Rudyard Kipling took his readers on many journeys, from England to India, from Africa to Australia, through novels, short stories, and poems. His famous quote above (from the poem accompanying “The Elephant's Child”) inspired us to take you, our reader, on a journey from teacher collaboration to co-teaching. It is a journey unlike any of Kipling's, yet it is always challenging, exciting, and out of the ordinary! We each started our own journeys of collaboration at the onset of our teaching careers 20–25 years ago. We have been exploring the Whos, Whats, Whens, Wheres, Whys, and Hows of teacher collaboration and co-teaching for the sake of our English language learners ever since. The more questions we asked, the better we understood our own experiences—why some things worked and others did not. The more questions we asked, the more valuable insight we received from our colleagues and friends who also engage in collaboration—about working with English language learners in a wide range of settings from preschool to college. The more questions we asked, the more we discovered that while there is an expanding body of literature on the topic of teacher collaboration and co-teaching, most of it is not concerned with the needs of English language learners (ELLs).

In recent professional-development sessions, we asked several groups of general-education teachers, English-as-a-second-language (ESL) specialists, and district and school administrators what questions come to their minds when they hear the topic of the workshop they will be attending is teacher collaboration and co-teaching for the sake of ELLs. Here are some of the questions that we captured during our warm-up activity:

• Who should collaborate in a school building?
• How often should collaborative teaching teams meet?
• How could the administration best support teacher collaboration?
• Does co-teaching mean both teachers teach at the same time?
• Who would set up teacher collaboration and co-teaching in a building?
• Who would be included in a collaborative teacher team?
• What is the role of the guidance department in teacher collaboration?
• How can teacher collaboration help beginner ELLs?
• Why should I collaborate? Are there incentives? What are the benefits?

The abundance of questions ranged from novice-level, sincere inquires, such as, Who should collaborate? to more complex, buildingwide concerns such as, How would administrators support teacher collaboration more effectively? We found similar patterns of questions each time we worked with teachers on collaborative strategies and co-teaching.

Thanks to our day-to-day practice, answers first grew out of teaching our English-asa-foreign-language and English-as-a-second-language classes collaboratively. Later on, we found more answers while preparing teacher candidates for the field of ESL through a graduate teacher education program, while working as instructional coaches and mentors assisting new teachers both in the general-education and ESL setting or while offering professional-development workshops to experienced teachers. The more questions we answered, the more questions were raised. Each person we encountered had a unique perspective on what educators could and should do to help ELLs. Kipling got it right for us again:

Are there one million unanswered Hows, two million Wheres, and seven million Whys of teacher collaboration? Probably not! Do you have a few questions? If you are reading these pages, you probably do, and this book is written for you! The concepts of teacher collaboration, collaborative schools, and co-teaching are not new; however, our invitation to all teachers (general-education, content area, and ESL specialists alike) to set out on a journey from collaboration to co-teaching may be new in many schools. Enjoy your trip through the following nine chapters, each centered on an essential question.

Chapter 1 establishes the framework for the rest of the book (“What Is This Book About?”). Chapter 2 explores the importance of teacher collaboration, offers a rationale for collaborative practices and co-teaching, and synthesizes relevant research in 10 key areas (“Why Is Collaboration Needed?”). Chapter 3 identifies all stakeholders in a multilingual educational community and describes their unique roles and responsibilities in developing a school culture that fosters teacher collaboration and co-teaching for the benefit of English language learners (“Who Does Teacher Collaboration and ESL Co-Teaching Concern?”). Chapter 4 highlights the collaborative practices that ESL and general-education teachers may choose to participate in (“What Are the Essential Components of an Integrated, Collaborative ESL Program?”). Chapter 5 identifies the nuts and bolts of collaborative and co-teaching practices (“How Do Teachers Plan, Instruct, and Assess ELLs Collaboratively?”). Chapter 6 explores the time frames available for collaborations (“When Do Teachers and ESL Specialists Collaborate and Co-Teach?”). Chapter 7 describes the different physical and virtual environments that [Page xv]teachers use in order to enhance their collaborative processes (“Where Do Teachers and ESL Specialists Collaborate and Co-Teach?”). Chapter 8 promotes reflective practices and presents informal assessment and evaluation techniques (“What Next? Reviewing and Evaluating Integrated, Collaborative ESL Programs). Finally, Chapter 9 introduces six exemplary ESL teachers and their collaborative partners and presents their experiences working in collaboration in a case study format (“Portraits of Collaboration”).

We hope you enjoy your journey exploring the possibilities that teacher collaboration holds for ESL programs and the education of English language learners. In addition, it is our wish that the information and personal stories we have shared regarding co-teaching and inclusive programs to benefit ELLs may inspire you to devise, experiment with, and evaluate innovative programs for this special student population.