School Libraries and Learning:  20+ Evidence-Based Strategies

Dr Ross J Todd

Director, Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries

Professor, School of Communication & Information

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

rtodd@rutgers.eduwww.cissl.rutgers.edu

www.twitter.com/RossJToddwww.facebook.com/RossJTodd

Evidence-Based PracticeGathering evidence in YOUR local school

You are able to provide convincing evidence that answers these questions:

“What differences do my school library and its learning initiatives make to

student learning outcomes?“What are the differences, the tangible

learning outcomes and learning benefits of my school library”?

Holistic Model of Evidence-Based Practice for School Libraries

Evidence FOR Practice

FOUNDATIONINFORMATIONAL

Existing formal research provides the essential building blocks for professional practice:

Evidence IN PracticeApplications /

Actions

PROCESSTRANSFORMATIONAL

Locally produced evidence;Data generated by practice is meshed with

research-based evidence to provide a dynamicdecision-making environment:librarian-observed evidence

Evidence OF PracticeResults – impacts and outcomes; evidence of

closing of gaps

OUTCOMESFORMATIONAL

user-reported evidencelearner changes as result of inputs, interventions,

activities, processes

22 Evidence-Based Strategies

1. Mission Statements and Policy Documents

School Library Policy and Mission Statements: Shift in focus from School Library to Inquiry and Student Learning Outcomes

Test criteria: “Celebrate the Understood, not the Found”

Does your mission and policy statements do this?

2. Your Role StatementHow are you defined in your school?

Positioning of the School Librarian as the Information-Learning / Inquiry Learning Specialist

Positioning of the School Librarian: Information / Inquiry Learning

SpecialistImplement inquiry-based instruction in the curriculum?

An instructional designer for integrating information, technical and critical literacies into the curriculum?

Reading for learning and living in the digital age?

Continuous improvement of learning outcomes through resource-based learning

MEETING CONTENT STANDARDS

3. Library SystemsNumber of classes in the libraryNumber of library items borrowedNumber of students using the library at lunch timesNumber of items purchased annuallyNumber of web searches

Changes after instructional interventions

Additional data?

Did they learn anything?What knowledge of the curriculum

did they come away with?

QUALITY TEACHING =MOST POWERFUL EFFECT ON

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

4. Charting Knowledge Outcomes: Content Outcomes

Intellectual QualityIntellectual AgencyDeep knowledge

Deep understanding Problematic knowledgeHigher order thinking

Meta-languageSubstantive communication

Personal AgencySelf Confidence

Willingness to take risksTrying new ideas and

practicesIndependence

Autonomy

Social and Cultural AgencyRespect for different values, cultural knowledges and

viewpointsTeam building, collaboration, negotiation and decision

making: inclusivityKnowledge integration: conceptual coherence and

integrationConnect with current and future lives

Social and ethical values

Deep knowledge:

Knowledge is deep when focus is sustained on key concepts and ideas

Evidence:Sustained focus on specific topicExplanatory detailKnowledge of hierarchical and associative relationships

Deep understanding:

Students are able to demonstrate meaningful understanding of the central ideas and the relationships between them

Evidence:Organized, structured sequence of ideasAppropriate recallPresentation and discussion

Problematic knowledge:

Students are encouraged to address multiple perspectives and/or solutions and to recognise that knowledge is constructed

Evidence:Students understand the various arguments, evidences, counterargumentsAcknowledge conflicts in information

Higher-order thinking:

Students are engaged in thinking that requires them to organise, reorganise, apply, analyse, synthesise and evaluate knowledge and information

Evidence:Students use information from more than one web site, compare it, select the best to use for the purpose, decide what is relevant for each aspect of task

Metalanguage:

Lessons explicitly name and analyse knowledge as a specialist language

Evidence:students use complex terms relevant to their subject students learn to search relevant databases using complex language

Substantive communication:Students regularly engage in sustained conversations about the concepts and ideas – can manifest in oral, written, artistic forms

Evidence:Increased confidence in presentationsIncreased quality of classroom discussion after library visits Increase in quality and frequency of questions about research topicsIncreased retention of content which is utilized in later discussions

PERSONAL AGENCY“learned to follow a set plan and be organized”

“help me through papers in high school, college and life in general”

“getting genuine information is hard and tedious work”

“learned the basics of writing a more professional research paper”

“research approach is more complicated but creates a much better paper”

“my project is amazing. I have put a lot of hard work into it”

Examples of claims Following an inquiry-based unit of work, 70% students showed improved ability in formulating essential questions that directed their inquiry as compared to their previous research taskAs a result of instructional interventions focusing on the development of arguments, students showed stronger ability to identify claims, provide supporting evidence and to identify rebuttalsStudents’ final products showed improved ability to analyze and synthesize information Students’ research reports showed improved ability to draw conclusions and state implications of their findingsStudents’ presentations showed ability to present different viewpoints and to provide a strong and supported case for their own position83 % of the class show improved ability in thoughtfully analyzing and evaluating major alternative points of view

Example of Claims93% of the students showed mastery of strategies for evaluating websites for misinformation and bias Following instructional interventions that focused on establishing the quality of websites, 100% of the students’ bibliographies showed use of high quality websitesBased on a pre-test of initial and final knowledge of the Grade 8 science curriculum topic, students knowledge of their topics changed form descriptive and random listing of facts to statements that showed explanations, conflicting knowledge and making predictions The analysis of the final bibliographies submitted by the students compared to the initial research plans of the students showed a change from generalist background information to specialist, detailed, information sourcesStudents; products showed increasing complexity of language used to describe their knowledge, and the ordering of this knowledge into conceptually coherent units

INTELLECTUAL QUALITYHigher order thinking: movement from description to explanation and reflection Deep knowledge: Evident in the nature of the sources students accessed, and the changing search patterns from generalist background information to specialist, detailed, information sourcesEvident in increased specificity of topic focus Deep understanding: evident in extent of recall and in the types of causal and predictive relationships portrayed Substantive conversation: Valuing of dialogue between teacher, librarian and students; fluency in written statementsKnowledge as problematic: In some cases, students identified dealing with dealing with factual conflict or conflicting viewpoints and formulating their own (choice of topic); also evident in constructing arguments that show a basis for the claims they were makingMeta-language: Use of language specific to the topic domain: not just provision of terms, but clarity of understanding these termsIncreasing complexity of the language used to describe their knowledge, and the ordering of this knowledge into conceptually coherent units

5. Analysis of student bibliographies

Diversity of choiceDepth of knowledgeAccuracy of citationRelevance to taskUse of multiple formats

6. Checklists

Students & school librarians provide checklist or ratings of perceived levels of skills and / or knowledge acquisition

Use before and after instructional intervention so that comparisons of differences, changes in levels of knowledge and skills can be documented

Focus on identifying changes

7. Rubric StrategiesStudents’ performance in final products are scaled according to a set of criteria that clearly define what is the range of acceptable to unacceptable performances and/or information products look like. EG Carol Gordon’s rubric on evaluating the research processCompare with previous assignments where no instructional intervention took place

8. Formal feedback strategiesExamples

simple feedback survey every term on what the library does “best” and “least” to help students with their school workFeedback at end of instructional unit: what helped and did not helpFeedback on quality of resourcesFeedback on what students could do better at

Using Blogs / Twitter for reflections

What have I learned about this class activity?

What are my most important ideas?

What conclusions can I draw based on my understanding

What are implications, consequences of what I have learned?

What other questions come to mind that I could investigate?

What do I wish I had done differently?

What were some of the difficulties I encountered doing this task?

DIAGNOSTIC; REDESIGN OF LEARNING TASKS, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Personal ReflectionWhat worked well? What pleased me? How do I know that it was successful? Who can/did I share my success with? What did I do that helped me to: - prepare for the task - create new ideas - practise new skills - improve existing skills - modify my learning habits - find relevant information or materials - organise information or materials - correctly summarise information - understand unfamiliar ideas - take relevant notes - use my existing knowledge or skills - represent information in meaningful ways? What could I do differently next time? What factors influenced my ability to learn? What might help me learn more about this?

9. Comment Cards / Advice Cards

Advice to give to other students

Build a kid’s guide to doing good research, using statements from the students, and put this on your library web site, or create a funky guide for giving out to students

Distribute to Faculty, School Board, Parent community

10. Conferencing StrategiesGroup / individual review activities, students reflect on their work, on their constructive process and skills, and on benefits.

PQP = Praise, Question, Polish – peer review on drafts of products

Ask just a few questions, summarize responses (positive and negative); share responses back to students; report at faculty meetings

WIKI SPACES VERY USEFUL HERE

11. Journaling Strategies /Search Log

Writing entries in journal that focus on the research process as well as on the outcomes of their researchSearch strategies usedSearch termsSources usedFeelings and attitudesNext task

12. Portfolio StrategiesStudents construct a cumulative process of samples of their work collected over a period of time, matched to curriculum goals and information literacy requirements, as well as work progress reports, products, and self-assessments.Can be electronic: available for whole school to peruse

13. Library Surveys(not of library use, but of library learning) of how students have helped them learn

Eg. Using part / all of Ohio Study to gather perceptions

14. Analysis of standardized test score data

Matches between scores and high-use library groups

Matches between scores and reading enrichment programs

Improvement in critical thinking interventions

Target gaps in scores for Library Improvement Planning

15. Reading Initiatives Motivation to read: pre / post reading programAccess to reading materialsReaders’ Advisory logsReports of reading celebrations, events, initiatives, projects + student voiceImpact of SSR programsLogs of reading amounts: free voluntary reading and topical readingClassroom reading audit

16. Photo voiceVideo Recording of learning process (for showing at staff meeting, through school; utube)

Get students to use digital images, examples of searches and products created to construct a website of the unit being studied; use of class wikis as records of learning journey

17. Exhibitions(digital and in-house)

Exhibitions, displays of products plus student self assessments of learning

Put up “the story” of learning, as well as the products of new learning

Let the “voices” of students tell the story

18. Digital Storytelling

http://capzles.com/Combine videos, blogs, mp3s, photos, text into multimedia story lines

http://www.tikatok.com/Where children write, publish their own story

http://glogster.comInteractive posters

19. Motivation BoardMotivation Board (staff room and library)

Library Learner of the Month

Teacher Collaborator of the Month

Story statement: curriculum standards, key outcomes

20. Faculty: Sources of Evidence

Student interaction with the school libraryQuality productsResearch AgencyReading engagementInformation Technology capabilityStudent interactionStudent achievementLearning attributes and outcomes

21. Teacher-Related Strategies

Number of collaborationsInstructional focus (=information learning) of collaborationsSubject / grade levelsTeacher observationsTeacher summary of outcomesTeacher summary of benefits

22. Library ReportsFocus on CollaborationsSummaries of Instructional units highlighting instructional interventions and links to curriculum standardsSummaries of learning outcomesDistribute to principal, library website, board membersInclude direct evidence: tallies, quotesSend to multiple recipients: Principal, School Board, include in parent newsletters

Alternatives to Evidence

Beating around the bushJumping to conclusionsThrowing my weight aroundDragging my healsPushing my luckMaking mountains out of molehillsBending over backwards

Jumping on the bandwagonRunning around in circlesMouthing onPulling out the stopsAdding fuel to the fireGoing over the edgePicking up the pieces

A TIME OF BOLD ACTION Edna St Vincent Millay 1892-1950

“Upon this gifted age, in its dark hourRains from the sky a meteoric showerOf facts, they lie unquestioned, uncombined.Wisdom enough to leech us of our illIs daily spun, but there exists no loomTo weave it into fabric.”