School Libraries ebook

I found this free ebook, School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come, that was edited by Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton to be a worthwhile read. Chapter 9 has a good section concerning collaboration. The chapter starts on page 117 (of 178) of the PDF ebook and page 90 (of 142) of the HTML version.

Report on classroom-library collaboration

“Two Heads Are Better than One: Influencing Preservice Classroom Teachers’ Understanding and Practice of Classroom–Library Collaboration” was published on the American Association of School Librarians website. Judi Moreillon, PhD, wrote the report.

Two Heads Are Better than One: The Factors Influencing the Understanding and Practice of Classroom–Library Collaboration proposed to identify the factors involved in educating future K–8 classroom teachers about collaboration for instruction with school library media specialists (SLMSs). This longitudinal study monitored the growth of teacher education students’ understandings of collaboration through their preservice education, student teaching, and first year of classroom teaching. The participants were enrolled in a teacher preparation program facilitated by the researcher, a former SLMS. The goal of this mixed-methods case study was to suggest critical components of preservice education, student teaching, and first-year teaching experiences that influence novice classroom teachers’ classroom–library collaborations.

This is what collaboration looks like

Scenes from the Unquiet Library: Four Classes Researching, Learning, and Collaborating

A post on radical collaboration

Monika Hardy wrote this blog post for Digital Media and Learning Central “Wanted (And Needed): ‘Radical’ Collaborations.”

ALSO NEEDED: RADICAL COLLABORATIONS

One of our immediate goals is to affect the research/researchers/stakeholders enough to break down the walls of tradition and remove major roadblocks to these spaces of learning/permissions, particularly in the mind, such as standardized testing and set curriculum. And to do it in a way that is useful.

Found this through Buffy Hamilton.

Media and Information Literacy

Angel Kymes wrote an interesting article for a recent issue of Action in Teacher Education. It is “Media Literacy and Information Literacy: A Need for Collaboration and Communication.”  [Subscription required.] From the abstract:

Both media literacy and information literacy struggle for legitimacy in school curricula, and seek to be recognized as relevant to student learning initiatives. While each has a distinct historical context, a dedicated group of followers, and base of research and intervention, neither has alone achieved the scale needed to make systemic change in public education in the United States. The author proposes recognition of the strengths of each, a combined effort of supporters, and a dedication to the new approaches and initiatives working to make changes in education that could have a lasting effect on the ways students use, learn, and understand media in their educational and personal lives.

Article on Teacher and School Librarian Collaboration

Take a look at “Teacher and School Librarian Collaboration: A Preliminary Report of Teachers’ Perceptions about Frequency and Importance to Student Learning” from the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, Volume 35, Number 1, March 2011.  This is in Project MUSE, so a subscription will be required.

Abstract — Understanding teacher and school librarian collaboration is essential for school librarians to be able to comply with professional school librarian guidelines. While information exists about what school librarians perceive teacher and school librarian collaboration to be, little is understood about teachers’ perceptions of collaborative endeavors with school librarians. This study examines teachers’ perceptions of teacher and school librarian collaboration. The study surveyed 194 elementary school teachers in two school districts to determine how frequently teachers engaged in collaborative endeavors and how important to student learning teachers’ perceived the collaborative endeavors to be. A 16 item self-administered survey was used for data collection.

Dissertation on teacher and librarian collaboration

Peggy Milam Creighton, Ed.D. wrote Perceptions of Web 2.0 Tools as Catalysts for Teacher and Librarian Collaboration: A Case Study as a dissertation for Walden University, 2010, 228 pages. Some of the abstract is:

Scheduling collaborative planning sessions with classroom teachers is a substantial challenge for school librarians. Research indicates that lack of time is a major barrier to collaboration. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of Web 2.0 tools as a potential means of overcoming the time barrier to collaboration. Participants were school librarians and classroom teachers from a large suburban school district. Loertscher’s taxonomy and school library 2.0 provided a conceptual framework for the design of this case study.

“I help learners communicate and collaborate…”

This line comes from this article, “What librarians make“ in the School Library Journal.  It is a great response to Dr. Bernstein and an homage to Taylor Mali.

Another section of the article is:

I make them collaborate and share.
And I celebrate their best.
Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
My classroom is the largest classroom in the school and I know the names of nearly 700 kids and I greet as many as possible personally each day.

University of Alberta Capping Course Document

Muriel May Crompton wrote this document to finish off her Master of Education degree at the University of Alberta.

Teacher-Librarians and Teachers Using Information Technology Through Collaboration (PDF)

From the introduction:

Information technology is changing the way students experience their education. With the introduction of new technologies, twenty-first century learning has taken on new and exciting directions. School libraries, more than ever, have become vital connections for implementing new technology-driven practice. Equipped with a variety of resources, including print and non-print media, the library is the natural environment for connecting middle and high-school staff and students with learning technology.

ISTE Conference in Denver

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference is going on right now in Denver, CO.

There are quite a number of sessions that have collaborate or collaboration in the title.  There are many others that have to do with collaboration, but they don’t happen to have collaborat* in the title of the session.

If you can’t attend the conference, you can still read about many of the presenters and their presentations through their program listings, the ISTE Ning site, the wiki, the ISTE Connects blog and more.  They also have virtual workshops.