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Classroom Library Collaboration Mini-Case Study LS5443 Librarians as Instructional Partners Dr. Moreillon By Lisa Dover and Kendra Duckworth  True collaboration between teachers and the teacher- librarian is not an easy task; however, it is one that is very beneficial and important especially in the economic times we are living in today. We must prove to our administrators, community and co-workers that we, as teacher- librarians, are indispensible in our building. There are many teachers and teacher- librarians who are working closely and collaborating in an effort to provide the best education for their students while using co-teaching to maximize their talents and time. There are many positive benefits to collaboration and team teaching within a school which include “reduced class size, student-teacher ratio and increasing the amount of time spent with students" (Moreillon 7). Collaboration with the teacher-librarian can lead to many successful outcomes.   Students reap great rewards from teachers and teacher-library collaboration and co-teaching. Students’ successes are the result of great teacher-librarian collaboration with everyone in the school setting . If the librarian has a great rapport with the students, they will trust her with suggestions and will listen to her teachings . With the classroom and teacher-librarian co-teach, students are able to receive more individualized attention because two teachers are working with one group of students. This makes a smaller ratio, allowing the teacher to work one-on-one, or with small groups. Because there is another adult teacher working with students, this serves a great benefit for the students. “Students are exposed to new technology” (High School English Teacher) and this is due to the librarians’ knowledge and willingness to teach to 21st Century learners in the media they are comfortable in. Students have an opportunity to experiment with new tools using the expertise of the teacher-librarian as a model. Genuine learning also takes place in this type of setting, where children are actively engaged and are able to dig deeper to locate information. I wonder how the students feel about having two teachers in a co-teaching atmosphere and having their learning take on a deeper meaning through their technological investigations. Do they understand how fortunate they are to have the benefit of two teachers? “Helping young minds take charge of their own learning is the finest contribution educators can make to student success in the 21st Century” (Zumda Harada 15). When collaborating with teachers it is important that teachers also see the advantages of collaboration and co-teaching. The benefits of coteaching are smaller groups, more one-on-one with students, two brains sharing ideas and bouncing ideas off each other, less down-time when one teacher writes and other reads or is talking, more attention is on the students, and the librarian adds to the classroom learning atmosphere as witnessed through the many testimonial videos. “Through collaborative teaching, educators develop a common language, a common set of practices and channels for communication that can increase student learning and help the entire school community better serve the academic and social needs of students and families” (Moreillon 6). Librarians and teachers work collaboratively to evaluate websites used in learning and use rubrics to help assess students work. As a former classroom teacher, the positive advantages to team teaching with a teacher-librarian would have been beneficial to me. Having someone with expertise in other areas, and coupling them with my own, would have been wonderful. I was always looking for innovative ways to better serve my classroom. When teachers collaborate they must learn that, “cooperation is an important part in effective school librarianship” (Cooperation-Collaboration: slide 15). “The teacher-librarian who is interested in leading the schools learning community through change needs to remember there is no right or wrong way in this process to make things happen” (McGregor 204). Since the teacher-librarian is fortunate to have a global perspective of the building she can use this to her advantage by targeting teachers who she feels will be more receptive to the collaboration and co-teaching strategy. Another aspect to consider is the social aspect as Shultz and Jones remind us, “Social networks are fundamental to all of us and as school librarians we develop multi-dimensional networks within a school which are learning communities that enable people to connect with each other and resources” (Shultz-Jones 20). As a librarian and a very social person, I hope this will help me in my endeavor to be a better collaborator with my colleagues. My plan is to start my collaboration with a couple of new teachers and a new program classroom teacher for the next school year. How will I guarantee that the reluctant teacher will one day want to collaborate? I will make sure that through the successful partnerships and classroom projects that they will come to know what a great asset I am to this community of learners. "Finally, learning specialists must constantly seek feedback from their colleagues to determine the effectiveness of their efforts. Such input mechanisms provide for critical exchanges that improve the quality of the collaborative tasks and hone professional relationships in the school" (Zmunda, Harada 34). In order for the teacher and teacher-librarian collaboration to work successfully, they also need to discuss the parts that worked as an individual and as a partner team and parts that need to be improved in order to have a more successful collaboration the next time.  Administrators work closely with the teacher-librarian because the library is considered the hub or “heart” of the school. Every student is impacted by the library/librarian. Every teacher/staff member can and should be in contact with the librarian. It is very important to have the full support of your administration regardless of the task. The same holds true for classroom library collaboration and co-teaching. The Elementary Principal in the video had a very positive experience with collaboration therefore was very supportive of this strategy. She saw it working in her building and the evidence coming from it throughout. She observed the teacher working with small groups of children providing differentiation in teaching and a smaller teacher to student ratio was demonstrated for her. All of this helped her see that this type of teaching profited her school and her teachers. “One way principals can support co-teaching is by endorsing collaborative teaching for performance evaluations and by spotlighting effective collaborative teaching in faculty meeting and newsletter to families” Moreillon 8). If the librarian has a strong relationship with the administrators, it is a more comfortable situation for advocating for collaboration, especially when each has a strong sense of what is needed for the success of everyone on the campus. With the librarians help, the administrator can see where their campus stands in relation to other campuses based upon circulation statistics, lesson planning, resources purchased/used, and of course, test scores of the students. As we plan for next year, I have had conversations with my principal about changing my schedule from fixed to flex. I hope to convince my administrator, through hard work and preservation this year, that collaboration and co-teaching will have a positive effect on the whole school. Through this case study, we have seen the steps needed to successfully begin seeking out collaborative partners in our schools. With these tools, we will be able to better serve our whole school community: the administrators, the teachers, and the students. As the teacher-librarian, I can set the example for other librarians in my district by showing them the benefits of collaborative partnerships. Works Cited "3rd-Grade Teacher." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. <[] "7th-Grade Teacher."interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. < [] "7th Grade Teacher."Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. <[] "8th Grade Teacher. "Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. < [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"Elementary Art Teacher." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. < [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"Elementary Principal." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. < [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"High School Art Teacher. "Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. < [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"High School English Student Teacher. "Interview by Judi Moreillon Web. 22 Sept. 2010. < [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"High School English Student Teacher. Interview by Judi Moreillon Web.23 Sept. 2010. < []  <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Kindergarten Teacher." Interview by Judi Moreillon. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. <[]   <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">McGregor, J.Collaboration and Leadership.In Stripling, B. K. and Hughes-Hassell, S. (eds.), Curriculum Connections through the Library. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 119-219. (pdf)   <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Moreillon, Judi. "Cooperation-Collaboration: Similarities and Differences." PowerPoint. Lecture. Web. 19 Sept 2010 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Moreillon, Judi. "Coteaching Images." PowerPoint. Lecture. Web. 19 Sept. 2010 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Moreillon, Judi. "Coteaching Strategies." PowerPoint. Lecture. Web. 19 Sept. 2010 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Zmuda, Allison. "What Does It Really Look Like When Students Are Learning in the Library Media Center?" School Library Media Activities Monthly 3.1 (Sep2008) : 25-27. EBSCOhost. Web. 19 Sept. 2010. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">