Title

Collaborating with School Leaders and Librarians

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Tennessee Technological University

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Ballroom B

Strand #1

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Relevance

The major finding of this study is that no differences appeared between school administrators and librarians regarding librarians’ roles as teachers and instructional leaders; both groups agreed that librarians are essential instructional personnel in schools. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare perceptions in school administrators and school librarians’ of the librarian’s roles as an instructional leader and teacher of information literacy skills across four constructs of (i) collaborating between librarians and teachers, (ii) teaching students to use library resources, (iii) contributing in staff development, and (iv) using standardized student data. There were no significant differences in the proportions of administrators’ and librarians’ perceptions regarding the librarians being instructional leaders in schools. Both groups agreed that librarians’ roles include the following: instructional leaders, master teachers, members of leadership councils, participants in professional developments, and collaborators with educator groups. These findings are encouraging, as they indicate that administrators support what librarians do, and perceive them to be part of the schools’ instructional staff.

Brief Program Description

The image of the librarian was once generally stereotyped as a spinster, portrayed as a cranky, old, unmarried female whose only importance was to silence the sound of chatter and laughter created by children in the library. The objective is to dispel this stereotype using collaborative partnerships between school administrators and librarians.

Summary

Librarians gain the opportunities to stimulate their roles in the learning process – especially as stewards of books and other materials, as innovators of technology, and as leaders in planning (Cravey, 2013). The most effective ways librarians take advantage of these opportunities is through collaboration with teachers from all subject areas. In regards to informational texts, librarians assuredly need to join forces with teachers outside of traditional literacy practices. Collaboration allows librarians to enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness by engaging and utilizing the resources within and outside the walls of the library.

Including librarians in this project will improve their knowledge of pedagogical practice as recommended through the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) Evaluation for Library Media Specialists (librarians). Investigate methods of interacting with informational texts through reading and writing activities. Objectives: Learn about multiple active learning techniques for reading and writing that address successful learning strategies used in classrooms and libraries

Evidence

On the construct of librarian collaboration with teachers, both administrators and librarians strongly agreed that collaboration is imperative among librarians and teachers to help teach students information literacy skills. My findings indicated that collaborative conversations are occurring in schools and 75% of administrators and 80% of librarians support constructive dialogue between librarians and teachers, which supports prior research. Also, 100% of administrators and librarians reported that both groups should advocate for strong library programs in schools. This finding supports librarian standards aligned by American Association of School Librarians (AASL), which promotes librarians to take an active role in collaborating with teachers to teach information literacy skills in core academic disciplines (2009).

My results, regarding the occurrence of collaborative conversations, suggest that schools’ infrastructures are enabling a more collective and cohesive plan to support successful learning opportunities for students. The idea of librarians collaborating with teachers to assist with planning and evaluating instructional materials is a major perception shift from the timid, plain-looking female stamping index cards and creating a blacklist with children’s names whose books are overdue.

Biographical Sketch

Frances Leann Taylor was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 8, 1971. She attended St. Joseph Catholic School from grades kindergarten through 8th grade and graduated in 1990 from Father Ryan High School in Nashville. The following August she entered Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville Tennessee and received a Bachelors of Science in Education in 1997, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction in 1999, and Educational Specialist in 2002. She re-entered Tennessee Technological University in August 2012 and received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Exceptional Learning, with a concentration in Literacy, in Summer 2016.

Keyword Descriptors

School Leaders, Librarians, Collaboration, Literacy, Role Conflict

Presentation Year

2018

Start Date

3-6-2018 2:45 PM

End Date

3-6-2018 4:00 PM

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COinS
 
Mar 6th, 2:45 PM Mar 6th, 4:00 PM

Collaborating with School Leaders and Librarians

Ballroom B

The image of the librarian was once generally stereotyped as a spinster, portrayed as a cranky, old, unmarried female whose only importance was to silence the sound of chatter and laughter created by children in the library. The objective is to dispel this stereotype using collaborative partnerships between school administrators and librarians.