, ed. Pituła B., Nowosad I., Commonality of Goals, V&R Unipress 2022. 14 K.E. Kram, Phases of the mentor relationship, Academy of Management Journal, 1983, 26(4), p. 608–625. 15 M.R. Schockett, M. Haring-Hidore, Factor analytic support for psychosocial and vocational mentoring functions, Psychological Reports, 57, 1985, p. 627–630. 16 T.A. Campbell, D.E. Campbell, Faculty/student mentor programs: Effects on academic performance and retention, Research in Higher Education, 1997, 38(6), p. 727–742.

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mentoring, the goals of the process are set only by the student with the mentor. In general, the purpose of mentoring reflects a person’s developmental needs related to building their key resources such as work experience, social skills, knowledge and emotional intelligence. The relationship between the student and the mentor is not a contract to acquire specific skills over a predetermined period of time. The entire mentoring process can take up to several years, but the timeframe is flexible and depends on the student’s current needs. It involves the provision of advice, guidance or information by a person who has the skills, experience or practical knowledge (mentor) that is useful for the professional and personal development of the student. The mentor’s relationship to the student is very important in this matter. The mentor should be open-minded and able to present difficult topics, while the student should be able to listen, learn quickly and consistently (fig. 1). The relationship between the mentor and the student is vertical. The teacher is in a higher position than the student, which results from the experience s/he has acquired. Although the boundary between them is initially impassable, it gets smaller with time as the student learns more and more skills.

O Establishment of objec"ves R

A

Implementa!on of results achieved

Ac"on plan and its implementa!on

V Verifica"on of the results Figure 1: Mentoring model

Tutoring is based on the human-to-human relationship, the tutor and the student. It is also a personalized and holistic approach, taking into account that everyone is different and that our life and development take place simultaneously 17 B.D. Smedley, A.Y. Stith, L. Colburn, C.H. Evans, The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do. Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions, Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press; D.C., Washington 2001.

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in many spheres. Tutoring is not so much about checking how much someone remembers, but about supporting the development process – discovering talents and developing the ability to think and create independently. Tutoring is a method designed to improve didactics. In didactics, tutoring is not an end in itself, but it serves the improvement of the educational process. Thanks to tutoring, this process it should be better and therefore generate more added value for students. University College London understands tutoring as any structured, individualized work with students, especially those outstanding or struggling, that is being conducted regularly in a 1: 1 model, in small groups, or less frequently as part of larger group teaching. It is designed to help students achieve their academic goals and personal goals development. Tutoring should be part of the regular university course and be adapted to different backgrounds and needs of students, their level of academic skills, specializations and interests and cover the full range of university disciplines. Tutoring emphasizes the ability to think critically, analyze knowledge creatively, clearly express one’s own and others’ ideas, the art of logical argumentation and discussion. In addition, there are the skills to concentrate and extract important information from all messages that flood us. Great importance is attached here to developing the skills of written expression, especially in the form of an essay. All this is to lead to the development of skills and the habit of self-learning in the student / ward and to effectively deal with the challenges and problems that will be encountered in the future (fig. 2). It is important that the tutor is a competent person in this area of knowledge, in which he or she moves with the student / ward. However, knowledge is not the most important thing here. The tutor can, together with the beginner mentee, enter a topic unknown to them both to show how to navigate it, how to get to know it. For this to be possible, the tutor should be aware of his/her own resources, both strengths and weaknesses. The tutor should have three basic skills: 1) listening skills, 2) the ability to ask questions, 3) the ability to explain actively. Thus, a tutor-academic teacher must communicate efficiently. Communication is indicated as an extremely important condition for the effective use of tutoring18.

18 P. Bertola, E. Murphy, Tutoring at University: A Beginner’s Practical Guide, Paradigm Books, 1994.

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Defining the research problem

Use tools and tac!cs to solve problem

Clarify problem

Problemsolving framework Figure 2: Tutoring model

Project Based Learning Modern and effective education models based on PBL and dual studies are a valuable tool that enable students to acquire more appropriate knowledge and skills by combining formal education with training acquired in the workplace, or business problems that arise in business practice, with which the student comes into contact with during their studies and is better prepared for the situation in the workplace. PBL brings authenticity to the classroom in that the problem is easily connected to the world outside of the classroom, and students are challenged to collaborate, communicate and think critically as they approach the problem. These skills are directly related to Global Competencies and Transferable Skills. Embedded in any good project, they are a solid set of language based skills (e. g. research, writing a paper, putting together a presentation, etc.), as well as any other subject-related expectations that one chooses to include (fig. 3). The implementation of classes in the form of PBL consists in gathering an interdisciplinary group of students from at least three fields of study or specialization of education. The team is working on solving the problem that is reflected in practice. During the course, students can discuss various ways of solving problems, have contact with various methods and approaches to action,

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acquire teamwork skills, work in a specific schedule with assigned responsibilities. PBL enables the simulation of the working conditions that students will have to deal with in their professional work, where not only specialist knowledge is of key importance, but also delegating responsibility to all members of the working team contributes to the success of the project. The key elements of PBL are: Knowledge, Understanding and “Success Skills” – The PBL project is focused on the educational goals, on what knowledge the students are supposed to master within the developed course cards. PBL enables the acquisition of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and self-management. Challenge: Problem – The aim of the PBL project is the need to find an optimal solution to a problem that is reflected in practice. The implementation of tasks requires independence in action and responsibility for achieving a common end result. The role of the teacher is to coordinate activities, discussions, or guide and identify potential opportunities, but the final decision rests with the team. Students acquire the ability to plan tasks and selforganize in an interdisciplinary group. Fixed Question – Students are involved in an insightful, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and linking the information and skills of all team members. Authenticity – The project relates to the real world, tasks, tools, quality standards simulate professional conditions. Decision making – Students make certain decisions about the project, in particular how they will work, selection of team members, division of tasks and implementation schedule. Team members have full decision-making and independence in assigning tasks and planning the schedule. Feedback – students and teachers reflect on the teaching process, its effectiveness, their achievement of results, project work and its quality, adversities and the ways in which they overcame them. The effectiveness of the actions taken is assessed in the summary of the results of the work, the academic teacher prepares feedback for the team members, the feedback is a summary of the work, indicating the strengths and weaknesses. Then there is a discussion on emerging problems and drawing conclusions on how to avoid them with a clear message and tips on how to operate more effectively in future projects. Publication / Report – Students popularize the results of their work in the form of publications on websites, scientific articles, presentations at conferences, workshops, exhibitions, etc.

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Defining the purpose and scope of the PBL project

Key Performance Indicators,KPI

Mee!ng of an interdisciplinary working group

Designate a project manager among team members

Breakdown of the project scope into stages

Assign roles to team members with responsibili!es

Implementa!on of tasks

Feedback

Report/Publica!on Figure 3: Model of PBL activity

Design thinking Design Thinking is a modern method that is used to create innovative solutions. It is a structured approach to the innovation process19. The first step is to build an interdisciplinary team. This method is an approach to solving real-life, usually illdefined, problems. It borrows elements from design to identify alternative strategies and innovative solutions. It is a way of understanding the people for which solutions are designed before implementing the solution. It helps question the assumptions, the implications and the problem itself. It includes an iteration of experimentation and testing of intermediate solutions. It starts with understanding the user; then it precedes defining the problem, challenging assumptions, creating solutions and ends up with testing of the proposed design of concepts, products, solutions etc20.

19 D. Henriksen, C. Richardson, R. Mehta, Design thinking: A creative approach to educational problems of practice, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2017, 26 (October), p. 140–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.10.001. 20 L.C. Pratomo, Siswandari, D.K. Wardani, The effectiveness of design thinking in improving student creativity skills and entrepreneurial alertness, International Journal of Instruction, 2021, 14(4), p. 695–712. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2021.14440a.

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Empathisa!on

II

Problem defini!on

III

Genera!ng ideas

IV

Construc!on of a prototype

V

189

Testing

Figure 4: Stanford Design Thinking Model [own study based on21]

Design thinking is an innovation strategy to be taught as an independent module rather than a method of teaching and it has been criticized for diminishing the role of technical knowledge and undermining engineering skills. Then, the appointed team implements, step by step, the subsequent stages (fig. 4) of the method using a set of tools and techniques to develop an optimal solution for implementation. The path through the consecutive stages does not have to be linear22. A failure at the prototyping stage may require returning to the idea generation stage or even defining the problem and starting the process from the beginning. 21 J. Auernhammer, B. Roth, The Origin and Evolution of Stanford University’s Design Thinking: From Product Design to Design Thinking in Innovation Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2021, 38, p. 623–644, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12594. 22 E.A. Rylander, A.U. Navarro, A. Amacker, Design Thinking as Sensemaking: Developing a Pragmatist Theory of Practice to (Re)Introduce Sensibility, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39, 2022, p. 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12604.

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Design Thinking, through its universal character, has a wide application wherever we have to deal with so-called “wicked problems”, i. e. problems which do not have one obvious solution or rigid framework23. These are complex cases that require an integrated approach based on an established algorithm24: I. Empathisation – a deep understanding of the needs and problems of the user of the project outcome. Tools such as empathy maps, ethnographic interviews, user observations, and exploratory questionnaires are used for this purpose along with a thorough analysis of the environment. II. Problem definition – the team synthesizes the information gathered during the Empathy Phase to define what the actual problem is. This phase requires breaking frames of thought and habits that limit the field of vision. III. Generating ideas – at this stage the team focuses on generating as many possible solutions to the defined problem as possible. IV. Construction of a prototype – at this stage a physical prototype is created, but the goal is not to create complex models with features similar to the final product. The most important thing is to be able to visually present the idea to users and quickly collect feedback on the solution. V. Testing – at this stage the selected solution is tested in the user environment. It is important, first of all, to determine the parameters that must be met in order to unequivocally determine the result of the test. This stage requires the involvement of the whole team. The presented procedure is the most commonly used.

Knowledge platform Students expect new ways of education adapted to their lifestyles. An integral part of this is the use of different platforms to communicate and find out a lot of information. Platforms such as You Tube, Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok are widely popular and used. Therefore, based on their operation, building access to knowledge is a new and effective form of education25. One of the most interesting 23 R. Li, Z.C. Qian, Y.V. Chen, L. Zhang, Design thinking driven interdisciplinary entrepreneurship. A Case Study of College Students Business Plan Competition, Design Journal, 2019, 22 (sup1), p. 99–110. 24 K. Yong Se, P. Jung Ae, Design Thinking in the Framework of Visual Thinking and Characterization of Service Design Ideation Methods Using Visual Reasoning Model, The Design Journal, 2021, 24, 6, p. 931–953, doi: 10.1080/14606925.2021.1977497. 25 N. Songsom, P. Nilsook, P. Wannapiroon, System Design of aStudent Relationship Management System Using the Internet of Things to Collect the Digital Footprint, International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2020, 10(3), p. 222–226. doi: 10.18178/ ijiet.2020.10. 3. 1367.

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forms of knowledge platform is the Institutional Repository. An institutional repository is an online archive for collecting, storing and disseminating digital copies of the intellectual output of institutions, in particular universities and research institutions26. The main objectives of having an institutional repository are27: – offering global visibility to the institution – bringing all content together in one place – providing open access to the research and teaching material of the institution through self-archiving – storing and preserving other digital resources of the institution, including unpublished, technical or internal reports. The origin of these repositories is linked both to the concept of digital interoperability and to the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) and its Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-MPH)28. The institutional repository is therefore linked to the concept of a digital library, i. e. collecting, preserving, classifying, cataloguing, preserving and making available digital content, analogous to the conventional functions of a library29. Currently OpenDOAR is a quality-assured global directory of Open Access repositories. Users can search and browse thousands of registered repositories based on a number of characteristics such as location, software or type of material stored30. The most popular institutional repositories are: – DSPACE. It was started in November 2002 as a joint effort between MIT and HP Labs Cambridge. It is an open source software package that provides tools 26 S. Ali, S. Jan, I. Amin, Status of open access repositories: A global perspective, International Journal of Knowledge Management & Practices, 2013, 1(1), p. 35–42. Available at: http:// www.publishingindia.com/ijkmp/57/status-of-open-access-repositories-a-global-perspectiv e/210/1591/ (accessed 03 May 2022). 27 S. Bashir, S. Gul, S. Bashir, N.T. Nisa, S.A. Ganaie, Evolution of institutional repositories: Managing institutional research output to remove the gap of academic elitism, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, April, 2021. doi:10.1177/09610006211009592. 28 N. Nahida Tun, G. Farzana, B. Shazia, G. Sumeer, K. Asif, B. Aadil, A Systematic Review of Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIRs), Library Philosophy and Practice, Lincoln 2021, p. 1–18. 29 N. Thanachawengsakul, A Conceptual Framework for the Development of aMOOCs-Based Knowledge Repository to Enhance Digital Entrepreneurs’ Competencies. “International Journal of Information and Education Technology”, 2020, 10(5), p. 346–350. https://doi.org/10.1 8178/ijiet.2020.10.5.1387. 30 U.Y. Kumar, N. Amsaveni, Institutional repositories for open access in open doar used dspace software: A global perspective, International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 2021, 11(4), p. 172–176.

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for managing digital assets, and is widely used as the basis for an institutional repository. It supports a wide variety of data, including books, theses, digital 3D scans of objects, photographs, films, videos, etc. – EPrints. Created in 2000 as a result of the 1999 Santa Fe meeting, which eventually evolved into OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting). It is an open source software package for creating OAIPMH-compliant open access repositories. It has many features commonly found in document management systems, but is primarily used for institutional repositories and academic journals. – Bepress. This system was introduced by Berkely Electronic Press into the California Digital Library’s eScholarship repository in 2002. It is used by associations, consortia, universities and colleges to store and present their scholarly output. One of its products is the Digital Commons. To support the dissemination and sharing of knowledge, universities build their own repositories. These are often repositories for academic papers and are managed by the libraries of these institutions. However, open repositories for teaching materials available to all members of the organisation, including students, are becoming increasingly popular. Such a repository goes wider than remote education platforms to students. It allows to expand one’s knowledge in one place as a part of self-study and at the same time builds academic community. The presentation of their scientific knowledge by teachers strengthens their authority. At the same time, it shortens the student-teacher distance and triggers the need for scientific discussion in students. A well-run on-line repository in combination with other forms of classes is a new challenge for university teaching staff.

Dual study Dual studies are a new direction of education optimization that enables learning through practice. It is a new form of education during studies, which enables education combined with work by dividing the academic year into university mode and practical mode. The introduction of this type of education is possible at both the engineering and master’s level (fig. 5). However, it requires the development of individual education programs, which takes place both at the level of higher education and in enterprises. This system is characterized by many advantages, mainly practical skills necessary to work in a specific profession. This system may have great potential at present, as the industry requires qualified employees corresponding to the needs of the selected industry.

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The implementation of the Dual Study System at the Higher Education level enables the creation of direct relationships between employers who require a specific set of skills, and students who have the potential to acquire a set of skills and competences necessary in the labor market. Dual studies give students the opportunity to gain much-needed work experience before graduation, which, in turn, allows them to be more competitive in the labor market. The implementation of dual higher education requires universities to prepare, in consultation with employers, study programs that are highly adapted to the student’s future profession and together create a learning atmosphere similar to that of the workplace. The phase of preparation for the implementation of the dual teaching model requires, however, the provision of appropriate legal grounds for the creation of dual studies in selected countries. The dual training system is characterized by a combination of enterprise and school learning which is particularly tailored to the needs of the labor market and leads to qualifications in nationally recognized training professions. This education system makes it possible to strengthen the relationship between universities and companies. Universities will develop mechanisms and measures to increase participation in training and improve the ability of companies to provide training for students. A very important issue will also be to change the link between dual education and general education.

Autumn semester Academic period Summer corporate period

Winter Corporate period Spring semester Academic period

Figure 5: Dual study model [based on31]

31 M. Pogátsnik, G. Kováts, Z. Rónay, The impact of dual higher education on the development of non-cognitive skills [in] In search of excellence in higher education, ed. Kováts, G.–Rónay, Z., Budapest 2019, p. 179–190.

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Summary The dynamic development of information systems, combined with the possibility of acquiring and processing an increasing amount of geospatial data, were the foundations for the development of a new field of science called Geomatics, which was established at the interface between computer science and broadly understood Earth sciences. The modern teaching methods presented in the publication constitute models that can be applied in developing countries. The models used prove themselves in practice in the leading member states of the European Union and constitute the basis for implementation and popularization on a global scale. The specific conditions characteristic for developing countries require that models be adapted to selected countries, but they constitute general guidelines on the basis of which it is possible to create similar models for a selected group of countries. Globalization and educational challenges during the pandemic have intensified the pace of change in education systems towards digitization and remote access to the education system. These changes certainly have many advantages in terms of accessibility and popularization of education, but a variety of approaches and detailed analyzes may also indicate a number of dangers. The presented publication is a summary of experiences from the project implementation and may be a guide for similar projects in the other fields. The exchange of experience and knowledge of leading universities can achieve capacity building. This can be done through new online tools by exchanging knowledge and experiences in multicultural organisations. It will also allow European universities to prepare themselves to build educational tools adapted to students from other parts of the world.

References Abd Rahman S., Zakariyah L., binti Saiful Bahrin A.S., The Relationship between Maqasid Al-Shari’ah and Key Intangible Performance for Teaching and Learning: A Content Analysis in Light of Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education), Journal of Islam in Asia, 2021, 108(1), p. 137–162. https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v18i1.1 043. Ali S., Jan S., Amin I., Status of open access repositories: A global perspective, International Journal of Knowledge Management & Practices, 2013, 1(1), p. 35–42. Available at: http:// www.publishingindia.com/ijkmp/57/status-of-open-access-repositories-a-global-pers pective/210/1591/ (accessed 03 May 2022). Auernhammer J., Roth B., The Origin and Evolution of Stanford University’s Design Thinking: From Product Design to Design Thinking in Innovation Management, Journal

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of Product Innovation Management, 2021, 38, p. 623–644, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpi m.12594. Bashir S., Gul S., Bashir S., Nisa N.T., Ganaie S.A., Evolution of institutional repositories: Managing institutional research output to remove the gap of academic elitism, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, April, 2021. doi:10.1177/09610006211009592. Bertola P., Murphy E., Tutoring at University: A Beginner’s Practical Guide. Paradigm Books, 1994. Biggs J., The reflective institution: Assuring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, Higher Education, 2001, 41(3), p. 221–238. Campbell T.A, Campbell D.E., Faculty/student mentor programs: Effects on academic performance and retention, Research in Higher Education, 1997, 38(6), p. 727–742. Henriksen D., Richardson C., Mehta R., Design thinking: A creative approach to educational problems of practice, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2017, 26(October), p. 140– 153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.10.001. Kram K.E., Phases of the mentor relationship, Academy of Management Journal, 1983, 26 (4), p. 608–625. Kumar U.Y., Amsaveni N., Institutional repositories for open access in open doar used dspace software: A global perspective, International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 11(4), 2021, p. 172–176. Li R., Qian Z. C., Chen Y. V., Zhang L., Design thinking driven interdisciplinary entrepreneurship. A Case Study of College Students Business Plan Competition, Design Journal 2019, 22(sup1), p. 99–110. Mehta L., Srivastava S., Movik S., Adam H.N, D’Souza R., Parthasarathy D., Naess L.O., Ohte N., Transformation as praxis: responding to climate change uncertainties in marginal environments in South Asia, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2021, Vol. 49, p. 110–117, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.04.002. Musgrave P.W., Sociology of education, Methuen, London 1983. Nahida Tun N., Farzana G., Shazia B., Sumeer G., Asif K., Aadil B., A Systematic Review of Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIRs), Library Philosophy and Practice, Lincoln 2021, p. 1–18. Nikitina T., Lapina I., Overview of trends and developments in business education. The 21st World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2017, Vol.2, USA, Orlando 2017. Pitan O.S., Muller C., University reputation and undergraduates’ self-perceived employability: Mediating influence of experiential learning activities, Higher Education Research & Development, 2019, 38(6), p. 1269–1284. doi:10.1080/07294360.2019.1634678. Pituła B., Correlation of communication relations between the teacher and the student in the teaching process and theories of individual personality traits, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. Pituła B., Nowosad I., V&R unipress 2022. Pogátsnik M., Kováts G., Rónay Z., The impact of dual higher education on the development of non-cognitive skills, [in:] In search of excellence in higher education, ed. Kováts, G.– Rónay, Z., Budapest 2019, p. 179–190. Pratomo L.C., Siswandari, Wardani D.K., The effectiveness of design thinking in improving student creativity skills and entrepreneurial alertness, International Journal of Instruction, 2021, 14(4), p. 695–712. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2021.14440a.

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Ramli M.W.A., Alias N.E., Mohd Yusof H., Yusop Z., Taib S.M., Development of a Local, Integrated Disaster Risk Assessment Framework for Malaysia, Sustainability, 2021, 13, p. 10792. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910792. Rylander E.A., Navarro A.U., Amacker A., Design Thinking as Sensemaking: Developing a Pragmatist Theory of Practice to (Re)Introduce Sensibility, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2022, 39, p. 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12604. Schockett M.R., Haring-Hidore M., Factor analytic support for psychosocial and vocational mentoring functions, Psychological Reports, 1985, 57, p. 627–630. Siemens Group, Connectivism. A learning theory for the digital age, International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1). Available at: https://lidtfo undations.pressbooks.com/chapter/connectivism-a-learning-theory-for-the-digital-age/ [02 May 2022]. Smedley B.D., Stith A.Y., Colburn L., Evans C.H., The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do. Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions, Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press; D.C., Washington 2001. Songsom N., Nilsook P., Wannapiroon, P., System Design of aStudent Relationship Management System Using the Internet of Things to Collect the Digital Footprint, International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2020, 10(3), p. 222–226. doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2020.10. 3. 1367. Thanachawengsakul N., A Conceptual Framework for the Development of aMOOCs-Based Knowledge Repository to Enhance Digital Entrepreneurs’ Competencies, International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2020, 10(5), p. 346–350. https://doi.o rg/10.18178/ijiet.2020.10.5.1387. Tobór-Osadnik K., Wyganowska M., The 21st century engineer in response to industry 5.0 challenges, [in:] (eds.) Innovation and entrepreneurship. Theory and practice, Poznan´ska K., Szczepan´ska-Woszczyna K., Michałek J., Da˛browa Górnicza 2022, p. 217– 230. Yong Se K., Jung Ae P., Design Thinking in the Framework of Visual Thinking and Characterization of Service Design Ideation Methods Using Visual Reasoning Model, The Design Journal, 2021, 24, 6, p. 931–953, doi: 10.1080/14606925.2021.1977497. Zainuddin Z., Halili S.H., Flipped classroom research and trends from different fields of study, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2016, 17(3), p. 313–340. 10.19173/irrodl.v17i3.2274. Report 2019: Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines, UNDRR, 2019, [https://www.unisd r.org/files/68265_682308philippinesdrmstatusreport.pdf]. Report 2021: Completion Report for the MRC Strategic Plan 2016–2020: Achievements, Mekong River Commission, 15 March 2022, [https://www.mrcmekong.org/news-and -events/news/pr-15032022/].

Małgorzata Wyganowska

Implementation of co-teaching in Project Based Learning at a technical university

Abstract: The publication addresses the issue of co-teaching during the implementation of PBL projects, i. e. Project Based Learning. Project-Based Learning – is a method of didactic work in which students implement a project on the basis of assumptions agreed with the lecturer. Co-teaching is a mutual consulting, reflective discussion of what happened during the classes. In academic practice, it may also be applied to such classes, which require an interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter and the problems raised. According to the author, this idea can be implemented in co-teaching relationships during Project Based Learning (PBL) tasks. In this case, the co-teaching method includes activities/cooperation created between the student and the project supervisor (lecturer), supervisor and supervisor, as well as student and student. The research conducted with the use of the grounded method, with a purposeful selection of experts, allowed to confirm the assumed thesis that Project Based Learning is a very effective form of co-teaching, which allows to increase the results of education at universities. The analysis of source data from one of the technical universities showed that Project-Based Learning is a very effective form of co-teaching. Keywords: Project-Based Learning, co-teaching, didactics.

Introduction At the beginning of this discussion, it is necessary to define what Project Based Learning (PBL) is. It is teaching through the implementation of imaginary project tasks together with students. It is a method of transferring knowledge and acquiring competences and qualifications through independent work of students in a certain predetermined period of time in order to solve a problem, i. e. to complete a project. In other words, project-based learning is an instructional approach based on authentic learning activities that engage students’ interest and motivation. PBLs are designed to answer questions or seek practical solutions to a problem. In project-based learning, students become co-actors in the activity. They not only answer questions posed by the lecturer-mentor of the project, but also themselves determine the ways of solving projects, often discovering new areas of knowledge and thus imposing new curricular contents of

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given projects. They become co-authors of these programmes. The role of the teacher is reduced to that of a co-implementer rather than an expert. While the teacher may invent the framework for project-based learning, the students fill in the gaps. In view of the above, it can be argued that this is a very effective form of co-teaching, which is very effective in increasing learning outcomes at universities.

Project Based Learning – basic information The specific character of higher education studies (especially engineering studies) makes it necessary to pay special attention to the Project-Based Learning method. This method, first introduced as early as at the beginning of the 20th century, plays an important role in gaining knowledge, acquiring skills and stimulating students’ motivation for creative work.1 In this method, all activities are focused around one main problem or question. Students still learn everything they need to learn, but they also learn what they want to learn. Apart from expanding knowledge, the PBL method helps students develop many soft skills needed in the 21st century at subsequent levels of education and professional career, such as teamwork, synthesizing information from different sources, making decisions and taking responsibility for them, planning and organizing work, and proper time management and meeting deadlines. This method also teaches the art of argumentation – formulating and voicing one’s opinions, how to prepare and deliver a presentation and gives the opportunity to actively participate in shaping the scope of the teaching contents. It is the students, looking for solutions to the problems or goals set in the project, who impose new educational contents within the project.2 Project-Based Learning – is a method of didactic work in which students implement a project on the basis of assumptions agreed with the lecturer. At the beginning the objectives and methods of work are set, as well as deadlines for the realization of the whole and subsequent phases, sets the so-called project milestones. At the same time, it should be emphasised that the criteria for assessment of individual work stages are also defined, so that it is possible to objectively determine the progress of work and the degree of realisation of the assumed objectives. The project task is usually performed in a group, although students may also work individually. After the project is completed, the results of the 1 P.G. Altbach, L. Reisberg, L.E. Rumbley, Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution, A Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. 2 A. Walker, H. Leary, C.E. Hmelo-Silver, P.A Ertmer, Essential readings in problem based learning, Purdue University Press, West Lafayette 2015.

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students’ work are presented to the public. What distinguishes this method of education – during the project implementation the lecturer plays the role of coordinator and consultant – helps to make decisions on the division of tasks, watches over deadlines and evaluates the effects of students’ work.3 The project always has the features of an original and innovative activity – it is the students’ work and they take responsibility for it. Even if the project is carried out according to a proven idea, it is never repeated in an identical form. While working with the project method, students have an opportunity to practice many social skills related to group work – decision-making, conflict resolution, compromise, sharing roles and tasks. During individual work, students practice gathering information from various sources, selecting and processing it, as well as preparing presentations of the results of their actions and presenting them. Working with the project method triggers creativity, independence and responsibility for the project.4 Above all, however, PBL teaches independent, creative and critical thinking, the courage to experiment aimed at optimal and practical problem solving, which makes the educational process more authentic and at the same time more active and practical. It is worth recalling here the old maxim of Confucius: Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, let me do and I will understand. It is precisely due to this practical aspect that the PBL method significantly improves the learning process, which is no longer about merely absorbing knowledge, but above all about actively acquiring and applying it. This, in turn, entails a very important change – the changing role of the teacher. He/she becomes a guide, a signpost in the independent process of gathering and implementing knowledge. It should also be noted that PBL gives students and teachers the opportunity to use various technological advances and novelties, which make the education process more attractive and efficient. Through them, it is possible to quickly find relevant information and knowledge resources, prepare presentations or visualisations of the project itself, effectively cooperate with other groups of students at other universities both at home and abroad, or participate in videoconferences and online discussions. This openness to the world undoubtedly constitutes an additional value of the PBL method. To sum up – education with the PBL method consists in indicating ways of acquiring knowledge instead of merely transferring it. The student is supposed to 3 S. Han, R. Capraro, M.M. Capraro, How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) affects high, middle, and low achievers differently: the impact of student factors on achievement, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2014, National Science Council, Taiwan 2014. 4 M. Knoll, The Project Method: Its Origin and International Influence. In Progressive Education across the Continents, A Handbook, Volker Lenhart and Hermann Rohrs, Nowy Jork 1995.

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learn how to search for the necessary information on his/her own and choose the information that is necessary to solve the problem, while the lecturer becomes a consultant.

Co-teaching-implementation in Project Based Learning The educational process should provide students with opportunities to interact, gain experience and construct knowledge on their own. This process should be based not only on the individual activity of the learner, but also on the support of lecturers and other students and on collaborative and group learning. The main idea of co-teaching is contained in the phrase: “one mind in two bodies”.

STUDENT

LECTURER

Figure 1: Co-teaching relation between student and lecturer in Project Based Learning

Co-teaching consists in two people working together. It may take the form of individual supervision of a young teacher by a more experienced colleague. Two academic teachers working together in the process of implementation of the curriculum and its active conduct have the opportunity to discuss many questions important from the didactic point of view, jointly reflect on the difficulties encountered in the implementation, their sense and source, and develop alternative solutions. Co-teaching is mutual counselling, reflective discussion of what happened in class. In academic practice, it may also be applied to such classes, which require an interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter and problems addressed. The importance of co-teaching for the development of both teachers, who have a chance to learn from each other, but also to co-create classes and see them from different perspectives, cannot be overestimated.5 This idea, according 5 A. Sajdak, Paradygmaty kształcenia studentów i wspierania rozwoju nauczycieli akademickich. Teoretyczne podstawy dydaktyki akademickiej, Impuls, Kraków 2013. A. Sajdak-Burska Uniwersytet Jagiellon´ski, Paradygmat humanistyczny w dydaktyce akademickiej – utopia, ko-

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to the author, can also be implemented in co-teaching relationships during Project Based Learning (PBL) projects. In this case the co-teaching method includes activities/cooperation created between the student and the project supervisor (lecturer), supervisor and supervisor, as well as student and student. During the implementation of PBL, two students (in the co-teaching formula) can co-lead for the rest of the group the activities that they have previously prepared. These activities are aimed at disseminating the knowledge necessary for the implementation of the assigned part of the project. Teachers and students form a community of learners, supporting each other in the difficult process of acquiring knowledge through individual and social construction of meanings. Students have the opportunity to act independently, ask questions, actively seek answers and work creatively.

Success of the Project Based Learning method From year to year, from competition to competition, interest in the Project Based Learning method is growing among both lecturers and students. In the last two years at the technical university under analysis, there has been a process of improving the curricula of the studies, within the framework of which it is imposed, among other things, in all fields of study to implement a subject called Project Based Learning as part of the regular curriculum in semesters 4 and 6. Figure 1 presents the increase in the number of implemented PBL projects at the selected technical university in subsequent years. An upward trend is clearly visible here. The number of projects implemented in 2022 is more than twice as high as the number of projects implemented in 2020. In just two years there has been a 149% increase in this respect (Fig.2). This upward trend is in line with the direction recommended in the “Programme for the development of higher education until 2020” included in the “Diagnosis of higher education”, where it is recommended to move from traditional forms of education (lectures, exercises) to PBL methods (problem-based, project-based).6 This trend was also influenced by the “Top 500 Innovators” programme implemented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.7

niecznos´c´, szansa? https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/59858/sajdak-burska_pa radygmat_humanistyczny_w_dydaktyce_akademickiej_2017.pdf ?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. 6 Program rozwoju szkolnictwa wyz˙szego do 2020 r., cz. III, [in:] Diagnoza szkolnictwa wyz˙szego, ed. J. Górniak, Fundacja Rektorów Polskich, Warszawa 2015, s. 163. 7 Co to jest Design Thinking?, http://designthinking.pl/co-to-jest-design-thinking.

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THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2020

2020/21

2021

2022

YEAR Figure 2: The number of PBL in 2020–2022 years

Description of research methodology In order to verify the previously stated thesis that Project Based Learning is a very effective form of co-teaching, which allows to increase the results of education at universities, one of the methods of qualitative research was used – grounded theory, using purposive selection of experts and direct interview. This method is based on the assumption that social reality is best understood by the actors involved.8,9,10 In the survey, which was conducted in May 2022, among supervisors of PBL projects implemented at the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, 64% of supervisors of all PBL projects implemented at the Faculty participated. The basic results of the study are presented below. All interviewed PBL project supervisors stated that in the course of the implementation of PBL projects the students involved in them become equal partners/co-operators of the supervisors. The distance resulting from the hier8 K.T. Konecki, Teoretyzowanie w socjologii – czyli o odkrywaniu i konstruowaniu teorii na podstawie analizy danych empirycznych, Wprowadzenie do: Odkrywanie Teorii Ugruntowanej. Strategie badania jakos´ciowego, Nomos, Kraków2009. 9 K.T. Konecki, L. Anselm, Strauss – pragmatyczne korzenie, pragmatyczne konsekwencje, Przegla˛d Socjologii Jakos´ciowej, 2015, t. 11, nr 1, s. 12–39. 10 M. Mills, J. Mills. Redman-MacLaren, Transformational Grounded Theory: Theory, Voice, And Action, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2015, 14(3):1–12.

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archy of roles and dependencies outside the project is blurred. The studentmentor relationship is replaced by the collaborator relationship.

YES

NO

Figure 3: Do students become partners/co-workers of supervisors during PBL projects?

YES

NO

Figure 4: Do students participating in a PBL project become tutors to other students participating in the project?

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Students doing a PBL project gain knowledge which they share with other students involved in the project. They become teachers for the other students, collaborating of course with the project supervisors. This is nothing less than coteaching in Project Based Learning.

YES

NO

Figure 5: Do PBL tutors gain knowledge from student-participants during the project?

The assumed thesis about the use of co-teaching in PBL is also confirmed by the answers of the surveyed experts concerning the acquisition of knowledge by tutors from students. As many as 93% of tutors stated during face-to-face interviews that they gain knowledge from students in the course of project implementation, especially in the case when students from different departments or fields of study take part in the project. 100% of the interviewed experts confirmed that the specifics of the PBL project are conducive to the development of co-teaching. In the next question the answers again confirmed the thesis presented at the beginning of the discussion that co-teaching takes place between the participants during the implementation of PBL projects.

Implementation of co-teaching in Project Based Learning at a technical university

YES

205

NO

Figure 6: Is the specificity of the PBL project conducive to the development of co-teaching?

YES

NO

Figure 7: Is it possible to state that co-teaching occurs between the participants during the PBL project?

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Summary The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the implementation of co-teaching in Project Based Learning at a technical university. The research conducted using the grounded method, with a purposeful selection of experts, allowed to confirm the assumed thesis that Project Based Learning is a very effective form of coteaching, which allows to increase the results of education at universities. The analysis of source data from one of the technical universities showed that Project Based Learning is a very effective form of co-teaching, which allows to increase the results of higher education. The number of topics covered increased by 149% over the last four editions of Project Based Learning. Expert responses during face-to-face interviews confirmed that students become lecturers/teachers for other PBL participants, collaborators of PBL tutors. This is a form of co-teaching, which is also reflected in the possibility of two tutors participating simultaneously in one PBL project, who also carry out their tasks in the form of full cooperation and the idea of “one mind in two bodies”. All interviewees were very enthusiastic about the high effectiveness of such a form of cooperation during Project Based Learning, stressing its great importance in the smooth implementation of the projects.

References Altbach P.G., Reisberg L., Rumbley L.E., Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution, A Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education 2009. Co to jest Design Thinking?, http://designthinking.pl/co-to-jest-design-thinking (access 10. 05. 2022). Górniak J. ed., Fundacja Rektorów Polskich, Warszawa 2015. Han S., Capraro R., Capraro M.M. How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) affects high, middle, and low achievers differently the impact of student factors on achievement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2014, National Science Council, Taiwan 2014. Knoll M., The Project Method: Its Origin and International Influence. In Progressive Education across the Continents, A Handbook, Volker Lenhart and Hermann Rohrs, Nowy Jork, 1995. Konecki K.T. Teoretyzowanie w socjologii – czyli o odkrywaniu i konstruowaniu teorii na podstawie analizy danych empirycznych. Wprowadzenie do: Odkrywanie Teorii Ugruntowanej. Strategie badania jakos´ciowego, Kraków: Nomos 2009. Konecki K.T., Strauss A.L. – pragmatyczne korzenie, pragmatyczne konsekwencje, Przegla˛d Socjologii Jakos´ciowej, t. 11, nr 1, 2015. Mills M.&J. Redman-MacLaren, Transformational Grounded Theory: Theory, Voice, And Action, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 14(3):1–12, 2015.

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Program rozwoju szkolnictwa wyz˙szego do 2020 r., cz. III, [w:] Diagnoza szkolnictwa wyz˙szego. Sajdak A. Paradygmaty kształcenia studentów i wspierania rozwoju nauczycieli akademickich. Teoretyczne podstawy dydaktyki akademickiej. Kraków: Impuls. 2013. Sajdak-Burska A. Uniwersytet Jagiellon´ski, Paradygmat humanistyczny w dydaktyce akademickiej – utopia, koniecznos´c´, szansa? https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle /item/59858/sajdak-burska_paradygmat_humanistyczny_w_dydaktyce_akademickiej _2017.pdf ?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (access 10. 05. 2022). Walker A., Leary H., Hmelo-Silver C.E., Ertmer P.A. Essential readings in problem based learning. Purdue University Press, West Lafayette 2015.

Anna Waligóra

Co-Teaching in the Process of Student Education – Innovative Challenge and Inspiring Practice Using the Example of Model Application in the Proprietary Course Held at the Silesian University of Technology

Abstract: This chapter presents the theoretical introduction to the concept of co-teaching in the process of student education. Based on the analysis of research results, the text presents various advantages resulting from the implementation of co-teaching, both for the students as well as teachers – instructors – lecturers working with various teaching models. Bearing in mind the difficulties resulting from co-teaching and related inconveniences, the balance of characteristic benefits has definitely been the inspiration for practical implementation of the co-teaching model in the process of student education as part of the selected proprietary course held at the Silesian University of Technology. The theoretical part of the text presents the benefits identified in scientific research and specified in publications that result from implementation of selected co-teaching models, referring especially to student education and adaptation of teaching models to the processes current for the didactics of universities. The second part of the study presents a description of coteaching implemented on the basis of experience of teachers working with the selected model at the Silesian University of Technology. The chapter ends with a summary containing guidance for further research as well as a list of references constituting the basis of the source texts. Keywords: co-teaching, student education, team teaching, university didactics

Cooperation of Teachers – Lecturers in the Process of Students’ Education In the process of student education, the academic teacher, often perceived as a master, guide, promoter, authority and – using contemporary nomenclature – a mentor or tutor, plays a crucial role. During the cycle of studies, the student encounters lecturers whose didactic influence inspires, sets road signs, encourages development and broadens mind horizons. The student also meets those whose commitment leaves a lot to be desired, who focus on substantive conveying of subject knowledge only, sometimes deprived of high quality of methodical reliability. In contemporary student education, increasing emphasis is placed on the need for interdisciplinary approach and broad cooperation be-

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tween specialists in various areas of science, representing diversified research and substantive interests, functioning as experts in the discipline, specialty or – speaking more broadly – the thematic area they represent. Cooperation and widely understood didactic collaboration of academic teachers, convinced and motivated to co-teaching, may be a perfect response to the expressly signalled needs for student development in the aspect of reliable preparation for solving of practical tasks, based on indispensable foundations of acquired and consolidated knowledge. In the perspective of student education, co-teaching provides young adepts of science the opportunity to draw from a diversified potential of teaching methods, preferred by individual teachers and researchers, and methods adequate for the given discipline and substantive content forming the subject issues. As pointed out by J. Gaytan1, V. K. Yanamandram and G. I. Noble (2005)2, experiencing contact with multiple didactic methods by the students improves their critical thinking, increases interest in the covered course content and, which is interesting, reduces absence from classes. Reviewing literature, one may encounter rich and diverse takes on co-teaching. In some studies, it is identified with team teaching3. In the co-teaching process, emphasis is placed on the extremely valuable student-teacher and disciple-master relation, and in terms of team teaching – the relation of disciples and masters who, through the constituted relation, engage one another in the didactic process, using jointly the potential of this cooperation, learning from one another through collaboration, drawing comprehensive benefits from the bilateral academic commitment4. Analysing the co-teaching methodology, one must emphasise the befits resulting from this form of teaching for the involved co-teachers who, while collaborating, engage their didactic potential, complementing each other’s methodological and substantive competences. This relation develops the teachers on their path to professional proficiency5, building their professional competence which is so important today and emphasized in pe-

1 J. Gaytan, Instructional strategies to accommodate a team-teaching approach, Business Communication Quarterly, 73 (1), 2010, pp. 82–87. 2 V.K. Yanamandram, G.I. Noble, Team teaching: Student reflections of its strengths and weaknesses, [in:] Teaching and learning forum: The reflective practitioner, ed. R. Atkinson, J. Hobson, Murdoch University, Australia 2005, pp. 1–10. 3 L. Cook, M. Friend, Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices, Focus on Exceptional Children, 28 (3), 1995, pp. 1–16. 4 T.W. Heck, N. Bacharach, K. Dahlberg, Proceedings from the eighth annual IBER & TLC conference: Co-teaching: Enhancing the student teaching experience, NV, Las Vegas 2008. 5 J. Crow, L. Smith, Co-teaching in higher education: Reflective conversation on shared experience as continued professional development for lecturers and health and social care students. Reflective Practice, International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2005, 6(4), pp. 491–506.

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deutology literature6. The role of the assistant and leader intertwine smoothly, creating a platform for co-involvement and co-responsibility for the complex didactic process at all its stages – from planning, through responsibility for the quality of conveyed content, adequacy in the aspect of selection of education methods, implementation of the marking system, to the final evaluation and verification of educational effects. An extremely valuable comment regarding coteaching was put forward by T. Wenzlaff et al., (2002), indicating that, among the multitude of takes on co-teaching, it must be emphasised that it is a meeting in the relation of two or more individuals who, through co-acting, engage themselves for the purpose of common work and achievement of objectives and results they would be unable to accomplish if they acted separately7. For the purpose of this chapter, the article adopts the definition of co-teaching within the meaning of teaching a group of students by two or more teachers (defined in English literature as instructors) who teach as a team, working with a group of students during a given course for a set period of time (in this case: an academic semester). The instructors working with the group engage each other in cooperation based on co-acting in the scope of simultaneous planning, instructing and evaluation for the entire period of teaching. The instructors share responsibility for the teaching process equally and are involved in conveying the educational content equally8. The key component of activities is intentionality and purposefulness in creation of the co-teaching relations9. In reflective terms, this concept is emphasised in the publication “Co-Teaching in Higher Education: From Theory to Co-Practice” of 2017 by Daniel H. Jarvis and Mumbi Kariuki10. The authors emphasise that the essence of teaching is collaboration, while in the narrow sense – teaching is what the teacher and student do together. Following the same logic, learning is also an exercise, an improving cooperation training and, furthermore, a crucial element of teaching. True learning, similarly to true teaching, is based on dialogue being a meeting of the teacher and student.

6 J. Szempruch, Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno – pragmatyczne [Pedeutology. Theoretical and Pragmatic Study], Wydawnictwo Impuls, Kraków 2013, pp. 126–178. 7 T.Wenzlaff, L. Berak, K. Wieseman, A. Monroe-Baillargeon, N. Bacharach, P. BradfieldKreider, Walking our talk as educators: Teaming as a best practice, [in:] Research on meeting and using standards in the preparation of teachers, ed. E. Guyton, J. Rainer, Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing, 2002, pp. 11–24. 8 T. E. Scruggs, M. A. Mastropieri, K. A. Mcduffie, Co-Teaching in inclusive classrooms: a metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 2007, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 392–416. 9 J. Lock, T. Clancy, R. Lisella, P. Rosenau, C. Ferreira, J. Rainsbury, The Lived Experiences of Instructors Co-teaching in Higher Education, Brock Education Journal, 2016, 26 (1), pp. 22– 35. 10 D.H. Jarvis, M. Kariuki, Co-Teaching in Higher Education: From Theory to Co-Practice, Published by University of Toronto Press, 2017.

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Benefits from Implementation of Co-Teaching Building a strong and effective partnership relation as part of co-teaching yields benefits for both the teachers – lecturers11 and pupils – students12. Emphasis is placed on the following benefits resulting from co-teaching: – possibility of individualisation of student education13 due to the lower number of learners per one teacher, which increases the comfort of acquisition of knowledge and skills and allows the lecturer to react and provide the student with support required in the learning process14; – furthermore, involvement in co-teaching of a teacher possessing adequate qualifications in the scope of supporting students with diversified educational needs15 allows for active and fully-featured studying also for persons with educational difficulties or disabilities16 or development disturbances (including autism spectrum disorder); teaching in co-teaching models allows for integration17 of persons with various needs and capabilities in a common didactic environment. – in the area of individualisation of education, taking into consideration the special educational needs, one cannot forget about particularly gifted students who, thanks to the involvement in a multidimensional relation offered by coteaching, can – through direct contact with the teacher-mentor – develop their predispositions, passions and talents; – co-conducting of classes by two or more teachers provides the student with the opportunity of contact with multiple educational methods18, typical or specific for the given knowledge area, often highly specialised, and the said diversity

11 J.A. Kliegl, K.D. Weaver, Teaching Teamwork Through Coteaching in the Business Classroom, Business Communication Quarterly, 1080569913507596, 2013, pp. 205–216. 12 E. Stark, Co-teaching: The Benefits and Disadvantages, Journal on Best Teaching Practices, 2015, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp. 7–8. 13 M.A. Mastropieri, T.E. Scruggs, J. Graetz, J. Norland, W. Gardizi, K. Mcduffie, Case Studies in Co-Teaching in the Content Areas Successes, Failures, and Challenges, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2005, 40(5), pp. 260–270. 14 N. Bacharach, T. Washut Heck, K. Dahlberg, Co-Teaching In Higher Education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 2008, Volume 5, Number 3, pp. 9–16. 15 K. Magiera, N. Zigmond, Co-Teaching in Middle School Classrooms Under Routine Conditions: Does the Instructional Experience Differ for Students with Disabilities in Co- Taught and Solo-Taught Classes, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 2005, 20(2), pp. 79–85. 16 R.G. Burks-Keeley, M.R. Brown, Student and Teacher Perceptions of the Five Co-Teaching Models: A Pilot Study, Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professional, Fall 2014, pp. 149–160. 17 L. Idol, Toward inclusion of special education students in general education: A program evaluation of eight schools, Remedial and Special Education, 2006, 27 (2), pp. 77–94. 18 E. Song, M. J. Sanchez, Lessons on Teaching Together, Career Advice, July 20, 2021.

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prevents monotony, reduces the level of weariness with the class content, increases creativity and individual engagement19; co-teaching contributes to professional development of teachers who may take advantage of cooperation and develop their skills in the scope of innovative teaching methodology; another strength of co-teaching is the opportunity of reflection offered to teachers, allowing them to understand their own practice of teaching, which may be conducive to re-discovery of their passion for teaching, acting as a prophylactic measure reducing the risk o burnout. The instructors bring their skills and competences into the relation of co-teaching in a manner creating teaching dynamics higher than achievable individually20; research results show that teachers who participated in coconducted classes confirm the sense of professional satisfaction and benefits resulting from the opportunity for personal development through gaining of ongoing support thanks to involvement in cooperation21; research proves that co-teaching creates an environment for committed cooperation by allowing the instructors and students to play various roles in an encouraging environment of the didactic community22; furthermore, it stimulates development of the communication competences positively23; research results prove that during co-teaching the student receives feedback regarding the results of his/her works more frequently, which is also connected with a lower number of students per one lecturer, which, in turn, increases motivation to learn and has a positive effect on didactic accomplishments24; it has been documented that work in the groups where the number of students per co-teaching teachers is lower, the ability to monitor the progress made by the learners increases, thus, increasing the effectiveness of teaching; on the other hand, bearing in mind the upbringing aspect, groups co-conducted by two or more teachers are characterised with a lower percentage of difficulties

19 R. Villa, J. Thousand, A. Nevin, A Guide to Co-teaching: Practical tips for facilitating student learning, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press 2004. 20 J. Lock, T. Clancy, R. Lisella, P. Rosenau, C. Ferreira, J. Rainsbury, The lived experiences of instructors co-teaching in higher education. “Brock Education A Journal of Educational Research & Practice”, 2016, Vol. 26, NO.1. 21 C.S. Walther-Thomas, Co-teaching experiences: The benefits and problems that teachers and principals report over time, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1997, 30 (4), pp. 395–407. 22 M.S. Montgomery, S.F. Austin, A. Akerson, Facilitating collaboration through a co-teaching field experience, Networks. An Online Journal For Teacher Research, 2019, Vol. 21, Iss.1. 23 M.P. Weiss, Co-Teaching as Science in the Schoolhouse: More Questions Than Answers, Journal of Learning Disabilities, May 1, 2004. 24 L. Forbes, S. Billet, Successful Co-teaching in the Science Classroom, Science Scope, 2012, 36(1), pp. 61–64.

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connected with conflicts and undesirable behaviour of students in terms of discipline25. Literature defines five basic co-teaching models implemented in teaching, which include the following strategies: 1) One Teach/ One Assist, 2) Station Teaching, 3) Parallel Teaching, (4) Alternative Teaching and 5) Team Teaching26. For the purpose of the analyses carried out in this chapter, the Team Teaching27 model was adopted, based on teaching by two or more instructors, involved equally in the whole teaching process for a group of students. Despite the available research concerning benefits and effectiveness of co-teaching based on various models, no clear conclusions regarding preferences of teachers and students for any of them have been drawn yet.

Co-Teaching Using the Example of Model Implementation in the Proprietary Course Held at the Silesian University of Technology Following the specified benefits resulting from the implementation of co-teaching as well drawing inspiration from the success of examples of co-teaching applied at foreign universities28, experimental and innovative activities were taken, oriented at application of coteaching in the process of education of year three students as part of the academic course in the scope of “Architectural upcycling in theatre – design of experimental scenography made of recycled materials as a form of co-participation in artistic creation”. The course was held within the framework of project-oriented education, focused on students of two majors: Architecture and Pedagogy selected in a contest. The classes were conducted by a team of three academic teachers.

Classes were planned in modules, realised for the entire semester of the academic year, covering 120 didactic hours. In addition to regular practical classes, team substantive consultations were held for the student group and periodical expert lectures given by specialists invited for cooperation were organised. The covered programme included also two field workshops – these were classes conducted by 25 N. Fenty, K. McDuffie-Landrum, Collaboration through Co-teaching, Kentucky English Bulletin, 2011, 60 (2), pp. 21–26. 26 S. Hepner, S. Newman, Teaching is teamwork: preparing for, planning, and implementing effective co-teaching practice, International Schools Journal, 2010, 29 (2), pp. 67–81. 27 M. Sileo, Co-teaching: Getting to Know Your Partner, Teaching Exceptional Children, 2011, 43 (5), pp. 32–38. 28 A. Lopez-Hernandez, L.R. Buckingham, A. Peral Santamaria, B. Strotmann, Co-Teaching in Higher Education: Best practices, Best Practices in Jesuit Higher Education, Number 2.1, December 2021.

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students in one of the primary schools (workshops with pupils divided into three age groups: 9, 10 and 12, covering 10 didactic hours in total). Furthermore, one trip of the group of students for a field meeting with an expert (Silesian Theare in Katowice) was organised. The students’ visit to the theatre was to familiarise them with the practical dimension of tasks performed as part of the course, and consultations held with the performance director, specialist in theatrical education and culture animation allowed them to gain in-depth subject-related knowledge and refer the planned initiatives to actual needs. During the entire semester, all three academic teachers participated in all classes, be it held in the form of lectures, practical classes, consultations, field trips and expert seminars, mutually complementing their activities with regard to the roles and tasks taken up in the didactic process. Based on the results of scientific research29, the education process realised in the group of students in the co-teaching model involved a specially selected academic teacher possessing additionally documented qualifications in the scope of special pedagogy as well as rich experience gained during many years of work with pupils and students with special educational needs and specific learning difficulties. Co-participation in team teaching of a teacher with the above qualifications enabled responding to the needs of students with disabilities, special educational and developmental needs. A uniform syllabus was developed for the course, characterising the forms of education, specifics and status of the subject, necessary preliminary requirements, objectives of the subject, education results, methods of verification of educational results, forms of holding classes, the number of hours, detailed education content as well as the required literature introducing the student to the subject issues. The following scope of objectives of the subject was determined, assuming that the coverage of the course will provide the students with the following skills: – methodical approach to the process of design of theatre scenography with the use of elements of artistic expression, techniques, fine arts and music; – creative and abstract thinking in creation of spatial structures and architectural details; – diagnosing of opinions and needs of children and youth in the scope of reception of theatre scenography, teamwork and organisation of work in the group; The didactic objectives referred to the familiarisation of the student with:

29 M.W. Kamens, Learning about co-teaching: A collaborative student teaching experience for preservice students, Teacher Education and Special Education, 2007, 30 (3), pp. 155–166.

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– rules of independent preparation of a technical design, proving proficiency in work methods, demonstrating possession of knowledge and acquisition of skills in the scope of design problem solving; – main areas of theoretical assumptions of artistic education, through reference to artistic activity, artistic techniques, tools and means of artistic expression; creation of works of art inspired by music, literature, atmosphere, observations and experience; – practical issues regarding inspiring children’s creativity; – objectives, methods and forms of work during technical classes – through design of educational and didactic situations, presentation of didactic means used during technical classes, supporting technical classes with multimedia; – structure and properties of structural materials, structure and principles of operation of tools and devices as well as didactic means used during technical classes. The following objectives being the basis for the learning content were formulated for the proprietary course: – integration of activities of architects, theatre creators, pedagogues and children / youth - potential recipients of art in creation of innovative solutions of scene space through design of the performance scenography with the use of recycled materials; – inclusion of students of the Silesian University of Technology in taking up of key roles in creation of the art space in city 4.0 in the area of the intensely developing and transformed region through their involvement in implementation of the interdisciplinary project the theme of which results from the current social needs regarding participation in art, importance of new technologies in the context of cultivation of tradition and implementation of innovations; – involvement of employees of an important cultural institution in the role of experts in implementation of an interdisciplinary project, comprising solving of specific project and research & development problems as well as support of real influence on the process of education of students - future creators of the space of culture and art in city 4.0; – use of the potential of international cooperation in creation of innovative solutions in the Silesian region. The essence of the problem covered during the classes was investigation of the possibility of employment of methods of architectural design in creation of the play for children / youth as well as recognition of technical possibilities of use of recycled materials, processed in the architectural design for the purpose of creation of the scene space. Covering the subject, the significance of obtained results

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for development of Industry 4.0 was emphasised. The assumptions of the subject placed emphasis on development of cyber-physical systems, personalisation and adaptation of designed solutions inspiring creations realised in the area of art and education, so typical for Industry 4.0. It was noted that the involvement of students of a technical university and project-based thinking in solving of the tasks in the field of stage art has a potential to create innovative spaces in city 4.0. The inclusion of the young viewer as a co-creator of the play is of great significance for the processes of out-of-school, informal education, building of smart local communities, development of habits of active participation in artistic life and informed use of architectural space, respecting the principles of sustainable development. It was assumed that the design of the architectural theatre scenography, being a combination of a physical model, digital visualisation, with employment of the “zero waste” idea (through the application of recycled materials) is a source of creation with a high educational and artistic potential. The scene design, as a combination of digital and multimedia techniques, physical forms and artistic creation, is one of fields of development of innovations in the scope of Industry 4.0. The classes held as part of the course covered in the co-teaching model were conducted systematically and with equal involvement by two lecturers from the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology and one lecturer from the Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology who additionally possessed full qualifications in the scope of special pedagogy, inclusive and integrating education and, furthermore, many years of experience in working with students with special educational needs. To enrich the content of subject classes, multiple lectures given by experts from the socio-economic surrounding o the university were given – i.e. by theatrical creators and organisers of popularisation activities as well as prominent national and foreign specialists in the field of architecture and teaching (teaching methods). The teachers – lecturers working with the group in the co-teaching model were equally involved in cooperation-based co-acting, cooperative and concurrent planning of the didactic process, conveying subject contents and instructions to the students, evaluating the level of accomplishment of learning results during the entire education period – in this case: one semester of the academic year. The teachers shared responsibility for the teaching process equally, without the division into the leader and assistants. Education methods were selected based on co-deciding and referred directly to the currently covered subject content. A special role was also played by the qualified special pedagogue who, as a specialist and, at the same time, academic teacher, had the opportunity to react on the ongoing basis to the special educational needs of students with difficulties as well as those particularly gifted ones. Thus, the postulate of individualisation of didactic activities, so important in education, was met.

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Summary The one-semester course conducted within the co-teaching model was definitely a small experiment, not allowing for any generalised conclusions. However, the quality analyses, observations of work of the team of students and lecturers, indepth open interviews held during evaluation of classes provide a broad, collected research material laying down the foundations for the formulation of guidelines essential for further didactic practice as well as guidelines for in-depth scientific exploration. It must be emphasised that both every student and all the teachers involved in the classes considered individualisation of the education process as the most valuable aspect. A relatively low number of students per one teacher, as compared to classical teaching, improved the quality of teaching, having – in the students’ opinion – a positive influence on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. According to the students, the learning process, in comparison to other classes not held in the co-teaching model, was carried out in conditions adjusted to their individual needs and capabilities, which reduced their stress level, increased motivation to learn and reinforced readiness for involvement in the course of the classes. In this aspect, the attendance of students who made all effort to participate in every class was also crucial. During the semester, there were individual situations where a student, due to sickness, could not participate in contact classes. In such cases – following the request of the student – the lecturers made synchronic connection with the group via the Zoom platform possible. This demonstrates high level of involvement of the students and willingness to participate in the classes, based on internal motivation. There were no interpersonal conflicts in the group recorded during the entire semester, all conflicts were resolved by way of discussions and, in the opinion of both students and lecturers, the classes held in the form of co-teaching allowed them to develop the communication competence and a number of social competences. The students emphasised that the presence of the teacher qualified in special pedagogy in the group enabled the adaption of the teaching process to their individualised needs and capabilities. Furthermore, when they needed emotional support in connection with experienced difficulties, they had the opportunity to use individual consultations with the educator. An important element in the students’ perception was also evaluation and feedback formulated by the teachers during performed tasks and activities provided for in the class programme. In the opinion of the participants, individual contact with the lecturer, due to the lower number of students, was conducive to the more frequent and high-quality informing on results, which had a positive effect on the level of student’s motivation, providing also an opportunity for quick correction of actions and avoidance of repeating of mistakes. Thus, it was confirmed that working in groups where the number of students per co-teaching teachers is lower, the ability to monitor the progress made by the learners in-

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creases, thus, increasing the effectiveness of teaching. In the opinion of the participants of the classes, co-conducting the course by three teachers as well as the involvement of multiple specialists from the world of science, culture and art who held additional expert lectures allowed the persons interested to have contact with multiple diverse education methods, effectively preventing monotony, reducing the level of weariness with the content of the classes and, concurrently, increasing creativity and involvement in the didactic process. The influence of the classes conducted within the co-teaching model on own professional development was evaluated positively also by the instructors who emphasised the benefits resulting from cooperation and ability to develop skills in the scope of innovative educational methodology. The teachers – lecturers also emphasised the richness of diverse experiences resulting from team teaching they had not experienced before, despite many years of academic practice of teaching students in the classical understanding. It must be emphasised that during the course, the lecturers significantly improved their ties in the aspect of didactic and scientific cooperation, which led to further common projects, studies and classes. This analysis, forming the content of the chapter, focuses on the advantages of the implementation of coteaching in the proprietary course realised in the students’ group by three coconducting instructors representing different disciplines of science and areas of research. However, designing in-depth research, it is definitely necessary to consider issues oriented at the diagnosis of defects and difficulties connected with the implementation of co-teaching models in higher education. However, taking into consideration the abundance of positive effects and experience gathered during the course, further investigation of issues regarding the possibility of implementation of a methodology accentuating co-teaching in a broader scope and in a greater number of courses prepared for students as part of the curriculum is suggested. Noticing the various needs of learners, it must be emphasised that coteaching is an acknowledged model of education of students with special educational needs, including those particularly gifted ones.

References Bacharach N., Washut Heck T., Dahlberg K., Co-Teaching In Higher Education, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 2008, Volume 5, Number 3. Burks-Keeley R.G., Brown M. R., Student and Teacher Perceptions of the Five Co-Teaching Models: A Pilot Study, Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professional, Fall 2014. Cook L., Friend M., Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices, Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, 28 (3).

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Crow J., Smith L., Co-teaching in higher education: Reflective conversation on shared experience as continued professional development for lecturers and health and social care students. Reflective Practice, International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2005, 6(4). Fenty N., McDuffie-Landrum K., Collaboration through Co-teaching, Kentucky English Bulletin, 2011, 60 (2). Forbes L., Billet B., Successful Co-teaching in the Science Classroom, Science Scope, 2012, 36(1). Gaytan J., Instructional strategies to accommodate a team-teaching approach, Business Communication Quarterly, 2010, 73 (1), pp. 82–87. Heck T. W., Bacharach N., Dahlberg K., Proceedings from the eighth annual IBER & TLC conference: Co-teaching: Enhancing the student teaching experience, NV, Las Vegas 2008. Hepner S., Newman S., Teaching is teamwork: preparing for, planning, and implementing effective co-teaching practice, International Schools Journal, 2010, 29 (2). Idol L., Toward inclusion of special education students in general education: A program evaluation of eight schools, Remedial and Special Education, 2006, 27 (2). Jarvis D.H., Kariuki M., Co-Teaching in Higher Education: From Theory to Co-Practice, Published by University of Toronto Press 2017. Kamens M.W., Learning about co-teaching: A collaborative student teaching experience for preservice students, Teacher Education and Special Education, 2007, 30 (3). Kliegl J.A., Weaver K.D., Teaching Teamwork Through Coteaching in the Business Classroom, Business Communication Quarterly, 1080569913507596, 2013. Lock J., Clancy T., Lisella R., Rosenau P., Ferreira C., Rainsbury J., The Lived Experiences of Instructors Co-teaching in Higher Education, Brock Education Journal, 2016, 26 (1). Lock J., Clancy T., Lisella R., Rosenau P., Ferreira C., Rainsbury J., The lived experiences of instructors co-teaching in higher education, Brock Education A Journal of Educational Research & Practice, 2016, Vol. 26, NO.1. Lopez-Hernandez A., Buckingham L. R, Peral Santamaria A., Strotmann B., Co-Teaching in Higher Education: Best practices, Best Practices in Jesuit Higher Education, Number 2.1, December 2021. Magiera K., Zigmond N., Co-Teaching in Middle School Classrooms Under Routine Conditions: Does the Instructional Experience Differ for Students with Disabilities in CoTaught and Solo-Taught Classes, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 2005, 20(2). Mastropieri M.A., Scruggs T.E., Graetz J., Norland J., Gardizi W., Mcduffie K., Case Studies in Co-Teaching in the Content Areas Successes, Failures, and Challenges, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2005, 40(5). Montgomery M. S., Austin S. F., Akerson A., Facilitating collaboration through a coteaching field experience, Networks. An Online Journal For Teacher Research, 2019, Vol. 21, Iss.1. Scruggs T.E., Mastropieri M.A., Mcduffie K.A., Co-Teaching in inclusive classrooms: a metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 2007, Vol. 73, No. 4. Sileo M., Co-teaching: Getting to Know Your Partner, Teaching Exceptional Children, 43 (5), 2011. Song E., Sanchez M.J., Lessons on Teaching Together, Career Advice, July 20, 2021. Stark E., Co-teaching: The Benefits and Disadvantages, Journal on Best Teaching Practices, 2015, Volume 2, Issue 2.

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Szempruch J., Pedeutologia. Studium teoretyczno – pragmatyczne, Wydawnictwo Impuls, Kraków 2013. Villa R., Thousand J., Nevin A., A Guide to Co-teaching: Practical tips for facilitating student learning, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press 2004. Walther-Thomas C.S., Co-teaching experiences: The benefits and problems that teachers and principals report over time, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1997, 30 (4). Weiss M.P., Brigham F.J., Co-teaching and the model of shared responsibility: What does the research support?, Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, 2000, 14. Weiss M.P., Co-Teaching as Science in the Schoolhouse: More Questions Than Answers, Journal of Learning Disabilities, May 1, 2004. Wenzlaff T., Berak L., Wieseman K., Monroe-Baillargeon A., Bacharach N., BradfieldKreider, P., Walking our talk as educators: Teaming as a best practice, [in:] Research on meeting and using standards in the preparation of teachers, (ed.) E. Guyton, J. Rainer, Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing, 2002. Yanamandram V. K., Noble G. I., Team teaching: Student reflections of its strengths and weaknesses, [in:] Teaching and learning forum: The reflective practitioner, ed. R. Atkinson, J. Hobson, Murdoch University, Australia 2005.

Ida Skubis

The importance of co-teaching in teaching German varieties

Abstract: The main variety of German taught in Poland is the one used in Germany, little attention is paid to the other two national varieties: Austrian and Swiss, as well as to dialects. This paper presents the sociolinguistic situation in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland regarding dialect and standard language use. German is a pluricentric language with three national standards: German, Austrian and Swiss German. Each of those centres has regional dialects and so called Hochsprache – the standard language used in all German centres. However, the standard language is also characterised by numerous differences between varieties and we distinguish: German Standard German (GSG), Austrian Standard German (ASG) and Swiss Standard German (SSG). There are not many professionals who specialize in all those three varieties, therefore in the case of teaching pluricentric languages, to which German belongs, co-teaching would have a very beneficial effect both on the lecturers, who would expand their knowledge from colleagues who know a different variety, and on the students, who would receive the most practical knowledge and correct information about the variety or dialects in question. This is confirmed by the results of the research conducted for this article. Keywords: German varieties, German dialects, German varieties in language teaching, Coteaching of German varieties

Introduction German is the unique official language in Austria, whereas Switzerland is a country of four co-existing languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch, however only three of them are official languages: German, French and Italian. The Bavarian-speaking part of Austria is described in terms of a standard-dialectcontinuum, while the comparatively small Alemannic-speaking part is allocated to the diglossic language region. German-speaking part of Switzerland, like Alemannic-speaking part of Austria, is also an example of diglossic community1.

1 U. Ammon, Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Das Problem der nationalen Varietäten, Walter De Gruyter, 1995. A. Ender, I. Kaiser, Zum Stellenwert von

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Dialect-standard-continuum in linguistics and sociolinguistics means that there is a smooth transition between language varieties which are at user’s disposal in everyday life and which bridge the two extremes: on the one hand there is a dialect, on the other the standard language.2 The linguistic division in Switzerland called diglossia was described by Siebenhaar and Wyler3 who determine two forms of German in German-speaking Switzerland: 1. Standard German called also Schriftdeutsch, Hochsprache or Hochdeutsch is primarily used for written language. It is the first language taught at school; 2. a language based on Alemannic dialects, so-called Schwyzertütsch, Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwyzertüütsch which has various terms depending on the region where it is spoken. Schwyzertütsch is used mainly in spoken, rarely in written language. If it appears by any chance in written texts, it is mainly applied by young people in private correspondence and is characterized by individual orthography. Szulc4 calls this form Helveto-German. Siebenhaar and Wyler (ibid.) call this linguistic situation diglossia (Diglossie), i. e. the use of two languages of different status which are applied in different contexts and situations. Both forms are distinct from each other, there is no intermediate or transitional form between them. Szulc (ibid.) states that the existence and usage of those two forms of languages in German-speaking Switzerland can be described as bilingualism, i. e. the functioning of two different language codes in the same community: Helveto-German and Swiss Standard German (SSG). The HelvetoGerman dialects have the status of a fully independent language (in contrast to German dialects in Germany). They are used to communicate on all levels of the social ladder, however Helveto-German functions mostly as a spoken language5. The main difference between Austria and German-speaking Switzerland is that Austrians often use an intermediate form between dialect and standard language, so called colloquial language Umgangssprache6.

2 3 4 5 6

Dialekt und Standard im o¨sterreichischen und Schweizer Alltag. Ergebnisse einer Umfrage, Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik, 2009, vol. 37, issue 2, p. 266–295. G.G. Cornelissen, Rheinisches Deutsch. Wer spricht wie mit wem und warum, Greven Verlag, Ko¨ ln 2005, p. 98. B. Siebenhaar, A. Wyler, Dialekt und Hochsprache in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz, 5., vollsta¨ndig u¨ berarbeitete Auflage, Zu¨ rich 1997, p. 11. A. Szulc, Odmiany narodowe je˛zyka niemieckiego. Geneza – rozwo´j – perspektywy, Krako´w 1999. I. Skubis, Pluricentryzm je˛zyka niemieckiego w je˛zyku prawa karnego Niemiec, Austrii i Szwajcarii, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2020. A. Ender, I. Kaiser, Zum Stellenwert von Dialekt und Standard im o¨sterreichischen und Schweizer Alltag. Ergebnisse einer Umfrage, Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik, 2009, vol. 37, issue 2, p. 266.

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This linguistic diversity in German-speaking countries is a very demanding task for German teachers and students who want to speak the language fluently in all of the German centres. Most of the qualified professionals or native speakers specialise in only one German variety and that is why the classes about German varieties should be organised by two or more scientists cooperating with each other to prepare the appropriate materials for German courses, i. e. co-teaching classes is indispensable in this case. First, the regional diversity, standard language and sociolinguistic situation in Austria and Switzerland are going to be presented and then we show the student’s results who did not have a chance to participate in co-teaching classes. The research proves the importance of coteaching in German languages classes.

Regional diversity in Austria Austria is a monolingual country with German as the only nationwide official language, however it has six officially recognised national ethnic minorities – the Slovene, the Croat, the Hungarian, the Czech, the Slovak and the Roma ethnic group (Volksgruppen). In addition to the German language, the Slovene, Croat and Hungarian language shall be accepted as official languages in certain administrative and judicial districts.7 Most of Austrian territories belong, like Bavaria and South Tyrol, to the Bavarian dialect area. Vorarlberg and western parts of North Tyrol as well as Switzerland and Southwest Germany are the areas where the Alemannic dialects are spoken. This division shows that the areas of the individual dialects do not coincide with the borders of federal states within Austria8. According to Ammon (ibid.), the territory of Austria can be divided into: 1. East Austria; 2. West Austria; 3. South-East Austria; 4. Central Austria.

7 Volksgruppengesetz – § 13 VoGrG Amtssprache: https://www.jusline.at/gesetz/vgg/paragraf/13. 8 U. Ammon, H. Bickel, J. Ebner, et al., Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Ostbelgien und Südtirol, Walter De Gruyter 2004.

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Standard language in Austria Standard language in Austria is the language used in written and oral communication in formal and official contexts, such as speeches, sermons, lectures, news, etc. Moreover, the standard language appears in informal contexts, but it differs from the formal version, e. g. the lack of pronunciation of the endings: heut, ich hab. The informal version appears in public debates – it is used by TV presenters and in private conversations. Both formal and informal versions are used in schools, where the formal version dominates the teaching and lecturing process, the informal version is present in private teacher-student conversation, however in the second situation a dialect may also be used. One of the oldest works on the standard language in Austria is “Das österreichische Hochdeutsch. Versuch einer Darstellung seiner hervorstehenden Fehler und fehlerhaften Eigenthümlichkeiten” by Hermann Lewi9. Still, its author perceives the linguistic characteristics of Austrian German as errors. Thus, his book became a collection of the most frequent “errors” that occur in standard Austrian on the morphological, syntactic and lexical levels. Moreover, Lewi highlights that social, geographical and political environment influences the language. Lewi’s view was shared by Luick10, who did not recognise the Austrian national variety. The recognition of the Austrian variety initially raised some controversies, but with time the opinions became more and more divided. This uncertainty about the Austrian variety has left its mark to this day. Austrians often use standard German for fear of making mistakes and feel unsure about the correctness of Austrian equivalents. Another reason for Austrians to use the standard German is i.a. international trade: import, export and communication with foreigners. Wiesinger11 emphasises that Austrians strive to be understood by using typically German words but at the same time he expresses his concern that this behaviour may lead to the disappearance of the Austrian variety one day. Furthermore, Lang12 underlines that many Austrian researchers publish their works

9 H. Lewi, Das o¨sterreichische Hochdeutsch. Versuch einer Darstellung seiner hervorstechendsten Fehler und fehlerhaften Eigenthu¨mlichkeiten, Wien 1875. 10 K. Luick, Deutsche Lautlehre. Mit besonderer Beru¨cksichtigung der Sprechweise Wiens und der o¨sterreichischen Alpenla¨nder, Leipzig–Wien 1904, p. 4. 11 P. Wiesinger, Das o¨sterreichische Deutsch als eine Varietät der deutschen Sprache, Wien 1988, p. 239. 12 E. Lang, Plurizentrik als U¨ bersetzungsproblem, [in:] Germanistische Linguistik extra muros – Aufforderungen. Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław, ed. I. Bartoszewicz, M. Dalmas, J. Szcze˛k, A. Tworek, Wrocław–Dresden 2010, p. 197–203.

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in German publishing houses and this, in turn, forces them to adjust the language to the German standard.

Regional diversity in Switzerland Switzerland is characterised by the presence of many dialects existing in different regions of the country, while the standard language is distinguished by its quite homogenous form, especially in relation to the everyday language. In contrast to the general language, the specialised language of law and administration is shaped depending on the canton and the municipality. This is due to the fact that each of 26 cantons is autonomous in defining its official language. 17 out of 26 cantons acknowledge German as their sole official language and 4 multilingual cantons have established German as one of their official languages13. Switzerland does not have a Ministry of Science and Education that administers and sets rules for the whole territory of the Swiss Confederation. Each canton imposes its own rules for education. The same applies to higher education, health services, police and judiciary. The cantons have a lot of autonomy in terms of language usage. For this reason, specialised terms and specialised language vary depending on the canton in which they are used14. Wissik15 gives the examples of Landammann, Regierungspräsident, Präsident des Staatsrates and Präsident des Regierungsrats. The word Landammann refers to the head of the cantonal government. The term Landammann is used in the following cantons: Argowia, Obwalden, Appenzell Innerhoden, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Glarus, Solura, Appenzell Ausserhoden, Zug. In the cantons of Wallis and Freiburg the expression Präsident des Staatrates is used, in the cantons of Basel City, Bern, Lucerne, Grisons the equivalent is Regierungspräsident, and in the cantons of Zürich, Saffhausen and Turgau Präsident des Regierungsrats. The examples above show that there are four different terms for the same concept in 21 cantons where German is the official language. They reveal how internally diverse the Swiss variety of German is.

13 U. Ammon, Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Das Problem der nationalen Varietäten, Walter De Gruyter, 1995. U. Ammon, H. Bickel, J. Ebner, et al., Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, Ostbelgien und Südtirol, Walter De Gruyter, Luxemburg 2004. 14 J. Niederhauser, Schweiz, [in:] Kontaktlinguistik. Ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenossischen Forschung, ed. H. Goebl, P.H. Nelde, Z. Starý, W. Wölck, Band 12, vol. 2, Berlin– New York 1997, p. 1836–1839. 15 T. Wissik, Terminologische Variation in der Rechts – und Verwaltungssprache, Deutschland – ¨ sterreich – Schweiz, Berlin 2014, p. 38. O

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Standard language in Switzerland The standard language in Switzerland, Schweizerhochdeutsch, is used primarily in written communication. In oral communication, a dialect predominates. As mentioned before, the linguistic situation prevailing in Switzerland is called diglossia, i. e. the use of two languages with different status applied in different contexts, where both forms are able to coexist although they are distinct from each other. The attitude of Swiss towards the standard language seems to be contradictory. On the one hand, they use it because it facilitates the communication process between people coming from different parts of Switzerland or when interacting with foreigners. On the other hand, they treat the standard language as a foreign one, imposed by the school, and are even ashamed to use it16. Due to the fact that Hochsprache is used mainly at school, universities and in conversations with foreigners, the Swiss can easily use Hochsprache to talk about issues concerning school, lessons and education in general. Nevertheless, they do have problems with more precise standard language, such as the names of food, furnishing or when talking about their own emotions because this is the vocabulary of everyday language usage where they tend to use dialect17. In the following sections the sociolinguistic situation in Austria and Switzerland will be depicted in order to check the preferences of native speakers and how they treat the varieties and variants of their own language. This, in turn, is going to be compared to the attitude of foreign language users of German and their knowledge of German varieties and dialects.

Sociolinguistic situation in Austria Sociolinguistic situation in Austria depends on the following factors, such as the social status of the speaker, age, gender, interlocutors and (in)formality of the situation18.

16 H. Bickel, Schweizerhochdeutsch: kein minderwertiges Hochdeutsch! Das Deutsche als plurizentrische Sprache aus Schweizer Sicht, Babylonia, 2001, vol. 2, p. 19–22. 17 U. Ammon, H. Bickel, J. Ebner, et al., Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, op. cit. 18 Ibidem. P. Wiesinger, Zur Interaktion von Dialekt und Standardsprache in Österreich, [in:] Dialect and Standard Language in the English, Dutch, German and Norwegian Language Areas., ed. J. van Leuvensteijn, J. Berns, Elsevier, 1992, p. 290–311.

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The research undertaken by Ender and Kaiser19among Austrian citizens was meant to check their language usage in various contexts. According to the authors, 75% of respondents (out of 75 people who answered the question) confirmed to use dialect at work. The interviewees underline that the choice of the language variant depends on the relation with people at work – with colleagues where the distance in personal relation is greater, they may use the dialect or Hochsprache, with friends where the relation is closer they tend to “practically always” use the dialect. The Austrians claim to use mostly the dialect when doing shopping, more than the half admitted, they never use Standard German in this case (based on responses from 80 respondents). Ender and Kaiser (ibid.) also checked what the language preference of Austrians is when talking to their own children. 49% of participants admitted using the dialect, while only 2% opted for Hochsprache. 45% answered they usually use colloquial language. The authors asked the same question Swiss citizens and their answer was nearly unambiguous – 93% said they use the dialect with their offspring. The next question concerned the language variant used while contacting call centers, e. g. a phone company. This time again the colloquial language wins with 65%, only 8% of Austrians marked dialect and 28% Hochdeutsch. This question was also directed to Swiss citizens and their choice was clear – 91% chose the dialect. It can be observed that the colloquial language is spoken very often in various contexts, so the sociolinguistic situation in Austria is divided between three variants: dialect, standard and colloquial language.

Sociolinguistic situation in Switzerland The statistics about language division in Switzerland were not available until 1990, however the sociolinguistic situation of Switzerland is now one of the most interesting topics in terms of German pluricentrism. The Swiss Constitution assigns the status of national languages to German, French, Italian and Romansh, however the first three are fully official on the federal level, whereas Romansh is “an official language of the confederation when communicating with persons who speak Romansh”20.

19 A. Ender, I. Kaiser, Zum Stellenwert von Dialekt und Standard im o¨sterreichischen und Schweizer Alltag. Ergebnisse einer Umfrage, Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik, 2009 vol. 37, issue 2, p. 266–295. 20 R. Berthele, Demography vs. legitimacy: current issues in Swiss language policy, Cahiers de l’ILSL 201648, p. 28. I. Skubis, From monocentric to pluricentric language, [in:] Modern language and culture. Where do we go…, ed. Elz˙bieta Krawczyk-Neifar, 2016, p. 64.

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According to BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik), 93%-98% of citizens without migration background or the people of second or further immigrant generation marked the dialect in contacts with friends and family, 15% confirmed to use Hochsprache. First-generation immigrants, in contrast, are divided in their choice. 53% prefer to speak Hochsprache, whereas 45% apart from Hochsprache, speak Schweizerdeutsch regularly and nearly 1/3 of participants chose Schweizerdeutsch as the only language they use. Hochsprache plays a much more important role at work, where 87% of employees tend to use Hochsprache if necessary, while 81% admit they only use Schweizerdeutsch and it applies to all age groups. The usage of Hochsprache declines in the age group over 65 years old amounting to 65%. The youngest age group uses mostly the dialect – as many as 90%. The situation in media reception seems interesting. 62% of the respondents admit they listen to the media in Schweizerdeutsch but the choice of a language variant depends on the age. As the age rises, the people prefer to listen to broadcasts in Swiss dialects (70% in the group over 65 years old), whereas younger people are more divided between both variants – 55% checked Schweizerdeutsch. In German-speaking Switzerland more than ¼ of participants, who did not speak German in their childhood, claim now to use German as their main language (27%). 97%–99% of respondents mark Schweizerdeutsch as their main language, which they used to speak as children. 75% chose both Hochsprache and Schweizerdeutsch as the main language and they used to speak both in their childhood. Swiss nowadays tend to speak Schweizerdeutsch with their children – 62%, 22% speak Hochdeutsch and 20% of participants do not speak German with their children at all, which can be observed in immigrants’ families who speak their native languages at home. To sum up, the Austrians operate and switch easily between the dialect and Hochdeutsch, however they prefer to use colloquial language or dialect in everyday life situations and with family, friends and children. Hochsprache is used in more official contexts but both Standard Austrian German and the dialect coexist, penetrating each other, depending on the situation. In Switzerland, the usage of the dialect (Schweizerdeutsch) is much more advanced and is present in all areas of life. It has a high status in close relations with family and friends but also at work and in the media, however in the last two areas of life, the Hochsprache is equally present and functions alongside the dialect but its level of use is mostly based on the migration background and age. The results in both countries show that the sociolinguistic situation is characterised by a significant percentage of dialect use.

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Co-teaching of German varieties and dialects Most of the German language teachers teach the German variety used in Germany because they had also been taught this variety before. It is very difficult to find teachers who are fluent in all three German national varieties, usually they are concentrated on one or two of them. They specialise in Austrian or Swiss variety or they are able to teach differences between Germany and Austria or Germany and Switzerland focusing on vocabulary. The next obstacle for German language learners and teachers are the dialects that exist in each of those three countries. It would be very useful for German language teachers or native speakers who teach German to cooperate and this is where the concept of co-teaching should be involved. There exist various definitions of co-teaching, the main target of coteaching, however, is the collaboration of two or more people who share responsibility for the whole teaching process: planning, instruction, evaluation and general classroom management21. In the case of teaching German varieties the cooperation of specialists in German Standard German, Austrian Standard German and Swiss Standard German would be beneficial for both teachers and students. The qualified professionals of those varieties would deliver the most appropriate information about each variety. A teacher with knowledge about Austrian German or an Austrian native speaker provide correct and validated content about this particular variety and the same applies to Swiss variety. It needs to be highlighted that the process of teaching German varieties involves not only the general language but also the specialised one and it is very difficult to find a lecturer who is equally familiar with all these varieties in all fields of specialisation. It needs to be underlined that teaching German varieties and dialects demands cooperation of two or more specialists and this can only be achieved by co-teaching. In the following chapter the results’ of students’ lexical knowledge in German varieties and dialects who did not participate in co-teaching classes is demonstrated.

21 R.A. Villa, J.S. Thousand, A.I. and Nevin, A Guide to Co-Teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating Student Learning, 2nd edn, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 2008. E.D. Cramer, Co-teaching, [in:] International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. P. Peterson, E. Baker, B. McGaw, 2010, volume 2, p. 560–564. Oxford: Elsevier.

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Own research – German language learners and their knowledge of German varieties and dialects without co-teaching classes The survey was undertaken among Polish students of BA and MA studies of German Philology and Applied Linguistics: German and English. It was carried out by means of an interview and a questionnaire an was meant to check the students’ knowledge about German varieties and dialects and their learning experience. It must be highlighted that the students did not have any co-teaching classes before. 62 students took part in the questionnaire. The students were asked to write down the German-speaking countries they had been to. 32% of participants had been to any German-speaking country, 61% had visited Germany, 39% Austria, 13% Switzerland and 3% Liechtenstein. This question was meant to check whether their knowledge about language varieties and dialects is from their personal experience or was it gained during language classes. Next, they were supposed to enumerate 1) German national varieties and 2) dialects in Germany, Austria and Switzerland they know. In the question about German varieties, 43% of students did not give any answer, 24% wrote German variety, 24% added Austrian and 19% of people mentioned Swiss one. Some of them confused the term variety with dialect and wrote names of dialects in this question. In the question about dialects they mentioned dialects existing in Germany and the following answers were listed: Allemanic (6%), Bavarian (14%), Swabian (8%), Upper Saxon (2%), Berlin dialect (3%). The results reveal that the students do not have enough knowledge about German varieties and its dialects but as the previous question showed, many of them haven’t been to Germany or any other German centre. The next question was intended to verify the students’ knowledge about terms used in three German varieties: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They received a list of words and were asked to write down in which variety the concept appears. It is obvious that the best results were obtained by the German notions used in Germany, e. g. das Abitur – 61%; die Fahrkarte– 52%; die Treppe – 50%. The greatest challenge for students was to recognise whether the word was of Austrian of Swiss origin. They admitted that the words they see for the first time or the ones that sound Italian or French were marked as Swiss ones and the other ones as Austrian variety. Their solution and deduction process was quite good however the outcomes were not satisfying. The correct answer range was between 11– 47%, where the highest score received the well-known term die Matura (47%).

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The percentage of correct answers were as follows: die Fleischbru¨he – (D)22 – 23%; die Rindsuppe – (A,CH) – 15%; das Portmonee – (CH) – 16%; der Geldbeutel – (D) – 32%; das Obers – (A) – 29%; die Sahne – (D) – 50%; die Matura – (A, CH) – 47%; das Abitur – (D) – 61%; das Billet – (CH) – 13%; die Fahrkarte – (D) – 51%; die Marille – (A) – 18%; der Tumbler – (CH) – 15%; das Häuserl – (A) – 16%; das Salär – (CH) – 16%; die Apfelsine (A) – 13%; der Erdapfel – (A) – 24%; der Bub – (A) – 19%; der Nidel – (CH) 11%; die Treppe – (D) – 50%; der Jänner – (A) – 23%. Afterwards, the students were requested to give the Polish equivalent of the words. Again, the German words used in Germany received the best results: das Abitur – 96%, die Fahrkarte – 93%; die Treppe – 85%, die Sahne – 80% and the Austrian ones: die Matura – 96%; das Obers – 20%. It needs to be underlined that most of the words were left without answers, the students declared they did not know their meanings. The students were also given a few words coming from various German dialects in Germany23, they did not mark any type of a dialect, however, and did not give any equivalent, which is not surprising – even German native speakers have problems understanding their countrymen living in other parts of Germany and using other dialects. In the next question the students were asked about differences in national language varieties. They were supposed to mark the correct answer indicating what levels of the language the differences concern: a) vocabulary and grammar; b) vocabulary, spelling and phonetics; c) vocabulary and pragmatics; d) all the answers are correct. The correct response is D but the outcomes prove that the question was not easy and unambiguous, although it was a single-choice question. 36% of participants did not give any answer, 23% marked the option B, 32% chose the answer D and 10% opted for point C. The final question was meant to verify the students’ experience and the process of learning German varieties and dialects. The answers to the question “How did you learn the German varieties and dialects” were as follows: a) in the German language classes ; b) from German books/textbooks; c) in additional classes/ courses; d) other – write the answer; e) I do not know ;). Most of the answers indicated the last answer – D – 78%. The students admitted that they knew some words but they did not know where and how they learnt them. 13% of students opted for answer A and 9% marked point B. The students explained that there were some exercises to compare German and Austrian or Swiss variety but it those rather short tasks without paying much attention to the importance of the data given. 22 D – Germany; A – Austria; CH – Switzerland. 23 The word list was created on the basis of Deutsche Welle: https://www.dw.com/de/deutsch-le rnen/dialektatlas/s-8150.

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Conclusions Generally speaking, the students do not have enough knowledge about German dialects and varieties and they are not aware of differences between them. If they are given a list of words, they can easily identify German words used in Germany but Austrian and Swiss varieties still cause problems. The estimation of word’s origin is difficult for them because many of them haven’t been to Germany or any other German centre. Most of all, the greatest obstacle for them is to give the meaning of a word. The questionnaire and the interview proves that they are not aware how they have learnt the words coming from different varieties or dialects so there was not enough time devoted to teaching German varieties. The reason for that may be the lack of cooperation between qualified professionals in distinct varieties. In the case of teaching German varieties the coteaching would be the best solution. The GSG speaker could teach the German variety, while the Austrian and Swiss speakers would deliver the facts about the two other variants. The collaboration and information exchange between teachers proficient in distinct varieties is on the one hand helpful for teachers who can improve their knowledge and skills and on the other hand is an invaluable treasury of knowledge for students who receive verified and correct advice on language usage from qualified teachers and can upgrade their language level. As Villa et al.24 indicate, co-teaching leads to better teaching and learning outcomes based on increased teacher-to-student ratio. It can be concluded that the students would have received better results, if they had had the opportunity to profit from co-teaching classes from two or three language specialists in a particular variety.

Summary Austria’s and Swiss sociolinguistic situation is very complex. In Austria, German is the unique official language25, while in Switzerland there are four national languages, but only three of them are of the official status. Although the linguistic background is completely different, German speakers in both countries prefer to use the dialect on a daily basis in contacts with family, friends and children. The language variant choice at work depends on the relation between co-workers and their origin. In close relations between German native-speakers the usage of dialects dominates the conversation, whereas in international en24 R.A. Villa, J.S. Thousand, A.I. and Nevin, A Guide to Co-Teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating Student Learning, op. cit. 25 Apart from minority languages acknowledged as official in some districts.

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vironment Hochsprache is more popular. The results of the survey show that Austrians are quick to use the colloquial language even more often than a dialect. The sociolinguistic situation in Austria and Switzerland causes confusion not only among German native speakers but also among German language learners. The survey shows that the students are not aware of the differences between the national varieties of German and its dialects. They are taught some basic words at school, university or German language classes but with this basic knowledge they are going to face difficulties in communication with native speakers in other German centres than Germany. The solution to fill this gap of knowledge is the involvement of co-teaching in language classes and the use of qualified professionals who are specialised in one particular variety and by joining forces they can offer very enriching activities both for students and for them. They can benefit from the knowledge and experience of co-workers improving their teaching styles and strategies which influences their motivation and job satisfaction.

References Ammon, U., Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Das Problem der nationalen Varietäten, Walter De Gruyter, 1995. Ammon, U., Bickel, H., Ebner, J.,[et al.], Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Ostbelgien und Südtirol, Walter De Gruyter, 2004. Berthele, R., Demography vs. legitimacy: current issues in Swiss language policy, Cahiers de l’ILSL 201648, p. 27–51. Bickel, H., Schweizerhochdeutsch: kein minderwertiges Hochdeutsch! Das Deutsche als plurizentrische Sprache aus Schweizer Sicht, Babylonia, 2001, vol. 2, p. 19–22. Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS), Schweizerdeutsch und Hochdeutsch in der Schweiz. Analyse von Daten aus der Erhebung zur Sprache, Religion und Kultur, ed. Renata Coray, Lina Bartels, Neuchâtel, 2017. Cornelissen G.G., Rheinisches Deutsch. Wer spricht wie mit wem und warum. Greven Verlag, Ko¨ ln 2005. Cramer E.D., Co-teaching, [in:] International Encyclopedia of Education, ed. P. Peterson, E. Baker, B. McGaw, 2010, volume 2, p. 560–564. Oxford: Elsevier. Ender A., Kaiser I., Zum Stellenwert von Dialekt und Standard im o¨sterreichischen und Schweizer Alltag. Ergebnisse einer Umfrage, Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik, 2009, vol. 37, issue 2, p. 266–295. Ender A., Kaiser I., A Cognitive Approach to Sociolinguistic Variation in Austria: Diglossia or Dialect-Standard-Continuum in Speakers’ Awareness and Usage, [in:] Cognitive Sociolinguistics: Language Variation in its Structural, Conceptual and Cultural Dimensions, ed. Reif M., Robinson J., Pütz M., 2010, p. 377–398.

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¨ sterreich in GeHornung M., Besonderheiten der deutschen Hochsprache in O¨ sterreich, O schichte und Literatur, 1973, vol. 17(1), p. 15–24. Lang E., Plurizentrik als U¨ bersetzungsproblem, [in:] Germanistische Linguistik extra muros – Aufforderungen, Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław, ed. I. Bartoszewicz, M. Dalmas, J. Szcze˛k, A. Tworek, Wrocław–Dresden2010, p. 197–203. Lewi, H., Das o¨sterreichische Hochdeutsch. Versuch einer Darstellung seiner hervorstechendsten Fehler und fehlerhaften Eigenthu¨mlichkeiten, Wien 1875. Luick K., Deutsche Lautlehre. Mit besonderer Beru¨cksichtigung der Sprechweise Wiens und der o¨sterreichischen Alpenla¨nder, Leipzig–Wien 1904. Niederhauser J., Schweiz, [in:] Kontaktlinguistik. Ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenossischen Forschung, ed. H. Goebl, P.H. Nelde, Z. Starý, W. Wölck, Band 12, vol. 2, Berlin–New York 1997, p. 1836–1839. Siebenhaar B., Wyler, A., Dialekt und Hochsprache in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz, 5., vollsta¨ndig u¨ berarbeitete Auflage, Zu¨ rich 1997. Skubis I., From monocentric to pluricentric language, [in:] Modern language and culture. Where do we go…, ed. Elz˙bieta Krawczyk-Neifar, 2016, p. 56–72. Skubis I., Pluricentryzm je˛zyka niemieckiego w je˛zyku prawa karnego Niemiec, Austrii i Szwajcarii, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2020. Szulc A., Odmiany narodowe je˛zyka niemieckiego. Geneza – rozwój – perspektywy, Krako´w 1999. Villa R.A., Thousand J.S., Nevin A.I., A Guide to Co-Teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating Student Learning, 2nd edn, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 2008. Wiesinger P., Das o¨sterreichische Deutsch als eine Varietät der deutschen Sprache, Wien 1988. Wiesinger P., Zur Interaktion von Dialekt und Standardsprache in Österreich, [in:] Dialect and Standard Language in the English, Dutch, German and Norwegian Language Areas, ed. J. van Leuvensteijn, J. Berns, Elsevier, 1992, p. 290–311. Wissik T, Terminologische Variation in der Rechts – und Verwaltungssprache. Deutschland – O¨ sterreich – Schweiz, Berlin 2014.

Part IV: Reflections on co-teaching

Beata Ecler-Nocon´

The category of participation in the context of the phenomenon of cooperation in co-teaching

Abstract: The article constitutes an attempt to relate the category of participation to the phenomenon of cooperation in co-teaching. The author, referring to Karol Wojtyła’s theory of participation, perceives it as a common existence with others. The one, who participates, is the subject of actions, but at the same time that person must understand that this subjectivity also belongs to other participants. Clarifying the categories of participation is only properly achieved through the common good. A teacher teaching in cooperation, properly carrying out the goals of teaching, does so on the basis of the common good. The common good is such a good of the community that takes into account the needs of each of its members individually. The preservation of the good understood in such a way can be carried out based on the attitudes of solidarity, dialogue and opposition, and excluding attitudes of conformity or evasion. In conclusion, the author points out that care for the common good results not only in implementing the assumed didactic goals in terms of students, but also acquiring the ability to coexist in the community in them. Keywords: Karol Wojtyła’s theory of participation, teacher teaching in cooperation

Introduction The question included in the title of the work: Co-teaching – everyday life or terra incognita of contemporary education? requires a certain answer from the author. The study of the subject literature shows that co-teaching in some way still constitutes a terra incognita. There are still insufficient publications and their analysis reveals a certain one-sided approach. For several decades now we are of course aware of the forms of using co-teaching, such as: one teach, one observe, one teach, one assist, parallel teaching, station teaching, alternative teaching, team teaching.1 Taking advantage of these forms undoubtedly requires didactic 1 See For example: L. Cook, M. Friend, Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices, Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, 28(3), pp. 1–17; W. Murawski, H. Swanson, A metaanalysis of co-teaching research, Remedial and Special Education, 22(5), 2001, pp. 258–267; T. Scruggs, M. Mastropieri, K. McDuffie, Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 73(4), pp. 392–416; W.W. Murawski,

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skills. However, the so-called soft skills of a teacher, which can be decisive for the success of the teaching process as such, will certainly be very important for the practical application of co-teaching. Such skills include, for example, communication skills, the ability to plan together, empathy, plasticity, distance to oneself, and, above all, clarity in formulating responsibilities and tasks. In general, the listed skills can be combined by determining the ability to cooperate. The carried out attempt of generalization shows that cooperation – to some extent crucial in terms of these considerations – can be described by a certain internal climate of people, who undertake cooperation, and their perception not only of the teaching process itself, but of other people, relationships, or themselves. For this reason, the article will attempt to show the understanding of the phenomenon of cooperation according to Karol Wojtyła, which to some extent may reveal the importance of teacher’s soft skills for the implementation of co-teaching.

Category of participation according to Karol Wojtyła as a dimension of analysing cooperation in co-teaching Karol Wojtyła explains the phenomenon of cooperation through a dimension defined by him as participation2 in a group defined as a community. A community is a group of people bound together by common interests, a common life. A community does not indicate a new subject of action ( just like society), a community is not a simple aggregation of its members. A community only introduces new relations between people who are precisely these real subjects of action. In this particular situation, a community can be understood as a group of two teachers, pursuing the goals of a class as a whole and each of its members separately. For the purposes of our deliberations, we must also include the class students in the community, which will allow us to later W.W. Lochner, Observing co-teaching: What to ask for, look for, and listen for, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2011, 46(3), pp. 174–183; W. W. Murawski, S.A. Spencer, Collaborate, communicate, and differentiate! How to increase student learning in today’s diverse schools, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin 2011; A.I. Nevin, R.A.Villa, J.S. Thousand, A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K–12 educators, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2009; R. Villa, J. Thousand, A. Nevin, A guide to co-teaching: New lessons and strategies to facilitate student learning (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin (2013); G.L. Wilson, This doesn’t look familiar! A supervisor’s guide for observing co-teachers, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2005, 40(5), pp. 271–275. 2 See For example: W. Wojtyła, From Person to Community. The Theory of Participation According to Karol Wojtyła, Journal of the Polish Section of IVR, 4(25)/2020, pp. 103–117; A. Dean Edward Mejos, Against Alienation: Karol Wojtyla’s Theory of Participation, Kritike An Online Journal of Philosophy, Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265388 42_Against_Alienation_Karol_Wojtyla’s_Theory_of_Participation (accsess: 09. 05. 2022).

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clarify the concept of the common good. In the set out perspective of deliberations, which consists in the category of participation in the context of implementing teachers’ cooperation in co-teaching, the participation of each teacher in the teacher-teacher community, but also a teacher in relation to a school class, must refer to the good of each child individually. How can we describe the cooperation of teachers in co-teaching through the phenomenon of participation? Wojtyła’s understanding of this phenomenon is personalistic.3 The personalistic understanding of the category of participation is explained as common existence with others, and therefore participation cannot be something beyond human subjectivity. The one who participates is the subject of actions, but at the same time that person must understand that this subjectivity also belongs to other participants. Participation must take into account that each “I” within a given “we” is competent to determine oneself as well as to strive for self-fulfilment. Wojtyła writes that the human “we” cannot be suppressed or destroyed. Participation is such a quality of a person that comes to force when a person acts and exists together with others. This personalistic attitude is directly opposed to individualistic and totalitarian tendencies. That is because these concepts destroy a person’s ability to be in a group, precisely to cooperate on the basis of participation.4 “We” should be clearly resounded in the cooperation of teachers. It is “we” that indicates multiplicity, but indirectly also persons belonging to the multiplicity. However, what is important is that “we” indicates not only the multiplicity of human subjects, but their interconnectedness, on the basis of which these subjects form unity. Therefore, the community-expressed “we” derives its proper meaning from the good (value) which, uniting people, deserves to be called the “common good”. The common good of teachers, who are connected by coteaching consists in a student, who needs support and that student’s good, and at the same time, the good of other students. In a word, this good consists in an optimally implemented teaching process in each student individually, and at the same time in all students. A solution to the problem of community (community itself through this commonality could threaten totalitarianism – the implementation of some general goal of a school class, which would not be the goal of any child individually or any teacher) and participation (spontaneously by individuality 3 Personalism (from Latin personalism – personal). Personalism, as indicated by the etymology, is interested in the person. Understanding a human as a person is not unambiguous. Despite the differences, when speaking about a person philosophers have in mind a human’s special predisposition to moral action, specific experience of values, a specific type of existence associated with the double consciousness of a human as a being in–itself and for itself. 4 cf. K.Wojtyła, Uczestnictwo czy alienacja, [in:] Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, ed. T. Styczen´, TN KUL, Lublin 1994, pp. 458.

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could give rise to the threat of individualism, self-realization by each member of a school class and each of the teachers, or the goals of only one child or/and one teacher) is precisely interpreted, in a specific way, as the common good. Wojtyła writes that the common good is not only a goal fulfilled in a specific community, but it is what triggers participation in people, and thus conditions in them a subjective community of action.5 In a word, the common good consists in the principle of proper participation, thanks to which a person, acting together with others, can perform authentic actions and through them fulfil oneself. Thus, each student and each teacher is fulfilled through a correctly defined good. The common good constitutes the basis of the human community. Being in a community, a person wants to choose what others do, and at the same time recognize this good as their own. On the other hand, that person also expects that, in communities based on the common good, own actions should serve the community (the community of students and teachers), sustain and enrich it. A person able to participate in a community is even ready to give up individual good, sacrificing it for the community. What can this mean in the practice of co-teaching? An active teacher fulfils oneself in the acts of teaching and teaching a student. The common good of teachers in co-teaching, and at the same time the entire class and each student individually, consists in the implementation of teaching goals. During the conducted teaching process, each teacher must have in mind the good of each individual and the entire group at the same time. Mutually, both teachers and each individual, as a subject, should keep in mind the fulfilment of the good of their cooperating team. Therefore, the common good should constantly be redefined, according to the needs, which works in favour of developing the entire group and each of its members.6 Wojtyła emphasizes that in order for the community to be constantly led to complete development, its members should represent specific attitudes in favour of development. He mentions three such attitudes: solidarity, dialogue, and opposition.

Dialogue, solidarity, and opposition as attitudes developing cooperation in co-teaching The deliberations so far have ended with a conclusion about the nature of the common good. In Wojtyła’s view, the common good is not something that is permanently fixed. Quite the opposite, it is dynamic and it should be constantly redefined in a given community. Hence the importance of dialogue (an in-depth 5 Ibidem, pp. 321. 6 Ibidem, pp. 324–325.

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form of communication). Dialogue, as a concept, has a variety of meanings. Here, dialogue can only be understood together with an attitude of solidarity and opposition. The two attitudes – solidarity and opposition – must be put together, as one is strictly necessary to understand the other. The attitude of solidarity constitutes a consequence of the fact of cooperation itself, as Wojtyła puts it – “it results from common existence”.7 The attitude of solidarity is an attitude that results from the nature of the community, in which the common good properly conditions and liberates participation, while participation properly serves, supports, and realizes the common good. Solidarity means constant readiness to receive and implement such a part that a given person is entrusted with due to being a member of a given community. Wojtyła sums up the attitude of solidarity as follows: “The awareness of the common good leads us to reach beyond that part which falls to a person as an own share, although in such an intentional relation that person essentially implements an own part. In a way, solidarity prevents from moving into the space of someone else’s responsibility and accepting the part that belongs to someone else as one’s own. Such an attitude fits the principle of participation, because when understood objectively and “materially”, it indicates certain parts in the Community structure of joint action and existence. The attitude of solidarity takes into consideration those parts that belong to each member of the community. Taking over a part of a responsibility that does not belong to me is fundamentally contrary to community and participation.”8 Therefore, the attitude of solidarity means that each of the teachers in coteaching should assume a certain part of the task and responsibility for implementing it, and in principle one should not take over the tasks of others, as this contradicts the attitude of solidarity and the common good. The attitude of solidarity does not exclude opposition in situations where the common good of the group is violated. Quite the opposite, opposition can be precisely a way of implementing the common good. That is because when we analyze the essence of opposition, we will come to the conclusion that those who are opposed are usually the ones that care about a given group and its well-being. Therefore, if in co-teaching one of the teachers notices that the good of the group is violated, when the educational goals of one child or group are not achieved, then this should be opposed. That is because a person who cares about the good of the group, who feels responsible for fulfilling the tasks and finds fulfilment in it, is the opposing person. The attitude of opposition should be considered as a constructive attitude. Moreover, the atmosphere must be created in the community in such a way that opposition can be considered constructive. This will 7 Ibidem, p. 324. 8 Ibidem, p. 324.

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happen when the best interests of each child and the entire class are actually important to teachers, and they treat each other’s good with empathy and respect. They will be able to recognize the legitimate objection of one of them only when the common good, in the sense indicated above, is equally important to them. It can be assumed that for two people who care about the good of the group and each of its members, and who differ in the manner of perceiving this good, communication will be important. Communication will become a tool for redefining meanings and actions. Wojtyła describes such communication as a dialogue and dialogue has a variety of meanings. This time it is about taking advantage of dialogue for shaping and deepening mutual solidarity, including through opposition. It is true that opposition can make coexistence and cooperation more difficult, but it should not make them impossible. Whereas, dialogue seems to lead to deriving what is true and right from a situation of opposition, leaving aside purely subjective attitudes or approaches.9 One can imagine that when two teachers work together and each has a different role to play in one group, different subjective manners of perceiving a given situation can often be significant. These attitudes or approaches (various emotions) can undoubtedly constitute a source of tensions and conflicts. In a dialogue between teachers (as in any community), it is crucial to detach from subjective feelings and interpretations and focus on the well-recognized good of each student and the entire group. Good is defined in dialogue correctly when each person (student and teacher) and at the same time the entire community (group, class) develops as a result of its implementation. The principle of dialogue is therefore correct, because even though tensions are not avoided when in dialogue, it consequently allows discovering (can be discovered) what actually leads to the good of the people (i. e. students, teachers). Caring for the common good of a teacher, which requires giving up one’s own attitudes, undoubtedly requires also a superior attitude, which is kindness (I wish you well, good), which can be associated with empathy.

Conformity and evasion – impairment of the attitude of participation For our deliberations, it is important to conclude that the essence of cooperation (coexistence, acting together) of teachers consists in an important reference on the basis of kindness. If this reference system is impaired in cooperation, then such cooperation is doomed to fail. This failure will result from the impairment of the relations between people working together. The prefix co- disappears, 9 Ibidem, p. 326.

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leaving operation only, which will reduce the participation of individual people in the action, and a gap is going to form between a given person and the community. The origin of this gap consists in attitudes of conformity and evasion.10 A conformist allows oneself to be carried by the collective, and makes others give up self-fulfilment in acting together with others as well as through such action. A conformist accepts the community taking away that person’s own self. If a conformist renounces open opposition, then the one who evades is in turn avoiding conformity. Evasion means withdrawal, so it constitutes a lack of participation. A complete lack of participation in the accepted understanding is evidenced by egoism. An egoist is a person who thinks only about oneself, who is guided by own self-interest to the detriment of others. These attitudes are a source of alienation, because when we think only about self-fulfilment, we accept the subjectivist sense of this fulfilment, and we exclude the utmost objective validation of the aspiration of a personal subject. A teacher seeking only to fulfil oneself will do so to the detriment of the students and the other cooperating teacher. Whereas, a conformist is not going to fully attach importance to implementing the assumed goals (implementing good), which will prevent a student from fulfilling oneself. The attitudes of conformity and evasion constitute a real threat for implementing the common good of a community.

Final reflection The question included in the title: Co-teaching – everyday life or terra incognita of contemporary education? has been answered indirectly. In a way, co-teaching is still everyday life and terra incognito, due to the qualities of people. It is impossible to implement co-teaching without embodying personalistic values and their constructive attitudes. Co-teaching requires not only didactic knowledge, but also the ability to cooperate, taking into account the good of each student and teacher at the same time. “At the same time” is of significant importance in relation to the category of good. What will be the good of every teacher participating in a relation in a community defined by “co-teaching”, while being that person’s fulfilment, must also be the good of a child in need of special help (support instructions) as well as the one who needs this help differently or less. This requires an active attitude of teachers towards defining this good, redefining it in an effective dialogue, taking responsibility for part of it through an attitude of solidarity and, if necessary, expressing opposition. An added value in terms of a good implemented by cooperating teachers consists in their own development, but also the development of each student individually. 10 Ibidem, p. 331.

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This development takes place not only by personifying the didactic goals outlined by collaborating teachers, but by learning to participate in the common good of each individual student. In Karol Wojtyła’s perception, functioning within a community on the basis of participation, based on a creative search for the common good, constitutes the only possible creative functioning in society in general.

References Cook, L. Friend, M., Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices, Focus on Exceptional Children, 1995, 28(3), pp. 1–17 Dean E.. Mejos A., Against Alienation: Karol Wojtyła’s Theory of Participation, Kritike An Online Journal of Philosophy, Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publica tion/26538842_Against_Alienation_Karol_Wojtyla’s_Theory_of_Participation (access: 09. 05. 2022). Murawski W., Swanson H., A meta-analysis of co-teaching research, Remedial and Special Education, 2001, 22(5), pp. 258–267. Murawski W.W., Spencer S.A. Collaborate, communicate, and differentiate! How to increase student learning in today’s diverse schools, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin 2011. Murawski W.W., Lochner W.W., Observing co-teaching: What to ask for, look for, and listen for, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2011, 46(3), pp. 174–183. Nevin A.I., Villa, R.A., Thousand J.S., A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K–12 educators, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2009. Scruggs T., Mastropieri M., McDuffie K., Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research, Exceptional Children, 73(4), pp. 392–416. Wilson G.L., This doesn’t look familiar! A supervisor’s guide for observing co-teachers, Intervention in School and Clinic, 2005, 40(5), pp. 271–275. Wojtyła K., Uczestnictwo czy alienacja, [in:] Osoba i czyn oraz inne studia antropologiczne, ed. T. Styczen´, TN KUL, Lublin 1994. Wojtyła W., From Person to Community. The Theory of Participation According to Karol Wojtyła, Journal of the Polish Section of IVR, 4(25)/2020, pp. 103–117. Villa R., Thousand J., Nevin A., A guide to co-teaching: New lessons and strategies to facilitate student learning (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin 2013.

Jolanta Karbowniczek

The connective paradigm a new challenge for early childhood education teachers from a community relations perspective

Abstract: The aim of this article is to present the connective paradigm, which is part of the group of interpretative-constructivist paradigms, representing a new challenge for teachers of early childhood education. Teaching and learning in the digital age is presented from the perspective of communal relationships, participatory momentum, interconnectedness and the formation of nodes in networks. It focuses on the strengths of this model, which is gradually being integrated into the Polish educational system. Its variability and diversity in contrast to the contemporary monologic and transmissive style of conducting integrated classes in grades I–III is shown. The synergy and relational dimension of the educational environment was included in the integrated virtual space. The model of a connectionist teacher with the whole range of his/her methodological and substantive instruments, acting in community work with a student at a younger school age was proposed. Keywords: connective paradigm, community relations, teacher, student, variability, diversity, teaching, learning, educational environment, virtual space.

Introduction The constantly progressing globalisation of life, the dynamic socio-political, economic and cultural changes, “reforming reforms”, and especially the technoliquidity of the Polish society have caused us to enter a completely new civilisation, governed by its own laws and presenting a different approach to time and space than before. The reality we live in is fluid modernity – a process of cyclical ascension into an innovative era of a digital “techno system” and multidirectional “techno information”. This changeability requires reorientation of the current way of human behaviour, customs, thinking about education, the model of interpersonal relations, the space in which we learn, teach and work. In the era of digital immersion, education is a particularly important component of social life, becoming an object of interest for many people, not only parents whose children are participants of the educational system, but also people living outside it. The need for a metamorphosis of education, as rightly noted by

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Morbitzer1 , Robinson, Aronica2 , Bauer3 , Bauman, Leoncini4 , Szymiec5 , KlusStan´ska6 , Pituła7 results from the necessity to keep up with changes in the surrounding world. This concerns the mental layer in the field of education, community pedagogical relations in school and classroom, the value of the individual, the potential of the student for development, the construction of knowledge, the construction of individual and community virtual environments. Changes in education require three forms of understanding: a critique of the current state, a vision for new education, and a concept that is the link between vision and critique. The cultural changes that have taken place in recent decades in the areas of: social relations – mediation of contacts by electronic devices, unlimited access, heterogeneity, uninterrupted interaction; biography design – demand for other professions, uncertainty, unpredictability of the future; knowledge – democratisation and opening of access to it, bottom-up knowledge production (Wikipedia, forums, You Tube et al.), displacement of the profile of necessary knowledge, loosening of the structure; learning – personalisation and self-control in the selection of objectives, content; horizontal system of knowledge exchange, social learning, change of the profile and scope of necessary competences, the phenomenon of multitasking. We are also entering the world of a multiplicity of paradigms: objectivist, interpretative-constructivist, transformative, giving a chance for the emergence of teachers’ educational self-consciousness, reflection on school as a learning organisation, innovative learning culture, creation of own development and virtual environment and space, which are gradually penetrating into everyday life, shaping ways of thinking and different, often contradictory approaches to the three subjects: students, teachers and parents. The contemporary Polish school, despite the fact that it is not yet prepared for teaching in the digital age, is gradually trying to keep up with the development of civilisation, taking care of basic information and communication technology, inspire to create, acquire, organise, store and use knowledge and its processing for decision-making pur1 J. Morbitzer, In search of new (meta)models of education in the 21st century, Educational Studies, 50, 2018, p. 5. 2 K. Robinson, L. Aronica, Creative schools. The grassroots revolution that is changing education, Element, Kraków 2015, p. 25. 3 J. Bauer, What about this school? Seven perspectives for students, teachers and parents, Dobra Literatura, Słupsk 2015. 4 Z. Bauman, T. Leoncini, Płynne pokolenie, Czarna Owca, Warsaw 2018. 5 R. Szymiec, Umysł (w) sieci. Media education for participation in global culture, eMPi2, Poznan´ 2016. 6 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Paradygmaty dydaktyki. Thinking theory about practice, PWN, Warsaw 2018, p. 168. 7 B. Pituła, Nauczyciel wobec zawodowych znaków zapytania, [in:] Nauczyciel we współczesnej rzeczywistos´ci edukacyjnej, ed. A. Karpin´ska, M. Zin´czuk, K. Kowalczuk, WUB, Białysok 2021 p. 49.

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poses in a creative and effective way. In recent years, there has been a slight shift in the teaching-learning process, i. e. a move away from traditional teacher contact to self-directed work, i. e. electronic teaching and learning. Contributing factors include the rapid progress of digitisation, the digitalisation of sources and materials, the gap between reality and the virtual world. Joining the international discourse between world-class theoreticians and practitioners of child development and education (B. F. Skinner, J. Piaget, L.S. Vygotsky, J.S. Bruner), we draw on the extended theories of education: behaviourism, constructivism and the latest connectivism (S. Downes, G. Siemens), used to create eclectic learning environments. In such a dynamic range of changes, it is very difficult to find oneself as an early childhood education teacher, who, being in the midst of this ubiquity of access and invasiveness of communication technologies and media, should demonstrate IT vigilance, as well as the need for a wise, active and critical way of drawing knowledge from resources useful for his/her personal professional development. Considering the use of various forms of the Internet, the ability to critically analyse resources, perceiving problems, existing threats, independent thinking, recognising mechanisms of influence and manipulation, which enables the level of critical awareness, seems to be crucial in this respect. For teachers in Polish schools, getting to know new paradigms, acquiring and extending their personal knowledge on incorporating new resources into the educational process, developing digital competences, preparing virtual learning environments and spaces in schools and classrooms provide opportunities to see virtual reality from a new perspective.

Connectivism as a changeable and inclusive paradigm in the teaching-learning process In recent years in Poland, interest has been evoked by a new pedagogical concept for teachers of early childhood education, mental and cultural phenomenon – Connectivism shown as a democratic variation of the first half of the XXI century, as a response to the dynamic and diverse world of e-learning. In Polish education, it provides an innovative perspective for analysing the course and effectiveness of teaching and learning processes, both from the theoretical and methodological side. Its creators are Canadian scientists G. Siemens and D. Downes. According to them, connectionism is a conceptual framework that views learning as the influence of network phenomenon according to technology and socialization8. Internationally and especially in Canada and the USA as a new theory of mind 8 S. Downes, Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. Essays on meaning and learning networks, CC BY-NC-SA Canada 2012.

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(Goldie9 ) it has been the subject of very controversial criticism in recent years as its status as a theory of learning has been questioned. Philosophical and epistemological studies (Verhagen10, Kerr11, Bell12, Ravenscroft13, Barry14, Clara and Barbera15, Karbowniczek, Zdybel16) have shown that the basic principles pertaining to constructivism can be derived from theories of traditional epistemological paradigms in relation to constructivist theories, which are still considered accurate. The lack of specific research in this field in the USA and other countries of the world was also criticised. It was emphasised that they were conducted only within a certain scope – selective and random (Karsenti17). In Poland, the problem of conjecture is not very well known, there is also a lack of reliable theoretical studies and empirical research on this topic. It is dealt with by J. Morbitzer, B. Siemieniecki, S. Juszczyk, M. Sysło, E. Baron-Polan´czyk, K. Borawska-Kalbarczyk, J. P. Sawin´ski, M. Polak and others. The current Polish educational system, dominated by the transmission model, does not develop sufficient competences, which are becoming crucial in the labour market. Equipping teachers with these competences responds to the challenges related to increasing opportunities for communication, cooperation, and access to information and progress in the development of technology. Good practice is important as teachers’ work in the virtual learning environment with students requires an appropriate level of combination of methodological and digital competences necessary for the effective use of ICT as teaching aids and content resources in achieving the objectives, methods, forms of work in class. In connection with the fact that school should be a place where digital skills are 9 J.G.S. Goldie, Connectivism: a knowledge learning theory for the digital age?, Medical Teacher 38 (10), 2018. 10 P. Verhagen, Connectivism: A new learning theory? Available at: http://www.scribd.com/88 324962/Connectivism-a-New-Learning-Theory (access: 19. 04. 2022). 11 B. Kerr, A Challenge to Connectivism, Available at: http://Itc.umanitoba.ca.wiki/index.php?ti t;e=Kerr (access: 19. 04. 2022). 12 F. Bell., Connectivism: Its Place in Theory- Informed Research and Innovation in technology – Enabled Learning, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2011, 12 (3), p. 102. 13 A. Ravenscroft, A Dialogue and Connectivism: A new approach to understanding and promoting dialogue – rich networked learning, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2011, 12 (3), p. 144. 14 W. Barry, Connectivism: Theory or Phenomenon, Available at: http://www.waynebarry.co m/2013/04/29connectivism-theory-or-phenomenon/ (access: 19. 04. 2022). 15 M. Clara, E. Barbera, The problems with the connectivist conception of learning, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2013, (30) p. 199. 16 J. Karbowniczek, D. Zdybel, Connective learning as teachers’ approach to one’s own professional development – the case of Poland, Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 2022, 11(1), p. 56. 17 T. Karsenti, The MOCC. What the research says, International Journal of Technologies in Higher Education, 2013, 10 (2) p. 12.

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acquired, teachers are obliged to justify to students their importance in education, mainly for the implementation of the content of topics from different areas of interdisciplinary character. The introduction of practical methods of developing digital competences should take a flexible, “transparent” form, and not be limited only to changes in curricula and issuing of top-down recommendations. Unfortunately, the educational policy in Poland is a centrally controlled system, imposing appropriate programmes on schools, recognizing as only right what students should know. T. Szkudlarek18 claims that the authorities wait for readymade scenarios of actions, developed political strategies of other countries, which are unreflexively implemented in the policy of our country. Superficiality of the public debate, lack of presentation and implementation of rational solutions translates into functioning of ossified, traditional and boring education, devoid of reflection on its current state, uniformity, artificial education, devoid of references to reality, treating teachers as reproducers of routine, “duplicators”, onedimensional program-centres. Polish schools still make minimal use of the potential of diversity, they are based on a bureaucratic system, closed to innovative and especially to virtual solutions. They are not prepared for teaching-learning in the digital age. There is a high shortage of traditionally measured cognitive competences in social practices: teachers lack them to fulfil their basic duties. Students, on the other hand, are excellent at using the Internet for personal, entertainment, communication purposes, while they are not able to use the vast educational resources of the web effectively. There is a deficit of digital awareness among educators, as well as an apparent reluctance to use innovative digital educational solutions, a lack of attempts to acquire skills and to deepen the already acquired competences. Therefore, the traditional role of the teacher should change as soon as possible, as today he or she is not able to meet the challenges of the digital economy and address the mindset of the net generation. In order to be able to communicate with a contemporary learner – a “digital native”, the teacher himself, as a “digital immigrant”, has to take on the role of a learner and learn the digital world (Jaros19, Tapscott20). The implementation of the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm in social practices requires, first of all, a metamorphosis in the way of professional training of teachers. It is the contemporary IT solutions that enable organisation and participation in more effective forms of in-service training. These, in turn, translate into an eclecticism 18 T. Szkudlarek, Why do we need critical pedagogy today? [in:] Education and the public sphere: ideas and experiences of radical pedagogy, ed. H. A. Giroux, L. Witkowski, Impuls, Kraków 2010, p. 484. 19 I. Jaros, Implementation of information and communication technologies in early childhood education, Nauczanie Pocza˛tkowe. Integrated Education, 2016, (2) p. 59–72. 20 D. Tapscott, Digital Adulthood. How the net generation changes our world, WAiP, Warsaw 2010, p. 216.

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of methods, techniques and forms of teaching – learning to be more relevant to the needs of contemporary students. Taking into account the changes in the education system as a result of applying the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm, on the one hand, brings many educational benefits, and on the other hand, enables the creation of strong ties with the teaching and learning environment.

The teacher’s organisation of the community dimension of the educational environment as a variable and diverse virtual space The multimedia revolution taking place very quickly and the related development of mass culture make the “Computer and Internet Age” applicable to active didactics of early school education. Multimedia expansion deepens and brings the world closer, facilitates access to knowledge, enables communication in it, widens the field of making new contacts, introduces “otherness” to the way of teaching and learning, makes the learning of traditions and customs more attractive, dynamizes the circulation of all information and strengthens all contacts. Therefore the task of a contemporary teacher, as K. Borawska-Kalbarczyk21 rightly notes, is to establish a didactic homeostasis between linear word-based learning and hypermedia-based learning, based on the use of digital means. Using the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm in pedagogical practice, teachers create an environment for competent and active analysis and processing of specific information, teach participation, cooperative activities, shape the ability to cooperate in a group. School as a social institution should take care of creating a space and inspiring virtual territory, which will become a field for training skills, creativity of learning and getting to know oneself. Learning environment is, above all, building a specific support for learners, giving them opportunities for dynamic development and searching for answers to the changing reality, it is a synergic platform for education, which consists of three components: physical, which includes the school space with its material equipment and infrastructure, social taking into account the relationships between the participants of the educational process, which are a source of inspiration and mutual motivation, and virtual (Zdybel22). The latter refers to modern information and communication technologies providing access to digital tools and resources. It is justified in the situation of introducing to the process of learning and teaching selected by the early childhood education teacher the assumptions 21 K. Borawska-Kalbarczyk, Virtual learning environment in the process of supporting motivation to learn, Pedagogical Contexts 2(9) 2017, p. 158. 22 J. Karbowniczek, D. Zdybel … op. cit., p. 62.

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of connectedness, which as a carrier of information will create the possibility of participation in social networks, which are a tool for establishing contacts, exchange of ideas, active creation of content, joint projects and systematic communication. The effectiveness of didactic and educational work during classes with students of grades I–III is determined not only by methods, techniques, forms of work, but also by the creation of a virtual teaching-learning environment at school and outside it. They indicate to the teacher how to organise the virtual space during the conduct of various activities in individual fields. Education of students of younger school age is multifaceted and should consist in planning the learning process in an active and creative way, in the integrated interaction of various forms of cooperation and relations of the teacher with students, students with each other and in the influence of the educational environment on the individual. In its assumptions, the connective paradigm significantly emphasizes: interactive work with the machine in the network, the ease of establishing social contacts through e-communication, meeting the need for emotional, informational and instrumental support, independent work outside school, penetrating “into the depths” of the interactive world. The greatest virtue of a student and a teacher is to know where to look, collect and how to use23. B. Zeler and U. Z˙ydek-Bednarczuk24 point to the following attributes of virtual space in the context of undertaking multifaceted communication activities: relationships in the network are not limited by time or geography, which gives the possibility to communicate and maintain friendships with people all over the world in real time, immediately and also later, ensuring anonymity, acceptance, enabling the change of identity. The authors stress the importance of creating a shared virtual space in the contemporary educational process. Community teaching and learning in the network should be active, open, discussive, problembased, relying on simultaneous links and connections, positive dependencies and individual responsibility. Its features are high interaction, effective communication, high level of acceptance and support, involvement of all, high help and high coordination of efforts. Educational – network group activity of teachers with students is a purposeful activity, having the character of overcoming difficulties to achieve a socially useful effect. The condition for the existence of such a network group is the realization of established intentions. According to Z. Kwiecin´ski and B. S´liwerski25 the formation of such a community of persons 23 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Paradigms in didactics. Thinking theory about practice, PWN, Warsaw 2018, p. 178. 24 B. Zeler, U. Z˙ydek-Bednarczuk, Homo communicans w ´swiecie wirtualnym (Homo communicans in a virtual world), [in:] Człowiek a ´swiat wirtualne (Man and virtual worlds), ed. A. Kiepas, A. Sułkowska, M. Wołek, US´, Katowice 2009, p. 87. 25 Pedagogika. Podre˛cznik naukowy, tom 1, ed. Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski, PWN, Warszawa 2009, p. 186.

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teaching and learning is based on the phenomenon of synergy. This collective synergy becomes active when individuals work together. Alone, one is not able to do the things that become the result of working together. It has four basic functions: educative, activating, motivating and controlling. The educative function is the socialisation of the pupils. In a small group the contact between its members is continuous. It is important that students are informed not only about the correctness or incorrectness of their answers, but also about the results of the others. I believe that this situation definitely influences the development and reinforcement of certain social norms and attitudes. The activation function is closely linked to motivation. While performing certain tasks in a proactive group, no pupil is left ‘alone’, as inactivity, lack of commitment and activity is immediately noticed by peers and the teacher coordinating the team. The activation function in a networked group team usually manifests itself in the extent to which all pupils speak several times. The activity of its members depends on proper organisation of the work. The control is exercised by all of them several times in the course of virtual meetings during: confrontation of opinions, discussion between groups, summary of achievements. The controlling function of the group concerns the above mentioned range of activities. It also creates the need for self-monitoring and self-evaluation of the teacher and pupils in the network. Performing a task together with a colleague puts the pupil in a situation of reckoning with the other person, with his/her opinion, opinions, doubts, pace of work, level of involvement, difficulties. It teaches independence and creativity, negotiation, multi-directional communication, decision-making, linking new knowledge with existing knowledge, giving feedback, noticing the work of peers and their effects, dealing with problems through trial and error, implementing peer assessment, and motivates to present original ideas (Pituła26), community networking are important not only because of the high value of introducing them to the world of interactive educational spaces, but above all because of the possibility of determining the level and quality of such, meetings, planned activities, flipped lessons, their innovativeness, effectiveness, interest in the topic, solvability of difficult issues. The teacher and pupils have freedom, the possibility to interact and communicate with each other as a team, access to information technology resources and ensured harmony of joint work. Network groups tend to form quickly and effectively. Their selection may be intentional, random or voluntary. The very structure of such an interactive group, i. e. interrelations, relations, dependencies and roles, is also important. By transforming “I” into 26 B. Pituła., Correlation of communication relations between the teacher and the student in the teaching process and theories of individual personality traits, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. B. Pituła, I. Nowosad, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht Verlage, Göttingen 2022, p. 41.

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“We” a social network is built, a space and an active field of collaboration developed, tools used to jointly create and edit association networks, project notes, final works, allowing for non-linear presentation. In this model, the idea of “partnership for real learning”, knowledge sharing, joint creation, contact, communication is created between educators. There are, as M. Sysło claims,27 connections between learners, as well as tutors and advisors. In the context of the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm, an active and creative teacher using the network requires the presence of other teachers, creating a community in the process of developing creative thinking. This community is what we are dealing with in the network. Co-existence with each other, proactive, collaborative and cooperative learning is supposed to concerned with the creation of meanings and not to accepting them in a ready-made form. In this way, thinking can be designed using the new media, which, in turn, helps to develop ideas and fosters a change of perspective on things. Therefore, the basic assumption of effective work of a teacher with students in the implementation of the connective paradigm analysed by me is the awareness of the goals that he wants to achieve, the skilful transfer of knowledge, but only taking into account the changes that occur so dynamically in the world. In the opinion of M. Danieluk28 using technology only to make integrated classes more attractive is already starting to miss the point. The teacher’s role consists in explaining to students the mechanisms that govern the world, synergic activities, directing them to critical thinking, presenting the complexity of information sources, shaping the ability to select tools, learning to use them.

The connective teacher model in community work with children – terms of reference The quality and effectiveness of the implementation of the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm in pedagogical practice is determined by early childhood education teachers who are competent in this area. Competence is the adequacy, compliance, range of someone’s knowledge, scope of action, responsibility, as well as readiness to perform tasks at a certain level, a learned ability to do things well, with commitment, skills necessary to cope with problems, a complex disposition that is a resultant of knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation, emotions and valuing (Strykowski29, Dylak30, Czerepaniak-Walczak31). Competences are 27 28 29 30

M. Sysło, Information technology in education, UW, Wrocław 2011. M. Danieluk, ICT in a nutshell. Teacher’s toolbox, EDICON, Poznan´ 2019, p. 10. W. Strykowski, Competences of a modern teacher, NEODIDAGMATA, 2006, 27 (28), p. 16–17. S. Dylak, Visualization in teacher education, UAM, Poznan´ 1995, p. 205.

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the property of a person and their attribute is the dynamics manifested in action, in the teacher’s relationship with reality. They are a harmonious and integral composition of knowledge, understanding and desire. They are to be systematically developed and improved. Their feature is the subjective character. In my reflections on the model of the connectivist teacher, I will focus on the classification of teaching competences (eclecticism with emphasis on media) by W. Strykowski32, who distinguished the following types of competences: substantive, psychological and pedagogical, diagnostic, project, didactic and methodical, communicative, media, control and evaluation, evaluation of school programmes and textbooks, self-education. The above division and different approaches to the presented paradigm will allow me to create an open model of a connectivist teacher in grades I–III – defining the standards of education, his/her tasks, methodical workshop, use of innovative media means in working with children. This model is based on educational flexibility, recognition of theory and practice as interpenetrating, reflexive and infinite activities concerning teaching – learning in the digital age. In this article, I treat connective competence as a set of skills necessary for a teacher in didactic – educational work with a student in connection with the increasing access to information and its sources and resulting from the need to assess its truthfulness, validity, reliability, as well as to understand and use it in accordance with the law and ethics. Recent years in relation to the still ongoing pandemic – COVID 19 – have shown that these competences have a dominant influence on the community existence and professional work of teachers at all educational stages. Teaching by connecting and connecting through learning to create new spaces of social interaction in which digital wisdom, innovation and progress unfold are still little known in Poland. All over the world, intensive attempts are already being made to improve the digital quality of early childhood education and special attention is being paid to the process of self-education and self-improvement of teachers in the direction of developing and extending connectionist competences. The way to cope with the whole methodological range – goals, contents, tasks, expectations, tensions, which are connected with the virtual activity of a modern school and with the construction of learning environments and interactive space, the system of stimulating and designing further development of teachers and their personal online learning becomes crucial. Competent involvement in open connective education, creative and innovative approach to their knowledge acquisition in this field, support in remote learning, assistance to people with disabilities requiring development and improvement of connective skills are 31 M. Czerepaniak-Walczak, Aspekty i z´ródła profesjonalnej refleksji nauczycielila, Edytor, Torun´ 1997, p. 87. 32 W. Strykowski, Competences of a modern teacher…, op. cit. p. 18.

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basic tasks for immediate implementation in school and beyond. The need to diagnose and analyse the potential of teachers’ connectivist competences is a priority, as I consider the shortage of digital skills of the future, connected with communicative ones, as a factor that hinders finding oneself in today’s virtual reality. Increasing knowledge, skills and digital competences, supporting them in this process, exchanging good practices and improving the quality of education in classes using innovative ICT tools are other new challenges. From empirical research, currently conducted by me and my team in Poland and other countries (Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Romania), the cognitive paradigm and its assumptions are very little known or completely unknown to Polish and foreign teachers, and practical exemplification is rarely used. Objectivist competences determine the qualifications of teachers in the field of teaching and learning in the digital age, understanding and creating information, they are a personal guarantee of reliable work and achieving satisfactory results. While characterizing the conceptual competences, it is necessary to study the standards of preparation of teachers of grades I–III to conduct classes in this area, which define the skills and directions of development in the field of global digital technology and its use in shaping the attitudes of creativity and achievement of students. These standards take into account the indications of the current core curriculum. They are a guideline for teachers to conduct mobile classes, the impact of technology on the development of educational methods, the creation of a profile of a student of the digital age (positives and threats), expanding the theatre of education beyond the walls of the school to global learning environments and preparing students for lifelong learning. They also take into account the shaping of students’ creativity, enriching the role of the teacher as a professional, manager, inspirer and integrator, distinguished by innovation and unconventionality of actions. The standards help educators to adapt their teaching, work and personal development to the conditions and requirements of the global information society. They face the challenge of inspiring students of the digital generation to creative and innovative education, promoting civic attitudes and responsibility in the digital age society, stimulating the ability to use technology and digital resources in their own learning and development. M. Sysło33 constructing the standards together with the Polish Information Processing Society (PTI) paid special attention to the combination of two complementary trends in the use of technology in the teaching-learning process: real integration of information technology with the fields of education (grades I–III of primary schools), school subjects in older grades; using computers for educational purposes at school and outside of school. Teachers, ac33 M. Sysło, Standards of teacher preparation in information and communication technology, Polish Information Society, p. 1–2,4.

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cording to the standards, should create conditions for students to acquire skills of searching, organizing, processing information from various sources, using technology in many areas of early childhood education. In addition, systematically use the strategy of anticipatory education (Maciuk34). The emergence of connectivism in Poland revitalises contemporary didactics, and the very model of teaching – learning in the digital age, as rightly stated by D. Klus-Stan´ska35 is realized through participation and teaches it. To be in the digital world means to participate in democratic societies, which can freely change this world. The teacher is therefore active on the Internet, creating communities that work for something, realizes together with pupils the motto “to know where”. Through his/her activity, s/he “immerses” in the authentic digital environment by interacting with it, creating a “scene of common attention” and a virtual climate. The creation of a cognitively mature teacher of early childhood education consists of: an integrated system of knowledge, skills, abilities, search, understanding and desire, the awareness of the purposefulness of the cognitive tasks undertaken and a sense of their ethical solution in order to use knowledge for the benefit of oneself and others. Information culture, as well as the cognitive method of teaching, requires the introduction of innovative changes in the way of teaching learning, and first of all, the creation of education that is “unlike” today, mobile, but supported by a new philosophy, psychology, sociology, methodology – based on the assumptions of constructivism (independent construction of knowledge) and cognition (shared knowledge). A teacher who acquires connectivist competences should move away from the objectivist model, based on exposing receptive methods during teaching to the development of active thinking, systemic thinking, critical, creative action and multi-intelligent development, interacting with different cultures, beliefs and worldviews, co-creation and cooperation. For the purposes of education and their development, culture should create a sphere of activity of an individual, shaped by his/her information awareness, values supporting the need for information literacy, attitudes leading to behaviours characteristic for mature “informatively” users, resulting from the interaction of the above mentioned components of culture (Morbitzer36, Kołodziejczyk, Polak37

34 S. Maciuk, Informatyka dla uczniów szkoły podstawowej. Informatic curriculum for primary school, ORE, Warsaw 2019, p. 18. 35 D. Klus-Stan´ska, Paradigms in didactics. Thinking theory about practice, PWN, Warsaw 2018, p. 181, 169. 36 J. Morbitzer, In search of new (meta)models of education in the 21st century, Educational Studies, 2018, (50), p. 1–23. 37 W. Kołodziejczyk, M. Polak, How will education change? Challenges for the Polish school and student, Civic Institute, Warsaw 2011.

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Gregorczyk38). It is supposed to be a culture in which information behaviours created under the influence of motivational stimuli and information competences are evaluated positively in the process of knowledge creation, being at the same time subordinated to social patterns based on the ethics of using information, refer to objects and other products related to information activity and participation in the information process. Early childhood educators bringing this paradigm into their educational work with students should be guided by the following principles: – learning and knowledge are based on a diversity of opinions; – learning is the process of connecting to specific nodes or information resources; – knowledge can be accumulated outside humans, in various devices; – the ability to find knowledge is more important than what is currently in your head; – pupils of younger school age are able to find knowledge in all educational areas; – making and maintaining connections is an essential part of continuous learning; – the ability to perceive connections between areas, ideas, concepts is a critical skill ; – the knowledge they need now is accurate and up-to-date, and lies at the heart of the learning activity; – the decision-making process itself is already a learning process; – the choice of what a teacher has to teach and how to teach pupils and the importance of incoming information are seen through the prism of changing realities. A connector teacher in early childhood education should be characterised by: – the accuracy and completeness of the information on which efficient decisionmaking is based; – identifying information needs; – formulating questions based on information needs; – identification of potential sources of information; – developing effective exploration strategies; – accessing sources of information; – integrating computer and other technologies into the teaching-learning process;

38 G. Gregorczyk, Konektywizm – a theory of learning in the digital age, Os´wiata Mazowiecka, 2012, 05(10), p. 8–9.

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– accuracy and appropriateness of information reading, evaluation and valorisation; – distinguishing points of view and opinions from factual knowledge; – rejecting incorrect and inaccurate information; – the ability to integrate new information into an existing knowledge system; – using information for critical thinking and problem solving; It is very interesting to note that in educational practice, classes/ lessons run by “teacher duets” are beginning to appear39. It is very interesting to note that in educational practice there appear classes/lessons delivered in “teacher duos” as part of the implementation of the curriculum content in grades I–III or subjects – grades IV–VIII, in which digital resources are used. A teacher from another area/ subject joins in a given activity/lesson in computer science taking place here and now. In this way, knowledge construction, problem solving, entering into discourse, mutual community of learners, interdisciplinary interactions, linking theory and practice, awareness of what they do, how they do it and why they do it are created. In their expressions, actions, pupils begin to combine contents from different education/subjects: they experience, build school culture, develop skills and interests in information technology, incorporating their own original ideas, proposals and innovative educational solutions. The modern classroom is not only a space for teaching-learning, but also a place for building one’s own identity, developing common practice, which enables conscious cultural entry, a sense of empowerment, reflectivity. A teacher who is a connector ensures that an independent subject orientation, participatory, proactive, cooperative, meaningmaking oriented learning takes place, learning as claimed by J.S. Bruner40 and E. Filipiak41 in all its complexity, involving the creation and negotiation of meanings in the broader culture. In the process of the assumptions of the connective paradigm, in combination with other concepts, the learner goes on a kind of learning journey, managing his/her own activity, s/he experiences the idea of causality, that is, he perceives the mind as problem-oriented, selective, constructive, concentrated, focused on the final effect – the causal mind. Currently, we also discover the increase in popularity of STEM-based education, (Danieluk42) therefore, when implementing IT content, it should be: combined in situational sequences and refer to various scientific fields as much as possible, use innovative IT tools when acquiring knowledge and constructing it in all types of education in grades I–III of primary school. The Reflective 39 M. Danieluk, ICT in a nutshell. Teacher’s toolbox, EDICON, Poznan´ 2019, p. 13–19. 40 J.S. Bruner., Culture of Education, Universitas, Cracow 2006, p. 123. 41 E. Filipiak, With Wygotsky and Bruner in the background: A dictionary of key terms, WUKW, Bydgoszcz 2011, p. 106–107. 42 M. Danieluk, ICT in a nutshell. Teacher’s toolbox, op.cit., p. 14–15.

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Connectivist popularizes these tools, proposes cloud solutions that have long been influencing the growth of common digital competences, and the very ability to use the tools learned in IT education becomes crucial. In the implementation of educational goals, s/he applies their classification – B. Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom, taking into account three spheres of educational activity: cognitive, including knowledge and skills (understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, critical thinking); affective (motivation, empathy, values, attitudes); psychomotor (changes, development of physical skills, requiring coordination of the mind and muscle activities). Teaching takes into account these three spheres to create a holistic form of education. Nowadays, the teacher can use the model of Bloom’s digital taxonomy as proposed by A. Churches, which perfectly combines the cognitive sphere with digital skills. In this way, ICT tools are used to build knowledge and develop skills. The right tools are matched with the right teaching-learning method. Within a class/lesson, the available tools are divided into groups related to the possibilities of their use for the purposes planned by the teacher. The Churches’ model takes into account cognitive skills of lower (remembering – the student: recognizes, describes, lists, names; understanding – classifies, explains, interprets, draws conclusions; applying – performs, uses, implements) and higher order (analysing – the student: integrates, compares, structures; evaluating – checks, hypothesizes, criticizes, detects; creating – constructs, invents, devises). The connectionist teacher moves gradually from lowerorder skills to higher-order skills. Thanks to this model of work, technology becomes transparent for the student, who acquires skills to apply in various life situations. An ideal proposal for a modern teacher-advocate model of this paradigm is to create your own portfolio of digital tools. Another interesting offer is the SAMR model developed by R. Puentedura, which defines the way of using technological tools depending on the teacher’s knowledge and skills. It prefers practical ways of solving a problem and going beyond the student’s capabilities. The process of arriving at the use of technology is divided into four stages: substitution (using traditional tools alternately with digital tools; chalk and blackboard turn into projector and computer; student passivity); augmentation, expansion (seeing the possibilities offered by technology, enriching traditional teaching methods, changing the approach to the use of technology, diagnosis of student skills, modification of teaching content, achieving satisfactory results); modification (introduction of new tools necessary to solve the problem, qualitative approach, effective use of digital tools by the student in the educational process, variability, creation of digital artifacts, complexity of activities, active teaching-learning methods: project methods, group form: seeking dialogue with other causal minds, discussions, reconstructions, interpretations, narratives, exchange of understanding (student dyads and polydyads), interactions, mutual sharing of knowledge and ideas, assistance, division of labour, reflection on the

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work of the team; redefinition (using the potential of new technologies, realization of goals, tasks, project method, creation of digital artifacts, moving sequentially to other tools, criticality, algorithms, naturalness). The key task for teachers is to design the learning process in a meaningful way, to use various types of method platforms and multimedia means, and above all to teach students to take responsibility for their own learning. For this purpose, the Moodle platform can be used, which is available in schools, as well as the Moodlecloud platform, which allows independence from the school environment and selfreliance. Other platforms allowing for learning programming are: Tes blendspace (attractive material for students in a few steps), Kahoot and Quizizz (test creation), PurposeGames and LearningApps. Since 2008, the MOOC course developed by G. Siemens43, designed as a network where instead of reading, participants interact with each other, has become very popular. The focus is not on the learning content but on working with it, processing it and publishing it in an environment that stimulates a research approach. The relational model SCONUL is also noteworthy as it is based on the concept of seven pillars and seven aspects of information literacy created by Ch. S. Bruce44. At its core is the assumption that each information user has his or her own individual experience in using information, and therefore the model should serve as a tool for developing his or her own way of improving information literacy. SCONUL correlates closely with the idea of connectionism, which assumes that in the digital age the teacher must be a good organizer of learning for specific areas of education in grades I–III. S/he is not only an expert in knowledge, but a specialist in organizing learning in the field of Polish, mathematical, natural, social, musical, artistic, technical education in the digital field. In addition, the Platform for the Verification of Professional Qualifications is generating interest among teachers. In order to develop students’ connective creativity, films and You Tube, Learning Management Systems (LSM), Tracker programme, simulations of phenomena and experiments, virtual laboratories are used, which enable students of grades I–III to be independent in conducting research, in selecting reagents and conditions in which research is conducted. Children’s inventiveness, motivation and activity are increased. They design and perform virtual experiments, which results in a far-reaching individualisation of teaching. A ground-breaking didactic means for the development of connectivity will be the introduction of goggles glass – hyper technological glasses that, thanks to the connection to the Internet, take photos and record what we see.

43 G. Siemens, Connectivism. Learning theory or pastime for the self – amused?, 2006, Available at: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connetivism (access: 10. 05. 2022). 44 Ch.S. Bruce, The seven faces of information literacy, Auslib, Brisbane 1997, p. 86.

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According to A. Tomasik45 the organisation of creative teachers’ work can be entered into the so called connectionist triad: nodes, ties and flows. Nodes in the educational network are teachers who are creative, liked by students, display selfawareness, know where to look, what is worth learning, what trends to follow. Connecting to the network brings with it a change of workshop, a mental change, a different organisation of work, understanding of the codes developed by the network, it supports the work of the teacher. A creative “buzz” during classes is a sign that students are active, and the teacher activates them in the learning process. Silence disrupted by monotonous voices of the teacher’s chatter is enjoyed only by non-networked individuals. That is why they have their own groups, so that connections and flows between nodes run smoothly. “Ties” are the common connections that link creative teachers together in thematic and area groups, working on needs, content realisation and the joint organisation of multi-intelligent activities. The “ties” are motivation, activation and efficiency. Teaching aids invented by the groups and used in classes with children are very attractive. Early education teachers integrate with their colleagues from various Polish schools. Networking takes place between meetings, exchange of e-mails with ideas, materials, joint organisation of competitions and educational events. The thematic areas are open to Polish, geography and foreign language teachers, as well as to “Education and Film” educators and problem-solvers, e. g. support teachers, ICT groups, art therapists, robotics teachers, sign language teachers, headmaster groups and others. Flows are the networking of creative early childhood education teachers with the local environment: institutions and organisations. Flows are characterised by their intensity and effectiveness. They improve social well-being as teachers share their experiences in a group of institutions and practitioners, engaging together in work for the benefit of local people. The network activities involve active parents, who are also volunteers with whom workshops such as ‘Successful interview’ and others are held. The innovative educational methods in practice are supported by the latest technologies: – flipped classroom using TED-Ed platforms and applications, Academia Kahana, co-creation of lesson content online, sharing and monitoring of results; – working methods using interest, play and creativity – Gamification/Gaming in teaching different areas, subjects; – Co-creation of content, work in the cloud (blogs, pages, films, animations, albums), on platforms, in projects (e. g. E-Multipoetry in the sphere of creation).

45 A. Tomasik., Creative Pedagogy – Gdan´sk model of teacher education, [in:] Conference Pokazac´ – Przekazac´, ed. A. Dziama, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw 2017, p. 41–42.

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In addition to these, the most valuable include: Web Quest, 4 C-Lego Education, Cooperative Learning and others. Another important aspect of creating the model of a connectivist teacher is the systematic development and acquisition of critical competence by the teacher. This critical connective awareness is even invaluable in the understood critical orientation of any educator, including: cognitive abilities, conditioning the possibility of analytical consideration of the content and context of information, its entanglements, messages; cognitive curiosity, understood as a state/process that motivates, dynamizes, “feeds” and directs the search for information credibility, and combining with it the ability to formulate questions, interest and cognitive engagement; reflective and self-reflective thinking about the effects and consequences of information (characterized by considering different aspects of the problem, being a reasoning activated by the understanding of how much information can be for me and for others concrete, useful, necessary, threatening, misleading, etc.) By displaying this critical awareness, teachers feel “media-savvy”, changing their position from a passive consumer to a critical and reflective researcher of network resources.

Summary The connectivist paradigm is a revolution of education in the technological world, a proposal posing new educational challenges to contemporary teachers in the digital age. As a model little known among teachers, it requires dissemination, wider and deeper familiarization with it and more reliable exemplification in pedagogical practice. In connection with ICT it changes the scientifically one-way school educational process. It involves participants in “being online”, in which nodes and connections play a key role, and redefines the teaching methodology. Early childhood education teachers should be aware of the fact that connectionist competences nowadays play a crucial and socially integral role, and that they are, like it or not, entering a mediatised society in which they have to find their place. It is high time to become active participants in several networks, immersing oneself in a sea of information and relations, deepening one’s knowledge, improving one’s workshop, building one’s own connections, learning to travel through existing networks, analysing, selecting, evaluating, processing, searching and finding information together with partners. To be able to construct one’s own knowledge, to let students construct it, to build a personalized and personal educational virtual space, recognizing synergic network connections, diversity, openness, to succeed and to develop creativity, imagination and inventiveness. Most importantly, to go beyond the school curriculum, rigid content, tasks, exercises. To try to create a different image of teachinglearning in early childhood education using a multi-paradigm eclecticism:

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constructivism combined with connectionism, libertarian and critical paradigms. To conclude, it is important to emphasise that the connectivist paradigm has its supporters and opponents, strengths and weaknesses. Its presence in public debates is weak, criticised, underestimated and still open.

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Młyn´ska M., A few words about teaching critical thinking in a foreign language lesson, Edukacja Pomorska. Bulletin of the Teacher Education Centre in Gdan´sk, 94/95 (45/46) 2019, pp. 12–15. Morbitzer J., In search of new (meta)models of education in the 21st century, Educational Studies, 2018, (50), pp. 1–23. Pedagogy. A scientific handbook, ed. Z. Kwiecin´ski, B. S´liwerski, PWN, Warszawa 2009. Pituła B., Correlation of communication relations between the teacher and the student in the teaching process and theories of individual personality traits, [in:] Education – Multiplicity of Meanings, Commonality of Goals, ed. B. Pituła, I. Nowosad, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht Verlage, Göttingen 2022. Pituła B., Nauczyciel wobec zawodowych znaków zapytania, [in:] Nauczyciel we współczesnej rzeczywistos´ci edukacyjnej, ed. A. Karpin´ska, M. Zin´czuk, K. Kowalczuk, WUB, Białystok 2021. Ravenscroft A., Dialogue and Connectivism: A new approach to understanding and promoting dialogue – rich networked learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning’, 2011, 12 (3), pp. 130–155. Robinson K. Aronica L., Creative schools. The grassroots revolution that is changing education, Element, Kraków 2015. Siemens G., Connectivism. Learning theory or pastime for the self – amused? 2006, Available at: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connetivism (access: 10. 05. 2022). Strykowski W., Competences of a modern teacher, NEODIDAGMATA, 27 (28), 2006, p. 16– 28. Szkudlarek T., Why do we need critical pedagogy today? [in:] Education and the public sphere: ideas and experiences of radical pedagogy, ed. H. A. Giroux, L. Witkowski, Impuls, Kraków 2010. Szymiec R., Umysł (w) sieci. Media education for participation in global culture, eMPi2, Poznan´ 2016. Sysło M., Standards of teacher preparation in the field of information and communication technology. Polskie Towarzystwo Informatyczne, p. 1–2. Sysło M., Technologia informacyjna w edukacji, UW, Wrocław 2011. Tapscott D., Digital adulthood. How the net generation changes our world? , WAiP, Warsaw 2010. Tomasik A., Creative Pedagogy – Gdan´sk model of teacher education, [in:] Conference Pokazac´ – Przekazac´, ed. A. Dziama, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw 2017. Winiarek T., Critical thinking – an adventure for life, Pomeranian Education. Bulletin of the Teacher Education Centre in Gdan´sk, 2019, 94/95 (45/46), pp. 5–8. Verhagen P., Connectivism: A new learning theory? 2006, Available at: http://www.scribd. com/88324962/Connectivism-a-New-Learning-Theory (access: 19. 04. 2022). Zeler B., Z˙ydek-Bednarczuk U., Homo communicans w ´swiecie wirtualnym (Homo communicans in a virtual world), [in:] Człowiek a ´swiat wirtualne (Man and virtual worlds), ed. A. Kiepas, A. Sułkowska, M. Wołek, US´, Katowice 2009.

Mirosław Kowalski / Łukasz Alban´ski

Handbags: Another Look at Everyday Education of Daily Routines and Selves

Abstract: The article aims to shed insights on the constitutive role of handbags in shaping and reproducing the practices of which one’s daily life is made. The social significance of handbags in the mundane perception and day to day life experiences of women are crucial for the understanding how routine practice actually unfolds. The intrigue of the everyday handbag is most apparent in micro social life, where the banal and the familiar are constitutive of the wider social complexities. For the purpose of the article, a sample of 9 interviews was chosen. Focused on the routine, the article explores how the interviewees experience, understand and sustain casual relationships and interactions with others, things, contexts and environments. Keywords: theory of bags, routine, relationships

The episodes of everyday life as the focal subject matter of education are conceived to demonstrate a subtle interaction between social forces and individual lives1. Moreover, it is difficult to ignore an interest in the significance the everyday, because, as Sarah Pink2 observes, if anything, the everyday is at the centre of human existence, the essence who we are and our location in the world. Although the general interest in everyday life approaches among social scientists continues to grow, it seems that the role of everyday objects is still a neglected area of educational studies. Perhaps, such reluctance on carrying out educational research on the meaning of everyday objects is linked with the realm of material culture, while the conceptions of education are traditionally rooted in the knowledge of symbolic culture. However, there are certain outcrops of inquiry scattered throughout education studies, which give importance to objects in various social contexts. For instance, George H. Mead (1934) recognized that human beings live in a world of objects, and their activities are formed around

1 M. van Manen, Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy, Althouse, London 1990. 2 S. Pink, Situating Everyday Life: Practices and Places, SAGE Publications, London 2012, p. 143.

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objects; Erving Goffman3 showed the significance of objects in everyday forms of interactions. More recently Bruno Latour4 argued that everyday objects must be regarded as agents in relation to which people measure and create their daily behavior. In addition to Latour’s contribution to the role of objects, a brand new chapter is yet opened for the significance of objects in sociology by theories of social practice, which offers a specific emphasis on materials and social arrangements5. There is a very clear consensus among social scientists that, in opposition to almost all other living creatures, human beings have always relied on material objects to communicate and express meaning as well as to understand the social milieu they are acting within. Nonetheless, there is relatively little room for discussions of mundane or trivial objects in education studies. In this article, the focus is on everyday handbag, a bag which is full of things that are appropriate to one’s daily needs. In doing so, the article aims to give importance to the ordinary as a category of analysis and it explores the meaning of handbags in shaping ideas of everyday routines in the women’s lives. Focusing on what the mundane is, the social world inside the handbag reveals a space for daily plans, thoughts and wishes that can be envisaged. The everyday handbag consists of what the ordinary is, but that it goes beyond a habitual situation in which life is predictable because things are always done in the same way. The handbag is an object that is revised by its owner ritually on a daily basis depending on her needs for any time of day. The items inside the handbag are collected and replaced, together with all the belongings that are the permanent inhabitants of the handbag. It creates a ritualistic performance in her everyday life. This ritualistic performance of appropriate selection takes place repetitively, and hence flows smoothly as a habit of which she is not always fully aware. However, the same performance can be also dramatized, when the contents of the handbag are tipped onto the table at the end of the day. The ways in which women act towards handbags are not exhausted by matters of practicality and use. In many cultures, handbags are respectively feminized objects. The practice of gender is situated in everyday interactions, and the examination of the everyday handbag has a capacity of the everyday which

3 E. Goffman, Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order, Harper & Row, New York 1971. 4 B. Latour, Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artefacts [in:] Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change, ed. by W.E. Bijker, J. Law, MIT Press Cambridge 1992. 5 T.R. Schatzki, C.K. Knorr, E. von Savigny, The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory, Routledge, London 2001. E. Shove, M. Pantzar, M. Watson, The Dynamics of Social Practice: Everyday Life and How It Changes, Sage Publications, London 2012.

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enhances a woman’s biographical sketch, especially in relation to the presentation of self and a revaluation of femininity6.

Method Developing sensitive strategies for empirically investigating everyday experience can be particularly difficult to deal with rendering the invisible visible and exposing the mundane7, but interviews have been demonstrated as helpful for understanding how individuals make sense of their everyday lives8. In-depth interviews provide access to a wealth of information that enables the author to better understand the significance of mundane objects such as handbags concerning day-to-day events and tasks in social routines. Narrative forms of research that bring daily perspectives to the fore help to gain knowledge about the interpretative practices of everyday life. The use of a semi-structured interview meant that interviewees could circumscribe issues according to their own experience and understanding, while at the same time the author could explore, identify and group them around major issues9. For the purpose of the article, a sample of 9 women, all from relatively similar socio-economic backgrounds were chosen. Seven of them are married or live together with a partner. Of these interviewees, five have children. All of them have a degree and they are employed. They identify with the middle-class background. They live in a large city (Kraków). The sample depicts common themes across the data and highlights some similarities where they occur.

Mundane spaces of everyday handbags Each everyday routine is limited to space10. It occurs at certain locations, which are full of individual markers and hence individuals have more claim on the territory than anybody11. Interviewees describe their handbags as places that they 6 A. Szmorhun, M. Kowalski, Dispositive des Genus: Das weibliche Geschlecht im strukturellen Machtgefüge: Das Weibliche Geschlecht Im Strukturellen Machtgefuge, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 2020. 7 A. Galloway, Intimations of Everyday Life: Ubiquitous Computing and the City, Cultural Studies, 2004, 18(2–3), p. 385. 8 S. Pink, Situating Everyday Life: Practices and Places, SAGE Publications, London 2012, p. 143. 9 Ł. Alban´ski, Socjologia dziecin´stwa: dyskusja nad pozycja˛ dziecka w socjologii [Sociology of Childhood: Reflections on Child in Sociology], Studia Edukacyjne, 2017, 46. 10 H. Lefebvre, The Production of Space, Basil Blackwell Ltd, Oxford 1991. 11 E. Goffman, Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order, Harper & Row, New York 1971.

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actually live in, because of a constant and comforting presence of the handbag in their daily routines. The social history of handbags is driven by curiosity to recognize the social and historical conditions that shape the mobility and emancipation of women. The term ‘handbag’ is treated as the overall word for purse, clutch, satchel, tote, pocketbook and drawstring purse. All these terms describe either a specific function, or the way the handbag is carried. According to fashion historians12, the variation in handbags plays a role in the emancipation of women, because their size, design and function increased the awareness of their needs. Over the course of the significant changes in women’s history, the basic handbag has grown from a drawstring purse (reticule) to a solid tote bag13. Its size and design manifests itself in episodes of everyday life in the wider social meaning. For the interviewees, everyday handbag use is primarily an outside-home activity. Handbags are called everyday survival kits. Named handbags as everyday survival kits carries the message that an ordinary day without one’s handbag could pose a serious challenge to cope with one’s daily occupations and routines. The need to carry one’s own personal belongings directly influences the choice of the handbag, and the issue of practicality grows to its imperative in everyday routine. The process of an appropriated selection of things inside the handbag takes place repetitively on a more or less daily basis. Interviewees usually revisit to update their collection of things and to add new ones. Each handbag contains essential items of daily routine (one interviewee suggests: let’s call it a tool kit) such as: an organizer, pen, perfume, lipstick, hand cream, sanitary towels, comb, toothbrush, handkerchiefs, painkillers, fresh breath candies (bubble gum), chocolate bar (sweets) and a bottle of water; necessities such as a wallet, documents (ID, driving license), keys, electronic devices, copies of files, relevant documents and other things to cope with the increased workload; leisure time activities such as a book, newspaper, crossword; personal safety items such as an umbrella (sunglasses), medicine, tear gas; useful gadgets such as a flashlight, screwdriver, penknife with various accessories; private objects, which are commonly hidden to avoid the risk of public exposure and embarrassment, such as knickers, sheaths, birth control pills. This list offers just an outlook on the contents of a handbag. All those things makes a true sense of one’s everyday life and real-world experience, encompassing the physical location (outside home) and movement not just of the handbag owner but the things inside the handbag, constituting the material milieu. The material environment and routinized habits of movement 12 A. Johnson, Handbags: The Power of the Purse, Workman Publishing Company, New York 2002. V. Steele, L. Borrelli, Handbags: A Lexicon of Style, Random House, New York 1999. 13 C. Wilcox, Bags, V & A Publishing, London 2008.

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have an effect on daily experience, because everyday life usually occurs in certain locations such as workplace, university etc. Moreover, movement takes place in time and episodes of everyday life have a certain temporal duration. The imposition of timetables and calendars contains a quintessential example of the connection between spatial and time ordering. Although structurally expected durations14 influence time-space movements, casual encounters and social events, the individual action is the product of situational dynamics. As a theoretical framework from which to consider the social significance of objects in mundane forms of interaction, interactionism offers an excellent vantage, perceived as existential sociology, which has animation and openness enough to capture a description of the small social worlds that constitute everyday experience. As Herbert Blumer15 repeated after Mead (1934), sociological understanding and identification of the life of a group require to identify its world of objects. The interactionist tradition in sociology is well oriented to consider facets of everyday life in a world of objects as it relates to the ritual transformations of everyday life and the role of objects within it16. The foundational premise is that episodes of everyday life occur in some wider contexts of a particular social world, in which people constantly circulate and behave differently, which they enter and leave a specific time span. In various contexts people encounter typical social situations and occasions, yet any social situation is a blend activity, history and material objects which achieves its definition and coherence from complex configurations of events where different individuals in different roles perform together in a coordinate manner. It offers possibilities and impossibilities, and has effects on performative actions. Time-space location and movement of self and objects are socially patterned. Interviewees tend to traverse their routine pathways, making similar trails at similar times on a daily basis. Handbags play a role in increasing capacities of mobility for everyday conditions of existence, because of a comforting and constant presence of handbags in one’s daily routine. Handbags demonstrate the potential underpinning everyday projects interviewee undertake in their social worlds and manifesting actual mobility. In collecting all the items the interviewee usually packs them according to her current needs for any given time of the day. The selection of things, their placement and replacement, becomes a ritualistic performance in one’s everyday life. Joanna and Anna described their experiences in the following way: 14 R.K. Merton, Socially Expected Durations, [in:] On Social Structure and Science, ed. by P. Sztompka, Chicago University Press, Chicago 1996. 15 H. Blumer, Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method, University of California Press, Berkley 1986. 16 R. Collins, Interaction Ritual Chains, Princeton University Press, Princeton 2004. E. Goffman, Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order, Harper & Row, New York 1971.

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Although the contents of my handbag are always the same, I usually clean the inside of the handbag every evening. A lot of rubbish will gather throughout a day, like tissues or a bill. Besides, it is imperative that I pack everything I will need for tomorrow. (Joanna 29) The contents of the handbag does not change on a daily basis. Basically I need the same things every day. However, I always double check my belongings at the end of day. Eventually I carefully pack some things that I know I will need tomorrow. (Anna 40)

The ritualistic performance of packing the handbag occurs day in and day out, only to repeat the ritual in preparation for the next day or for going out in the evening. The performance provokes feelings of continuity and security, because the handbag gives access to the realm of opportunities for providing an interviewee with anything essential or important she might require: I do know why there are so many things inside my handbag, because I always examine them carefully every evening. Well, I think I carry only useful things. It is true, I do not need many of them every day. They are inside my bag, anyway. I guess, I like to know that I have multiple options for each and every occasion. (Lidka 38)

There are multiple options shaping an individual’s world. Moreover, some of these options may be even conflicting in a certain way, but at the same time, are seem naturally and reasonably aggregate to foster a sense of “my life” and “my territory.” The spatial-temporal bounds of everyday experience are well reflected in handbags. The trajectories of routine paths, relied on familiar and practical trails, sometimes criss-cross less typical social events and encounters. Therefore, handbags constitute a practical sense of one’s territory within the multiple options of one’s everyday existence.

Territory of possession The handbag is readily recognized as a territory of possession17. In his book Relations in Public, Erving Goffman18 mentioned the handbag as an example of territories of the self. He distinguished a number of such territories, based on their situational or physical characteristics, and the handbag is further classified as egocentric. According to Goffman19, human beings establish the rights and expectations over certain types of territories, and must be cautious of violations of these territories, which constitute violations of self. In this regard, the existence of such boundaries allows individuals to control information about 17 E. Goffman, Relations in Public…op.cit., p. 38. 18 Ibidem, p. 29. 19 Ibidem, p. 38–39.

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themselves to a degree, and hence the image that the others have of them. The handbag contains a very compelling aspect of an individual life – the interior of the handbag. It represents something of a woman’s life that many people realize, and men in particular, she does not want others to know about. The inside of the handbag is thereby recognized as one’s very private and intimate space. The interviewees put it into such words as: my handbag is my little private world, my handbag is my private thing, or my handbag is full of my things. The personal boundaries of the handbag are signaled by an array of physical markers. The handbag is basically treated as an extension of the female body. This is demonstrated in the way an interviewee carries her handbag every day. It can dangle from the arm, be draped over the shoulder, or held in the hand. Some interviewees claim that they would feel strange about their body, which would seem to be impaired, if they did not carry their handbag with them. The handbag becomes durably incorporated in their bodies (an individual choice for comfort and performance, the manner in which the handbag is worn on the body, the adjustment of the handbag drawstring which properly fits one’s body etc.). Interviewees talk about their experiences of the close relation between body and handbag with emphasis on keeping a tight grip on the handbag. Some laugh and joke about how it looks like to other people. As if they wanted to guard their priceless handbags. Closely connected to their owners, handbags contain a collection of objects designed to provide support in self-representations. The items inside handbags not only offer clues to various aspects of identity, giving a picture of everyday routine at a particular moment in space and time, but also they aim to convey some information about the owners and their status. Interviewees refer to their handbags as a protective container of personal belongings, putting a very strong emphasis on possessions. Handbags are full of objects, which provide literal proof of identity (for instance, ID cards, credit cards etc.), and additionally, which give access to other intimate and private spaces such as home (keys), or one’s treasured memories of people and events (personal photographs, talismans etc.). Besides, as it has been mentioned before, handbags contains items which provide vital and useful resources to cope with any everyday occurrence. Some of them, such as smartphones and other mobile devices, are able to perform several functions at the same time. Therefore, handbags as protective containers of personal belongings hold the expectations interviewees have in regard to selfpreserves. One aspect of the expectations is that, according to interviewees, everyday routine beyond the handbag is in fact very limited to outdoor recreational activities or periods of time when they leave home for a while. As one interviewee tried to explain:

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I have never experienced a day without my bag. You know, you can forget your phone, even your keys, and wallet … but your handbag?! Never! (Lidia 26)

In their totality handbags produce a practical sense of one’s territory of possession. At the same time, however, handbags also give their owners a deeply phenomenological sense of “my territory,” because they furnish them with the personal belongings surrounding the intimated world. In both cases, the loss of a handbag is perceived as a very unpleasant and stressful situation, which is described by one word “a nightmare”. Some interviewees admit that they feel anxious about their handbags, when they do not see their handbags in a short distance away. For instance, Anna expresses her nagging anxiety over the consequences of the loss of her handbag in this way: Sometimes I get into a mounting panic “where is my handbag?!” Then, when I find my bag, I try to calm down myself – it is just understandable anxiety about what could happen if I lost my bag. (Anna 32)

While the territorial boundaries of the handbag are important to notice, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that some accounts of handbags often turn out to be the carriers of a double meaning in the perception of the handbag as a purely egocentric territory (Goffman 1971). Most interviewees label their handbags as intensely private receptacles. However, surely the interior of the handbag shows the immersion of the interviewee in relationships with others within the social context of gendered roles as well. The dominant understanding of gender relations among interviewees is relied on a relational matter, which is bound up with some struggle for recognition. It is, at root, a way of categorizing their social world oriented toward the binary opposition of female and male. Each category derives its meaning and properties from the other, which states in a ready-to-use definition that, that is, to be a woman means you do not act like a man and vice versa. According to interviewees, the clarity of the general principle of gender opposition comes as a result of holding a belief that handbags are most preferable and culturally appropriate receptacles for women’s needs. Interviewees usually want to make me recognize such claims by putting strong emphasis on handbags as very feminized objects. It was quite often stressed in the interviews, e. g.: I believe that your handbag defines you as a woman, every woman needs to carry her handbag, or your handbag makes you very feminine. The beliefs hold by interviewees that handbags are exclusively feminized garments largely structures their ways of perceiving, and therefore their ways of responding to the degree, to which they resemble the binary categories of femininity and masculinity. In many cases, those beliefs are represented in terms of Raewyn Connell’s (2005) conception of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. The cultural significance of the handbag is filled with references to

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feminine identity. In some interviews, the interviewee constructs an almost symbiotic relation between them and their handbags. However, the significance of that unique relation would be insignificant without the continuous presence of gender contrasts, which appeal to cultural ideals as to what women and men should be. Handbags as feminized objects are automatically attributed to emphasized femininity, which needs to be ascertained in some fashion, while the hegemonic masculinity discourse on handbags is thereby laden with significance, which bore on the thought of effeminacy. An example of this is one episode of Friends, a popular sitcom, when Joe is attracted by a purse. His true admiration for the female garment is not even reluctantly accepted by his mates. As it has been mentioned before, for the interviewees, the gender boundaries of the handbag become obvious in accordance with thinkable and possible actions in how to act as a woman.

Family, work and social roles The daily choice of a handbag is embodied in various contexts, since an interviewee deals with the configurations of events, where she performs a different set of social roles. The notion of family plays an important role in shaping perceptions of gendered behavior in accordance with collecting things inside the handbag. Among all the everyday actions, plans and routines for an interviewee’s attention, those of the family are imperative, because they are often seen (or declared) as the most important things in one’s life. Interviewees avow that their loved ones (children, spouses, parents) make them happy and the family is what ‘comes first’, therefore their handbags contain things which belong to other family members (mostly children). For instance, Beata reported: When I got married and became a mother, I genuinely felt that I was dedicated to my family life. So far, my handbag has been a source of comfort for me that I have everything they need. I feel great when they ask me about a thing and I can take it out from my handbag.

For the interviewees, the two frequently repeated statements – if you get married and if that’s your thing – include the expectations and practices of everyday life which give apparent legitimacy to the notion that once you became wife and mother, your handbag is part of your family life. The imperative of ‘good mothering’ is particularly well represented inside the handbag, since the relationship between mother and child is constructed by the interviewees solely as essential. They feel in certain ways towards their children and do certain things to them. The sharing of everyday routine with children consolidates love and care

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with the things inside the handbag that are needed for a particular purpose or activity: I am a mother of two toddlers. It means that my handbag is well equipped for all everyday ‘mum’ challenges. If Ola (my daughter) starts crying inside the car, I am ready for it, I have packed a packet of biscuits before. Kuba (my son) is a bit older, but if he gets bored, he wants his favorite little red car… (Anna 38)

The family is so fundamental to organizing everyday routines that it has a subtle influence on the way things are organized inside the handbag or upon the developments of the woman’s handbag preferences towards a solid tote. However, each handbag is a perception which constitutes an unquestioned sense of a particular interviewee’s family, distinct from other families, as it is rooted in an intersubjective experience that family members share a common living space. The boundaries of the handbag have a double meaning of privacy, as the interior of the handbag is closed off from the public; one is considered intimately individual and second is considered binding people into a family-specific ‘we’. Items collected inside the handbag act as symbols of shared experience and belonging. They often convey not only a form of close intimacy between an interviewee and her family, but also repeated experience of ‘loved ones’ (which gives the interviewees a good deal to make assumptions about their families such as: I know what they like). Still, the handbag offers the glimpse of the specific symbolic power within the family. On the surface, there is the capacity in determining what should be done within a particular family whilst being peculiar to the family is deeply affective recognition such as love, care and dependency. The manifestation of masculine dominance inside the handbag routinely shows in everyday practices such as carrying out the majority of the housework or childrearing. They demonstrate, beyond doubt, the tacit demands and expectations of spouses within a family at the interviewee’s expense. In many cases, men seem to be convinced that women should have everything they need at at a given moment inside their handbags. Yet it is not necessarily always so straightforward. It is possible that affective recognition plays an important role in explaining the specific symbolic power within the family as it refers to things collected inside the handbag. Interviewees very often talk about their emotional involvement in enhancing family bonding. When they try to justify other family members’ belongings inside their handbags, the keywords are love, care and dependency. In some ways, they believe that handbags give them an obvious advantage over spouses, because their handbags are well embodied in everyday family episodes. In other words, they perceive handbags as symbolic tools of power (legitimacy) over the family enforcing everyday practices and activities. However, as it happens, the configuration of familial power relations has particular pertinence for grasping the

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pressures of work, because many interviewees admit that handbags are the battleground for their maternal (family) and work aspirations. Most interviewees agree with one another that their handbags represent sequences of life projects such as completing university education, pursuing a professional career, bringing up children etc. Handbags are just supposed to fit into their life projects and offer security, flexibility and reliability in the realization of them. However, interviewees’ everyday experiences are frequently defined by the tensions between familial duties and those and relating to work. Although the tensions between the two fields across social cleavages appears to vary according to national policy regimes on childcare and employment, the genre of research on work-life balance relating to gender has shown that women’s lifeworlds are not necessarily described by their positions in one field, but by pressures and conflicts between different fields. This felt tension between the two fields manifests itself in the demands, influences and obligations of everyday life, specifically life projects which need to be prioritized in relation to one another. In the face of these contradictory demands, the interviewees try to balance them in some way. Therefore, handbags become the battlefield for concerted efforts to arrange collected things into a particular order, which structures interviewees’ ways to deal with the everyday. Rarely, the interviewees decide to separate familial duties and those relating to work between bags. Some mothers of young babies, sometimes carry two bags (one for her, one for the child’s items), because they want to keep order inside their handbags. Most interviewees, however, even recognize tensions between work and family as potential sources of conflict, they never claim that their everyday worlds are torn apart because of them. Their handbags are examples of how they usually think about and deal with everyday routines. Some, in the face of intersectional forces of family and work, opt to remain a ‘creative mess’ inside their handbags, some decide to respond very pragmatically to daily conditions and pack items inside their handbags according to current needs for any given time of the day, in each case, however, collecting things inside the handbag is recognized by themselves as a way of confidence building. While there are different obligations, pressures and influences shaping the interviewee’s individual world, and while some of them may well be conflicting and clashing, they still interconnect to make an inner sense of the ‘this is my life’ sentence.

Childhood, playtime and memories During the interviews, most interviewees brought back some good memories from their childhood times. A first, the handbag is recognized as one of these focal points in changing the perceived evaluation of their femininity. The in-

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terviewees still remember their very first handbags and are able to describe some feelings which accompanied them when they played with them. One of them says that even when I put my beloved teddy bear and sweets inside the handbag I felt proud of acting as a mature woman. An other interviewee recalls: It is fun to go back to childhood memories when I was a small girl. I remember my first handbag pretty well. It was a gift from my aunt. I was 7 years old and I was very excited about having my own handbag. I didn’t have to carry my mother’s handbag, or borrow one from other girls anymore. I felt very special, almost as if I was a mature woman. It did not matter that I threw toys and pencils inside the handbag, the handbag was mine. Mine! (Anna 35)

Most interviewees put an emphasis on the significance of being an owner/nonowner during the playtimes when those who had a handbag could play the roles of adults (such as: mother, teacher, fashion models etc.). Playing with things is a key part of socialization in childhood and these things communicate powerful messages to children about what is expected of them20. Moreover, playtime is perceived as an opportunity for children to acquire some skills and dispositions valued by adults. Although some experiences will seem to confirm the gender expectations that the interviewees encountered in their families, it cannot be forgotten why children interpret, listen to, attend to the reactions of, and talk and play with significant others. The imitation and interpretation are forged in the quest for recognition from those children love and esteem, that is, their family members. Since my childhood, I have loved borrowing my mum’s pieces of clothing. My mum is a very fashionable woman. Handbags, with which I played as a child, came from her wardrobe (…) My mum is a role model of femininity for me. I admire her. I looked at her, when she is made-up, her hair combed … Her handbag was full of treasures – perfumes, which I wanted to smell, but my mum did not really like it when I played with them. She had a lot of cosmetic products there and small box for business cards which I still remember very well. (Lidka 26)

Katarzyna confirms such sentiments towards the relationship between role models and the handbag. In her opinion, handbags are reminiscent of her adult relatives, because she saw that her mum, grandma, sister and aunts, all have at least one handbag. Moreover, she claims that she always attribute her mother’s elegance and sense of style to her collection of handbags. It is perhaps a simple but significant observation that handbags can be considered appropriate for the confirmation of standards and behaviours in a particular familiar context, but

20 Ł. Alban´ski, Socjologia dziecin´stwa: dyskusja nad pozycja˛ dziecka w socjologii [Sociology of Childhood: Reflections on Child in Sociology], Studia Edukacyjne, 2017, 46.

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certain elements of desire and admiration that emerge from the interviewees’ words cannot be ignored.

Conclusion There may be a hunch that the significance of handbags in the mundane perspective can be reduced to the practice which sustains tedious and repetitive works that keep the ordinary going on. Yet collecting things inside the handbag offers a much more complicated picture for making sense of the everyday that the dull and ordinary routine suggests. In many ways, as interviewees suggest, collecting and examining things inside their handbags is practical work, but the way that they navigate through different episodes of the everyday life, shows deeply phenomenological insights into a tapestry of social relations in a wider cultural context. The article provides a reminder of the extent to which these relations reflect and reproduce forms of judgement regarding the conduct of daily life. In doing so it demonstrates the value of the world which consists of mundane yet meaningful objects such as handbags. In particular, handbags are useful tools for understanding the experience and awareness of gender within everyday contexts. This helps to show how the sociology of mundane objects can contribute to revealing something about the practice of gender. Handbags are not inert things, but they become associated with their owners, and these associations are generative of emotion and engagement. They show dynamics of the doing of everyday life from the perspective of the spatial-temporal-embodied relationship. They help understanding interdependencies in notions of care and caring in everyday life, but they also bring to the light that women’s difference from men is experienced as a matter of routine. The importance of everyday life as a field of educational inquiry has been widely recognized and thus the article aspires to push at the frontiers of engagements a bit further with the category of everyday objects. From such a perspective, it offers insights on the living and doing of social and personal lives. It demonstrates how handbags contribute to the crucial aspects of everyday experience.

References Alban´ski Ł., Torebka: płec´ i codziennos´c´ [Handbags: Gender and Everyday Routine], Rocznik Lubuski, 2016, 42, 293–307. Alban´ski Ł., Socjologia dziecin´stwa: dyskusja nad pozycja˛ dziecka w socjologii [Sociology of Childhood: Reflections on Child in Sociology], Studia Edukacyjne, 2017, 46, 73–88.

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Appadurai A., The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1988. Blumer H. Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method, University of California Press, Berkley 1986. Collins R., Interaction Ritual Chains, University Press, Princeton 2004. Connell R.W., Messerschmidt J.W., Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept, Gender and Society, 2005, 19(6): 829–859. Galloway A., Intimations of Everyday Life: Ubiquitous Computing and the City, Cultural Studies, 2004, 18(2–3): 384–408. Goffman E., Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order, Harper & Row, New York 1971. Johnson A., Handbags: The Power of the Purse, Workman Publishing Company, New York 2002. Latour B., Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artefacts, [in:] Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change, ed. W.E. Bijker, J. Law, MIT Press, Cambridge 1992, Pp. 225–258. Lefebvre H., The Production of Space, Basil Blackwell Ltd. Oxford 1991. Merton R.K., Socially Expected Durations, [in:] On Social Structure and Science, ed. P. Sztompka, Chicago University Press. Chicago 1996, Pp. 162–172. Pink S., Situating Everyday Life: Practices and Places, SAGE Publications, London 2012. Schatzki T.R., Knorr C.K., von Savigny E., The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory, Routledge, London 2001. Shove E., Pantzar M., Watson M., The Dynamics of Social Practice: Everyday Life and How It Changes, Sage Publications, London 2012. Steele V., Borrelli L., Handbags: A Lexicon of Style, Random House, New York 1999. Szmorhun A., Kowalski M., Dispositive des Genus: Das weibliche Geschlecht im strukturellen Machtgefüge: Das Weibliche Geschlecht Im Strukturellen Machtgefuge, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 2020. Wilcox C., Bags, V & A Publishing, London 2008. van Manen M., Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy, Althouse, London 1990.

Beata Pituła

Education in Relation – Is Co-Teaching a Chance for a New School/Academy?

Abstract: This paper is an attempt at presentation of co-teaching, its models and properties from the perspective of the desiderata for the future. The first part presents an outline of the sources advocating for change of the traditional teaching paradigm. It shows the implications resulting from civilisational and technological progress as well as the imperative concerning assumption of the role of a transformative leader by the teacher. The second part presents the specifics of co-teaching realised in its two basic models. In particular, the high level of coherence of this method with factors determining an effective didactic process and other benefits resulting from work on the basis of this method are indicated. The summary is an attempt at answering the questions whether there is a chance for co-teaching to become a common educational practice. Keywords: co-teaching, teacher, pupil/student

Introduction Over the last years, the unprecedented social, industrial and economic development has revolutionized the functioning of organisations and societies. Keeping up with the quick, progressive technological changes gave rise to the need to look for new, more effective methods of learning by individuals, organisations and societies. Following the existing traditional model of functioning of societies and organisations in the constantly changing reality is no longer effective and cannot guarantee accomplishment of expected results. Today, success can be achieved by individuals, organisations and societies who have changed/are changing their world perception perspective, acknowledging and taking the opportunities brought by its diversity and cooperation in all areas of human life and functioning1.

1 Z. Pia˛tek, Edukacja bez granic-wezwanie do naprawy ´swiata przez wiedze˛ [Education without Boundaries – a Call to Mend the World through Knowledge], [in:] Edukacja XXI wieku. Strategie zarza˛dzania i kierunki rozwoju [21st Century Education. Management Strategies and Directions of Development], Wydawnictwo Ksie˛garnia Akademicka, Kraków 2020.

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Advanced and constantly emerging new technologies are shaping our culture, causing many unintended social effects, such as their impact on social relations – their number is growing at the expense of their quality (the opportunities for contact in the global village are unlimited, but are mostly shallow and superficial), or the progressing emotional underdevelopment of people (virtual contact requires seeing, hearing, while feeling and compassion are becoming tangential or completely unnecessary). Along with continuous emergence of new professions and majors of studies, the professional biography of today’s pupil/ student is characterised with instability, with multiple changes of work or profession required, permanent need for gaining new qualifications and improvement, supplementation of possessed competences. This means that the schemes of thought and action applied so far in solving life problems are becoming ineffective in terms of preparation for the challenges we will be faced with in the next decades of the 21st century2. Preparing the next generations for a rewarding, creative and valuable life is the task of education. Thus, what should it be like to meet the requirements of the currently consolidating super smart society? It should definitely be innovative, giving preference to dialogue and supporting the ability of independent learning of pupils/students, utilising the potential of digital instruments optimally,3 taking care of all subjects of the educational process equally. Fully realising the postulates: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.4. Thus, it seems that one of the key aspects is assigning the right rank, in the education process, to the ability to combine, as all innovations rely mostly on that. In the times of overproduction of everything, from tangible to virtual assets, discovering something new is not enough. It is necessary to demonstrate the possibility of combining it with other elements – to combine everything that can be effectively combined. Innovations are a proposal of combination of elements that have not been combined so far or used to be combined differently. In this context, interdisciplinarity becomes a priority. Creating knowledge within one scientific discipline and closing it in a homogeneous circle makes it useless; only

2 A. Ke˛dzierska-Szczepaniak, K. Szopik-Depczyn´ska, K. Łazorko, Innowacje w organizacjach [Innovations in Organisations], Wydawnictwo Texter, Warsaw 2016. 3 S. Jabłon´ski, J. Wojciechowska, Wizja szkoły XXI; kluczowe kompetencje nauczyciela a nowa funkcja edukacji [Vision of the School of the 21st Century; Teacher’s Key Competents and New Function of Education], Studia Edukacyjne 27/2013, Publishing House of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan´, Poznan´ 2013. 4 Learning: the treasure within, Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the twenty-first century / Jacques Delors, chairman, Warsaw 1998, p. 85.

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when combined with knowledge from other disciplines, it allows for the creation of socially valuable products5. Research on innovations has proven that connecting people and creating conditions for their unrestricted interactions always leads to developing “something” new6. This thesis also gives rise to the desideratum of care for proper interpersonal relations between the teacher and the pupil/student. Relations creating conditions for dialogue and involvement in the didactic process, discovery and interpretation of knowledge. They inspire experimenting, posing questions, raising doubts, challenging things. They are a form of meeting of unique personalities, open to changes and participating in their design7. We create relations through our language – through it, we express our needs, desires, intentions, emotions, we point to directions and inspire. Thus, it is important that the teacher uses a language in a way that allows to build the student’s trust in him/herself and others, that the language is a tool enabling the establishment and consolidation of new contacts, encouraging to share one’s ideas, helping in removal of barriers stuck in the minds, frequently as a result of assumed cliches and getting caught up in a routine. The teacher, in addition to his or her many other roles (and the list is openended), must also become a catalyst for changes, an inspiring and transforming leader. The leadership embedded in this role refers to its essence, i. e. learning how to shape and future and support all education entities in the discovery and better understanding of the world which, in fact, it means the generation of new realities and management of knowledge of the new generation8.

5 M. Kaku, Wizje XXI wieku, czyli jak nauka zmieni ´swiat w XXI wieku [Visions of the 21st Century, i. e. how Science will Change the World in the 21st Century], Wydawnictwo Prószyn´ski Media, Warsaw 2018. 6 Z. Jurkiewicz, Wpływ pracowników wiedzy na innowacyjnos´c´ przedsie˛biorstw [Impact of Knowledge Workers on Innovativeness of Enterprises], [in:] Prace Naukowe Wałbrzyskiej Wyz˙szej Szkoły Zarza˛dzania i Przedsie˛biorczos´ci Kreatywnos´c´ Innowacyjnos´c´ Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ Zarza˛dzanie operacyjne w teorii i praktyce organizacji biznesowych, publicznych i pozarza˛dowych [Scientific Papers of Wałbrzych School of management and Entrepreneurship; Creativity, Innovativeness, Entrepreneurship, Operating Management in Theory and Practice of Business, Public and Non-Governmental Organisations], ed. L. Kowalczyk, F. Mroczko, Vol.30 (5) 2014, Publishing House of Wałbrzych School of management and Entrepreneurship, Wałbrzych 2014, pp. 161–174. 7 A. Karpin´ska, Responsywny nauczyciel wobec idei indywidualizacji procesu kształcenia, [in:] Innowacje w perspektywie jakos´ci kształcenia [Responsible Teacher vs the Idea of Individualisation of the Education Process], ed. A. Karpin´ska, K. Borowska-Kalbarczyk, K. Kowalczuk, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2019, pp. 19–30. 8 L. Pasˇková, Transformatívne liderstwo a osamelost’ucˇitel’ov v edukacˇnom prostredí, Lifelong Learnig –Celozˇivotní Vzdeˇlávání, 2021, Vol. 11, No. 2, Mendelova univerzita v Brneˇ, Vysokosˇkolský ústav Institut celozˇivotního vzdeˇlávání, pp. 135–137.

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In the latest concepts of school/university development, knowledge is treated as a certain type of a “strategic resource”9. Thus, its distribution should be divided into three stages: Stage one – sharing knowledge (the teacher/lecturer somewhat makes his/her knowledge available, creating conditions and encouraging the pupils/students to do the same. For this purpose, the teacher uses personal traits and worked-out didactic instruments as well as available ITC technologies). The pupils/students learn the standards and points of reference (factual status). Stage two – creating knowledge (the teacher learns the needs of his/her students, their interests, at the same time being aware of his/her own, defines the tasks to be performed and looks for the methods to execute them together with the students). The pupils/students generate new projects (elements of the future). Stage three – evolutionary development of knowledge (knowledge is confronted with values, its assessment is carried out by the teachers and learners together). The pupils/students try answering the question of what should exist, becoming conscious subjects of changes and their very creators10. Adopting this strategy will allow to shape the key competences for the future as required by the developing super smart society. In the context of the above conclusions, I found that the concept of coteaching and the possibility of applying it in the educational practice of the school/university of the 21st century is worth “looking into” again.

Co-Teaching – Its “Faces” and Results Co-teaching is usually understood as common teaching, teaching in collaboration, team teaching. One of the commonly accepted definitions presents it as teaching realised in one physical space for a diversified class of students, by two or more teachers (professionals/specialists). This teaching model is usually associated with and pursued in the environment of an integrated class where the lead teacher and assistant teacher cooperate11. It is far from assuming a subordination relationship, i. e. the assistant teacher is not an assistant or helper of 9 G. Ce˛celek, Kompetencje społeczne nauczyciela. Szkoły uczenia sie˛ i wyrównywania szans edukacyjnych [Teacher’s Social Competences. Schools of Learning and Equalisation of Education Opportunities], Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2020, p. 6. 10 Adopted based on the model presented in: M. Klimczok, A. Tomczyk, Zarza˛dzanie wiedza˛ – współczesna koncepcja zarza˛dzania przedsie˛biorstwem [Knowledge Management – Contemporary Concept of Enterprise Management], Zeszyty Naukowe Wyz˙szej Szkoły Humanitas. Zarza˛dzanie [Scientific Papers of Humanitas University. Management], 2012/no.2, Sosnowiec, pp. 166–167. 11 Although the Polish law regulating the education system does not provide for the term “assistant teacher”, it functions in common use.

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the subject teacher. The assistant teacher is a fully-fledged co-organiser of the education process as he/she has the relevant specialised qualifications and competences12. However, following the invoked definition, the number of teachers and other specialists co-organising the didactic process in the classroom is not limited and, thus, the interpretation that the number of persons co-organising the process should correspond to the needs of the learners of this group is admissible. In the process of education organised at the universities, this teaching model is usually pursued as part of problem-based education oriented at the implementation of a project, i. e. the so-called Problem Based Learning (PBL). The education model offered is once again dedicated to a diversified group of students (usually presenting various majors of education), and the number of academic teachers and other specialists involved in the implementation of the project is determined by the specifics of the subject of research only. Co-teaching is pursued following its selected model. Such models can be applied alternatively in the different periods of the education process, depending on the established, by way of dialogue, educational objectives to be accomplished, as well as the needs and capabilities of its participants. One of such models is “one teacher/one observer”, where one teacher assumes the role of the so-called lead teacher (conducting the classes), while the task of the other is careful observation of the unfolding process. He/she somewhat collects the data required for reasonable, flexible introduction of changes in the didactic process, according to the observed needs, interests, difficulties of the pupil/ student and on-going teaching results13. The next one is the “one teacher/one assistant” model. In this case the lead teacher is again the one conducting the class, while the task of the assistant is accompanying individual pupils/students in the lesson/exercises/tutorials. He/ she supports the individual pupils/students in the performance of their tasks, e. g. complementing/explaining the content of the task or instruction, encouraging further/increased effort. It helps to maintain comfortable conditions of work of the teacher and pupils/students, keeping those distracting others in check. In this model, the roles may intertwine smoothly, which means that the lead teacher may become the assistant teacher from time to time, depending on the course of the class14. 12 M. Celuch, Nauczyciel wspomagaja˛cy w szkole, przedszkolu, os´rodku [Assistant Teacher at School, Kindergarten, Education Centre], Wydawnictwo Wiedza i Praktyka sp. z o. o., Warsaw 2021, p. 7. 13 L. Cook, M. Friend, Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices, Focus on Exceptional Children, 28(3), 1995, pp. 1–17. 14 A.I. Nevin, R.A.Villa, J.S. Thousand, A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K–12 educators, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2009.

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The co-teaching model realised in groups allows both teachers to act as lead teachers15 and is referred to as an alternative model. The number of members of the groups is insignificant. It is, however, important that the groups must be heterogeneous (e. g. pupils with diversified intellectual capabilities can belong to one group). The teachers use different didactic strategies and use different didactic materials in the groups. When this model is realised in homogeneous groups (e. g. formed by students with a similar intellectual potential), with use of the same methods and didactic materials, we are dealing with parallel teaching. The next model, referred to as stationary teaching, enables the division of the classes into mini-lessons oriented at learning a selected part of the material and exercising of a specific skill. The space where classes are held is divided into stations, each of which is intended for a pupil/student to perform a task within a specific period of time. Teachers conducting the classes take determined stations, leaving the rest of the space for the pupils/students to use them as stations for independent work. The order of passing the stations may be undefined or predefined. The team teaching model puts both teachers in the role of lead teachers/ teachers complementing each other’s activities. For example, when one teacher presents new content, the other complements it with examples, etc.16. In co-teaching, teachers do not share duties and responsibilities, but co-decide, co-plan and are co-responsible for the educational process. This didactic strategy requires the teacher to demonstrate effective communication, respect for the effort contributed in the teaching process by the co-creating teachers, consent to resignation from their own ideas and acceptance of the concept of the other person, full commitment to the didactic process, from planning, through action to reflection, readiness for continuous changes. Research proves17 that co-teaching is often realised by teachers and university teachers intuitively, without being aware of it. The most probable cause for that is high coherence of factors conducive to effective teaching and learning, namely: – orientation at the development of critical thinking; – synthetic, attractive presentation of the didactic material; – conduciveness to the transfer of the content of the taught material in the given knowledge discipline and between them; – interactive teaching, where the source of knowledge is the entire “learning environment”; 15 Ibidem. 16 A. Brawand, M. E. King-Sears, Maximizing PEDAGOGY for Secondary Co-Teachers, Sfl Nasen Support of Learning, 2017, Vol. 32 No. 3. 17 Ibidem.

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– multisensory effects; – stress-free encouragement to intellectual effort; – attitude of empathy, sympathy, respect and mutual acceptance, readiness for cooperation; – co-deciding and co-responsibility in teaching and learning; – success orientation, focus on accomplishments; – adaptation to the learning styles of pupils/students, their psychomotor capabilities, needs and aspirations; – constructive evaluation of teaching-learning effects; – continuous exposure of work effects; – team building, individual and group identification and acceptance; – constance of basic moral, social, personal principles and values; – openness to innovations in thinking and action; – stimulation of the need for continuous learning18. Furthermore, if we look at co-teaching from the perspective of didactic principles laid down over centuries of educational practice of societies19 and assume that the thesis that the continuous and equal respecting of the catalogue of worked-out didactic rules guarantees the accomplishment of educational objectives is true, it seems that this method, irrespective of the model chosen, somewhat forces the teacher to abide by them and, thus, ensures the achievement of the best teachinglearning effects. Co-teaching requires the teacher to abide by the cardinal rules of conveying, managing and generating knowledge resulting from the civilisation and technological progress. It requires the fulfilment of the didactic process with the full conviction that: – the ability to formulate questions, problematize reality (search for questions) is more important than the ability to formulate/find answers. Developing this ability in pupils/students leads to promoting their cognitive curiosity, support of high self-esteem and refraining from evaluating and comparing; – taking risk in conditions of continuous change (including continuous verification of knowledge) is necessary and, thus, pupils/students must be en18 Catalogue of factors developed based on own, years-long experience in the profession of a teacher and academic teacher as well as proposals put forward by K. Gozdek- Michaelis, Supermoz˙liwos´ci Twojego umysłu. Jak uczyc´ sie˛ trzy razy szybciej? [Super Capabilities of Your Mind. How to Learn Three Times Faster?], Wydawnictwo Comes, Warsaw 1993. 19 Por. D. Ste˛pkowski, B. Dietrich, Zarys ogólnej dydaktyki nauki. Podstawy i orientacje dla kształcenia nauczycieli, nauczania i badan´ edukacyjnych [Overview of General Didactics of learning. Basics and Orientations for Education of Teachers, Teaching and Educational Research], Wydawnictwo Impuls, Kraków 2021. B. Niemierko, Kształcenie szkolne. Podre˛cznik skutecznej dydaktyki [School Education. Textbook of Effective Didactics], Wydawnictwa akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warsaw 2007;

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couraged to learn from their own mistakes, draw constructive conclusions from failures, be ready to face defeat; – imagination is more important than knowledge, imagining something is the cardinal point of creating “the new”. Therefore, it must be developed in pupils/ students, it is necessary to create the attitude of openness to the new in them and support them in “sharing their astonishments”; – seeking/discovering the new requires patience and persistence. It is an invaluable capital in the pursuit of life goals, including educational ones. It must be built and developed through proper distribution of the pupil’s/student’s effort over time; – trusting oneself, being convinced that we are able to perform the task is a prerequisite to start working on it. Therefore, it is so important to prepare educational instructions in such a manner that they direct attention to the pupil’s/student’s potential, that they empower the pupil/student and encourage him/her to use it fully in the didactic process20. The acknowledgement of the above desiderata by the teacher implies his/her involvement in team teaching and building of his/her set of didactic instruments depending on the needs. The considerations of co-teaching would be – in my opinion – incomplete if we did not include (even if only signalling their existence) the perspective of roles assumed by pupils/students in the education process. The school/university, as a special and unique place, has earned many comparisons and references to other places, including mainly the theatre, where, similarly to the school/university, the plot takes place in a specific scenery and roles are played by actors (teachers and students). The roles of the pupil/student and teacher with regard to different educational situations may be understood differently. This entails model behaviours for the position of the individual in the given group, which may result from the social status but also a social contract or convention. Thus, the behaviours of the given person resulting from his/her role should be in harmony with the behaviours of others. Thus, the complementarity of the roles of the teacher and pupil/student. In the class or students’ group we can observe roles connected with the tasks performed in the group, roles regarding creation and maintenance of community life as well as individual ones, serving mainly satisfaction of own needs21, and only those will be the point of reference for the analyses presented here. 20 R. Villa, J. Thousand, A. Nevin, A guide to co-teaching: New lessons and strategies to facilitate student learning (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin 2013. 21 Detailed analysis of students’ roles and their classification goes beyond the framework of this study and, thus, was omitted.

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Bearing in mind that classes in co-teaching are conducted by at least two teachers, the risk of the pupil/student assuming the role of a passive recipient of knowledge is reduced as he/she is “granted” multiplied attention of those conducting the classes and gets automatically involved in the vortex of questions. His/her intellectual and emotional activity is constantly stimulated by the ongoing discussions and arguments, and the lack of evaluation and comparison on the part of the learning team is conducive to eagerness to take up new tasks. Co-teaching works well with the pupil/student-client role since, providing a broad offer of activities, it allows to pick those that respond to the needs of the pupil/student best at the given time. The teacher, as the “supplier” / “seller” / “offeror” is forced to prepare the “goods”/ knowledge / skills in a way creating the need to possess them. On the other hand, this model resonates fully with the role of the pupil/ student-explorer/discoverer who can find here unlimited possibilities to explore new problems, generate ideas to solve them and to experiment creatively. The teacher does not limit, supports, accompanies, co-experiences successes and failures. Thus, it must be noted that the value of co-teaching is high from this perspective as well.

Therefore, is Co-Teaching a Change for New Education? Research proves that co-teaching brings many advantages for both education entities (both the teacher and student)22. Teachers practicing co-teaching found the main advantages in four areas: “higher level of cooperation with other specialists, individual support, professional improvement and satisfaction with work”23. They believe that the sense of professional satisfaction results from the observed successes of pupils, better educational accomplishments and higher level of social competences. They emphasised that a jointly created programme was a reason to experience positive emotions resulting from the effects of their own work. Teachers appreciate the possibility to share their knowledge, experience, improve/enrich their own work methods continuously and take advantage of the knowledge and skills of the teacher or specialist co-organising the didactic 22 Detailed analysis of results of research concerning co-teaching conducted by foreign and Polish scholars is presented in: G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Ritter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´ [Co-Teaching and Its Significance for the Education Process. Research Review], in: Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej [Disability. Discourses of Special Pedagogy], No. 44/2021, pp. 76–98. 23 Ibidem, p. 87.

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process. In their opinion, co-teaching creates conditions for verification of own ideas and creative adaptation of ideas of others. The experience of continuous, mutual support provided to each other by co-teaching teachers has proven crucial since, while increasing mental comfort, it minimises the risk of an error24. Co-teaching stimulates the professional development of teachers. Close cooperation with specialists, co-organising the didactic process results in adoption of a broader perspective, the complementation of knowledge, the acquisition of new skills, the search for new solutions to emerging problems. The continuous presence of a partner providing support increases the sense of security and provides effective prophylactic means counteracting occupational burnout. Discussing the class programme/project together is inspiring, increases avidness and commitment, is conducive to self-reflection25. It must be noted, however, that the indicated benefits are usually a result of a good match of teachers in terms of their personality profile, communication skills and work style. Therefore, it is crucial for the teachers to have the opportunity to choose the partner with whom they will create the teaching dyad. It must also be emphasised that the principle of subjectivity and individualisation of education fits fully within the concept co-teaching. Therefore, the advantages for the pupil/student can be seen in all areas of his/her activity and development. It is difficult to determine the level and scope of these positive changes as research in this field is still insufficient to formulate final conclusions but, still, provides grounds to claim that co-teaching is a valuable method, worth exploring, practicing and improving it further. It must be noted that the introduction of this method in schools and universities to a much broader extent than today will require the development and application of comprehensive changes in the organisation of work of these institutions, in the education systems as well as the improvement of professional skills of teachers and supporting them in professional development. Despite that, bearing in mind the undisputed advantages of co-teaching, it is worth taking the effort to make this practice an everyday occurrence in the contemporary schools/universities.

24 Ibidem, pp. 87–88. 25 G. Szumski, J. Smogorzewska, Z. Narkun, A. Tre˛bacz-Ritter, Współnauczanie i jego znaczenie dla procesu edukacji. Przegla˛d badan´ [Co-Teaching and Its Significance for the Education Process. Research Review], Niepełnosprawnos´c´. Dyskursy pedagogiki specjalnej [Disability. Discourses of Special Pedagogy], No. 44/2021, pp. 87–88.

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Autors list

Jolanta Szempruch, Professor of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociological Sciences University of Rzeszów, email address: [email protected], ORCID: 00000002-3739-3288 Jolanta Konieczny, Ph.D., Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email address: jolanta.konieczny@ polsl.pl, ORCID: 0000-0003-0495-6141 Inetta Nowosad, Associate Professor of Human Sciences, Head of the Department of School of Pedagogy, University of Zielona Góra, email adress: inetta [email protected], ORCID: 0000-00023739-7844 Markéta Sˇvamberk Sˇauerová, doc. PhDr., Department of Psychology, Pedagogy Faculty Charles University, Prague, email adress: marketa.svamberksauerova@ pedf.cuni.cz, ORCID: 0000–0002–7721–4360 Zenon Gajdzica, Professor of Social Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Silesia in Katowice, email adress: [email protected] du.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-6329-411X Urszula Szus´cik, Professor of Human Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Institute of Pedagogy, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 00000003-0817 Zdzisława Janiszewska-Nies´cioruk, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 00000003-2874-1524

294

Autors list

Anna Potyka, M.A., Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-1176-4431 Anna Suchon, Ph.D., Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-0341-6282 Mgr. Zuzana Svobodová, Ph.D., DBA Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-9233-1661 Prof. PhDr. Jaroslav Vetesˇka, Ph.D., MBA, Head of Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-12157956 Mgr. Danusˇe Dvorˇáková, M.A., Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-0535-7725 PhDr. Martin Kursch, Ph.D., Department of Andragogy and Educational Management Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: mar [email protected], ORCID: 000-0001-9492-7971 PhDr. Mgr. Roman Lisˇka, Ph.D., MBA, Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-2966-8293 PhDr. Michaela Tureckiová, CSc., MBA, Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-0911-9131 PhDr. Mgr. Jaroslav Krˇízˇ, MBA, Department of Andragogy and Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-4850-0982 Barbara Grzyb, Ph.D., Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-3649-4068

Autors list

295

Katarzyna Tobór-Osadnik, Associate Professor, Vice Head of the Department of Safety Engineering Faculty of Mining Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-4568-3485 Anna Bluszcz, Associate Professor, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0001-9724-5706 Małgorzata Wyganowska, Associate Professor, Vice Dean for Education, Head of the Department of Safety Engineering Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000 0002 2704 3188 Anna Waligóra, Ph. D., Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-5543-7010 Ida Skubis, Ph.D., Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, email adress: i.k.sku [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-2447-9832 Beata Ecler-Nocon´, Associate Professor, University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Social Sciences, emali adress: [email protected], ORCID: 00000002-4873-6952 Jolanta Karbowniczek, Associate Professor, Jesuit University Ignatianum, email adress: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-4746-3814 Mirosław Kowalski, Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, email address: m.kowal [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-2960-8258 Łukasz Alban´ski, Associate Professor Department of Pedeutology and Pedagogical Therapy Pedagogical University of Krakow, email adress: lalbanski@up. krakow.pl, ORCID: 0000-0001-5819-1557 Beata Pituła, Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Education and Communication Research of the Silesian University of Technology, email address: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-7691-3821