Collaboration and cooperation, growing necessities at the workplace in general, are becoming increasingly important in the realm of education (Novoa, 2004). All involved in education are confronted with this reality. For instance, as soon as training is undertaken, the future teacher must develop an ability to cooperate in a pedagogical context. Notably when practice teaching, the student teacher is progressively conditioned for compliance with ministerial expectations. However, in order to learn to make a relevant contribution to a teaching team’s undertakings, to supply constructive criticism as to the outcome of team projects, and to provide innovative suggestions in pedagogical matters (Gouvernement du Québec, 2001), the student teacher needs solid backing from the cooperating teacher. A student teacher’s willingness to reflect on and to question his own teaching practices will create a much more promising learning context (Portelance et Durand, 2006), as will the possibility of conferring with his cooperating teacher and of expressing his ideas (Tatum et McWhorter,1999), basing them on sound assertions. Reciprocally, the cooperating teacher will make a positive contribution to the student teacher’s progress not only by expressing his outlook and beliefs with transparency, but also by accepting that his positions be questioned and even altered (Johnston, Wetherill et Greenebaum, 2002). In such a case, student teacher and cooperating teacher can together generate new expertise (Gervais et Correa, 2005) in regards to learning and teaching. It is the dynamics of sharing of knowledge and know-how in this partnership that retains our interest. After analysing diverse knowledge conveyed between trainer and trainee (Portelance et Gervais, 2007), we examine the professional interaction that these dialogues reveal.

From 2004 to 2007, we carried out a study of the subject by examining four practicum sessions at high school level in a number of Québec schools. To gather data, we used written questionnaires, individual interviews, as well as recordings of conversations between student teachers and their cooperating teachers. These conversations pertain to the conception and to the execution, by the student teacher, of teaching-learning situations. We will disclose our analysis of commentary exchanged between mentor and mentee. These dialogues were integrally transcribed and processed by N’vivo, software designed to analyse qualitative data. Inter-coding and inter-analysis were carried out by the researchers and by two assistant researchers.

We will present a typology of the respective roles taken on by the two partners in their discussions. The cooperating teacher reveals himself to be, above all, an advisor, a transmitter of information, or, perhaps by force of habit, a teacher. The student teacher also takes on the role of transmitter of information, as well as that of reflective practitioner, among others. We observed that while dialogue is not always the main component of their exchanges, these conversations are usually carried out in an egalitarian spirit and, in some cases, give rise to co-construction of practical knowledge.