This subject to close to me right now: it was the only revision in my defense that came up. Here's what happened: in my description of a model library, I talked about everything...except what the librarian does...with students, with other teachers. And one of my committee members said it was like building a boat and forgetting the skipper.
Interesting.
So it got me thinking about collaboration. If you had this amazing library, what good would it be without a highly qualified librarian...who had expectations of working with students and teachers? What would that look like? What would the expectations for the other teachers in the school be?
What would happen if something like the following was published at a school:
"The highly-qualified library media teacher will work with teachers to prepare lessons developing media literacy and research skills using topics of study in the content class. All students will have an opportunity to work in-depth with the library resources at least once a year."
and
"Teachers should plan to collaborate with the library media teacher at least once a year on a unit of study that involves media literacy and research skills around the teacher's content area."
Now, don't start telling me about the schedule and time and you know, reality. I want to assume that will all be worked out. For this exercise, I want to know how those statements would shape or change the work that you do--or want to do--or are already doing.
What could a policy statement about collaboration look like?
Here goes a but.... Teachers are really challenging to collaborate formally with. I've found it very hard to meet with them at an assigned time to collaborate. Usually, teachers like last-minute help. I would love to see more collaboration and I think once a year is good. I suppose that to make this work, a BASIC form could be established in which each grade level provides some idea of how the LTT could support a unit they are doing. If they wanted to go above and beyond the basics, great. If not, it would provide them an experience of collaborating and I think they'd enjoy the results. Both classroom teachers and I are always happy when our lessons overlap. We know that students' learning is deepened by having us both teach a subject. I think that there could be a tad more effort to have this be a formal effort. Once a year is perfect and I think the collaboration could even be via emails if necessary. I think an administrator would need to support (require) this of teachers or it would just be a pretty statement and not a reality. My teachers aren't exactly anti-collaboration, but they already are required to collaborate so much. It should be kept simple and flexible.
ReplyDeleteI can see this with even small research projects with lower grades: puling out books and finding online information on a topic, reading non-fiction texts, and supporting the teacher in helping students show their learning in some way.
ReplyDeleteThis will support what I am already doing by allowing me the opportunity to have resources ready for the student and teacher in advance, having a subject of focus when guiding students with skills like using parts of a book, and even help me in developing our collection to support units covered in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has helped me in the past, is getting a schedule or a curriculum map from each grade level of the topics that they are planning to teach through out the school year. I did not do that this year, but I hope to next year when I am more settled. I wish that I could attend grade level team meetings, but I have their student during their meetings. I have collaborated with the fourth grade teachers this year and have taught extinction theories and different ways to perform research skills. The students learn so much more when I can reinforce what is also being taught in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI've also used the teachers' curriculum maps and feel like it's so much more meaningful to students when it reinforces what they are learning in the classroom. I've had students say, "we are talking about that in our classroom!" and I'm like, that's why we are studying it here. :)
DeleteI believe most of us in the SL District are already collaborating with our faculty to design collaborative instruction and push student growth. I can't imagine any other way to show the importance of Libraries in education. And my teachers here have pushed me to new levels of involvement as we try to improve students writing scores. Just how effective this will be is yet to be determined. I meet with them in their PLC's every other week. Sometimes I have things to contribute - sometimes I just listen.
ReplyDeleteWhat worries me is the teacher who is afraid to come to the library, or thinks its OK to just drop her students off at the front door, without showing them she values the library as a place of knowledge, reading and pleasure. I'm trying to figure that one out.
I think that if policy mandated collaboration with the library teacher and classroom teachers it would change how the library time is viewed. Even at the state level library time is not always considered as "instructional time." It's considered an extra. So the impact could be great if the policy brought about a paradigm shift in the ways libraries and library teachers were included in the overall planning and structure of individual school plans.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if it isn't a shift in how the whole system works and thinks about libraries and library teachers it could be overwhelming to add more to the library's already full plate.
If it were sole responsibility of the library teacher to execute the policy without administration and teacher buy in, it wouldn't work.
I think the key is educating others on what works with libraries and highly qualified licensed teachers. The structure of our educational programs needs to change in order for policy to make a difference and not be a burden.
I like the suggested policy posted in the introduction. The wording is very succinct and, honestly, once a year is "reality". Collaboration is vital to the success of a Media Center and our 21st Century Learners.
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, time is ALWAYS an issue and I, too, have the students in the Library during the teachers' collab times. I have found that eating lunch together is a great time to chat about the students and find out how I can best assist the teachers in their core and classroom activities.
I think collaboration with teachers is essential so that they realize your role as an instructional partner. At the middle school I'm lucky to be able to co-teach the lessons that I teach with the teachers. We have to meet before a unit so we can decide who will do what and so we can tag team as we are teaching. I have found an easy way to do this is to have them decide the content and the product that students will produce to show learning- whether it be an essay or an oral presentation- largely because they do the grading of the product. Then I tell them that I will find the best resources for students to use and teach them how to access and use the resources within the time frame that we have to teach the unit.
ReplyDeleteI honestly would not be able to do anything student beneficial in the library without collaboration with teachers. I might be a little nerdy, but I really have to know what is going on in the classroom and how can I support it. I don't necessarily have to talk to teachers every week, or take away any of their planning time. For me it's enough to have a copy of their pacing maps , and I am a happy camper. However, I do collaborate with them on Fridays, usually before we are about to start research in the library, just to get specific ideas on what I need to focus during the research. For example, 4th grade research is about animals with a focus on animal's adaptations. Also, I know that students, at this time of the year are focused on writing expository and opinion piece in LA. To me, knowing just this, helps me create research that will not only cover Big 6, but at the same time we are focusing on four paragraph writing, including introduction, and conclusion with two strong paragraphs in the middle that state supporting evidence and details about animal's adaptations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emina, I wouldn't be able to help students without that collaboration. However, I have been very sad the last two years that with the new collaborative schedule, my teachers don't come with their students and talk to me as much because of the need to be to their meetings. Because I have been doing this with them for long enough that I am proactive about communicating. It is a constant sales pitch to remind people that the library and the librarian are a resource that can make their lives easier!
ReplyDeleteI have one grade that has been very collaborative and it has been wonderful (they are my lunchmates). Knowing that students are working on a specific item also helps with behavior. I would love to see administrators help us at the beginning of the year to plan with teachers when we are available and have each teacher work with us on one topic or skill over a few weeks. I think that collaboration is amazing and in a perfect world there would be a lot of it!!!!
ReplyDeleteHaving a once per year statement is definitely broad enough. I think collaboration with classroom teachers for research projects is a must, but there are other ways we can collaborate as well. For example, my principal asked that I support the science curriculum. I meet with the science teachers and other "specials" teachers once per month to keep up to date on what students are studying in science in each grade. We share ideas on how we can reinforce those concepts in the library, movement class, and music class. True there isn't a lot of time for collaboration, but even a simple email once in a while could make a difference. I think we should just do the best we can in the situation we are in. I use lunch time in the faculty room to ask if there are some concepts I can help reinforce in library that week. No need for a formal meeting. We can do this!
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