From professor to colleague: Creating a professional identity as collaborator in elementary science

This self-study of collaboration examines the lived experiences of a univer sity researcher and a classroom teacher who shared the work of teaching 6th grade science. Sharing teaching involved planning, enacting, assessing, an d reflecting upon instruction, and became the context for telling stories o f collaboration. I interpreted these stories using models of social identit y that employ performance metaphors in the construction/deconstruction of m ultiple identities. The analysis uncovered several tensions in building a c ollaborative relationship: a) The tension created by my assumption of multi ple roles including new reacher, researcher, and collaborator; b) the tensi on between my desired role of collaborator and the role of professor ascrib ed to me by the classroom reacher; and c) the tension of an outsider search ing for a comfort zone in an established classroom community. The meanings of collaboration that emerged from this study have implications for others who embark upon university/school partnerships. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.