Case+Study+Draft


 * Hi Sara, I spent some time editing and revising and got our paper to the two page requirement. Because I was already up late, I went ahead and finished the works cited page and everything. I went ahead and uploaded the finished project to the Final Project page. Look it over and edit if necessary. Just thought I would finish it because I didn't know if I would have a chance to work on it tomorrow and didn't think you would mind!!! Let me know if you feel differently, but, as of now, I think we're through!!! Hooray! Email me through the discussion tab if you want to! Great job, partner! :)**  ***Sara, Please read the email under the "Discussion" Tab on this page and respond so we can get on the same page with some ideas. I also began adding to the summary in blue font....Thanks. Alissa***

Alissa, I moved the draft which I had started under the Case Study Notes to this new page. When I stopped the summary was mostly done. I will post my own reflections early tomorrow afternoon-Sara

Summary Draft as of 9/23 7am: When classroom teachers and school librarians work together, benefits ripple throughout the entire school community. In particular, students, teachers, librarians, and administrators benefit from classroom-library collaboration. This mini-case study will show the benefits that result for students, teachers, librarians, and administrators due to classroom-library collaboration.

Students reap multiple benefits when their classroom teacher and teacher librarian work together. Students in a classroom have different learning needs and function at many different ability levels. Through classroom-library collaboration, "teachers and teacher librarians provide learning experiences that respond to learning needs...and promote academic achievement" (McGregor, 201). Also, "classroom-library collaboration can lower the student-to-teacher ratio" (Moreillon, 7), which benefits student learning and success. In her testimonial, one teacher noted that students get more individualized attention because there are two teachers instead of just one (Kindergarten Teacher). Another teacher mentioned that students benefit because they begin to hear a "common language" in their classroom and the library due to the fact that their teacher and librarian are working together (8th Grade Language Arts Teacher).

Teachers also benefit from teacher and librarian collaboration. These benefits are apparent as early as the student teacher phase of an educator's career. This is an invaluable time to make young teachers aware of the importance of cooperating and planning with their colleagues, even before they begin to learn the unfortunate habit of classroom isolation (Sparks, 111). Student Teacher Kelly states, “I gave her [the librarian] the main idea of the unit and then she gave me some ideas that made it even better... We worked together through the whole process...The overall project was much more successful with her help and with working together” (High School Student Teacher). By intervening at this early stage, a librarian is relieved of the additional work of convincing a future teacher that collaboration is in his or her students' best interest. The preservice teacher learns that better lessons are created through classroom-library collaboration.

For veteran teachers who have already established their own methodologies, the first task for a librarian will be persuading them to step outside their comfort zone and collaborate. One way a librarian can recruit teachers to this cause is by demonstrating how collaboration will contribute to their professional development. As our instructor has emphasized, "educators who teach collaboratively not only improve student learning //but also create learning opportunities for themselves// and for each other" (Moreillon, 7). Social Studies teacher Pat's testimonial directly demonstrates this concept. In her testimonial, Pat asked her students to create PowerPoint presentations, and, with the librarian's assistance, admitted to "learning right alongside them" (7th Grade Social Studies Teacher). It is unlikely the students--and the teacher--would have had this valuable opportunity had the librarian not assisted with the lesson.

Classroom teacher and school librarian collaboration also benefits the librarian. Librarians are charged with exposing students to literature-rich experiences and encouraging a passion for reading at all levels. Collaboration with classroom teachers facilitates this because "literature and information literacy skills [are] integrated in a meaningful way into the classroom curriculum" (Moreillon, 8). Regardless of the content area in which teachers and librarians are collaborating, the joint lesson will present the librarian with the opportunity to promote literature and related skills. Collaboration also results in "personal and professional growth opportunities through coteaching and coassessment of student learning" (Moreillon, 8). After leaving the classroom to enter librarianship, school librarians still need to hone their teaching skills, and collaboration with teachers helps librarians meet this need.

Collaboration between classroom teachers and school librarians also provides benefits for the administrators of a campus. Although administrators are effectively responsible for the school's performance, "teacher librarians can observe the overall needs of the school community and identify areas where problems might be solved by working together" (McGregor, 210). What administrator would not want another highly-qualified person looking out for the welfare of their students and campus? According to Moreillon, "Through collaborative teaching, educators develop a common language, a common set of practices, and channels for communication that can increase student learning and help the entire school community better serve the academic and social needs of students and families" (Moreillon, 6). Collaboration between teachers and librarians increases student success, which is the ultimate goal of school administrators.

The carefully researched articles as well as the more casual anecdotal evidence of the teacher testimonials all support the same conclusion-- collaboration is a powerful tool for enhancing both teaching and learning. Benefits of classroom-library collaboration result for students, teachers, librarians, and administrators. Those of us who are currently practicing in a school library and were teachers first therefore inherently understand these benefits from both sides of the library doors. What most struck us, particularly in the testimonials, was the undertone of surprise in the teachers' voices that they could collaborate with the librarian, and that he or she was as effective in delivering instruction as managing circulation. We have to wonder--is the burden on the librarian to proactively contact each teacher, initiate the lesson, demonstrate how they can plan together, and nurse the process through to a successful conclusion? We believe the answer to this question to be “yes.” Unfortunately, we have to base that answer on our own experiences. While in our classroom teaching years, neither librarian at the two schools where we were employed made an effort to collaborate with classroom teachers. Or, if they did, this effort did not extend to the lower grades (we taught second and third grade). We went to the library every week, but there was never any meaningful connection between what we were currently teaching in the classroom and what our students were exposed to in the library. Because we never had this experience with the school librarian during our formative years as teachers, it never occurred to us that we could ask for assistance, such as, “Can we plan something together for my unit on butterflies?”

Equally surprising to us was the fact that Principal Paula now has the expectation that librarians and teachers always work together. However,we have to wonder if that expectation was created //after// the librarian at her campus had completed the hard work of converting isolated teachers into active participants in shared planning. Has Principal Paula witnessed the same successful classroom-library collaboration at a different campus? Does she understand the effort that must be expended to create a successful classroom-library collaborative experience for students, teachers, and librarians?

Now that we are on the other side of the library doors, we have to assume that this burden of initiating collaboration will be on our shoulders as librarians. Only by working consistently to collaborate through this first year will we prove that we are librarians and educators in equal measure. 7th-Grade Social Studies Teacher: Pat's Testamonial." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 2009. []

8th-Grade Language Arts Teacher: Karen's Testimonial. Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 2009. [|http://teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=125114&title=8th_Grade_Language_Arts_Teacher]

Elementary Art Instructor: Tracy's Testimonial. Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 2001. [|http://teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=121834&title=Elementary_Art_Instructor]

High School Student Teacher (in English): Kelly's Testimonial." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 2009. []

Principal: Paula's Testimonial. Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 2001. []

Sparks, Dennis. Leading for Results: Transforming Teaching, Learning, and Relationships in Schools. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2007.