School Libraries and Evidence-Based Practice: Dynamics, Strategies and Outcomes Dr Ross Todd Department of Library and Information science Rutgers University Scils.rutgers.edu/~rtodd WA SCHOOL LIBRARY CONFERENCE, 2003

Reluctance to change Too much else to do We don’t have the time Staff will never accept it We like change if it does not involve alterations Why change, it’s working ok You’re right, BUT … Let’s get back to reality Let’s sleep on it You cannot teach an old dog new tricks I’m retiring next year It will not work here We did all right without it We’re all too busy to do it Think of the disruption! Not THAT again We’ve always done it this way

Your School Library? How can your school library show that it: –Is a knowledge space? –Is a center for learning activism? –Actively contributes to the school as a thinking community? –Shows that it makes a difference to student learning?

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

Evidence-Based Practice Two Key aspects 1.Conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best research findings in making decisions about the performance of your role and learning needs of your students 2.Ensuring that your daily efforts put some focus on learning outcomes evaluation that gathers meaningful and systematic evidence on dimensions of teaching and learning that matter to the school and its support community

School Libraries Empowering Learning: The Evidence Making concrete the links between library and learning Making concrete the links between information access and provision and growth of knowledge Practices that demonstrate tangible power of our contribution to school’s learning goals Local, immediate evidence: local successes, local improvements

Evidence-Based Practice Gathering 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”?

Evidence-Based Practice is … Examining and identifying specific student learning goals and needs (IL Standards) Selecting appropriate learning outcomes Identifying indicators of these outcomes Establishing systematic approaches to locating and gathering evidence of achieving learning outcomes Analyzing and synthesizing the evidence Presenting and celebrating the learning outcomes

LOCAL EVIDENCE Not a cook book approach Will vary from school to school Acknowledges and integrates local processes, ways of doing Formative and summative evidence Not just assessment; it is analyses and syntheses of assessment to create learning outcomes profiles, and articulate differences and impacts Building strategies into collaborative initiatives that enable you to show the impact / outcomes

EBP Strategies simple checklist strategies: where students check their perceived levels of skills, knowledge and attitude before and after learning intervention; rubric strategies: where students are scaled according to a set of criteria that clearly defines requirements of performances and products conferencing strategies: group / individual review activities, students reflect on their work, on their constructive process and skills, and on benefits; journaling strategies: writing entries in journal to focus on the research process as well as on the outcomes of their research;

Checklist & Mapping Strategies Identify new skills mastered; skills needed to work on New knowledge gained: concept maps of knowledge of topic before and after research project Short questionnaires, check lists, skills checkers Focus on learning, not library use Minute Papers: what I learned, what I was lousy at, what help do I need, what I could help someone else with

RUBRIC STRATEGIES

Rubric for research management PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT MANAGING TIME RERSEARCH PROPOSAL NOTES AND DATASOURCES Excellent Liked project Motivated to learn Took responsibility for learning Sought advice Formed opinions and judgments Excellent Proposal submitted on time Adequate notes presented Draft on time Paper on time Excellent Shows engaging question Shows focus Shows clear presentation structure Excellent Notes from at least 4 sources are thorough Notes used to develop topic and address focus question Quotations cited Excellent Range of sources Authoritative Highly relevant to topic and question Range of points of view Up to date Competent (most of the time) Competent Making some progress Learned about topic because it was requirement Somewhat interested Did not seek much advice etc Making some progress Not yet competent Disliked topic No motivation Uninterested Did not take responsibility for learning Formed no opinions etc Not yet competent Many deadlines missed Not yet competent Proposal missed the research question Not yet competent Notes sketch and not relevant Plagiarism Not yet competent Bibliography missing Sources not authoritative Sources not relevant Sources not up to date

Research ProcessPersonal NarrativeMy RatingTeacher-librarian’s Rating PLANNING What message did I want my project to give? Did I succeed? What did I expect to learn? Did I accomplish my goals? MEETING DEADLINES How well did I manage my time? ORGANIZATION How well did I gather information? How well did I demonstrate the new ideas I have learned? WORKING WITH THE TEACHER-LIBRARIAN Did I ask questions and seek help when I needed it? Did I take initiative to set up meetings? PROBLEM SOLVING What problems did I face and how did I solve them? What decisions did I make that shaped the project? RUBRIC FOR SELF-EVALUATION

Conferencing Strategies Focused discussion: things I have learned, skills I have learned, changes in skills and knowledge Partner conferencing: PQP: Praise – what are strengths of project? Questions - What problems do you see with the project? Polish – What suggestions do you have to have to solve problems or improve the project. Record on advice sheet

Journaling Strategies Date each entry Include written narrative, photos, sketches, timelines, notes, checklists of things to do and any other evidence of organization and progress

EBP Strategies portfolio strategies: where students 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. Indicators of learning: as shown in final products, performances, presentations, projects Library surveys (not of library use, but of library learning) of how students have helped them learn Analysis of standardized test score data to see if there are matches between scores and high-use library groups

A great resource Information Literacy in Action Carol Gordon Published by John Catt Educational

EBP – Issues and Concerns Accountability: Threat to professional authority and autonomy; immunity from accountability calls; “proving our worth” I have to be a researcher: intellectual skills required to undertake evidence-based practice are not research methodologies and complex statistical analyses, but information literacy competencies Our goal is lifelong learning, so how can we identify outcomes? Providing learners with explicit feedback on how they are learning in their formative years is fundamental to effective teaching and learning

EBP – Issues and Concerns EBP detracts from the job! What then is your job? Time: I do not have time to do this. Professional Development: we need examples, models, templates

Benefits of EBP Provides evidence at local school level that library program makes a difference to learning outcomes Models information process to teaching colleagues Basis for targeting time, energies and scarce resources Helps you not to do things that do not work or that do not matter Reflective, iterative process of informing instructional process: it informs, not misleads or detracts from day- to-day practice Job satisfaction and confidence in the central role that library plays in the school Moves beyond anecdotal, guess work, hunches,advocacy, touting research findings not connected to local actions

What is the finger print of your library on learning? Identify one evidence- based practice strategy that you could easily implement