Be still and listen to the voices: From research to practice

1
Be still and listen to the voicesFrom research
to practice

• Dr Ross J Todd
• Associate Professor
• Director of Research CISSL
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
• rtodd_at_scils.rutgers.edu
• cissl.scils.rutgers.edu
• www.scils.rutgers.edu/rtodd

2
Plutarch

• The mind is not a container
• to be filled, but a fire
• to be ignited
• INFORMATION VS KNOWLEDGE
• DEBATE

3
The Information-to-Knowledge Challenge
Now I am really confused!
4
The Information-to-Knowledge Challenge
No Wonder I am lost!
5
The Information-to-Knowledge Challenge
A knowledge society? Such insight!!!
6
The Information-to-Knowledge Challenge
McDeath, I guess
7
The Information-to-Knowledge Challenge
Any one you might recommend for the job?
8
Why do we need school libraries?
Food for the Mind?
9
School Libraries and Learning 3 Core Beliefs

• Information makes a difference to people.
• Making a difference does not happen by chance
  Teaching-learning role is the central dimension
  of the professional role of teacher-librarians
  INSTRUCTIONAL INTERVENTION
• Learning outcomes matter belief that all
  students can learn, and develop new
  understandings through the school library, and
  demonstrate outcomes

10
What is an Effective School Library?

• Research tells us
• It has a qualified teacher-librarian both a
  leading teacher and a credentialed librarian
  Learning Activist not a Classroom Escapee
• It has an explicit and tangible library policy
  focusing on learning outcomes
• It actively supports the curriculum through
  provision of up-to-date adequate resources (print
  electronic)
• It provides individual and group instruction in
  information and critical literacies (teachers and
  students)

11
What is an Effective School Library?

• Research tells us
• It has a vibrant literature / reading program for
  academic achievement and personal enjoyment and
  enrichment
• It collaborates with other libraries public,
  government, community resources
• It provides leadership to students and staff in
  the use of electronic resources and integrating
  information technology into learning

12

• How do effective school libraries help kids?
• Are school libraries a class act?
• 13000 students tell us!

13
(No Transcript)
14
Student learning through Ohio School Libraries

• identify how students benefit from school
  libraries state wide though exploring the
  help construct
• provide statewide data on best practices and
  promising practices in school librarianship
• identify pedagogy for teaching and learning in
  information based schools
• encourage continuous improvement in effective
  library services which support academic content
• confirm for school librarians that their role
  impacts student achievement and life long
  learning
• identify professional development opportunities
  for reflective practice in order to build
  effective school library programs
• provide a framework for dialog among parent
  communities, school boards, administrators,
  school librarians, and teachers on the value of
  effective school libraries
• help school librarians develop evidence-based
  practice for their own school library

15
Student Learning Through Ohio School Libraries

• 39 school libraries participated from list
  selected by the Ohio Experts Panel using criteria
  of effectiveness validated by the International
  Panel
• Grades 3 12
• Funded by State Library of Ohio
• Web-based data collection with security and
  ethical protocols built into process (Rutgers
  3 backup sites)
• Data collected from 28th April to early June
  2003
• 13,123 valid student responses (13,328 logged)
• 879 teacher / administrator responses (935
  logged)
• Data cleaned - unable to match some to IRNs
• Analysis using SPSS (Statistical Package for the
  Social Sciences) Version 10.0 for Windows.

16
Getting The Data

• 2 InstrumentsImpacts on Learning Survey
  (Students)
• Perceptions of Learning Impacts (Faculty)
• helps measure of 48 statements of learning
  outcomes (13,123 students)
• Critical Incident response to capture voice of
  students to write about a time when school
  library helped them recently what was the help
  and what did it enable them to do (10,316
  responses)
• Evidence-based response to capture voice of
  faculty how they know the library helps
  students

17
7 Constructs of help

1. how helpful the school library is with getting
   information you need
2. how helpful the school library is with using the
   information to complete your school work (l.L
   skills)
3. How helpful the school library is with your
   school work in general (knowledge building,
   knowledge outcomes)
4. How helpful the school library is with using
   computers in the library, at school, and at home
5. How helpful the school library is to you with
   your general reading interests
6. How helpful the school library is to you when you
   are not at school (independent learning)
7. General school aspects Academic Achievement

18
1. How helpful the school library is with getting information you need
11. The school library has helped me know the different steps in finding and using information
14. The school library has helped me know when I find good information
2. How helpful the school library is with using the information to complete your school work
21. The school library has helped me know how to use the different kinds of information sources (such as books, magazine, CDs, websites, videos)
24. The school library has helped me put all the ideas together for my topics
3. How helpful the school library is with your school work in general
38. The school library has helped me figure out my own opinions on things
19
4. How helpful the school library is with using computers in the library, at school, and at home
44. The school library has helped me search the Internet better
45. The school library has helped me be more careful about information I find on the Internet
5. How helpful the school library is to you with your general reading interests
51. The school library has helped me find stories I like
52. The school library has helped me read more
6. How helpful the school library is to you when you are not at school
67. The school library has helped me when I have a personal concern or issue
20
7. Now, some general things (ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT)
71. The school library has helped me do my school work better
72. The school library has helped me get better grades on my projects and assignments
73. The school library has helped me get better grades on tests and quizzes
74. The school library has helped me think harder about my school work
75. The school library has helped me feel more confident about doing my school work
21
???? most helpful (you think you got a great amount of help)
??? quite helpful (you think you got a good amount of help)
?? some help (the help you got was OK, so so)
? a little help (you think you got just a bit of help)
If you do not know an answer, or if something does not apply to you, click the box "Does not apply". If you do not know an answer, or if something does not apply to you, click the box "Does not apply". If you do not know an answer, or if something does not apply to you, click the box "Does not apply". If you do not know an answer, or if something does not apply to you, click the box "Does not apply".
22
Critical Incident

• Now, remember one time when the school library
  really helped you. Write about the help that you
  got, and what you were able to do because of it
• To validate witness quantitative data to
  elucidate helps not identified in 48
  statements to provide the voice of the
  students
• 10,328 written statements were received, and
  these were cleaned to 10,316 valid statements
• it help me sell my body for fruit snacks
• I am black and I like fried chicken
  zfzswdegegegeeeee

23
Sample Characteristics

• Boys 48.0
• Girls 51.1
• Ages 7 20
• Grades 3 5 17
• Grades 6 9 45
• Grades 10 12 38
• White 78.5, African-American 5
• Urban/Suburban 81, Rural 10

24
Some Findings

• Yeah, the school library rocks

25
Celebrate School Libraries

• Only 73 respondents out of 13,123 indicated that
  none of the 48 statements applied to them that
  the perceived helps, as listed, of the school
  library with their schooling and learning at home
  did not apply to them. ( 0.56 of the total
  sample)
• In other words, 99.44 of the sample (13,050
  students) has indicated that the school library
  and its services, including roles of school
  librarians, have helped them in some way,
  regardless of how much, with their learning in
  and out of school as it relates to the 48
  statements.
• 1n a total of 106 students in the 3 categories
  where the respondents said does not apply in
  48, 47 or 46 of the statements, 72 (68) are boys
  and 34 (32) are girls. More than 60 of them are
  in grade 9, 10, and 12.

26
Celebrate School Libraries

• Im in Grade 8. I dont get it. Why do I need to
  do this survey? Isnt it obvious to everyone
  that we have to have our school library to do all
  our school work. Its impossible to do it
  without it, thats for sure. (male)
• We all know that school libraries help students.
  Why must we have a survey about it? All schools
  need libraries, so lets not worry about the
  surveys. (Grade 11 female)
• I do most of my school work at home, and not at
  school, but I do use the school library quite
  often when we need hard book references for
  things such as reports and Hyperstudio projects.
  Thank you for taking the time to read the answers
  to my survey, whoever you are. Your time,
  patience, and effort is greatly appreciated as we
  need good libraries. (Grade 10 male)

27
T O P L E V E L S O F H E L P
Q11 The school library has helped me know the different steps in finding and using information 96.84
Q12 The information in the school library has helped me work out the questions for the topics I am working on 95.95
Q13 The school library has helped me find different sources of information (such as books, magazines, CDs, websites, videos) for my topics 95.10
Q43 Computers have helped me find information inside and outside of the school library 94.35
Q34 The school library has helped me learn more facts about my topics 94.27
Q21 The school library has helped me know how to use the different kinds of sources (such as books, magazines, CDs, websites, videos) 93.74
Q14 The school library has helped me know when I find good information 92.81
Q41 Computers in the school library have helped me do my school work better 92.41
Q26 The school library has helped me think about how I should go about finding information next time 92.36
28
Q22 The school library has helped me work out the main ideas in the information I find 92.07
Q33 The school library has helped me get the first facts about my topics 92.05
Q27 The school library has helped me know that research takes a lot of work 91.05
Q15 The school library has helped me find different opinions about my topics 90.94
Q17 The school library has helped me feel better about asking for assistance when I go there 90.73
Q16 The school library has helped me feel better about finding information 90.58
Q35 The school library has helped me when I do not understand some things 90.02
Q44 The school library has helped me search the Internet better 89.63
Q28 The information I have found in the school library has helped me become more interested in my topics 89.21
29
L O W E S T L E V E L S O F H E L P
Q54 The school library has helped me enjoy reading more 76.71
Q75 The school library has helped me more feel confident about doing my school work 76.56
Q73 The school library has helped me get better grades on tests and quizzes 75.41
Q66 The school library lessons have helped me solve problems better 75.39
Q56 The school library has helped me be a better writer 74.90
Q64 The school library has helped me get more organized with my homework 74.71
Q53 The school library has helped me get better at reading 74.42
Q3A The school library has helped me talk more in class discussions 73.15
Q31 The school library has helped me remember my school work 72.42
Q67 The school library has helped me when I have a personal concern or issue 60.42
30
Q43 Computers have helped me find information inside and outside of the school library 49.01
Q41 Computers in the school library have helped me do my school work better 41.58
Q46 Computer programs (like Powerpoint, Word, and Excel) in the school library have helped me do my school work 39.67
Q13 The school library has helped me find different sources of information (such as books, magazines, CDs, websites, videos) for my topics 34.02
Q44 The school library has helped me search the Internet better 33.18
Q27 The school library has helped me know that research takes a lot of work 32.26
Q21 The school library has helped me know how to use the different kinds of sources (such as books, magazines, CDs, websites, videos) 31.51
Q34 The school library has helped me learn more facts about my topics 31.33
Q47 The school library has helped me feel better about using computers to do my school work 29.49
M O S T H E L P F U L
31
Additional Help Constructs

• 1. The school library saves me time with doing
  my school work
• 2. The school library enables me to complete my
  work on time
• 3. The school library helps me by providing a
  study environment for me to work
• 4. The school library helps me take stress out
  of learning
• 5. The school library helps me know my strengths
  and weaknesses with information use
• 6. The school library helps me think about the
  world around me
• 7. The school library helps me do my work more
  efficiently
• 8. The school library provides me with a safe
  environment for ideas investigation
• 9. The library helps me set my goals and plan
  for things.

32
Validation through Triangulation

• Triangulation use of multiple data sources with
  similar foci to obtain diverse views
• Student quantitative responses
• Student qualitative responses
• Faculty quantitative responses
• Faculty qualitative responses

33
Comparison of Mean Scores
BLOCK MEAN F MEAN S RANKS
1 GETTING INFORMATION 3.2103 2.535 1S 2F
2 USING INFORMATION 2.7420 2.251 3S 3F
3 KNOWLEDGE BUILDING 2.5080 2.070 4S 6F
4 COMPUTERS 3.3081 2.529 2S 1F
5 READING 2.6553 1.907 6S 4F
6 INDEPENDENT LEARNING 2.3119 1.772 7S 7F
7 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 2.5283 1.966 5S 5F
34
Means of Reading Qs by Grade
35
The Students Voices

• When I was working on a project about science I
  had no idea what I was doing I asked my library
  teachers for help they helped and by the end of
  the day I felt so much better!!! And from that
  day on I knew what I was doing on that project
  and I got a A I was so proud of myself and my
  confidence went up a whole lot and now when ever
  I do a project I know I have a lot of power now
  to do well on projects!!! (Respondent 777 )

36
The Students Voices

• 1532 The school librarians dont help me at all
  like they make me do all the stuff myself and
  wont tell me where the things are even when I
  already looked they show me and make me learn
  how to find the stuff myself and its hard
  work!!!! You gotta use your brain, they say

37
Students Voices

• 1015 I I would have never have found the sources
  I needed for the paper if not for the school
  library, the public library, and the helpful
  people who staff those places. They even showed
  me steps to work through to do the research and
  complete it. They ran some classes specifically
  for us and they were very very very helpful
• 1075 Well one time was when we had to do a
  report on Animals and I had no clue how to find
  information about my animal. So Mrs. X helped me
  find the information on the computer. On the
  internet if its true or false to learn that is
  very important at school.

38
Students Voices

• 3532 I was working on History project and we had
  to have several sources (primary documents) and
  the librarians instructed the students on how to
  go about finding the information we needed and
  compiling it into something worthwhile. I was
  able to combine everything together and earn a
  good grade.
• 100 I needed help doing a project for government
  that had to do with presidents and they had so
  many books and then the librarian helped me find
  web sites. But then they gave me ways of sorting
  through all the ideas to extract the key points
  so I could get my head around it all

39
Students Voices

• 66 I needed to write a paper and I went to the
  Library where I was ultimately able to write a
  paper successfully. My ideas were a mess and
  talking to the librarian gave me a way to
  organize my ideas and present the argument. I
  did really well!! Ive never forgotten that
  used it to do many other assignments.
• 4155 I remember when I came up to the school
  library for math. We turned the library into a
  co-ordinate grid. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooo
  oooo cool!!!!!!!!!!! And I could know about grids
  in my tests

40

• 433 It helped me find info on racism for a 10th
  grade project, and made me really think about
  that, especially I didnt realize how racist some
  of my ideas were
• 6256 Sometimes I argue with my parents about
  things and use the library to check if my
  opinions are true
• 1408 One time, I wanted books on Teen Suicide
  and they were able to get some for me. It was
  helpful of them as my cousin died that way and I
  could figure it out a bit more for me.
• 6110 I guess Ive discovered one thing. When I
  do my research well, and do the proper thing with
  note cards and writing in my own words, I seem to
  just get to know the stuff and that makes a big
  help when I talk about the stuff in class.

41
School Library as Dynamic Agent of Learning

1. Providing access to information resources - both
   print collections within the library and
   resources through databases and the World Wide
   web
2. Providing access to multiple viewpoints
3. Engaging students in an active process of
   building their own understanding and knowledge.
   Understanding how to do research effectively,
   understanding how to identify key ideas,
   analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating
   information, testing their own ideas, developing
   personal conclusions are fundamental to students
   constructing their own understanding of a topic.

42
School Library as Dynamic Agent of Learning

• Instructional intervention Students appear to
  indicate that the school library not as a
  passive supply agency, but as an instructional
  agency helps them substantially in their
  learning
• effective school library not just as an
  INFORMATION PLACE, but also as a KNOWLEDGE SPACE

43
Agent for Information Inquiry Key to Knowledge
Construction

• Engaging students in an active and meaningful
  search process contextualized by specific
  learning tasks, enabling them to explore,
  formulate and focus their searches, and providing
  a supportive environment (personal, physical and
  instructional) for students to success in their
  research.
• Instructional intervention focuses on the
  development of an understanding of what good
  research is about, how you undertake good
  research, and knowing what the outcomes of doing
  good research will be in terms of academic
  success in research projects.

44
ESSENTIAL LEARNINGS Skills and values that
underpin learning across the curriculum

• Knowledge creation Students achieve through
  being able to define problems, frame questions,
  explore ideas, formulates focus, investigate,
  analyze and synthesize ideas to create own views,
  evaluate solutions and reflect on new
  understandings.
• Knowledge production Students can use technology
  and information tools to produce new knowledge
  and demonstrate achievement. They create
  information products that accurately represent
  their newly developed understanding.
• Knowledge use Students develop transferable
  skills for sustaining knowledge creation across
  and beyond the classroom.
• Knowledge dissemination Students can communicate
  ideas using oral, written, visual and
  technological modes of expression individually
  or in teams.
• Knowledge values Students are ethical,
  responsible users of information who accept
  responsibility for personal decisions and
  information actions. They demonstrate concern for
  quality information and value different modes of
  thought
• Reading literacy Students have high levels of
  reading literacy. They become independent,
  lifelong sustained readers.

45
(No Transcript)
46
ISSUESHow School Libraries Dont Help?

• The problematic nature of library instruction
• Playing psychologist? Moral high ground?
• Personality issues
• Infringement of perceived rights / BESS
• Library systems and rules who do they benefit?
  Who do they serve?
• What do we convey to students that is important?

47
The problematic nature of library instruction

• 3935 The school library has helped me find the
  information I need for my research papers. Other
  than that I don't see I do much of a use for it.
  Most of the stuff they talk about, I already know
  how to do.
• 9364 If anyone says, "Be careful what you read
  on the Internet" one more time, I'm going to die.
  We know how to judge the accuracy of information!
  Anyway, that's the end of my tirade - hopefully
  change will come out of this....we need drastic
  reform here.
• 3764 I have not really received ANY help at all
  from the library. We just hear the same speech
  about 100 times in a row.. I dont need to hear
  it again
• learning Dewey yet again year after year for
  Gods sake, get off it and teach us something
  valuable, we all know how to do Dewey since Grade
  3

48
Playing psychologist? Moral High Ground?

• 3046 When I was young, I like to read Goosebump
  books and the librarian told me not to read these
  books because they were a bad influence on me. I
  now hate to read because I stopped reading after
  that. I feel if I would have continued to read
  when I was young then I would enjoy reading now.

49
Personality Issues

• 1771 Well, they help me with about all of my
  projects, especially Social Studies and science.
  The science ones they helped me much on were my
  Kite project (helped me find the "how to make
  kites" books) and my Iron project (i was in deep
  doo-doo on that one until they helped me find a
  lotta books on Iron) Then in Social Studies they
  helped me find books on a lot of my projects
  (King Tut, Roman Catholic Church, etc.) It was
  pretty easy too, Very helpful to me! And then
  they just helped me find books....and loaned the
  book carts to my classrooms, to help us out. I
  just think they need to be nicer sometimes.
• 9793 I can't remember the last time the
  librarians helped me. The Librarians are mean and
  I am too afraid to talk to them because they
  intimidate me. They have unjustly yelled at me in
  the past so I am not going to them for help when
  I could go to the public library or use my own
  computer at home.

50
Infringement of perceived rights / Bess

• 2583 All the censorship issues the student
  encounter really hold back much of the possible
  research we can do. IT is really annoying that I
  can vote, be sent to war, and I cant even look at
  any pages on the internet. Bess the dog really
  holds the students back from their full
  potential.
• 3890 They should have a place were people could
  go and look up what they want instead of
  something school related. You should be able to
  look up non-school related. This should be
  important but Bessy babe puts an end to that

51
Library systems and rules

• 3960 The school library helped me to complete an
  entire English project during class time.
  However, the library rules are restricting
  keeping students from coming and going as they
  please and limiting the amount of time spent in
  the library. Though the library resources have
  the potential to be quite useful, it is
  inconvenient and not an inviting atmosphere.
• 2607 My librarian was deprived of a childhood,
  so she wants us all to be controlled by insane
  rules that just do not make sense. Like, the
  public library in our city has a café where we
  can buy food and relax and munch, but here, even
  if we dare bring in a candy, she can sniff it out
  like a police dog and she goes crazy. As you can
  imagine, I prefer the public library.

52
What do we convey to students that is important?

• 3726 Well I went into the library for some
  information and did not find what I was looking
  for and the librarians were busy gossiping so I
  sat at one of the tables and sorted out the
  information I already had and made a list of
  stuff I still needed so I could look it up at the
  city library computers after school.
• 9398 Once I needed to video tape the library and
  some students working for a project in one of my
  classes. The librarians yelled at me at kicked me
  out. I hate the library.

53
Without Effective School Libraries?

• What would happen if this help was not provided
  through school libraries?
• What would happen without the instructional
  intervention of teacher- librarians?

54
Opportunities and Options
Evidence-Based Practice your fingerprint on
student learning
55

• Evidence-Based Practice is about celebrating the
  understood, not the found
• (Knowledge, not Information)

56
It is hard to set in motion what is still, or to
stop what is in motion
Cobham Brewer 18101897 Dictionary of Phrase and
Fable