1. Welcome to Let’s Work Together
The Game Show about Collaboration
Announcer can you tell us what our show is going to be covering today.
Created by: Heather Hyatt, Melissa Gaeta
and Jamie Ridgely
SLM 509, Spring 2011

2. Here's how to play…

3. Round 1
What is Collaboration?

4. What does a School Librarian do?
Check out books
Teach lessons to students
Read books
All of the above
Ok let’s start with our first question. Before we can work together you need to know what I do.
Yes your right I do all of above. But our game show focuses on teaching lessons to students.

5. What is collaboration? Teaching a series of lessons without any help.
Teaching a series of lessons with advice from other teachers.
Teaching a series of lessons that are jointly designed, facilitated, and evaluated.
Now that we know what a School librarian does. Contestants your next question is what is collaboration? Your right collaboration is done jointly. We are going to talk about collaboration between a teacher and school librarian.

6. Why should I collaborate?
Round 2
Why should I collaborate?

7. Now contestants, I know what your thinking
Now contestants, I know what your thinking. Why do I want to work with the school librarian? Well here is your next question.

8. Collaboration between a Classroom Teacher and a School Librarian will raise test scores.
True
False

9. “Teachers wouldn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of increasing kids’ test scores all by themselves.”
–-Toni Buzzeo, School Library Journal Vol. 56 Issue 10 Oct 2010
With MSA right around the corner, who is feeling overwhelmed with trying to squeeze everything in with both the regular curriculum AND test-related material?
What if you were told there was a practical, sure-fire way to boots student test scores, decrease the amount of material you need to cover AND help secure your job in a rough economy... How may of you would you be interested?
What if I told you this resource was already at your school? Your school librarian is more then just a teaching partner, we’re here today to show you the benefits of developing collaborative projects. In the words of Toni Buzzeo, “Data-driven collaboration may not sound sexy, but it could save your job!”

10. Show me the numbers!
Schools with the most librarian-teacher collaboration average higher reading scores.
CSAP Reading Scores
A study in the second Colorado study, their findings emphasize the fact that better school library programs and services lead to better student performance on standardized tests.
The study compared the 25 highest rated school library programs with the 25 lowest rated programs. Here we see that school libraries with the most collaborative library programs helped students, on average, achieve higher reading scores compared to schools with less collaborative library programs.
Percent of Students Reading on Grade Level
- “How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards” The Second Colorado Study

11. “Like elementary schools, high schools tended to have better test results where teachers reported that they initiate collaboration with the library media specialist on the design and delivery of instruction at least weekly or monthly.”
–School Libraries Work
According to School Libraries Work, schools averaged better test scores when teachers who reported collaborating with the SL more frequently at their own initiative, and who believed that they teach to information literacy standards better when they engage in such collaboration

12. Data-Driven Collaboration
Strength in Numbers Study
Location: Elkins Pointe Middle School in Roswell, GA
Population: 10 seventh grade Latino/Hispanic and economically disadvantaged boys
County Competency Test Scores
According to Library Media Connection, The White House recently reported that almost half of our nations dropouts are Latino or African American Students. The school librarian and reading teacher at Elkins Pointe Middle School, worked together to target a group of at-risk Hispanic and economically disadvantaged 7th grade boys.
As you can see here, on the County Competency Tests, these boys on average scored 22 to 42 percent lower than their peers. The school librarian and reading teacher broke down the individual parts of the test and isolated the benchmarks where the students demonstrated the greatest difficulty. The boys struggled with comprehension. The SL and reading teacher also looked at the boys strengths, and surprisingly the boys scored higher with reading aloud accurately.

13. Library/Teacher Collaboration Intervention: Readers Theatre Unit
Goal: To improve comprehension and vocabulary
Results: Through experimenting with characterizations, the boys came to understand the text in a deep and meaningful way which allowed them to interpret characters intellectually and voice that interpretation in their reading.
-Toni Buzzeo “Strength in Numbers”
Using this data, the SL and reading teacher collaboratively planned a Readers Theatre Unit. This would tap into their strength of oral reading, and address their needs with comprehension.
At first, the boys simply read the passages, but then they started experimenting with characterization and began enjoying the characters and entertaining each other. They needed to analyze the characters feelings and infer the meaning of challenging vocabulary to accurately portray their part.
The SL wanted to boys to be recognized for their success, and at the end of the unit, the boys were given the opportunity to perform via Skype to other high schools and their peers.

14. Collaborating to Meet the Needs of Students
“Caring and compassionate librarians can make school libraries places where at-risk students’ differences are acknowledged and respected”
-Library Media Connection Nov/Dec 2010
The Readers Theatre Unit provided these boys with a safe way to learn. The atmosphere was light and mistakes were not the focus. By the end of the program, the boys had acquired several new, age-appropriate sight words.

15. What does collaboration look like between a Classroom Teacher and a School Librarian?
The Classroom Teacher asks the School Librarian to pull books for a unit.
The Classroom Teacher and School Librarian work together to plan and assess a learning outcome.
The Classroom Teacher drops off the students at the school library for specials.

16. What does collaboration look like?
Round 3
What does collaboration look like?

17. Six Steps to Data-Driven Collaboration
Identify a project to tackle
Examine the test data
Target the skills that need improvement
Look carefully at the constructed response questions
5) Focus on two or three subskills
Don’t forget to document student achievement.
-School Library Journal Vol. 56 Issue 10 Oct 2010
1- select a unit that would be enhanced by working together. Pick a topic that may not be your favorite and with the SL make it much more fun.
2- Examine students test results and determine what they don’t know. Also look at the students strengths to see what skills you can play into.
3- Don’t rely on a standard drill-and-practice approach, create a project where students need to practice those skills to create the final product.
4- Constructed responses are more likely to show a student’s true knowledge on the topic, unlike multiple choice questions.
5- Did your students miss the same multiple choice questions? Determine if that was because it was worded poorly or are they missing that skill?
6-Track your students progress carefully to compare the results at the end.

18. Final Question
Ok are you ready for your final question for the win of the show.

19. How can you get a hold of me to collaborate?me
Leave me a note in my mailbox
Chat with me in passing
Schedule a meeting
I don’t care how you get a hold of me just contact me to collaborate!!

20. Bibliography
Buzzeo, Toni. "Strength in Numbers." School Library Journal (Oct 2010): Print. Gavigan, Karen. "Together We Can: Collaborating to meet the needs of At-Risk Students." Library Media Connection. (Nov/Dec 2010): Print. Lance, Keith Curry, Marcia Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell. "How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards: The Second Colorado Study." Colorado State Library Report. (2000): Print. NCLIS, . "School Libraries Work." Research Foundation Paper (2008): Web. 16 Feb <