Teacher collaboration drives cognitively activating teaching practices

Cognitively activating teaching is recognized as an innovative and effective instructional approach, yet it is still underutilized worldwide. These practices require teachers to design challenging tasks, encourage open-ended reasoning, and engage students in active knowledge construction.

In the study led by Bellibaş from the Department of Public Policy, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, researchers have analyzed data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, covering 48 countries and economies. Using multilevel modeling, the findings show that teacher collaboration is a significant predictor of the use of cognitive activation strategies, even after controlling for teacher characteristics and school contexts. Their work was made available online on June 2, 2025, and was published in Volume 8, Issue 4 of journal ECNU Review of Education in November, 2025.

"Such collective endeavors, through positive interactions, could promote innovative teaching strategies and foster their motivation to transform classroom instruction," state Bellibaş et al.

The study also identifies the moderating role of collective teacher innovativeness, which can be defined as teachers' shared openness to new ideas and their willingness to experiment with new teaching approaches. In schools where innovativeness is high, the positive impact of collaboration on innovative teaching practices becomes notably stronger. Factors such as school size, location, and socio-economic composition also affect the prevalence of cognitively activating practices, raising equity concerns.

The study highlights the importance of fostering both collaboration and an innovative school climate to improve instructional quality globally. Encouraging collaborative professional cultures and fostering school environments that support innovation may lead to more widespread adoption of high-impact teaching strategies.

"Our findings underscore that simply encouraging collaboration is not enough; we must also actively cultivate an innovative school climate where teachers feel empowered to experiment with new ideas, ultimately leading to a more equitable and widespread adoption of high-impact teaching strategies worldwide," emphasize Bellibaş et al.