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Leeandrea Price & Roger Grape

Professor: Dr. Judi Moreillon

LS 5443: Librarians as Instructional Partners

23 September 2012

Assignment A.1.4: Classroom-Library Collaboration Case Study

Times are changing for the 21st century learner as our society shifts from an “Industrial Age” to an “Information Age” (AASL 7). As a result, the role of the school librarian as an instructional partner has become more important than ever. Collaboration between school librarians and classroom teachers is gaining more emphasis. Such collaborations can greatly benefit students and the school community, with a secondary benefit being an increased support for the librarian’s role (Church 40). The following will examine current research which highlights many of the benefits of collaborative teaching for four main groups in the school community – students, teachers, administrators, and teacher-librarians.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR STUDENTS?

Regardless of which method is used to elicit partnership, it is undeniable that the most important stakeholder in the school community of which collaboration effects is the student. . In //Empowering Learners,// AASL poignantly state that "the school librarian empowers students to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information" (18). Qualitative data gathered through video interviews conducted by Dr. Judi Moreillon focus on the viewpoints of professionals in the field. At the lower end of the education spectrum, it was found that Kindergarten students benefitted tremendously from the more “individualized attention” that co-teaching afforded (Kindergarten Teacher: Peggy).

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Providing alternative groupings or settings for students in a partnership, whether the students are struggling or not, is so important because it allows students to work more closely with two caring adults who offer unique perspectives with the potential to enrich understanding. A little further up the educational latter in the testimonials, it was also found that the philosophy of a 3rd grade teacher to provide “authentic learning” experiences will help students reap the rewards of a “deeper” knowledge base when collaboration occurs (3rd Grade Teacher: Judy P). In a different snippet of testimonial data, it was demonstrated that classroom-library collaboration does not end with just content area teachers (Elementary Art Instructor: Tracy). Collaboration can effectively exist in the arts. Tracy Ross, and elementary art instructor, comments that “I can instruct them in a certain art technique, and they will notice it in the books they read" (Elementary Art Instructor: Tracy). This indicates that students are making text to world connections which enhances their experience and increases understanding. Furthermore, all of the testimonial data suggest thatclassroom-library collaboration engages, adds curiosity, and promotes inquiry for students.

In addition to videotaped testimony, other research demonstrates why classroom-library collaboration is advantageous for students. Hamilton, a practicing school librarian in Georgia, makes it appoint to “support conversations for learning by incorporating collaborative learning and research activities as a regular part of classroom life" (36). In doing so, she and her classroom partners were able to witness sophomore students transform from a state of “learned helplessness” to “resourceful thinker” (Hamilton 35). In direct alignment with AASL standards, this practitioner found that the students not only became independent learners able to locate, access, evaluate, and synthesize information, but they were able to "demonstrate confidence and self-direction" while doing it (Hamilton 36). From this research, it is understood that cultivating these attributes that are deep down, but sometimes hidden among students, is essential.

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In an era of high-stakes testing, it would be remiss to ignore any facts that support the importance of library-classroom collaboration on student achievement assessment data. A study cited in Mardis and Hoffman involving the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) revealed that reading scores were improved for 7th graders, in which collaborative efforts mattered in variables such as the teacher-librarians “provid[ing] collaborative instruction, professional development, and direct student assistance.”Also, in their own follow-up study to see if the same effects would occur for science instruction, data suggested that “collaboration with science teachers also demonstrated a relationship to [higher] science achievement (Mardis and Hoffman). All of these findings show that students can experience a well-rounded approach from professionals that can add depth to instruction together. In essence, working together for the common goal of improving student achievement, demonstrated by improved test scores and more importantly by effective skills students can carry on throughout life, should be top priority.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR TEACHERS? Teachers have quite a bit to gain from collaborating with teacher-librarians, but more communication and education is needed to help them understand those benefits, and it will fall on teacher-librarians to help them “see the light.” Judi Moreillon, Ph.D., cites the following as some of the benefits of collaboration and coteaching for teachers:
 * More one-on-one time with students
 * Clarification of goals and objectives through joint planning and co-assessment of lesson effectiveness
 * Improved facilitation of differentiated instruction
 * Information literacy skills integrated in a meaningful way into the curriculum
 * Shared responsibility for gathering engaging, effective resources
 * Fewer classroom management issues
 * More teaching time because of fewer management issues
 * More opportunities for creativity
 * Personal and professional growth opportunities

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 * Integrated teaching (Moreillon 8)

Some teachers, however, already understand the benefits of collaboration. Kindergarten teacher Peggy stated, “Collaboration with the teacher-librarian has enabled me to do more planning" (Moreillon, “Kindergarten Teacher” interview). Elementary school teacher Brittany.... [*** ENTER MORE TEXT HERE** *]

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR ADMINISTRATORS?

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR LIBRARIANS? There are so many benefits that a teacher-librarian can gain from classroom-library collaborations. First, collaboration gives the librarian a unique opportunity to show leadership skills "...because collaboration by definition requires more than one person, inevitably someone must lead that effort (McGregor 202). Even though we can take the lead, we are not in this alone. As demonstrated in the work of Zmuda & Harada, different learning specialist can share roles, tasks, and responsibilities in a collaborative culture (38-42). Secondly, it is believed that “ collaboration promotes better teacher effectiveness and student learning, and it can advance the professional standing of the school librarian” (Immroth & Lukenbill). In today’s wavering economy, working with others to become a better teacher-librarian to influence positive results for student learning is an added feature of job security that is much needed.Finally, and most importantly, there are personal investments that the teacher-librarian obtains. On-the-job training for personal growth is experienced in this profession. According to Moreillon and Ballard, "[w]e practice the best kind of professional development—job-embedded professional development—when we coteach actual students in real time (6). When students reach success as a result of professionals working together, a gratifying experience can be felt by the librarian. Hamilton puts it best by stating that "it makes a librarian's heart beat faster" (38).

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Works Cited Immroth, Barbara, and W. Bernard Lukenbill. "Teacher-School Library Media Specialist Collaboration through Social Marketing Strategies: An Information Behavior Study." //School Library Research// 10 (2007): n. pag. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. .

Mardis, Marcia, and Ellen Hoffman. "Collection and Collaboration: Science in Michigan Middle School Media Centers." //School Library Research// 10 (2007): n. pag. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. [].