Feature Articles
School Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXIII, Number 2/October 2007
Collaboration Practices
by Carolyn S. Brodie
Carolyn S. Brodie, Ph.D., is a Professor at Kent State University, School of Library and Information Science. Dr. Brodie is co-director of the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education (http://www.ilile.org). Dr. Brodie acknowledges the assistance of Michelle Baldini, Grant Coordinator, Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education, in the preparation of this article.
Collaborative practices of library media specialists and teachers as set forth in Information Power and implemented by the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education (ILILE) is the focus of this article.
What are the elements of good collaboration?
Good collaboration is teamwork! Collaborators need time to plan, but unless there is flexible scheduling, this time is sometimes difficult, yet not impossible, to schedule. The support of a building-level administrator can foster collaboration. Another way collaborators can find the time in their busy days to work together and to plan out their projects is through interactive meetings. Some of this planning may be done through emails and not in person, thus serving as the most effective use of each collaborator's time. It is important, however, to communicate and keep each other regularly apprised of one another's responsibilities.
New library media specialists can seek potential collaborations and look for opportunities to integrate information literacy instruction while connecting to information resources. Being proactive and engaged with teachers is the best way to begin collaboration. The initiative for collaboration can effectively begin with the library media specialist who often has the opportunity to be more flexible than a classroom teacher. The library media specialist, therefore, needs a good understanding of the curriculum being taught while the teacher needs to understand how the library media specialist can support that curriculum.
Even in good collaborations there can sometimes be obstacles. One of the most common problems is finding time to plan and work together. Overcoming this problem takes creative solutions such as meeting during lunch or before the school day or after the school day. A solution may also involve the library media specialist going to the classroom for meetings. As mentioned above, using email can help with some of this communication. Another obstacle can be that collaborators have different ideas about the goals of the project. Common goals need to be agreed upon initially, but if the project changes as it develops, good communication can help work through any difficulties.
"Collaboration—working with others—is a key theme in building partnerships for learning.... Collaboration is essential as library media specialists work with teachers to plan, conduct, and evaluate learning activities that incorporate information literacy."
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning 1998, 50
Who makes a good collaborator?
Library media specialists and teachers who have shared goals for instruction and student achievement make the best partners. They also have a similar vision for the project's goals and trust and respect one another's ideas and areas of expertise. They value one another's strengths and understand the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Each collaborator understands why this partnership can be beneficial to the students.
Another quality that makes a good collaborator is a strong sense of professionalism and respect for one another. It involves a willingness to approach ideas in a new way. Certainly a mesh of personalities comes about as the collaboration grows, and it is almost essential to have a sense of humor.
While training for collaboration may have been in the library media specialist's educational background, it may not have been a concept integrated into the pre-service teacher's experience. Experience in collaboration can be a bonus because one can build on past successes or difficulties, but experience isn't essential. The realization that collaboration can help individuals better achieve their goals is the necessary foundation for this joint effort.
What is the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education?
The Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education (ILILE) at Kent State University used Information Power as one of the major guidelines in establishing its own mission and objectives with collaboration between library media specialists and teachers serving as the focal point for Institute projects. ILILE was funded in 2003 with an initial $1,987,000 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. In 2004, ILILE obtained a second grant from the United States Department of Education for $750,000.
Over the past three years, ILILE has used these funds to focus on activities with PK-12 teachers, library media specialists, pre-service educators, and college students working as collaborative peer-learner teaching teams. The goal has been to learn how to use library media centers and information resources (i.e., print, electronic, and Web-based) to more effectively enhance student learning.
The primary objective of the Institute is as a demonstration project of local, statewide, and national significance. The development of this project has been through the creation of a variety of endeavors that have provided leadership in the research and teaching necessary for the integration of information literacy in classroom and library media centers.
Why have ILILE Summer Workshops been developed?
The purpose of the ILILE summer workshops was to offer the opportunity for teams of library media specialists and teachers to learn how to collaborate more effectively through sessions and activities. All sessions focused on collaborating, integrating information literacy, constructing lesson-plans with Ohio Department of Education (ODE) content standards, and increasing student achievement. Moreover, the workshops provided techniques and strategies for furthering collaboration and partnerships between library media specialists and teachers. The Institute also provided housing, meals, and workshop materials at no cost to participants.
In 2003, the introduction of a three-day workshop was prompted by a Statewide Summit for the ILILE at Kent State University and led by Dr. Michael Eisenberg. The outcome of this workshop was a working plan that became a foundation piece for ILILE. Attributable to the outcome of the Summit, ILILE offered its first continuing education activity in a three-day workshop in August 2003 on the Kent campus. Twenty-five teams made up of teachers, library media specialists, and a school principal participated.
In July of 2004, ILILE provided three subject-specialized workshops for two hours of graduate credit at Kent State University. The 2004 workshops were offered in three K-12 subject areas: Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. Over 180 library media specialists and teachers attended these workshops representing 90 teams.
In the summer of 2005, ILILE offered two separate graduate credit workshops in the K-12 subject areas: Arts/Language Arts and Technology. There were over 100 participants comprising fifty-three teams. These workshops featured speakers and experienced practitioners in the particular subject areas.
For all three summers (2003 to 2005), library media specialists and teachers earned two graduate credit hours for each workshop with the first credit hour satisfied by teacher/library media specialist teams creating lesson plans for a grade level and subject area. Throughout the workshops, participants were expected to further develop the plan of action and the instructional unit. A requirement was that each team had to integrate information literacy and content area standards within their lesson plan.
The second credit hour was satisfied through post-workshop activities throughout the year. Approximately fifty hours of work was required from each participant who completed a variety of activities including additional lesson plans, participation in electronic discussions, and evaluation activities.
Participants listed other major benefits that they gained from these experiences. Some of these mentioned benefits include:
- Collaborating as a team.
- Learning together about subject-specific resources in an instructional area.
- Gaining knowledge from other educators and teams working in the same subject area but from another part of the state.
- Learning more about important links and resources such as the ODE Academic Content Standards and Ohio Guidelines for Effective School Library Media Programs.
- Gaining skills together in using electronic resources to provide information for students and teachers.
What has been learned from ILILE and Collaboration Research?
The effective collaboration of library media specialists and teachers as previously described has long been perceived as making a difference in the success of students. Even though we talk about the benefits of collaboration, there has been little related research published to date. In order to provide more information about good collaboration efforts, ILILE is working with Dr. Ross Todd of the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries (CISSL) to conduct an important groundbreaking research study regarding collaboration between library media specialists and teachers. The surveys are underway and research results are expected in spring 2007. One of the many outcomes of the survey will be the development of a collaboration model based on actual experiences of participants in the ILILE summer workshops.
The purpose is to gain more insight into the dynamics and processes of collaboration as defined by those who have attended these ILILE summer workshops. ILILE offers interesting research potential because these documented collaboration efforts have taken place over three years with all levels (elementary, middle school, high school); collaborations focused on five different subject areas; and participants geographically represent the diverse state of Ohio.
Conclusion
Much has been written about collaboration in the past and much is still to be learned. Information Power tells us that "Collaboration is a symbiotic process that requires active, genuine effort and commitment by all members of the instructional team" (1998, 51). ILILE is committed to helping foster this process. While this article focused on observations and products from the six graduate summer workshops held at Kent State in the summers of 2003, 2004, and 2005, the December SLMAM will include an article that provides a more comprehensive overview of the Institute and of the various ongoing projects under the auspices of ILILE. Information about ILILE is available on the website (http://www.ilile.org).
ILILE Lesson Plans
ILILE's webpage (http://www.ilile.org) features a "Lesson Plan" button on the left side of the homepage. Click on this button to find the lesson plans created by the 163 ILILE teams. These lesson plans are extensive in detail and constitute a variety of subjects, themes, and grade levels. They correspond with Ohio's Academic Content Standards (http://www.ode.state.oh.us/academic_content_standards/). They also include connections to the Ohio Guidelines for Effective School Library Media Programs which is also listed on the ODE Standards page, but can be found directly (a href="http://www.ode.state.oh.us/Curriculum-Assessment/school_library/" target="_blank">http://www.ode.state.oh.us/Curriculum-Assessment/school_library/).
A helpful tool that ILILE created recently in regard to assisting with collaboration efforts has been the arrangement of the ODE Academic Content Standards into checklists by subject area and grade level. These are listed on the ILILE homepage under "Checklists."
Resources:
American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Communications and Technology. Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. ALA, 1998.
American Association of School Librarians. Lessons Learned: Collaboration. AASL, 1996.
Aronson, Judi. "Cultivating the Seeds of Collaboration in Library Media Programs." School Library Media Activities Monthly 14, no. 1 (September 1996): 32-33, 40.
Bishop, Kay. Connecting Libraries with Classrooms: The Curricular Roles of the Media Specialist. Linworth, 2003.
Buzzeo, Toni. Collaborating to Meet Standards: Teacher/Librarian Partnerships for 7-12. Linworth, 2002.
Callison, Daniel. "Collaboration." School Library Media Activities Monthly 15, no. 5 (January 1999): 38-40.
Farmer, Leslie. Teaming with Opportunity: Media Programs, Community Constituencies and Technology. Libraries Unlimited, 2001.
Johnson, Mary J. Primary Sources in the Library: A Collaboration Guide for Library Media Specialists. Linworth, 2003.
Loertscher, David V. Increasing Academic Achievement through the Library Media Center: A Guide for Teachers. Hi Willow, 2002.
Logan, Debra Kay. Information Skills Toolkit: Collaborative Integrated Instruction for the Middle Grades. Linworth, 2000.
Marcoux, Betty. "Levels of Collaboration: Where Does Your Work Fit In?" Paper presented for the American Association of School Librarians/American Library Association at the American Library Association National Conference, New Orleans, 2006.
Stripling, Barbara. Curriculum Connections through the Library. Libraries Unlimited, 2003.
Stripling, Barbara. Learning and Libraries in an Information Age: Principles and Practice. Libraries Unlimited, 1999.
Taylor, Joie. Information Literacy and the School Library Media Center. Libraries Unlimited, 2006.