Librarian and faculty collaborative instruction: A phenomenological self-study

Abstract

Several models of librarian and faculty collaboration are found in the professional librarian literature. The literature on collaborative self-study research in university settings suggests collaborative self-study research can improve interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to teaching and research and facilitate the transfer of knowledge. A research librarian and professor of education conducted a phenomenological self-study to examine their multiple roles as researchers and instructors who collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate distance-delivered instructional services for public school teachers who live and work in remote, rural, and Alaska Native communities throughout the state of Alaska. Several themes emerged from this phenomenological self-study: (a) our interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts resulted in increased opportunities to team teach and conduct future collaborative research; (b) we struggled to communicate effectively with our students via audio-conference; and (c) our beliefs and practices were transformed by our participation in this phenomenological self-study. We believe our collaborative approach to phenomenological self-study research can promote intense self-reflection, stimulate creativity, and facilitate open and honest communication between academic librarians and teaching faculty who engage in collaborative instruction and collaborative research; furthermore, we believe our collaborative approach to phenomenological self-study research can increase the instructional effectiveness of academic librarians and teaching faculty collaborating to teach in distance-delivered higher education.