Reflections on the value of co-teaching, particularly in a digital humanities context, pitched at administrators who might be thinking about arguments for or against such a heavy investment of their resources while developing a digital humanities program. The overall argument is that co-teaching allows the teaching of DH to more directly mirror the practice of it. The argument takes up three main points. First, co-teaching allows for more interdisciplinary courses. Second, co-teaching models collaboration for students. And third, co-teaching transfers skills from one instructor to another

Brandon Walsh

Humanities Commons

On	Co-Teaching	and	Digital	Humanities	MAR	22ND,	2017		For	me,	co-teaching	is	the	ultimate	teaching	experience.	I’ve	been	fortunate	to	find	several	opportunities	for	it	over	the	years.	During	graduate	school,	I	co-taught	a	number	of	short	courses,	several	DH	classes,	and	a	couple	workshops.	Here	at	W&L	I’ve	been	able	to	teach	alongside	faculty	from	the	history	department	and	the	Library.	Each	experience	has	been	deeply	rewarding.	These	days	I’m	spending	more	time	thinking	about	digital	humanities	from	a	curricular	and	pedagogical	standpoint,	so	I	wanted	to	offer	a	few	quick	notes	on	how	co-teaching	might	play	a	role	in	those	discussions.	I’m	sympathetic	to	arguments	against	putting	two	or	more	people	at	the	front	of	the	classroom.	It’s	expensive	to	use	two	faculty	members	to	teach	a	single	course	when	one	might	do,	so	I	can	understand	how,	in	a	certain	logic,	the	format	seems	profoundly	inefficient.	You	have	a	set	number	of	courses	that	need	to	be	taught,	and	you	need	people	to	teach	them.	And	I	have	also	heard	people	say	that	co-teaching	is	a	lot	more	work	than	teaching	a	course	solo.	I	understand	these	objections.	But	I	wanted	to	offer	just	a	few	notes	on	the	benefits	of	co-teaching	-	why	you	might	want	to	consider	it	as	a	path	for	growing	your	digital	humanities	program	even	in	the	face	of	such	hesitations.	I’ve	found	that	the	co-teaching	experience	fully	compliments	the	work	that	we	do	as	digital	humanists	for	a	number	of	reasons.	I	think	of	co-teaching	as	a	way	to	make	the	teaching	of	digital	humanities	more	fully	reflect	the	ways	we	tend	to	practice	it.	Co-teaching	allows	for	more	interdisciplinary	courses.		Interdisciplinarity	is	hard.	By	its	very	nature,	it	assumes	research,	thinking,	and	teaching	that	lie	at	the	intersections	of	at	least	two	fields,	usually	more.	In	the	case	of	digital	humanities,	this	is	exacerbated	because	the	methodologies	of	the	combined	fields	often	seem	to	be	so	distinct	from	one	another.	Literary	criticism	and	statistical	methods,	archival	research	and	computer	science,	literary	theory	and	web	design.	These	binaries	are	flawed,	of	course,	and	these	fields	have	a	lot	to	say	to	and	about	each	other.	But,	in	the	context	of	teaching	digital	humanities,	sometimes	bringing	these	fields	together	requires	expertise	that	one	teacher	alone	might	not	possess.	A	second	instructor	makes	it	easier	to	bridge	perceived	gaps	in	skills	or	training.	And	those	skills,	if	they	are	meant	to	be	taught,	require	time	and	energy	from	the	instructors.	On	a	more	practical	level,	it	can	be	profoundly	helpful	to	have	one	instructor	float	in	the	classroom	to	offer	technical	assistance	while	the	other	leads	discussion	so	as	to	prevent	troubleshooting	from	breaking	up	the	class.	It	is	not	enough	to	say	that	interdisciplinary	courses	need	a	second	instructor.	They	often	require	additional	hands	on	deck.		Co-teaching	models	collaboration	for	students.		Digital	humanities	work	often	requires	multiple	people	to	work	together,	but	I’d	wager	that	students	often	expect	there	to	be	a	single	person	in	charge	of	a	class.	Students	might	come	into	the	class	expecting	a	lecture	model.	Or,	at	the	very	least,	they	might	expect	the	teacher	to	be	an	expert	on	the	material.	Or,	they	might	expect	the	instructor	to	lead	discussion.	These	formats	are	all	well	and	good,	and	many	instructors	thrive	on	these	models.	I	prefer	to	position	my	students	as	equal	collaborators	with	me	in	the	material	of	the	course.	We	explore	the	material	together,	and,	even	if	I	might	serve	as	a	guiding	hand,	their	observations	are	just	as	important	as	my	own.	I	try	to	give	my	students	space	to	assert	themselves	as	experts,	as	real	collaborators	in	the	course.	Co-teaching	helps	to	set	the	stage	for	this	kind	of	approach,	because	the	baseline	assumption	is	that	no	one	person	knows	everything.	If	that	were	the	case,	you	would	not	need	a	second	instructor.	There	is	always	a	second	voice	in	the	room.	By	unsettling	the	top-down	hierarchy	of	the	classroom,	co-teaching	helps	to	disperse	authority	out	into	other	parts	of	the	group.	The	co-teacher	not	in	charge	on	a	particular	day	might	even	be	seated	alongside	the	students,	learning	with	them.	This	approach	to	teaching	works	especially	well	as	a	vehicle	for	digital	humanities.	After	all,	most	digital	humanities	projects	have	many	collaborators,	each	of	whom	brings	a	different	set	of	skills	to	the	table.	No	person	operates	as	an	expert	in	all	parts	of	a	collaborative	project	-	not	even	the	project	manager.	Digital	humanities	work	is,	by	its	nature,	collaborative.	Students	should	know	this,	see	this,	and	feel	this,	and	it	can	start	at	the	front	of	the	classroom.	Co-teaching	transfers	skills	from	one	instructor	to	another.		Digital	humanities	faculty	and	staff	are	often	brought	in	to	support	courses	and	projects	by	teaching	particular	methods	or	tools.	This	kind	of	training	can	sometimes	happen	in	one-off	workshops	or	in	external	labs,	but	the	co-teaching	model	can	offer	a	deeper,	more	immersive	mentoring	experience.	Co-teaching	can	be	as	much	for	the	instruction	of	the	students	as	it	is	for	the	professional	development	of	the	teachers.	For	the	willing	faculty	member,	a	semester-long	engagement	with	material	that	stretches	their	own	technical	abilities	can	set	them	up	to	teach	the	material	by	themselves	in	the	future.	They	can	learn	alongside	the	students	and	expand	their	portfolio	of	skills.	At	W&L	we	have	had	successes	in	a	number	of	disciplines	with	this	approach	-	faculty	in	history,	journalism,	and	French	have	expanded	their	skills	with	text	analysis,	multimedia	design	and	storytelling,	and	textual	encoding	all	while	developing	and	teaching	new	courses.	We’ve	even	managed,	at	times,	to	document	this	process	so	that	we	have	demonstrable,	professionally	legible	evidence	of	the	kinds	of	work	possible	when	two	people	work	together.	When	both	instructors	share	course	time	for	the	entire	semester	it	can	help	to	expand	the	capacity	of	a	digital	humanities	program	by	spreading	expertise	among	many	collaborators.	Of	course,	all	of	this	requires	a	lot	of	buy-in,	both	from	the	faculty	teaching	together	and	from	the	administration	overseeing	the	development	of	such	courses.	You	need	a	lot	of	people	ready	to	see	the	value	in	this	process.	The	particulars	of	your	campus	might	provide	their	own	limitations	or	opportunities.	Putting	together	collaborations	like	these	takes	time	and	energy,	but	it’s	worth	it.	I	think	of	co-teaching	as	an	investment	-	in	the	future	of	the	program,	the	students,	and	the	instructors.	What	requires	two	instructors	today	might,	with	the	right	preparation	and	participation,	only	require	one	tomorrow.	In	case	you	want	to	read	more,	here	are	some	other	pieces	on	co-teaching	from	myself	and	past	collaborators	(happy	to	be	pointed	to	others!):	• Sarah	Storti	-	On	Co-Teaching	and	Gratitude	• Ed	Triplett	-	One	Teach,	One	Drift	• Here	is	another	blip	from	me	-	Washington	and	Lee	Trip	• And	some	of	my	syllabi	and	materials	can	be	found	here	and	here		

On Co-Teaching and Digital Humanities

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On Co-Teaching and Digital Humanities

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