Building Partnerships

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Collaboration

• Building Partnerships
• For Learning

Lisa Hathcock, Teacher-Librarian Weaver
Elementary School lhathcoc.we_at_calhoun.k12.al.us
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Our Goals

• Define collaboration.
• Define information literacy.
• Explain how to collaborate.
• Identify road blocks

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WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE PLANNING? Collaborative
Planning is two or more equal partners who set
out to create a unit of study based on content
standards in one or more areas plus information
literacy standards, a unit that is
team-designed, team-taught, and
team-evaluated. Collaborative planning is
teachers and library media specialists working
together as an instructional team to plan for
instruction that integrates information literacy
skills and resources with curriculum objectives.
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Outcomes -promotes student achievement -promotes
library media centers as central to the learning
environment -promotes innovative instructional
design -strengthens critical thinking and problem
solving skills -provides opportunities for
interaction between teacher-librarian and
teachers -promotes sharing of resources -promotes
integration and instruction of information
literacy skills with the curriculum -enhances
relevant use of all resources in all
formats -provides opportunity for teachers to be
aware of available resources -promotes
intellectual freedom and equitable access to
information and ideas -strengthens connections
with the learning community
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How Collaborative Planning Helps
Teachers information literacy skills and
curriculum are correlated and integrated current
resources and collection needs are communicated
and aligned better communication among all
educators is promoted learning, instruction,
resources, and information literacy are
linked learning strategies and varied resources
are incorporated to individualize instruction
and learning resource-based instruction is used
as an effective instructional strategy positive
learning climate is promoted and linked to
student interests
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How Collaborative Planning Helps Students
skills for independent use of information are
effectively learned excitement for learning is
inherent learning and reading is
relevant varied learning styles are
met life-long learning skills are
mastered information literacy skills are
learned, applied and relevant work of small
groups of independent study is facilitated optimu
m use of a variety of resources is made
possible independent use of libraries is
practiced and established
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Tasks Teacher-Librarians Perform

• Provide access to information, both print and
  electronic.
• Encourage every student to read, view, and listen
  for information and enjoyment.
• Collaborate with teachers.
• Help find resources for both teachers and
  students.
• Administer your program (circulation, cataloging,
  shelving, ordering, Book Fairs, taking pictures
  or videos, etc.).

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Providing Resources Materials - Books, video,
software Electronic Information Sources
Automated library catalogs CD ROM/Online
Reference Materials Equipment - TVs,
VCRs Computer Scheduling
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(TLRS) Information literacy encompasses

• Thinking skills
• such as identifying alternatives, finding
  relationships, and generalizing.
• Library skills
• such as consulting indexes, using classification
  systems, and locating various resources.
• Research skills
• such as planning a search strategy, noting
  pertinent points, and writing bibliographic
  citations.
• Study skills
• such as organizing data, extrapolating
  information, and using margin notes.

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Why is information literacy important?

• Information literacy is more important and
  relevant today because
• there is so much available information,
• the Internet has caused the general public to see
  information skills as important,
• most jobs stress the need to access information
  and to stay abreast,
• these skills help students succeed in todays
  demanding environment, and
• professional standards for library media
  specialists stress its importance.

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What is the best way to teach information
literacy?

• Students learn information literacy skills best
  when skill instruction is embedded in course
  content and the media specialist plans
  instruction with the teacher.

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Why will a student learn more content when she or
he is information literate?

• Students will analyze the information need
  INSTEAD OF floundering around in the library
  catalog or walking aimlessly by the book shelves.
  
• Students will verify information by consulting
  more than one relevant source INSTEAD OF assuming
  any information found must be true.

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• Students will scan a textbook chapter to
  determine coverage, organization, and special
  features before reading INSTEAD OF starting on
  the first page with no idea of what is to come.
• Students will use a specific term or combine
  terms to search the Internet for information
  INSTEAD OF using a broad, general topic.

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• Students will determine how a piece of new
  information fits into a pattern of existing
  information INSTEAD OF treating each piece of new
  information as unique.
• Students will identify the essential elements in
  an assignment or test item INSTEAD OF being
  distracted by irrelevant material.

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The Collaboration Process

• Design
• Implementation
• Evaluation

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I. Design Identify content area objectives and
information skills objectives to be taught.
Include ---Learning outcomes ---Instructional
activities and design ---Individual needs of
students ---Teaching strategies
Identify responsibility of teachers, students,
library media specialists and others ---Who
will do it ---What will be done ---When will it
be done ---Where will it be done ---How will it
be done
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Identify needed resources and
equipment ---Facility needs ---Print and
nonprint materials ---Supplies
II. Implementation Schedule time and resources
needed in library media center and
classroom ---Small groups ---Large
groups ---Individual students
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Carry out planned activities. Depending on needs,
this may involve ---Teacher and library media
specialist team teaching ---Teacher
alone ---Library media specialist alone
Monitor student progress ---Check for
understanding ---Modify implementation as needed
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III. Evaluation Executes ongoing assessment and
evaluation of ---Objectives ---Unit
activities ---Resources ---Scheduling ---Student
outcomes ---Teaching strategies ---Time
allocation ---Research process
Revise the instructional unit ---Unit
evaluation ---Teacher input ---Library media
specialist input ---Student input
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Road Blocks to Effective Collaboration

• Lack of materials
• Lack of time
• Lack of knowledge about collaboration
• Limited cooperation from colleagues
• Make-up of your class
• Administration