When Reading and Coteaching Mix

Maricar Laudato

CO-Collaboration Strategies

Conklin, K. P. (2012). Making the case for coteaching—the evidence-based way. Knowledge Quest 40(4), 46-49.

Summary:
In this article, Kerry Pierce Conklin discusses how coteaching practices are vital to improving reading comprehension for students of all ages. She argues that when you mix the expertise of a content professional (the teacher) with the information literacy professional (the librarian), significant improvements in the student learning process take place. Conklin provides 3 different types of what she considers coteaching: "one teaching/one supporting," "parallel teaching," and "team teaching." The "one teaching/one supporting" is when one person teaches and the other person walks around to help answer any questions on the content. "Parallel teaching" is when the teacher and librarian each teach half of the students at the same time. "Team teaching" is when both the librarian and teacher share teaching responsibilities and work together throughout sections of the lesson. Conklin then goes on to mention findings that involve teachers recounting positive outcomes as a result of coteaching. For example, these teachers felt that their students all used high quality websites and showed an ability to draw conclusions as a result of critical thinking.

Evaluation:
I felt that this article fell a bit short of making the case for coteaching across all academic disciplines. I wanted to feel a strong conviction after reading the article that a solid argument had been made for why school librarians should be in high demand, but I didn't feel that. I do believe that Conklin's article, however, makes an excellent case for why teachers should work with her to boost the level of reading comprehension for all students. I was completely convinced that Conklin's strategy for improving reading comprehension through coteaching could provide the basis for her eventual tenure should she go that academic route. Where the article falls short is that Conklin goes straight to the outcomes of coteaching, the sound bites that PR executives like to pepper reports with, yet does not really delve into the intricacies of why or how coteaching works.