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Reinvent Your School's Library and Watch Student Academic Achievement Increase, p. 07*
What can a principal do to ensure that the school's library
media center meets its potential for improving student learning?
A few suggestions for "first steps" are included in this article
reprinted with permission from Principal Leadership, March 2003.
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| Reinvent
Your School's Library and Watch Student Academic Achievement Increase
The books are still there,
but nearly everything else in the library has changed. Is it worth
it?
BY CONNIE CHAMPLIN
AND DAVID LOERTSCHER
I'm very pleased
to yield this month's space to my colleague, Connie Champlin who
gently but diligently reminds me that library media cen- ters
and the professionals who run them can be powerful forces in inte-
grating technology into teaching and learning. Here, Connie and
her col- league, David Loertscher, outline some "first steps"
in ensuring that your library media center achieves its potential
for improving student learning and developing 21st century skills.
P erhaps you remember when
you visited the school library once a week to hear a story, check
out a book, or copy 20 citations from Readers' Guide in the hopes
of finding a single magazine article back in the musty magazine
room. In your life- time, school libraries have evolved from book
collections to multimedia repositories to high-tech information
centers operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with tentacles
reaching out to every classroom, into students' homes, and now
onto students' hand- held computers. |
Research
about school libraries in 10 states and 33,000 schools leads us
to conclude that quality school library media programs make a difference
in academic achievement (Library Research Service, 2000). That is,
the evidence suggests that in any balanced diet for a learner, the
library media center is a staple, not a frill. But libraries don't
make a difference if they are merely warehouses of outdated stuff,
places to drop students while teachers have a planning period, or
where students complete worksheets by copying facts from books or
down- loading data from the Internet. Neither do libraries make
a difference when staffed only by paraprofessional or clerical staff
members. In a study of library media programs in Alaska, 41% of
elementary students and 49% of secondary students scored below aver-
age when only a clerical staff member was present in the library.
With a full- time library media specialist, only 17% of elementary
students and 8% of sec- ondary students scored below average (Lance
& Loertscher, 2002). |
A 21st century library
media center can be the heart of the school because it is a high-tech
learning laboratory staffed by a high-powered learning and technology
consultant (the school library media specialist). It is expensive.
So with today's emphasis on results, the library media center must
pull its weight, and it can when administrators have a clear vision
of its function and hold its program accountable. This article recommends
four reasonably simple ways to monitor the investment of transforming
an outdated library program into a modern one ver- sus its effect.
Technique #1: Measure the amount of collaboration among library
media specialists and teachers to plan, execute, and evaluate joint
learning experiences. When a teacher is willing to move a learning
experience from the classroom to the library media center, good
things happen: There are now two teachers instead of one, an information-rich
and technology-rich environment is available, and each learner can
expect twice as much professional support. Exciting learning experiences
in the library media center require advance planning; creative transformation
of a low-level learning experience to an improved one; innovative
use of tech- nology; and sound assessment of con- tent knowledge,
information literacy skills, and technology use. One simple measure
is to request that library media specialists keep a collaboration
log--a notebook with the planning sheets used by library media specialists
and teachers as they collaborate to build learning experiences.
A lesson belongs in the log only if the teacher and the library
media specialist agree that the experi- ence was superior to one
that would have been conducted in the classroom. The number of entries
in the log con- stitute the "gold star" learning experi- ences at
your school. If a principal notices a low frequency of collaboration
across disciplines or grade levels, he or she |
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Figure
1
What's Your LMC Accessibility
Score? Is Your Library Media Center Ready for Collaboration?
Access to information, information technologies, and library media
facilities must not be a barrier to teachers and students lest
the collaborative process be squelched. Use the following checklist
to measure whether the library media program is providing the
flexible access students and teachers need to foster collaboration.
Library facilities:
The library media center is
not scheduled for weekly visits from any class, but all classes
have multiple opportunities each week to send individuals, small
groups, or large groups.
Teachers might bring the class
to the library media center every day during a project and at
other times the entire class does not come for a few weeks.
Library media center facilities
are arranged in such a way that multiple groups and individuals
may be working simultaneously without undue disturbance.
Classrooms:
Classroom book collections
are being rotated in and out of the central library media center
collection to provide attractive and interesting titles.
Classroom computers are connected
to information data sources in the library media center.
Video and electronic materials
are available from the library media center for classroom use
for short- or long-term use.
The classroom is connected
to the Internet.
Access to the library
media center as an extension of the classroom (library media specialist
attention not required):
Individual students can be
sent to the library media center at any time of the day for independent
use and to obtain materials, equipment, or to use production facilities.
Small groups can be sent to
the library media center to use information and information technology.
The teacher can take a large
group to the library media center for independent use as facilities
permit. Adjoining classroom space to the library media center
enables free-flow communication.
Access to the library
media center as an extension of the classroom (library media specialist
attention required):
The teacher assists students
in getting on the library media center calendar so that the library
media specialist can give the individual student undivided attention.
Small groups are scheduled
so that the library media specialist has time to work with the
group.
Large groups are scheduled
so that both the classroom teacher and the library media specialist
can work together as a team.
Accessibility Score:
__________ of items above, or ___________% Accessibility (divide
number checked by 13 and then multiply by 100) |
can
partner with the library media specialists to build this exciting
inter- vention. As a collaboration increase, a pattern emerges in
the library media center. Figure 1 provides a checklist to be used
during an observation (Loertscher, 2001, p. 29). Technique #2: Ascertain
the effect of information literacy taught by the library media specialist
during a collaboratively taught unit of instruc- tion. Library media
specialists are charged by their professional associa- tions with
teaching information liter- acy, which is defined as the effective
use of ideas and information. To do this, they equip learners with
a research model whereby novices learn to build a question, find
high-quality information, internalize the informa- tion, synthesize
and draw conclusions, communicate findings, and reflect on the process
and the learning. How do teachers and library media specialists
know whether a learner has made progress? One most promising assessment
is fairly simple. Include content-related items and process-related
items (information lit- eracy) on the rubric for any library- based
project. Learners understand that they must master knowledge about
their topic, and they also will have to show competence in the research
process. For a specific project, the teacher would rate the content
and the library media special- ist would rate the process. Technique
#3: Ascertain the effect of technology on collaboratively taught
units of instruction. When a teacher is overwhelmed by technology
or there isn't enough equipment in the classroom for each student,
mov- ing a unit to the library media center learning laboratory
makes sense. The library media center not only has more equipment
but also more adults to assist. The computer space in the library
media center becomes a learn- ing laboratory. Creative ideas for
the effective use of technology build over |
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| time because of
the "parade" of units passing through the center. The assessment
of whether technology has contributed to students' knowledge and
the learning process can be assessed at the learner level if the
rubric contains items related to the effective use of technology.
For exam- ple, see the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's
Scoring Guide for Student Products (www.ncrtec.org/tl/sgsp/how.htm),
and checklists from the International Society for Technology Education
(www.iste.org/standards). Technique #4: Ascertain the amount of
reading being stimulated through the library media program. The
research is quite clear: The more students read, the higher they
will score on almost any measure in almost any discipline (Cunningham
& Stanovich, 1998; Krashen, 1993; McQuillan, 1998; National
Center for Education Statistics, 2000). The following questions
can help determine how much the library is doing to promote reading:
· What percent of students would say they are reading a "library
book or two" right now? · Can students check out unlimited quantities
of library books? · Are the abuses of electronic reading programs
under control? · Are there mountains of fascinating, exciting, and
interesting books stocked in the library media center, in rotating
classroom collections, and at other appropriate places in the school?
Money spent to purchase the books kids want to read affects read-
ing scores because students will read more (Plucker, Humphrey, Kearns,
& Walter, 2002). Conclusions Recently, one of us conducted a
grad- uate class in two spectacular school library media centers.
In both schools, no expense had been spared to build |
a 21st
century facility with state-of- the-art technology and lavish furnish-
ings. In the first school, the principal and the library media specialist
made a pact that no teacher would schedule a visit to the library
media center without first completing advance planning with the
library media spe- cialist. Because all the teachers were |
new
at the school's opening, they thought collaboration was "just
how it works around here." The library media center in this school
is filled with exciting learning experiences. In the second school,
the principal opted to staff the center with a clerical staff
member. This library media center is a lavish babysitting facility.
Across the United States, thousands of school library media
|
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specialists
who were educated in the 1970s are retiring. These people were
educated at a time when audiovisual materials were new to library
collec- tions. New library media specialists need to be technology
gurus, learning consultants, and collaborative partners focused
on making a difference in learning. The challenge, of course,
is to find such people and to release staff members who have not
kept up with the vision of what a school library media program
can do to increase achievement. Wise adminis- trators seek out
an exemplary teacher and commit them to get their library media
and technology credentials. The school may lose a good teacher,
but that person will have a great influence on all teachers and
students. If your library media center is the hub of the school
and if it is contributing to achievement, it will be to your credit!
P L
References
Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1998, Spring/Summer).
What reading does for the mind. American Educator, 18. Krashen,
S. (1993). The power of reading. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Lance, K. C., & Loertscher, D. V. (2002). Does an unsupervised
clerk in the LMC make a difference? In Lance, K. C., & D.
V. Loertscher, Powering achievement (2nd ed.). San Jose, CA: Hi
Willow Research & Publishing. Library Research Service. (2000).
School library media impact studies. Retrieved January 28, 2003,
from www.lrs.org/html/about /school_studies.html Loertscher, D.
V. (2001). Reinventing Indiana's school library media programs
in the age of technology: A handbook for principals and superintendents.
San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. McQuillan,
J. (1998). The literacy |
crisis. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann. National Center for Education Sta- tistics. (2001).
The nation's reading report card: Fourth-grade reading 2000. (NCES
2001499). Plucker, J. A., Humphrey, J., Kearns, A. M., & Walter,
C. N. (2002). Improving school libraries and independent reading:
19972002 impact evaluation of the K12 school library printed materials
grant. Retrieved January 28, 2003, from www2.evansville.edu/mgrnweb
/new2002readingsurvey.htm Resources American Association of School
Librarians, www.ala.org/aasl Hartzell, G. (2002). Capitalizing on
the school library's potential to posi- tively affect student achievement:
A sampling of resources for administrators. Retrieved January 27,
2003, from www.unocoe.unomaha.edu/ghartzell /library Haycock, K.
(1999, March). Fos- tering collaboration, leadership and information
literacy: Common behav- iors of uncommon principals and fac- ulties.
NAASP Bulletin, 83(605), 8287. Library Power program, www.ala.org/aasl/libpower.html
Lincoln (NE) Public Schools. (2000). Performance summative appraisal.
Retrieved January 27, 2003, from www.lps.org/instruction/lms /pdf_files/apras.pdf
Loertscher, D. V. (2002). Reinvent- ing your school's library in
the age of technology: A guide for principals and superintendents.
San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Research and Publishing. Whelan, D. L. (2002,
November). Making research count. School Library Journal. White
House Conference on School Libraries. (2002, June). Insti- tute
of Museum and Library Services. Retrieved January 27, 2003, from
www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602 /whitehouse.htm |
Wilson, P. P., & Lyders, J. A. (2001). Leadership for today's
school library: A handbook for the library media specialist and
the school princi- pal. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Connie
Champlin is an author and library media technology consultant.
She has been a teacher, school library media specialist, and director
of library media services and instructional tech- nology for two
school districts. David Loertscher is professor of library and
information science at San Jose State University. He is past president
of the American Association of School Librarians and received
their distinguished Service Award in 2002. Edited by B. J. Eib
(beib@indiana .edu), a veteran technology educator who is currently
an independent consultant focused on leadership, professional
development, and technology.
CALL
FOR MANUSCRIPTS |
October
2003
Special Education
The No Child Left Behind
Act calls for greater scrutiny of special-needs students'
achievement. This issue will explore the most effective
practices for raising this population's achievement and
anticipate best practices with the pending reauthoriza-
tion of IDEA.
Submission deadline:
April 15, 2003 |
Send
manuscripts to: Jan Umphrey, Editor Principal Leadership
1904 Association Dr. Reston, VA 20191 plmag@principals.org |
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