Disciples of Collaboration

Library media specialists know the importance of forming partnerships with teachers. Collaboration is a perfect means to address local, state, and national education standards in order to boost student learning. It's also, as my superintendent of schools, Mary Jo O'Connor, likes to say, a chance to work smarter, not harder.

However, a recent SLJ survey (see "Got Clout?" May 2002 ) showed that only a small percentage of elementary school media specialists collaborate with teachers, and only half of high school librarians work jointly with their teaching colleagues. What can we do to increase collaborative efforts in our schools?

Effecting change in any organization is a challenge. Change requires time and commitment—and a truckload of patience—but it is not possible without building a culture of trust. Lesley Farmer, an associate professor at California State University in Long Beach, says, "Librarians need to listen and be responsive." Diana G. Murphy, head librarian at the Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, agrees: "After 42 years of working to develop collaboration on the secondary level, the single most important factor seems to be the relationship that the media specialist can build with the administrative staff and the faculty. Even the best media center, the best collection, and/or the biggest budget will not mean success if the media specialist hasn't established credibility within the school. A well-trained, enthusiastic media center staff is the key to collaboration."

Your job, then, is to put tremendous energy into providing teachers with excellent service, as well as a listening ear and a willingness to help in small ways. But don't expect instant conversion, except in rare instances. Farmer recommends that librarians "start concrete and specific, with an eye toward success. Then build on that success—and spread the word."

There are many reasons for the low incidence of collaboration at the elementary school level: increased insistence on uninterrupted blocks of time for reading and math instruction, high-stakes testing which drains teacher time and raises individual accountability, noncollaborative school cultures, unsupportive administrators, inadequate library staffing that results in overtaxed media specialists with far too many students and schools, outdated perceptions of the role of the librarian, and the unfortunate and all-too-common practice of rigid library scheduling. A scheduling model in which school librarians meet with classes on a weekly fixed basis, often to provide prep time for their classroom colleagues, is not an ideal situation for collaborative planning and makes collaborative teaching a challenge.

However, it is essential to remember that difficult need not mean impossible. Despite the fact that Karen White, a librarian at Durham (ME) Elementary School, and Deborah A. Monck, a media specialist at the Meadow Park Elementary School in Port Charlotte, FL, both have fixed schedules, they have each contributed collaborative units to one of my books, Collaborating to Meet Standards: Teacher/Librarian Partnerships for K–6 (Linworth, 2002). For White, collaboration works through cooperative efforts with teachers who strive to be flexible within a rigid schedule. Her colleagues team teach without being in each other's physical presence and share separate responsibilities for various pieces of the unit. For Monck, who was forced by budget cuts to move from a long-established flexible schedule to a fixed one, the solution has been to plan collaborative grade-level units that tie into classroom curriculum and to deliver her instruction during fixed library periods. Humor and flexibility are also helpful. As Monck says, "Feeding the teachers or bringing chocolate surely helps open those lines of communication."

Also, try talking to teachers during in-service days. Ask them about new curriculum or topic areas that might be good candidates for collaboration. Exchanging e-mail messages is also a good way to communicate. None of these solutions is ideal, but they are honest steps in the right direction when faced with a rigid fixed schedule.

Assuming the luxury (or hard-won victory) of a flexibly scheduled elementary school library, your next step is clear. You must be a disciple of collaboration, both a teacher and a leader of the move toward a new model of instruction. As Nancy Riemer Kellner, a librarian at Marguerite E. Peaslee School in Northborough, MA, points out, "Fixed scheduling which provides a prep period is a barrier to effective collaboration, but I think a 'fixed mind-set' is a greater barrier." I couldn't agree more. The key in all endeavors involving groups of people is to identify individuals who are eager for change, willing to take a risk, and fervent about spreading the message. In other words, seek out collaborators who are free of the "fixed mind set." Gail Barraco, a supervisor of a board of cooperative educational services in upstate New York, advises, "Find a teacher who is interested in working together with you on a project, do a bang-up job with it and make note of it in a monthly newsletter. Send the newsletter out to all staff, talking the unit up." Likewise, Murphy says she's seen great collaboration projects carried out in Pennsylvania elementary schools as schoolwide projects. "They usually start with one, two, or three teachers working with the librarian and end up with all teachers and students clamoring to be part of it."

According to SLJ's survey, secondary school librarians fare better than elementary school librarians in collaborating with teachers. How can they improve collaborative efforts? Predictably, communication is an essential key. However, improving communication can take many paths. Murphy recommends frequent contact with faculty. "Develop a good rapport with the classroom teacher and keep on top of curriculum changes. Present collaboration ideas in person—or by e-mail—to teachers, particularly when curriculum changes occur, and follow up."

Another essential part of the communication game is to watch your language. Many librarians are concerned about the limited understanding teachers have about their roles and the necessity of integrating information literacy standards through collaboration. Teachers aren't taught about either in their education programs and they may be suspicious of your efforts. Farmer advises librarians to "speak the language of classroom teachers."

Collaboration takes place with effort, and in many partnerships the lion's share of the effort must come from you, the librarian. Carol W. Heinsdorf, a librarian at the Roberto Clemente Middle School in Philadelphia, suggests spending "enough time before the project to really hammer out the details—the essential question, the desired product, the resources, the calendar, and who does what." Collaborators should fill out a template, such as the one presented in Collaborating to Meet Standards. The topics and tasks need to be well defined. Leslie Preddy, a media specialist at the Perry Meridian Middle School in Indianapolis, uses a collaboration log to keep herself organized and to "professionalize the process." Be mindful, though, warns Jo Ann Wahrman, a librarian at the Goodland (KS) High School, of differing planning styles among teachers. " I have worked with those who sit down and plan everything out and also those who just fly by the seat of their pants," she says. "They have the end object but not really a good idea of how to get there, and they don't want to spend a lot of time thinking that all out. So one has to be flexible."

Having a broad vision is another essential element of effective collaboration. Even though we have a strong commitment to collaboration, we may still be short-sighted. Mary Alice Anderson, a media specialist at the Winona (MN) Middle School, advises, "Reach out to all teachers, including those in subject areas you haven't worked with in the past." Anderson's first collaborative efforts, in the 1970s, were with a history teacher/football coach who needed to keep his students busy while he was coaching. "We did some wonderful things together," says Anderson. "His students completed resource-based units, and they read historical fiction."

Above all, the key to successful collaboration is constant, willing, and cheerful availability. Bernie Tomasso, a librarian at the Leslie B. Lehn Middle School in Port Byron, NY, sits in on team meetings and plies teachers with both materials and ideas. "I would say that you try to politely be in their faces, and then they think of you as a key element in their lives," he says.