Building Capacity FOR Collaboration and THROUGH Collaboration

During the past decade, interpreter and translator services have soared across public and public charter schools in the US. In today’s increasingly multilingual and neurodiverse schools, collaboration is essential to support all learners. When we succeed, fail, and reflect together, we not only develop collective efficacy but also model the 21st-century skills we want to develop in our learners (Nordmeyer, 2015). Intentional and strategic co-planning, coteaching, co-assessing, and co-reflecting promote equitable, language-rich learning environments for multilingual learners (Dove and Honigsfeld, 2018, 2022). However, collaboration is not just an effective instructional approach. It is also a catalyst for professional learning: building capacity for all teachers to share responsibility for all students.