Co-teaching was a great way to get more comfortable with library instruction before teaching on my own. For all of my co-teaching sessions, the instruction librarian gave me a section to teach. I was then able to teach nearly all of the Day 1 and Day 2 lessons in pieces before taking responsibility for the whole lesson on my own. By basing each section on the librarian’s lesson plan, I was able to approach the material in different ways. In more than one instance, this approach was not one I would have typically envisioned, so it opened my mind to new teaching methods. I believe co-teaching can also be a good experience for the students. Very few instructors will be able to relate to 100% of the students 100% of the time. Therefore, splitting up the session gives two different perspectives, approaches, and personalities and breaks up the lesson. Students will hopefully relate to one of the two voices in the room and potentially feel more comfortable seeking that instructor out for ongoing research assistance.
I actually had a student approach me at the Information Desk for help with her paper. She remembered me from one of the classes I co-taught and then asked me my opinion on a source she was thinking to use for her annotated bibliography!