Resources for Evidence-based Practice For LS5443: Librarians as Instructional Partners Department of Library and Information Studies Texas Woman’s University Judi Moreillon, M.L.S., Ph.D.

Objectives: At the end of this presentation, you will be able to:  Define evidence-based practice.  Identify sources for scholarly articles and resources that provide research evidence.  Address the scholarly references and citations and data requirements for A.1.4 Case Study.

What is Evidence-based Practice? Conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current research to inform instructional practices (Todd, SLJ Summit, Phoenix, 2007)  Evidence FOR practice – synthesize research, the information base for our profession  Evidence IN practice – locally-produced data-generated practice – formative assessments  Evidence OF practice – outcomes, subsequent instructional decisions

Evidence FOR Practice  Scholarly articles have been peer-reviewed by scholars in the same field as the author/researcher who wrote the article.  What is a scholarly article? See the questions to ask at: tips-tricks/evaluate-sources tips-tricks/evaluate-sources

Evidence FOR Practice Short list of four key questions:  Did the author or authors conduct research? (IMPORTANT: Lit reviews and meta-analyses do not meet the criteria for this assignment.)  Does the article include an abstract that summarizes the research findings?  Is the article of sufficient length to suggest a significant study is being reported on by the researcher(s)?  Does the article include a list of references?

Where can you find scholarly articles that report on peer-reviewed research that supports the instructional partner role of school librarians?  School Library Research (SLR) online is the premiere journal for scholarly research articles related to studies conducted in the field of librarianship.  View the Jing video screencast in Module 1.3 to learn how to search SLR online.

 School Library Research (SLR) and School Libraries Worldwide are also available through the TWU library – Library & Information Science Source database.  View the Jing video screencast in BB Module 1.3 for how to search the TWU databases for scholarly articles related to school librarianship.  Note: School Library Research was formerly known as School Library Media Research and School Library Media Research Quarterly.

Evidence FOR Practice  Journals such as Knowledge Quest, School Library Connection, and Teacher Librarian occasionally publish peer-reviewed articles. Such articles should be noted as “peer- reviewed,” but are often not. Most of the articles in these journals are NOT peer- reviewed.

Evidence FOR Practice  Are scholarly articles/resources based on research ONLY found in peer-reviewed journals?  The following examples are not found in peer-reviewed journals yet they are based on research and are considered scholarly.

Example: Evidence FOR Practice Classroom-Library Collaboration for Instruction  Kachel et al. (2011) summarized the research findings of the School Library Impact Studies (Library Research Service 2016) and identified a positive correlation between classroom-library collaboration for instruction and increased student achievement in fifteen out of the twenty-one studies they reviewed. Works Cited Kachel, Debra E. et al. School Library Research Summarized: A Graduate Class Project. Mansfield, PA: School of Library & Information Technologies Department, Mansfield University, Web. 01 Feb Library Research Service. School Library Impact Studies, Web. 01 Feb

Example: Evidence FOR Practice Classroom-Library Collaboration for Instruction  According to the results of Phase Two of the New Jersey Study, in collaborative culture schools the instructional partner role of the school librarian is highly respected and prized by administrators and fellow educators because of the school librarian’s positive impact on student learning outcomes (26). Work Cited Todd, Ross J., Carol A. Gordon, and Ya-Ling Lu. One Common Goal: Student Learning. Report of Findings and Recommendations of the New Jersey Library Survey, Phase 2. New Brunswick. 01 Feb

Evidence FOR Practice  Peer-reviewed scholarly articles are NEVER published in School Library Journal. Sometimes a researcher will preview an upcoming research article in SLJ but a two-page SLJ article in not considered scholarly.

Evidence FOR Practice  What kinds of evidence matters to us? To our colleagues? To our administrators?  Does this vary depending on the question we are asking?

Evidence IN Practice  In the age of accountability, school librarians must meet the imperative to impact student achievement through effective instruction. “Until school librarians serve as full members of instructional teams, their true value as educators cannot be measured” (Moreillon 9).

Evidence IN Practice  For A.1.4, our evidence IN practice is the evidence we gather that illuminates the impact of classroom-library collaboration on students’ learning and teachers’ professional development.  For the purposes of A.1.4, that evidence is a principal’s and teachers’ perspectives on the benefits of classroom-library collaboration for instruction.

Evidence IN Practice  For the purposes of A.1.4 Case Study, you will use educator interviews as evidence; this is qualitative data.  These data illuminate benefits to students, teachers, and administrators.  The evidence you will cite will be key concepts, paraphrases, and quotes from the video testimonials.

Evidence OF Practice  To whom does this evidence (data) matter?  How should we share this evidence?  How does this evidence address effectiveness and professionalism for classroom teachers, specialists, school librarians, and administrators?

Evidence OF Practice  You will interpret this qualitative data in light of the scholarly articles and resources you locate, read, summarize, and cite.  Your partner and instructor are the audiences for this work for this particular assignment. You will use this work again in O.D.2.3 in ApprenNet.

Evidence OF Practice  Continue to be alert to evidence in the articles you read for this course, in your other courses, and in your personal learning.  Look for evidence in other types of resources.  Be prepared to cite evidence as a best practice in school librarianship.

Test Yourself  Is an article that does not include a Works Cited or list of references scholarly?  Is a brief article that focuses on a practitioner’s first-hand experience a research article?  If the article appears in a magazine that is not peer-reviewed (such as School Library Journal or School Library Connection – formerly School Library Monthly and Library Media Connection) and does not state that it went through a peer-review process, is it scholarly?

The Answers Please  And the answers are…. NO to all three questions…  Please review the criteria listed on the University of Wisconsin Web page.  As well as the four key questions listed in this PowerPoint.  Thank you.

Assignment Process  Locate.  Read.  Select.  Analyze.  Interpret.  Summarize.  Wonder about…

Authentic Questions  Authentic questions: Authentic questions are your REAL questions about classroom-library collaboration for instruction. They are not questions that you ask and then answer in your paper. Authentic questions are ones that you wonder about as a result of reading, analyzing, and interpreting this research.

Works Cited Kachel, Debra E. et al. School Library Research Summarized: A Graduate Class Project. Mansfield, PA: School of Library & Information Technologies Department, Mansfield University, Web. 01 Feb Library Research Service. School Library Impact Studies Web. 01 Feb Moreillon, Judi. Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, Print. Todd, Ross. Evidence-based Practice. School Library Journal Summit. Phoenix, Arizona, Todd, Ross J., Carol A. Gordon, and Ya-Ling Lu. One Common Goal: Student Learning. Report of Findings and Recommendations of the New Jersey Library Survey, Phase 2. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries. Web. 01 Feb University of Wisconsin Library. Evaluate Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb