One of the important aspects of instructional partnerships that I think is not emphasized enough is this: coteaching is fun! Last spring, I was observing a preservice school librarian graduate student coteaching a lesson in an elementary school library. When the class was filing out of the library, the teacher turned to the graduate student and the practicing librarian and said, “I love hanging out with you.” Educators do get lonely when they are isolated from their adult peers.
Last March/April, American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President Susan Ballard and I co-guest edited the “Coteaching” issue of the Knowledge Quest Journal: http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/archive/v40no4
Along with several contributors to that issue, we presented a Webinar on “Coteaching” for AASL members. At the end of that program, I shared a 2.5-minute advocacy digital video I created as a sample for a TWU storytelling class: “Coteach: Step Out of the Box.”
http://animoto.com/play/E3Vmk861WPIKbSmNQ83Hqg#
I offer it here as a visual reminder that collaboration is worth the investment in time because coteaching is FUN!
Do you have a fun coteaching experience to share?