Exploring the Dialogical Affordances of Co-Teaching for Student Learning

Abstract

Dialogue is regarded as a cornerstone of student-centered teaching and active learning, inviting students into the process of constructing knowledge rather than merely receiving it delivered from instructors. This is particularly the case in research-based teaching contexts, where knowledge is often characterized by uncertainty, interpretation, and ongoing inquiry rather than fixed answers. This article explores the affordances of dialogical co-teaching for student engagement, particularly in the case of complex, ethically charged research topics. Drawing on our previous experiences co-teaching guest lectures on our research on uterus transplantation in two different Master’s programmes at the University of Copenhagen, we developed a teaching intervention that integrated dialogue into both the instructors’ and the students’ activities. We report on a co-taught two-hour session delivered in Spring 2026 in the Master of Anthropology of Health programme. Our intervention combined structured group activities fostering dialogue among students, with a fluid mode of co-teaching between instructors designed to model dialogue as a process through which knowledge is developed. We analyze observational notes, our own post-teaching reflections, and student evaluations to identify three forms of dialogue that emerged during the session. We argue that co-teaching afforded students a chance to both participate in and observe dialogue in action, rendering visible the uncertainty, interpretation, and knowledge construction otherwise hidden behind a single authoritative voice. We conclude by reflecting on the role of validation within dialogical teaching—how openness and exploration might be balanced with students’ needs for a sense of direction—and consider the broader structural and cultural conditions in higher education that shape opportunities for co-teaching and dialogue in research-based teaching.