Table Of Content

All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address ARTICLE usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Collaborative Instructional Design for COLLEGE READINESS Brenda L. Boyer [email protected] 60 Knowledge Quest | School Library and University Partnerships All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Collaborative Instructional Design for COLLEGE High school seniors’ success need to improve our senior the learning away from just the in making the transition to students’ readiness for college- product (e.g., a written paper) to college hinges greatly on their level research. From the outset we the inquiry and thinking process ability to perform college-level understood equipping learners needed for deeper rigor. Nonfiction READINESS research. Studies pointing out for this task demanded more than reading strategies and reflection failure to provide this critical a handful of typical meetings opportunities were required if we preparation abound (Head between librarian and teachers were to achieve these objectives. 2013; Head and Eisenberg 2010). since “successful embeddedness also The team worked for six months to Helping students make this leap relies upon the development and design instruction, develop specific is the topic of much research and nurturing of collegial collaborative learning strategies, and prepare discussion between members relationships” (Boyer and Kocis- reflection and inquiry process of the Association of College Westgate 2014, 162). In our quest guides. A detailed description of and Research Libraries and the to improve our senior research this original collaborative process American Association of School project, a team comprised of the appears in Kathryn Kennedy and Librarians. school librarian and members of Lucy Santos Green’s Collaborative the language arts faculty worked Models for Librarian and Teacher The Kutztown (PA) Area Senior steadily from fall of 2012 through High School was honored to receive spring of 2013 to design and AASL’s 2014 Collaborative School develop a student-centered senior Library Award for our project capstone project that incorporated When the team initially “College Ready: Collaborative critical information-fluency skills Instructional Redesign of the with reading nonfiction, along with undertook the redesign Senior Research Project.” Factors metacognitive reflection. While comprising this award included the origin of our project was a of the senior project, we the learning outcomes achieved desire for consistent information- through the collaborative fluency instruction while addressing wanted to shift the focus of effort, the collaborative process rigorous inquiry standards, broader undertaken, the use of library implications emerged from this the learning away from just resources within the project, and lengthy process as we saw deeper the degree to which the project potential for our targeted learning the product (e.g., a written meets the principles of AASL’s outcomes and the need to alter paper) to the inquiry Empowering Learners: Guidelines for the scope and sequencing of our School Library Programs (ALA 2009). instruction in lower grades. and thinking process Kutztown’s project serves as an When the team initially undertook needed for deeper rigor. example of embedded library the redesign of the senior project, practice emerging from a shared we wanted to shift the focus of Volume 44, No. 2 | November/December 2015 61 All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Partnerships (Information Science and the school’s learning their research needs. Throughout Reference 2014). management system Moodle. the project learners are assessed on These integrated platforms how efficiently and effectively they Multiple AASL and Common Core allow us to seamlessly scaffold are applying information-fluency State Standard learning outcomes learning throughout the process, and critical-thinking skills. Usage are met with this renewed learning creating minimal confusion for statistics of the school’s LibGuides event. Chief among these are students as they independently and individual online resources evaluating information, applying access resources, instructional evidence that this plan has been strategies to draw and formulate tutorials, organization tools working for the past three school alternative conclusions, making (such as NoodleTools, Turnitin), years. sense of information, collaborating reflection prompts, and assessment with others to broaden and deepen guides in the form of rubrics. What We’ve Learned understanding, and using social For example, glossary settings networks and digital media to within Moodle provide support Student data in the forms of final gather and share information. An for displaying a definition of any inquiry project scores, reflection ongoing emphasis on metacognitive unfamiliar research term simply postings, and other anecdotal reflection on their own research by hovering the cursor over the evidence are monitored, and all and thinking processes forces term. Resources such as database components of the project are students to slow down, take stock, widgets within the LibGuides are examined and subject to revision recognize the importance of the also directly linked within the every term as we strive to ensure strategies their instructors are Moodle pages for quick and easy that all parts of this experience talking about, and become more searching. The Inquiry Process are relevant to our students and intentional in their actions. When Guide (IPG) in each student’s their learning needs. For the past learners develop a fuller awareness Google drive gives every member three years the team has engaged in of personal learning habits and of the collaborative team access to a continual process of evaluation weaknesses, their heightened level support students with answers and of each component of our of metacognition may not only help suggestions and encouragement. collaboration and has made several students make a smoother transition The IPG contains all directions, tweaks and adjustments to the to college but may potentially instructional links, rubrics, and original learning event. Critical aid future academic achievement reflection prompts from pre- review of our expected outcomes, (Young and Fry 2008). Integrated search topic ideas through final formative assessments, rubrics, and elements of visualization (mind reflections after the project is instruction occurs. Despite any mapping, graphic organizers) and scored. The embedding and changes, our overarching goal of reflection are key boosts to critical comprehensive inclusion of library helping learners see research as a thinking in this process. resources alongside tutorials and metacognitive process of discovery other instructional aids ensure remains. One way we work toward Three online platforms are that learners are continually this goal is by consistently placing coordinated to support students guided to higher-quality resources more emphasis on the research/ through the entire research learning and are able to skillfully navigate inquiry process than on the event: Google apps, LibGuides, and use these resources to meet product. The biggest obstacle to helping learners grasp the importance of Despite any changes, our overarching goal of helping the inquiry process is the high school student’s desire to simply get learners see research as a metacognitive process of every project done in the shortest amount of time. We want students discovery remains. One way we work toward this to see research as a thinking process that is then expressed in goal is by consistently placing more emphasis on the writing (or speaking, or a movie, or poetry, etc.). Though it sounds research/inquiry process than on the product. simple, achieving this goal has been a major challenge as we have 62 Knowledge Quest | School Library and University Partnerships All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. witnessed successive classes move • “Where/how is critical thinking through our system believing that playing a role in this project?” We need to help students research is primarily a writing • “What is the transferrable skill process. We need to help students see that writing well is they will take away from this see that writing well is impossible experience?” without doing significant thinking. impossible without doing When these bigger questions While our inaugural group of are answered, then the learning significant thinking. students back in 2013 initially product that evidences this pushed back at the notion of the learning is more readily (and more research process being worth more appropriately) determined. and team teaching within a limited points than the final product, number of days in the school year. they offered later feedback that Curricular Implications they appreciated earning points To address learning needs we While librarians know the for all of the hard research and discovered at the system level, importance of integrating critical-thinking work they were we have added highly specific information-fluency standards, doing along the way. When offered information-fluency benchmarks our potential collaborators are analogies to other coursework they for every grade level K–12. In the faced with many other objectives do such as physics or mathematics, senior high school pre-assessments to meet. If we look at teachers’ they more readily saw the need to are now used each fall to gauge professional needs, we can establish place value on the research process, how well our learners are hitting the relevance of what we as not just the final product. We the identified information-fluency librarians are doing to help them believe this mindset shift is critical benchmarks. Data from these achieve their goals (not just ours). if students are going to be able to pre-assessments is used to revamp Knowing the school’s overarching master and apply research skills instruction as necessary for a grade, mission, individual department proficiently prior to college. class, or individual student. We goals and objectives, as well as the have also adjusted the scope and guiding curricular framework is Confronting the mindset sequence of instruction for every a crucial first step for winning issue caused me to rethink my class level, better ensuring that teacher buy-in. approach to collaborations with our seniors are where they need to my colleagues as well. Teaching be when they begin the capstone Review the objectives your and learning in a one-to-one project—that they understand colleagues are working toward laptop environment has perhaps research as “primarily a thinking and consider how these overlap inadvertently contributed to this process supported by resources with your own. Start small by product-focused mindset as it and writing” (Boyer and Kocis- sharing great resources for the is easy to be enamored with the Westgate 2014, 171). content area. Teachers are busy; easily created array of media- they do not have time to discover rich products. This realization all of the great stuff out there. now guides my collaborative Winning Them Over Show off your scouting skills conversations away from a product While our project emerged from and create supportive digital focus. After learning about the big a recognized learning need in guides and instruction to support concepts and content the teacher our school, most collaborations teachers and students in accessing is targeting, my next question no obviously take place on a smaller quality resources. Develop digital longer is “What are they creating?” scale, often with just one pathfinders and text sets before but a series of questions: classroom teacher and the school they ask because they may never ask! librarian. Secondary school Finding and sharing resources • “What do we really want students librarians in a brick and mortar is basic marketing of the library to get out of this?” setting face the problem of time: program and your talents! Show • “What’s in it for them?” time to meet with teachers, begin teachers how working with a school • “What makes this project conversations, and establish librarian and mixing library particularly relevant to this the personal relationships resources and learning objectives group of learners?” necessary for successful ongoing with theirs benefit students and collaborative research projects boost learning. Volume 44, No. 2 | November/December 2015 63 All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. of and connections between their information-fluency, reading, thinking, and writing skills. When teachers see librarians as this type of partner, the stage is set for ongoing professional collaborations. An additional benefit is that we are modeling the collaborative workplace for students as they witness team teaching and our consistency in goals and scoring. Collaboration brings transparency to our work. What’s Next While Kutztown’s small collaborative team set out to change one school project, we ended up trans- forming our practice to one that is highly evidence-based. Taking an instructional-design approach not only looks at broad standards and objectives but also allows us to target specific student needs. Using data from pre-assessments and scoring rubrics across projects I am more capable of determin- ing if transfer is really happening from one learning event to the Nurturing partnerships through events also demands that the next. This type of data across simple conversations about librarian exhibit instructional projects and grade levels helps us what’s happening in classrooms capital. Teachers deserve equal clarify our goals each year and also provides clues to what a instructional proficiency in their gives us evidence to justify shifts teacher or particular class needs. potential partners. Librarians need we need to make in instruction and Information-fluency needs may to take co-ownership of learning assessment. go unrecognized. For example, in events and successes as well as our initial collaboration, we began failures. When the time comes by looking at shortcomings in to work with a colleague’s classes, previous research projects. Nearly be sure to bring your “A” game. If we look at teachers’ every one of the issues raised by Demonstrate your instructional the teachers could be traced back talents along with your tech savvy professional needs, to essential information-fluency, by creating engaging learning organizational, or foundational events that the students find we can establish the reading skills students were lacking. relevant and teachers appreciate. These skills then became critical During our senior project, the relevance of what we as targets in our project redesign. school librarian and teachers collaboratively present most librarians are doing to Achieving a heightened level of lessons. We share the responsibility help them achieve their collaboration that goes beyond just for evaluating student work with introducing resources or teaching assessments we codesigned or goals (not just ours). a skill and becomes one of codesign codeveloped. This approach helps and codevelopment of instructional learners see the equal importance 64 Knowledge Quest | School Library and University Partnerships All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. A huge advantage of this cycle of and writing skills, we are not these skills from the start of the data collection and assessment is fully preparing our learners year up until the teacher sets the that it makes clear what students for the heightened degree of research project assignment. The really do or do not need in regard independence they will need badges will represent students’ to instruction, allowing us to to be successful in college. To having demonstrated their further personalize the inquiry begin to address this need, we qualification to conduct their process. During the 2014–2015 will be using my badging system senior research. We’ll see how this school year I experimented with in our Student Research Project plan works. Stay tuned! using a digital badging system Moodle course for our Advanced within Moodle. Badges represent Placement students in the coming Winning the AASL award was a student certification in various school year. These learners signal that we were going in the research skills such as using will be tasked with working right direction for empowering OPACs, evaluating resources, independently on information- our students to be truly college- using digital curation tools, fluency skills for research, ready as skilled and ethical documenting sources, taking documentation, curation, researchers and critical thinkers. effective notes, using mind- evaluation of information, the Ongoing collaboration will mapping tools for visualization of use of social media for research, ensure that we continue to information, using social media and mind-mapping skills. They offer them highly relevant and for research, etc. Instruction will be able to work on developing engaging learning experiences. challenging students to apply each of these skills is available online. Students are awarded each badge when they have successfully demonstrated the Brenda Boyer is Works Cited: skill by meeting the challenge Boyer, Brenda L., and Alison school librarian at specific to that skill. M. Kocis-Westgate. 2014. Kutztown (PA) Area “College Ready: Improving Student Research Skills through The badging system was tested Senior High School. She Professional Collaboration.” In with a small group of seniors serves on the Pennsylvania Collaborative Models for Librarian and Teacher Partnerships, by Kathryn who could work at their own pace School Librarians Association’s Technology Kennedy and Lucy Santos to achieve various benchmarks. Green, 161-73. Hershey, PA: The dual goals for this class Committee. She was awarded the 2014 Information Science Reference. were to complete all of the skills AASL Collaborative School Library Head, Alison J. 2013. Learning the Ropes: How Freshmen Conduct Course by a certain date and to apply Award. Her recent publications include Research Once They Enter College. these skills directly in their “Designer Librarian: Embedded in K12 Project Information Literacy. actual research project. Some <http://projectinfolit.org/images/ Online Learning,” published April 2015 in pdfs/pil_2013_freshmenstudy_ of the students were surprised at fullreport.pdf> (accessed August how difficult it was to motivate TechTrends; and “Research Untethered” 3, 2015). themselves to complete the (coauthored with Joyce Kasman Valenza) Head, Alison J., and Michael B. skills and independent research Eisenberg. 2010. Truth Be Told: published as an online supplement to the May without a teacher constantly How College Students Evaluate and Use 2015 issue of Educational Leadership. In Information in the Digital Age. Project pushing them to meet deadlines. Information Literacy. <http:// These learners came to the 2014 she coauthored (with Joyce Valenza and projectinfolit.org/images/pdfs/ realization that this level of Della Curtis) Social Media Curation, one pil_fall2010_survey_fullreport1. pdf> (accessed August 3, 2015). independence was more like the of ALA’s series of Library Technology Reports. Young, Andria, and Jane D. Fry. experience they will have in a In 2014 Brenda also coauthored chapters 2008. “Metacognitive Awareness few months when they are college and Academic Achievement in freshmen. in Handbook of Research on K–12 College Students.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 8 Online and Blended Learning (ETC (2): 1–10. <http://josotl.indiana. This experiment was a major Press) and in Collaborative Models for edu/article/view/1696> (accessed eye-opener for our team as we August 3, 2015). Librarian and Teacher Partnerships realized that while we are arming students with strong research (Information Science Reference). Volume 44, No. 2 | November/December 2015 65