Given that teaching practices are a key element in understanding issues related to failure, dropout, or retention of engineering students in universities, this study aims to investigate whether students perceive the use of collaborative teaching strategies in Calculus 1 courses. To this end, student perceptions were evaluated, stratified by their performance in the course. The research was based on data from 111 first-year engineering students at two institutions, one in Brazil and the other in France. Data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using percentages, descriptive statistics, and hypothesis testing. The main results indicate that collaborative strategies are moderately employed in Calculus 1. Additionally, perceptions of students at the French institution regarding the use of such strategies were similar, regardless of the strata considered (unified class or performance-based grouping). In contrast, at the Brazilian institution, a notable divergence was observed between the perceptions of approved and failed students, with those who succeeded in the course more prominently recognizing the use of collaborative teaching strategies.