Notes

Notes for the Case Study

McGregor, J. "Collaboration and Leadership." Curriculum Connections through the Library. Eds. Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 199-219. Print.

The principal must support the changes necessary (McGregor 201) The teacher librarian interested in creating a climate in which collaboration takes place must be prepared to take the lead(McGregor 202) Responsive leaders work with instead of against the participants, standing up for what they really believe but also learning what others care about by listening, by trying to understand the situation from the other person's point of view.(McGregor 204) figure out the style of the leader and that helps you gauge what should be done in order to start a collaboration environment whether it be top-down,bottom-up or a mix of both. (McGregor 206) A principal who combines the two styles shares his or her vision and expects feedback from staff, which makes it a lot easier for the teacher librarian to relate a desire for a collaborative community to that vision. (McGregor 206) Working with a single receptive teacher and sharing the positive results with others can be a good beginning. But the strategic teacher librarian goes one step further and begins to produce evidence of the effect the experience has on learning.(McGregor 210) Identifying, understanding, and managing emotions in themselves and others help leaders manage the change process. (McGregor 211)

Zmuda, A., and V. H. Harada. "The Learning Specialist: Clarifying the Role of Library Media Specialists." Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century. Eds. Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 23 – 43. Print.

Learning specialists in a school play a central role in the continuous effort to improve the achievement of all students through the design, instruction, and evaluation of student learning. (Zmuda and Harada 24) When trying to describe the jobs of learning specialists, principals often depend solely on prior experiences that they have had with specialists, who have inhabited the roles during the principals' tenure. (Zmuda and Harada 27) This may halt collaboration efforts by a new librarian since a principal may not be familiar with collaboration since the last librarian never participated in the process. So the librarian may be stuck and may not be able to make changes that will have an impact on student learning in a positive way. all stakeholders must be clear on the beliefs that give collective and concrete purpose to their individual efforts. (Zmuda and Harada 29) As partners in teaching, learning specialists must work with teachers to provide collective evidence of the learning that results from their combined instruction. (Zmuda and Harada 29) The job of the leadership team, then, is to create the conditions for internal accountability so that staff members hold one another accountable for student achievement, staff development, and coherence of leadership efforts. (Zmuda and Harada 32) As learning specialists, library media specialists help to forge partnerships that include all stakeholders in the educational process, including principals, teachers, and students. (Zmuda and Harada 40) To overcome these negative perceptions, library media specialists must carefully examine their practices and move away from those that divert focus from the mission. "Bad business practice" is work that is irrelevant, tangential, or counterproductive. (Zmuda and Harada 40) The library media specialist must insist that every learning experience in the library-classroom aligns with the learning goals of both the classroom teacher's curriculum and the library curriculum. (Zmuda and Harada 41)

Schultz-Jones B. "Collaboration in the School Social Network." Knowledge Quest 37 (4). 20-25. Print.

Visualizing the school learning environment as a set of social networks provides the school library media specialist with a way to map interactions and think strategically about building relationships. (Schultz-Jones 25)

The ultimate value of these social relationships is the benefit of being able to access these connections to meet educational objectives.(Schultz-Jones 24)

PowerPoint on Coteaching

One teacher can be reading while the other teacher is writing which allows students to see more and do more instead of having to take multiple days to finish a lesson

Allows both teachers to work with two different groups at the same time so that students get the benefit of working in small groups which allows the teacher to see any deficiencies that need to be addressed or if the students have further question then there is someone right there to help guide the students thinking.

Two teachers working on a venn diagram brings in more options and ideas that can be explored with the students

Two teachers splitting the class up allow for two different viewpoints on specific lessons and then they can switch so that the students benefit from two different approaches to the lesson

PowePoint on Cooperation-Collaboration

"Collaboration requires communication, shared goals and objectives, assignment of responsibilities, negotiation, flexibility, and more..." (Moreillon, ppt)

Spreading ourselves too thin only causes problems and does not allow us to reach our full potential. Don't try to meet with every teacher every week.

To be effective we should: co-plan, co-teach, co-assess; collect data; hold discussions with administrators; provide workshops (whole group and individual); serve on committees; keep current on techniques and practices, as well as technology.

Avoid being a "no involvement' library program. Strive to be at the "instructional design, level 1" or higher level.

The best defense is to be flexible. We are working with a wide variety of personalities and strengths. Being flexible with our teachers shows willingness to cooperate and share.

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