When I think about the AASL Shared Foundation of Collaborate, I see more than just students working together. I picture a place where everyone shares ideas, every voice counts, and learning feels social. After talking with Elizabeth Koon, a school librarian at Abner Creek Academy in Spartanburg District Five, I saw how this happens in real life.
Mrs. Koon has been the librarian at Abner Creek Academy for 18 years and was there when the school opened. She works with about 830 students from K4 to fifth grade and mostly uses a flexible schedule. She said, “classes in grades 1–5 sign up to do projects or lessons with me,” which makes it easier to work closely with both teachers and students. I noticed that this flexible setup allows for real partnerships, not just squeezing collaboration into set times.
To guide our conversation, I asked these questions based on the Collaborate Shared Foundation:
- How do you encourage students to work together to deepen understanding?
- How do you use tools or strategies to support collaboration?
- How do you help students give and receive feedback?
- How do you build a learning environment where collaboration is valued?
- Can you describe a successful collaboration with a teacher or class?
One thing that stood out to me from our conversation was how much collaboration is part of daily learning. Mrs. Koon said, “we do a lot of project based learning in the library, which often requires students to work together,” and she encourages students “to share ideas and create products that showcase their learning.” I also noticed that collaboration starts early. She mentioned, “even our youngest students work together with STEM bins…practicing their communication skills and sharing and building together.” This showed me that collaboration is a skill students need to learn, practice, and get comfortable with over time.
Mrs. Koon also shared different tools and strategies that help students work together. They might use Google Slides or Canva, make multimedia projects with WeVideo, or do group activities like scavenger hunts and jigsaw learning. I like how she balances structure and independence. Sometimes she assigns roles, and other times she lets students choose for themselves. This helps students learn both accountability and teamwork.
Another key idea from the interview was how feedback helps students work together. Mrs. Koon said, “feedback is an important part of the collaborative learning process” and uses strategies like “Partner Feedback” and “6 Question Detectives.” Students give responses such as “Bravo” and “Next Steps,” which helps them give more thoughtful feedback. I like her view that “everyone’s work is good, but no one is perfect and we can learn from others.” This helps create a safe place where students feel comfortable sharing and improving their work.
One of my favorite examples was a fourth-grade podcasting project. Students researched someone they were interested in, wrote interview-style scripts, and made their own podcasts. Mrs. Koon said that while teachers worked together to make the project happen, “the student collaboration was what made the whole project shine.” This showed me that collaboration can go beyond the library and make classroom learning more connected and meaningful.
This interview made me think more about what collaboration should look like in my own future library. I realized that collaboration is more than just putting students in groups. It needs clear structures, expectations, and a supportive space where students feel safe to take risks. I also saw how much collaboration depends on relationships. Mrs. Koon’s advice to “build relationships: both with students and with other teachers” reminded me that strong partnerships are the key to a successful library program.
As I reflect on this conversation, I see that collaboration is not just an extra part of learning; it is essential. In my future practice, I want to be more intentional about making collaboration part of everyday routines, not just big projects. I also want to use structured peer feedback strategies like “Bravo” and “Next Steps” to help students engage more with each other’s work. Most of all, I want to create a library where students feel comfortable sharing ideas, learning from others, and seeing that learning is something we do together.
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