One of the things that I've tried to impress upon some of the librarians who
are enrolled in a course that I'm teaching through the ESC XI (Fort Worth,
TX) Library Academy sessions dealing with "Teacher-Librarian Collaboration"
is the "evidence" that we offer to administrators. Our administrators want
charts and graphs of our work...but not necessarily about our books.
However, we always show these and miss sharing the important elements---what
we do.
We often want to compile reports of the statistical use of our materials
(which is great) but we also need to show our impact on student achievement
AND how we were involved in that process. Throughout the Library Academy
sessions, I've shared some of the great resources that I've used over the
last year or so...(David Loertscher's book, "Taxonomies of the School
Library Media Program" is one book that I'm "slowly drinking in" because it
contains SO much information about what to do to show our impact to student
achievement. This is a book that every librarian NEEDS on the personal /
professional shelf, near the desk, or in the briefcase for dull moments on
the bus / train / plane.
What I have discovered through my research is that while we always want to
share our circulation records or our collection numbers to administrators,
we AREN'T documenting our "collaborative efforts" with teachers, the number
of students we teach during those collaborative units, and how our direct
instruction (and use of library resources, of course) help to make a
positive impact on student achievement.
I've suggested to librarians who are enrolled in the Library Academy (and
who aren't great at keeping records of their collaborative efforts and
instructional time) to order the software program: IMPACT! Documenting the
LMC Program for Accountability by Nancy A.S. Miller (you can order it
through LMC Source http://www.lmcsource.com/tech/manage.html )
Here's a blurb that really tells you about what it does:
"this amazing computer software tracks the contribution of the LMC program
in three essential areas: collaborative planning, information literacy, and
links to state standards. By spending five minutes a day recording what
units of instruction and teaching you have been doing, this template then
transforms what you do into amazing charts, diagrams, and tells both you and
administrators where the emphasis of the LMC program lies."
So, if you've been writing down lesson plans but not telling the REAL story
because you don't know how to put it into a mathematical / graphic display
to share later, this might be what you're looking for! (Yes, it's an Excel
chart...but that also scares people, so they've made it "pretty" and show
you how to utilize it much better than Microsoft would.)
What really makes an "impact" for me in all of this is the fact that the
program basically does what Ellen Dueker --of Oklahoma --(Tulsa Public
Schools) asked her librarians to do (and for which they were honored by
others in the library world recently)--which is DOCUMENT what you DO! We are
more than clerks and "bean counters"...and if we are given the opportunity
to share what we do that impacts students, we see student achievement. This
program will help you to share not just the statistics about physical
property usage (books, equipment, library as a room) but it also puts into
charts, graphs and statistics what YOU do as a librarian to impact student
learning.
Administrators (and those holding those purse strings) want to see evidence
of the impact you make...if you can't show them your "Win-Loss" record each
year, then how do they know if they've got a "winning team" in your
program? PLEASE show them your instructional time, collaboration time, and
how you've linked your instructional lessons to state standards.
We need all the help we can get.....and I've obviously been "baptized by the
fire" of Toni Buzzeo's "collaboration spirit" and Dr. Loertscher's
"enthusiasm for documention and instructional design." Regardless of how it
began, I'm glad I see how it all works now.
Show YOUR impact...document YOUR instruction, YOUR collaboration, and YOUR
methods for incorporating the national / state standards into information
literacy.
(off my soapbox....sorry for the disruption) :>
~Shonda
--
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
Library Media Specialist
Arlington ISD
Arlington, Texas
sbrisco@gmail.com
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