- by Elizabeth R. Peralejo

- by Elizabeth R. Peralejo

LIBRARIAN – TEACHER COLLABORATION : KEY TO EFFECTIVE STUDENT LEARNING

“Do you collaborate?”

“Even if I want to, I don’t have the time!”

“I let them know what materials I have.”

“Well, I teach them information literacy.”

“Of course, the teacher teaches the unit, and I demonstrate the database.”

A sharing by “Donna” - taken from “Tales Out of the School Library”, by Bush and Jones (2010)

“Over the holidays, I had time to reflect back on this school year. I started thinking about how I have been handling things in the Library lately. For some reason, my initial response to everything (at least in the last few years) seems to be to duck or to wait patiently for a new trend to pass, and, when the coast is clear, I resurface with a new book display and a snazzy bulletin board. That is not how I handle things in my personal life, as a wife or mother, and so it is curious to me that this is who I have become professionally. Something has to change . . . and that something may be “me”.

A sharing by “Donna” - taken from “Tales Out of the School Library”, by Bush and Jones (2010)

Cont… On the other hand, I am not a pushover. I

do not mind pulling books for a teacher and putting them on a cart for his/her classes, even though it seems ridiculous that the students could not do it themselves. ‘Oh, but locating resources is not the focus of our lesson.’ Well, it better be or these students will leave high school never actually having had to go to the library shelves to find resources. Their college librarian may not be as accommodating . . .

A sharing by “Donna” - taken from “Tales Out of the School Library”, by Bush and Jones (2010)

Cont…So when Jenn (the English teacher) and Martha (the History teacher) , who teach resource classes together, came to me and wanted to plan a lesson, my immediate response was to wonder what they think I would do for them so that they would not have to do their own work. I did not say anything, but that was honestly what I was thinking. Why do I think that way? Why not be happy that teachers want to collaborate with me, when most school librarians are bemoaning the fact that their teachers don’t want to have anything to do with them?

A sharing by “Donna” - taken from “Tales Out of the School Library”, by Bush and Jones (2010)

We planned to meet during the last period the following day. Martha suggested that we start with students researching the history of their family’s country of origin. Jenn, on the other hand, will provide the list of nations to be covered and will teach the students on

how to make bibliographies. I on my part can give a short lecture on how they can go about doing research at the library. In addition, I would research relevant Web sites and match our collection against the list of nation covered; then, if I still have the time, prepare a

pathfinder for the students to use. Then we scheduled our next meeting. Now, it will be interesting to see who follows through. So simple, so friendly, so far so good. “

THE WHAT OF COLLABORATION From Wikipedia :

Collaboration - is a “process defined by recursive interaction of knowledge and mutual learning between two or more people who are working together, in an intellectual endeavor, toward a common goal which is typically creative in nature.”

THE WHAT OF COLLABORATION

Muronago & Harada (1999) : - it is based on a shared vision and a climate of trust and respect.

Doiron & Davies (1998) : - the teacher brings to the partnership a

knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses, attitudes and interests of the students, and of the content to be taught. The librarian, on the other hand, adds a thorough understanding of information skills and methods to integrate them.

THE WHAT OF COLLABORATION

Callison (1999) : - each partner fulfills a carefully defined

role; comprehensive planning is required; leadership, resources, risk and control are shared; and the working relationship extends over a relatively long period of time.

5 Levels of Integration

1. Consumption – Students consume library resources, either for recreatory reading, answering assignments, etc. 2. Connection - Librarian knows of an activity in the library by a teacher but has no input into the design and timing of it. Communication – Librarian and teacher notifies each other of activities and work with the same students, but without actually consulting one another.] 3. Cooperation – Librarian and teacher works together on a project or initiative, with one supporting the other’s goals. 4. Coordination – Teacher informs the librarian about lesson objectives, required output, deadlines, and evaluation criteria. Librarian facilitates the use of resources, and teaches students how to develop their research. 5. Collaboration – Librarian and teacher jointly plans, executes and assesses the library session. As distinct from communication and cooperation, collaboration requires an equal partnership between librarian and teacher.

- Marcoux (2009)

Levels of Integration EXERCISE

1. students borrowing e-books from the library2. teacher alerting librarian to an existing assignment that

will send students to the library3. librarian teaching information literacy class to students

using a prepared module that is shown to the teacher 4. teacher sending her class to the library to do research

and the librarian giving a prepared pathfinder to the students

5. librarian e-mailing or sending a newsletter to the faculty 6. librarian offering workshops to educate faculty on

various information resources 7. teacher inviting librarian to plan on investigative

research of her students, co-teach the topic and check the output

THE WHY OF COLLABORATION

“Effective collaboration with teachers helps to create a vibrant

and engaged community of learners, strengthens the whole school program as well as the library media program, and develops support for the school library media program throughout the whole school. In addition, teacher-librarian collaborating . . . to identify and solve information problems presents a model of the approach that students and others must take to thrive in the information age. ”

- AASL/AECT Information Power : Building Partnerships for Learning (1998)

THE HOW OF COLLABORATION

Who are the most likely candidates for collaboration?

- new teachers - teachers who are teaching new subjects or those where they lack training - teachers who are assigned to new grade/year levels - teachers who are involved in significant school-wide change

THE HOW OF COLLABORATION

What are the steps to prepare for collaboration ?

1. Be familiar with the curriculum of the school; 2. Prepare for classes by reviewing their instructional materials; 3. Develop the collections to support the school curriculum and changing community demographics; 4. Network with other librarians; 5. Look ahead to major school wide events/instructional activities; 6. Offer to help teachers develop their own information literacy skills; 7. Develop reporting relationships with our administrators that are based in student learning.

THE HOW OF COLLABORATION

How do we begin the collaboration?1. Be prepared.

- bring a collaboration form

2. Discuss vital issues: a. Time constraints

b. Meeting frequency c. Possible stress situations d. Goals e. Costs

CLASS-SUPERVISED ACTIVITY (CSA) Needs Assessment Form

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

1. Empathy – the ability to enter fully into another’s feelings or experiences.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

2. Good and Open Communication Skills - We should also have good communication skills, not only oral but also written and open, in order to avoid misunderstanding or miscommunication. - Collaboration is about relationships, and you can’t have one with people you do not know.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

3. Confidence - A certain amount of confidence on your part is needed because it will enable you to take the risk involved in offering one’s service. - Make yourself visible, make it convenient for people to ask you for things, and let them see how capable you can be in meeting their needs

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

4. People Skills - Librarians who are

characterized by their interest in people, use of others as a source of reinforcement, and preference for working with others

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

5. Proactive [far-sighted, flexible] - We librarians must look for opportunities to plan with teachers rather than wait to be asked. We must keep our eyes and ears open to classroom content. - This will determine whether we manage our job with skill and control or whether we simply have too much to do and spend most of our time responding to emergencies.

OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY LEAD TO COLLABORATION

Pathfinders

EMC Website and Social Networking Sites

OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY LEAD TO COLLABORATION

http://emc.hs.admu.edu.ph

@ahslibrarywww.facebook.com/ahslibrary

Reading Circles

OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY LEAD TO COLLABORATION

OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY LEAD TO COLLABORATION

Kapihan sa Aklatan

OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY LEAD TO COLLABORATION

Teen Read Week

Trends and Practices

1. Virtual Collaboration (VC) –librarians participate with teachers through the design, development, and deployment of online learning units (OLUs) such as stand-alone activities and quick tutorial videos.

2. Virtual Learning Commons (VLCs) – a digital learning community in which the whole school participates; both the instructors and students of the school collaborate to establish a place where individuals and groups are actively learning, communicating, and building together in real time.

Trends and Practices

3. Digital Storytelling (DS) – is the fusion of narrative and digital media content. Web 2.0 technologies has provided a range of freely available software and venues for developing and sharing productions. Librarians authoring digital stories for use as virtual library tours, book trailers, or as part of booktalking efforts can make faculty and students aware of school library resources.

4. Maker Spaces – places where design and entrepreneurial ideas are allowed and where serious technology and construction equipment are available in a place dedicated to play and create.  

“Nothing new that is really interesting

comes without collaboration.”

- James Watson, American molecular biologist and co-discoverer of the double helix (DNA), for which he won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology.

R E F E R E N C E S

American Association of School Librarians (AASL), & Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). (1998). Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. Chicago: American Library Association.

American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2007). Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Available at : www.ala.org/aasl/standards.

Brookover, Sophie. (2010). 30 Days of Back to School: Teacher-Librarian Collaboration Tips. Retrieved Sept. 25, 2010 from : < yalsa.ala.org/blog/2010/09/25/30-days-of-back-to-school-teacher-librarian-c collaboration-tips/ > Bush, Gail and Jami Biles Jones. (2010). Tales out of the School Library: Developing Professional Dispositions. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited. Jones, Stephanie A. and Lucy S. Green. (2012). Transforming Collaboration: Student Learning – Anytime, Anywhere. Teacher Librarian. 40(2), 26-31.

Kresberg, Sarah. (2001). Faculty-Library Media Specialist Cooperation or Collaboration. School Library Media Activities Monthly. 17(1), 21-25.

R E F E R E N C E S

Loertscher, David V. (2012). Maker Spaces and the Learning Commons. Teacher Librarian. 39(6), 45-46. Loertscher, David V. and Carol Koechlin. (2012). Virtual Learning Commons and School Improvement. Teacher Librarian. 39 (6), 20-24.

Rebmann, Kristen R. (2012). Theory, Practice, Tools: Catching Up With Digital Storytelling. Teacher Librarian. 39 (3), 30-34.

Russel, Shayne. (2002). Teachers and Librarians : Collaborative Relationships. Teacher Librarian. 29 (5), 35-38.

Small, Ruth. (2002). Collaboration . . . Teacher Librarian 29 (5), 8-11.

THANK YOU AND GOOD DAY!