Rethinking Teacher Education via Collaborative Learning: Experiencing the Flipped Classroom Approach

2. Collaborative Professional Development And Communities Of Practice (Cop)

Much has been written in support of collaborative working amongst teachers, in the sense that there is a need for teachers to reflect on their practices and to develop common ground, so as to cope with problems and uncertainty in their daily practice. In their article Vangrieken et al (2015) present the probable positive results of teachers’ collaboration; they identify an increase in innovation, motivation and in self-esteem, accompanied by an improvement on students’ performance. Based on the report Through Growth to achievement (Australian Government 2018, 58-59) “collaborative structures allow teachers to coordinate shared activities more efficiently than centralised bureaucratic organisational structures, which are often costly and rigid… collaboration can lead to a more authentic engagement of teachers because it allows them to build voluntary, reciprocal relationships. Such relationships can create a greater sense of belonging for teachers in a system where a strong fragmentation into disciplines causes many to feel isolated. Third, collaboration can provide teachers with flexible and differentiated professional support tailored to their specific needs and objectives (Bentley, T. & Cazaly, 2015; 25)”.