Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching- a look at Reference Services

Introduction

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21st century literacy skills have evolved and as a result, what students are required to learn and the way they are taught is shifting.  Learning environments are beginning to emulate new workplace conditions where educators are placing the student at the centre of their own learning through resource-based activities that involve critical thinking, information skills, communication, and collaboration.  However, while teachers are prescribing more cooperative assignments to their students, evidence suggests that teachers are not actively seeking collaborative methodology to improve their own practice themselves.

The purpose of this assignment is to discuss two hypothetical teachers who are at a range of different levels of concern/use with respect to the effective use of reference resources in their pedagogical practice.  In addition, this assignment involves the application of  Concerns-Based-Adoption-Model (CBAM) approach to change (see Table 1) and Po-Sen Huang's CBAM model found here (Table 2).

Table 1: Copyright National Academy of Sciences

Overview

The following section will provide an in-depth look at two hypothetical secondary school humanities 8 teachers to describe their situation, experiences, and methods of instruction with respect to reference services.

Teacher 1

Situation:

Teacher 1 has been a secondary school humanities teacher for 8 years.  The do not participate in any extra-curricular activities or are on any committees.  The educator rarely shows interest in adopting new methodology even with the implementation of the new BC curriculum.

Experiments:

Teacher 1 does not make use of the library learning commons.  Rather, teacher 1 simply uses the computer lab for research-based assignments and does not pre-face the research process for students. Typically, assignments are 'Google' based assignments with searchable criteria and recall answers.

Methods (CBAM designation):

According to the CBAM, Teacher 1 is at stage 0 with respect to 'Stage of Concern' and 'Levels of Use'.  Teacher 1 is not concerned about cooperative program planning nor are they interested in taking action.

Teacher 2

Situation:

Teacher 2 has been a secondary school humanities teacher for 6 years.  The educator frequently attends district workshops such as 'SPARK' and 'Formative Assessment'.  In addition, they are an active member within the school community on committees such as 'Staff Committee', 'Social-Emotional Learning Inquiry', 'Conversation Cafe', and 'Sunshine Fund'. 

Experiments:

Teacher 2 has spent a considerable amount of time adapting their methods to fit the new curriculum.  Recently, they have developed a variety of humanities 8 inquiry projects on ancient civilizations and youth homelessness.  The inquiry projects use a variety of reference resources from the learning commons, web, and community.

Table 2: CBAM by Huang

Methods (CBAM designation):

Teacher 2, according to the CBAM is located in the collaboration stage of concern as they are questioning how their newly developed inquiry project is affecting learners as well as comparing how the project worked in various other humanities classes.  As a result, Teacher 2 is in the integration level of use in the behavioural indicators.  They are "making deliberate efforts to coordinate with others in using the innovation" including an civilization inquiry project and a youth homelessness inquiry project (Huang, n.d.).

Finally, in order to fully understand the scope of the situation, the final portion of the overview details the current state of the library learning commons.

Learning Commons:

According to the 'Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada' published by Leading Learning: Standard of practice for school library learning commons (2014), the school-library at this site is in the emerging stages of development with respect to its conversion in both "cultivating effective instructional design to co-plan, teach, and assess learning" and "facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners"(2014, Leading Learning, p. 8).  

The learning commons is a welcoming place for students and staff and the new teacher-librarian has made a considerable effort to reinforce information literacy.  The methods and experiments include: informal and formal conversations/communication of new resources, reminder of access and procedure to online databases, and willingness to collaborate with teachers who show interest.

Collaborative Planning Stages

The following section will map out a collaborative planning process to increase/develop the use of reference resources for the above mentioned teachers.

Teacher 1

Objectives:

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• Increase awareness of learning commons reference services including: ready reference, research project sources, and readers advisory methods
• Provide written information on access to digital resources
• Spark the conversation/interest in resources by providing reference materials that reinforce curricula and evolve current state of methodology

Content:

The purpose of this cooperative plan with respect to reference resources is to progress Teacher 1 from Non-Use/Zero Awareness to an Informational level of concern and an Orientation level of use in the CBAM model.  The focus will be to use CBAM to practice professional development to evolve the educators questions and to become orientated with reference programs.  This process will be informed by on-going monitoring by the teacher-librarian using the new curriculum as a motivator to establish trust, shared vision, and communication.

Sequence:

1. Informal conversations/communication
2. Formal documents regarding availability of reference services
3. Offering of one-off lessons to improve student information literacy skills in reference services

Methodology:

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1. Establish trust with educator
2. Develop a shared vision
3. Communicate effectively

Activities:

1. Informal conversation/communication: the teacher-librarian will target all humanities classes with general reference material by maintaining constant communication regarding new reference resources under the humanities 8 curriculum being added to the learning commons. Teacher-librarian will develop a Pinterest board titled 'Humanities' and update new items to the list that includes current print resources and web-based references resources for target subject area.
2. Formal documentation: the teacher-librarian will email a copy of available district databases and how to access those databases including login and password information to all teachers on the site.  In addition, these documents are also to be printed and placed in the teachers mailbox.  During a staff meeting, the teacher-librarian will demonstrate how to access the databases.
3. Lessons: To target all humanities classes, the teacher-librarian will offer two reference services lessons.  The first lesson will be an orientation to the learning commons including all the resources available to the students.  At the conclusion of the first lesson, the students will check out a fiction title for silent-reading purposes.  The second lesson will detail online databases and will develop students information literacy skills by teaching students how to evaluate a source using the acronym CRAAP (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose).  The lesson will use fake and real websites to challenge students.  A follow-up lesson can be provided to the students based on how to develop a proper bibliography and how to cite sources.  A second follow-up lesson could be done to demonstrate the British Columbia Teacher-Librarian Associations 'Five Points of Inquiry'.  This inquiry workshop would introduce each facet or point of the inquiry process and how educators can incorporate various tools and reference resources to enhance the development of student information skills.

Evaluation:

The teacher-librarian will partake in an ongoing analysis of the following aspects to determine the viability of Teacher 1 to progress into the next phase of their use of reference resources:

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• Does the educator respond in a professional manner to the informal communication efforts by the teacher-librarian?
• Does the educator post the learning commons resource information in their classroom or by their desk?
• How does the educator perceive the lessons offered?
• Does the educator collaborate with the teacher-librarian for the follow-up lesson?
• Is there an increase in library usage by Teacher 1 afterwards?
• Have the students developed information literacy skills during the lessons?

It is important to note that the process of developing Teacher 1 into the next stage of reference resources may take time and that the teacher-librarian should not be discouraged if the educator remains to have no apparent interest in progressing as they may not be ready to develop their skills or practice, or remain unwilling to change their methodology.

Teacher 2

Objectives:

• Implement self-reflection techniques to refine practice
• Determine how reference use is affecting learners
• Compare results with others
• Share methodology

Content:

The purpose of this cooperative plan with respect to reference resources is to progress Teacher 2 to a deeper level of awareness in the Collaboration/Integration level of concern in the CBAM model.  The focus will be to use the Concern-Based model to practice professional development to evolve the educators practice to incorporate deeper levels of collaboration.  This process will be informed by on-going monitoring by the teacher-librarian using the new curriculum as a motivator to establish trust, shared vision, and communication.

Sequence: 

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1. Establish informal journal evaluation of techniques used and success of students
2. Develop focus group in humanities
3. School-wide sharing
4. Collaborative mentoring committee

Methodology:

1. Establish trust with educator
2. Develop a shared vision
3. Communicate effectively

Activities:

1. Establish informal journal evaluation of techniques used and success of students: after a cooperatively planned unit, the educator journals the effective instructional methodology and the ineffective methodology based on the success of students and/or debriefs with the teacher-librarian.  Multiple test days and test-classes should be used to account for marginal errors.  Educator can share ideas with teacher-librarian and discuss ways to improve/develop information skills based on student and teacher feedback on how the lesson went.
2. Develop focus group in humanities: Using collaborative planning time, a humanities group will meet to discuss what instructional methods are working best with their students in terms of reference services.  With the help of the librarian, teachers develop joint instructional practices.
3. School-wide sharing: Teacher 2 or the small focus group can create a presentation for a staff meeting to share their reference skills and inquiry projects based on the new curriculum.  Not only should this presentation detail their successes but also their failures to demonstrate the learning process and effective strategies.
4. Collaborative mentoring committee: A committee will be formed after the staff meeting that seeks to develop learning partners and collaborative mentorships for teachers to use as a vehicle for effective instructional strategies in reference sources.  These mentorships will take place all year and at the leisure of the individual teachers themselves.  Class visit schedules can be set up and the teacher-librarian can be an active member of the process.

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Evaluation:

The teacher-librarian will partake in an ongoing analysis of the following aspects to determine the viability of Teacher 2 to progress into the next phase of their use of reference resources:

• Feedback during small and large group meetings
• Success of the collaborative mentoring committee
• Perceived increase in use of the learning commons

Conclusion

Cooperative program planning and effective use of reference services benefits all members of the school community.  However, a teacher must be willing and ready to implement change to their methodology.  The teacher-librarian can be a great facilitator of collaboration and ensuring that as the resource specialist, that students are developing 21st century skills in information literacy.  Successfully developed units ensure that learning outcomes are being met and sparks creativity in students and teachers alike.

References

Canadian Libraries Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Libraries Association.

Ekdahl, M., M. Farquharson, J. Robinson, L. Turner. 2010. The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for In-formation Literacy and the 21st Century Learner. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association.

Huang, P. (n.d.). Levels of Use - Concerns-Based Adoption Model. Retrieved March 4, 2017, from https://sites.google.com/site/ch7cbam/home/levels-of-use

Ken Haycock. "Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning" School Libraries Worldwide (2007): 25-35.

Riedling, A. M., Houston, C., & Shake, L. (2013). Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips. Linworth Publishing Company.

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals. (2017). Nationalacademies.org. Retrieved 3 March 2017, from http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm

*It's important to note that not all of these sources were cited directly, rather, they provided a framework of knowledge*