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Leeandrea Price & Roger Grape
Professor: Dr. Judi Moreillon
LS 5443: Librarians as Instructional Partners
23 September 2012
Assignment A.1.4: Classroom-Library Collaboration Case Study
Times are changing for the 21st century learner as our society shifts from an “Industrial
Age” to an “Information Age” (AASL 7), so the role of the school librarian as an instructional
partner has become more important than ever. Collaborations between school librarians and
classroom teachers are gaining more emphasis and can greatly benefit students and the school
community. A secondary benefit is increased support for the librarian’s role (Church 40). This
paper will examine current research about the benefits of collaborative teaching for four main
groups in the school community – students, teachers, administrators, and teacher-librarians.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR STUDENTS?
Regardless of which method is used to elicit partnership, it is undeniable that the most
important stakeholder in the school community affected by collaboration is the student. In
Empowering Learners, AASL poignantly states that, "the school librarian empowers students to
become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of
information" (18). Qualitative data gathered through video interviews conducted by Dr. Judi
Moreillon focused on the viewpoints of teachers about collaboration. Kindergarten students
benefitted tremendously from the more “individualized attention” that co-teaching afforded
(Kindergarten Teacher). It was also found that the philosophy of a third grade teacher to provide
“authentic learning” experiences helped students reap the rewards of a “deeper” knowledge base
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when collaboration occurred (3rd Grade Teacher). The testimonial data suggests that classroomlibrary collaboration engages, adds curiosity, and promotes inquiry for students.
Buffy Hamilton, a school librarian in Georgia, makes it a point to “support conversations
for learning by incorporating collaborative learning and research activities as a regular part of
classroom life" (Hamilton 36). In doing so, she and her classroom partners witnessed
sophomores transform from a state of “learned helplessness” to “resourceful thinker” (Hamilton
35). In alignment with AASL standards, she found that the students not only became
independent learners able to locate, access, evaluate, and synthesize information, but they were
able to "demonstrate confidence and self-direction" while doing it (Hamilton 36). From this
research, it is understood that cultivating these attributes that are deep down but sometimes
hidden among students, is essential.
In an era of high-stakes testing, the importance of library-classroom collaboration on
student assessment data cannot be ignored. A study cited in Mardis and Hoffman involving the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) revealed that reading scores improved for
seventh graders where collaborative efforts mattered, such as the teacher-librarians “provid[ing]
collaborative instruction, professional development, and direct student assistance.” Also, in their
own follow-up study to see if the same effects would occur for science instruction, the data
suggested that “collaboration with science teachers also demonstrated a relationship to [higher]
science achievement (Mardis and Hoffman). In essence, working together for the common goal
of improving student achievement, demonstrated by improved test scores, and more importantly
by effective skills students can carry on throughout life, should be top priority.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR TEACHERS?
Teachers have much to gain from collaborating with teacher-librarians, but more
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communication and education is needed to help them understand those benefits, and it will fall
on teacher-librarians to help them “see the light.” Moreillon cited the following benefits of
collaboration and co-teaching for teachers: “More one-on-one time with students; clarification of
goals and objectives through joint planning and co-assessment of lesson effectiveness; improved
facilitation of differentiated instruction; information literacy skills integrated in a meaningful
way into the curriculum; shared responsibility for gathering engaging, effective resources; fewer
classroom management issues; more teaching time because of fewer management issues; more
opportunities for creativity; personal and professional growth opportunities, and; integrated
teaching” (Moreillon 8).
Some teachers already understand the benefits of collaboration. Kindergarten teacher
Peggy stated, “Collaboration with the teacher-librarian has enabled me to do more planning"
(Kindergarten Teacher). Elementary school teacher Brittany said "...you [the teacher-librarian]
are a key part in our planning because you are able to get resources for us, but also you always
come with ideas as well. And helping us realize our objective -- what needs to happen when we
are teaching...." (Kimmel 15).
When educators collaborate for instruction, they teach critical thinking, problem solving,
collaboration, communication, and media literacy. In the process, both students and educators
learn (Moreillon 9). I see two roadblocks to this happening: the attitudes of the teacher(s) and the
librarian, and communicating and getting buy-in about the benefits of collaboration by the
principal, teachers, and librarian. However, I understand that librarians must take a leadership
role to create positive change in both of those areas.
Due to collaboration with the teacher-librarian, teachers are able to select the best
resources, scaffold more effectively to help students succeed, and can get more student feedback.
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They can also demonstrate skills that cannot be done by a single person, such as cooperative
learning, discussion, and debating (Moreillon "Co-teaching Strategies" PowerPoint). That is
something teachers and teacher-librarians may not have thought about. A single teacher can talk
about those skills, but two teachers can effectively model them for students.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR ADMINISTRATORS?
Principals benefit from librarian/teacher collaboration because it strengthens the school's
culture through positive interactions that improve student achievement (Church 40).
“The teacher-librarian shares a ‘global perspective’ of the people and the happenings in the
building like administrators,” according to principal Paula Godfrey (Principal). The teacherlibrarian and the principal are typically the only ones in the school with this "big picture view."
Therefore, the teacher-librarian can propose collaborative methods that address overarching
issues (McGregor 210).
Principals perceive benefits for the school when: "Librarian provides in-service
professional development opportunities to teachers; librarian and principal meet regularly;
librarian serves on key school committees, and; library access is scheduled flexibly" (Lance, et.al.
16). In essence, if principals are smart about it, they will enlist the help of their teacherlibrarians as in-house resources for professional development and collaboration that strengthens
the school community.
Administrators want success for every child on campus (McGregor 208). Librarians must
align library goals with campus goals to integrate them with the principal's vision.
He or she can be either a vital support or a hindrance in the process. If the
principal is a top-down leader, then the teacher librarian must look for clues about
the direction in which the principal intends to take the school. What is his or her
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vision? How can a collaborative community make that principal look good in
terms of his or her own goals and vision? In each case, the librarian will want to
keep the principal informed and in the loop, demonstrating that all efforts are for
the improvement of teaching and learning and for the benefit of the students.
(McGregor 208)
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION FOR LIBRARIANS?
There are many benefits that a teacher-librarian can gain from classroom-library
collaborations. First, collaboration gives the librarian a unique opportunity to show leadership
skills "...because collaboration by definition requires more than one person, inevitably someone
must lead that effort” (McGregor 202). Even though we can take the lead, we are not in this
alone. As demonstrated in the work of Zmuda and Harada, different learning specialists can
share roles, tasks, and responsibilities in a collaborative culture (38-42). Also, it is believed that
“collaboration promotes better teacher effectiveness and student learning, and it can advance the
professional standing of the school librarian” (Immroth and Lukenbill). In today’s wavering
economy, working with others to become a better teacher-librarian to influence positive results
for student learning is added job security that is much needed. Most importantly, there are
personal investments that the teacher-librarian makes. On-the-job training for personal growth is
experienced in this profession. According to Moreillon and Ballard, "[w]e practice the best kind
of professional development—job-embedded professional development—when we co-teach
actual students in real time (Moreillon and Ballard 6). When students reach success as a result of
professionals working together, the librarian can have a gratifying experience. Hamilton put it
best by stating that "it makes a librarian's heart beat faster" (Hamilton 38).
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Works Cited
"3rd-Grade Teacher." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Teacher Tube. N.p., 2001. Web. 17 Sept.
2012.
<http://teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=119396&title=3rd_Grade_Tea
cher>.
American Association of School Librarians. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School
Library Programs. Chicago, IL: American Association of School Librarians, 2009. Print.
Church, Audrey P. "The Principal Factor." Library Media Connection May/June (2009): 40-41.
Print.
Hamilton, Buffy J. "The School Librarian as Teacher: What Kind of Teacher Are You?"
Knowledge Quest 39.5 (May/June 2011): 34-40. Print.
Immroth, Barbara, and W. Bernard Lukenbill. "Teacher-School Library Media Specialist
Collaboration through Social Marketing Strategies: An Information Behavior Study."
School Library Research 10 (2007): n. pag. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume10/immroth_teac
herslmscollaboration>.
Kimmel, Sue C. "Consider with Whom You Are Working: Discourse Models of School
Librarianship in Collaboration." School Library Research 14 (April 2011): 1-20.
<http://www.ala.org/aasl/slr/volume14/kimmel>.
"Kindergarten Teacher." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Teacher Tube. N.p., 2001. Web. 17 Sept.
2012. <http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=121832>.
Mardis, Marcia, and Ellen Hoffman. "Collection and Collaboration: Science in Michigan Middle
School Media Centers." School Library Research 10 (2007): n. pag. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
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<http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume10/mardis_collect
ionandcollaboration>.
McGregor, Joy. "Collaboration and Leadership." Curriculum Connections through the Library.
Eds. Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited,
2003. 199-219. Print.
Moreillon, Judi. "Chapter 1: Collaborative Teaching in the Age of Accountability."
Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact.
Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007. 1-9. Print.
Moreillon, Judi. "Coteaching Strategies." PowerPoint. Lecture. 2009. Web. 10 Sept. 2011.
Moreillon, Judi, and Susan D. Ballard. “Coteaching: A Pathway to Leadership.” Knowledge
Quest 40.4 (2012): 6-9.
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest
/docs/KNOW_40_4_CoEditorColumn.pdf
"Principal." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Teacher Tube. N.p., 2001. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
<http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=121838>.
Schultz-Jones, Barbara. "Collaboration in the School Social Network." Knowledge Quest 37.4
(March/April 2009): 20-25. Print.
"Who is the 21st-Century School Librarian?" American Library Association. American
Association of School Librarians, 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/toolkits/bldnglvl/building3>.
Zmuda, Allison, and Violet H. Harada. "The Learning Specialist: Clarifying the Role of Library
Media Specialists." Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative
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for the 21st Century. Eds. Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada. Westport, CT: Libraries
Unlimited, 2008. 23 – 43. Print.