Draft

Editing Note: We will need to further condense the material. I have attached a document of changes that I thought would help, but it is still 2 and 1/2 pages. Can you help me cut/condense someof this?Also if you do not like the changes, we can discuss them.Thanks, Jennifer Hey, I put my answers to your questions on the document below, while you are reading it, I will read through my pieces and see what I can condense or cut. I will also review the parts that I said I would in my comments. -Heather

Jennifer. I looked it over fixed some minor changes (a forgotten or misplaced period here and there). There are two changes that I made that I wanted to make you aware of. Please see the discussion tab for those. I also included the works cited page. I will have Skype on starting at 4 my time (6 your time) until 5:30 or so. I think I am pretty much complete with everything. I know it is silly, but I am going to upload the Rubric that I plan to turn in-just in case you find something.-Heather





​ Collaboration is the working together of individuals toward a common purpose or goal. Within education, you often hear the word "collaboration" used when working with the special education department or instructional specialists.

With educational acts, such as No Child Left Behind, many states are setting standards that teachers must help their students achieve. At times, these standards may seem overwhelming for just one teacher. Do teachers often think of collaborating with their librarians as well? What are the benefits of collaborating with the library staff? There are many resources that they may utilize, their librarian being one of them. Teachers and librarians often have coinciding benchmarks, which can be utilized to promote collaboration. In what ways can collaboration be used to meet such goals? How might this affect further collaboration among teachers and library staff?

Binney and Williams states, “Successful leaders combine leading and learning” (qtd in McGregor, 204). Teachers are known as the leaders in their classroom. How can collaboration help the teachers not only become leaders, but learners as well? When describing a collaborative lesson using PowerPoint, Pat describes how she had never used PowerPoint before and was, “learning right along with the kids” (7th Grade Social Studies Teacher). By collaborating with librarians, teachers are often able to receive training on the tools they do not know how to use, therefore learning something that will help them be a better leader. McGregor states that, “Collaboration could lead to expanding their (the teachers) awareness and confidence of technology and other resources. (Citation) By collaborating together, teachers bring the knowledge of the curriculum, while librarians bring resources to further extend that knowledge. The teachers are then able to see how the resources are able to support the curriculum.

While collaboration can be easily transferred in History, Science, and Language Arts classes, is it also possible for other subjects, such as Math and Fine Art, to collaborate as well? Tracey, an elementary art instructor describes an activity where fourth graders, who were working on weaving projects, were able to research and analyze information on Navajo blankets with the help of the librarian. By researching before hand and seeing examples, the students weaving projects were more detailed. (Elementary Art Teacher) In Schultz-Jones’s article, Collaboration and the Social Network, a librarian describes how she was able to create a whole days worth of lessons, including math, with the use of just one book (22). Librarians are there to support all teachers and students with their learning. Librarians are a resource for all teachers, no matter the subject areas they teach. By being familiar with the curriculum in all subjects for each grade level, a librarian can effectively support the teachers. Providing a few examples of how collaboration can take place, teachers may soon be able to envision how to use these resources for their subject areas as well.

// Collaboration benefits to administrators // // While teachers benefit from the direct collaboration with teacher librarians, do administrators reap any benefits from the collaborative efforts of their staff? // Administrators can benefit from collaboration. However, you must have them support you for collaboration to take place. Showing the principal the benefits of collaboration can help persuade them to encourage, or require, collaboration take place. In Paula’s testimony she states, “The librarian is like the principal in the fact that she/he has a global view of the school, not just the subject or grade level they teach.” (Proper citation takes place) Viewing the school in its entirety is helpful in the fact that they are able to see how the curriculum is aligned throughout the grades and how the skills can build on previous knowledge. “Teacher librarians can observe the overall needs of the school community and identify areas where problems might be solved by working together” (McGregor, 210). Teachers are able to see what works in their own classroom; librarians are able to see what works in everyone’s classroom. Administrators need someone who sees the big picture. By learning about the techniques used by other teachers through collaboration, the librarian can then pass on their knowledge to new teachers as well.

Collaboration benefits to students

How can teacher and librarian collaboration benefit students in a real and tangible way? Children are watchers. From the earliest days after birth, children are watching us to see what we do. In this context, our actions matter more than our words, and this is paralleled in collaboration as well. If teachers want students to collaborate in class, students should be able to see good examples of collaboration between teachers and school staff (Shultz-Jones, 22) By seeing how these individuals work together toward a common goal, students are able to develop their own fundamental collaborative behaviors. These collaborative behaviors are further exercised through "authentic learning", which can be expanded through teacher and librarian collaboration (Judy P’s Testimonial). In this way, students reach success not only in the academic benchmark, but also in the social communicative roles that are necessary for further student achievement. Additionally, when librarians and teachers from different academic areas, such as science and humanities work together, students are better able to see and utilize cross-curricular learning.

Collaboration benefits to teacher-librarians

While collaboration benefits administrators, teachers, and students, how does the added effort to collaborate benefit teacher librarians? Is their struggle to advocate and implement good library programs that benefit the entirety of the school a selfless offering? While many of us may wish to think so, it is decidedly not. Life is a series of give and take and teacher librarianship is no different. Teacher librarians gain valuable insight in the workings of the school community, which assists them in serving the community more effectively. (Paula’s Testimonial) Teacher librarians also gain recognition by assisting in the implementation of more developed programming and improved student achievement. (McGregor, ??) The importance pressed upon teacher and librarian collaboration also benefits librarians by emphasizing their need to continually “remain current with content and pedagogical developments” in order to successfully provide meaningful services to teachers and students. (learning specialist citation)

Conclusion: Collaboration benefits all shareholders in a school community from administrations down to students with the shared goal of improving student achievement.