COLLABORATIVE TEACHING AT CLAREMONT COLLEGE
Claremont College is a unique Primary School, known worldwide as a lighthouse school for collaborative teaching. Many of our current school families were not at Claremont during the period of change from single-cell/teacher classrooms to innovative, open-plan learning spaces. This transformation was between 2012 and 2016. Therefore, I would like to share with you the reasons and research behind our school's decision to transform its old, tired yet beautiful self into a Collaborative Teaching School.
In this article, I will focus on an overview of educational theory and the reasoning that supports Collaborative Teaching.
The original decision to transform the classrooms into learning spaces stemmed from the need to refurbish them. This took us on a journey to examine best practise in educational building design and student experiences, to achieve the best outcomes for students in the 21st Century.
Key research-backed benefits of collaborative teaching, and why we continue to prioritise this teaching practice as a powerful way to strengthen learning outcomes and student wellbeing, are as follows.
- Creative and flexible learning spaces
Providing spaces that students want to learn in and teachers want to teach in was and remains a key priority of transforming classrooms into 21st-century learning spaces, because:
- Learning for students and staff in creative and innovative environments is uplifting
- Flexible spaces can be utilised to gain the maximum benefits for student-centred learning
- Students are more engaged in their learning, their social skills improve, and their physical comforts are catered for
- Students demonstrate more resilience, and they have a greater sense of belonging in learning spaces they want to be in, and enjoy learning in
- Stronger teaching, clarity in learning, more consistent learning experiences
When teachers collaboratively plan lessons and analyse student work together, they’re more likely to:
- Agree on what “good work” looks like; teachers often call this a WAGOLL = what a good one looks like
- Use consistent, high-impact teaching strategies through collaboration
- Identify what students need next and respond faster because of collaboration
- A more coherent learning experience because of a common language
- Aligned expectations and shared approaches to feedback and assessment
- Consistency reduces confusion for students and helps families better understand learning goals across a grade and a stage
- Structured teacher collaboration impacts positively on both teaching practice and student learning outcomes
Large-scale research has found positive links between higher-quality teacher collaboration and improved student achievement in reading and mathematics. A recent NSW evidence-based summary (2025) also notes that collaboration can improve teaching quality, thereby supporting student outcomes.
- Better support for diverse learners
Collaborative teaching is especially helpful in learning spaces with diverse needs. Co-teaching approaches can increase opportunities for:
- Small-group instruction
- Targeted scaffolding
- Inclusive adjustments without singling students out
- Diverse learners from all parts of the learning spectrum
- Stronger staff wellbeing and collective confidence
Teaching is complex work, and collaboration helps by reducing “solo load.” Working in teams supports professional growth through shared problem-solving, coaching, and reflection.
- Collective Teacher Efficacy
Summaries of multiple sources of evidence (Hattie, 2016) also highlight that collaboration builds collective teacher efficacy, which is the shared belief that, together, staff can positively impact student outcomes, which is associated with stronger learning gains.
Collaborative teaching is the practice; collaborative teacher efficacy is the collective belief that makes the practice powerful.
When teachers work together and believe together that their collective actions matter, student learning is most strongly impacted.
In Summary, when educators learn together, students flourish.
Don’t underestimate the importance of what your child sees incidentally modelled every day through collaborative teaching, let alone the benefits to learning outcomes. When teachers work together in learning spaces, students are constantly observing how adults collaborate, listen to one another, take turns, respect different perspectives, and learn from each other’s strengths. These everyday interactions quietly but powerfully shape how children understand teamwork, communication, psychological safety, and belonging. Collaborative teaching doesn’t just support academic learning; it models the social skills, confidence, and culture we hope students will carry with them well beyond the classroom.
Janelle Ford
Interim Principal
21 August 2026
References List
Hattie, J., 2016, http://corwin-connect.com/2016/07/fostering-collective-teacher-efficacy-three-enabling-conditions /2016
King-Sears, M. E., Brawand, A. E., Jenkins, M. A., & Preston-Smith, S. (2021). Does co-teaching improve academic achievement for students with disabilities? A meta-analysis.
Murawski, W. W., & Swanson, H. L. (2001). A meta-analysis of co-teaching research.