Collaboration - Cooperation ( Level 2)

   You  may be past the first level of collaboration  or you may have begun to press on to the next level.  The cooperation level is an extension of the coordination level because of its not having teachers and librarians truly work and plan together.
  On this level , there are informal and short term tasks , activities, and lessons that librarians and teachers work on at the same time. There is no yet an established mission or defined structure.
    In this level of collaboration, librarians and teachers share information about the current project. Each one has his/her own part of the project that they are working on , but they work is done individually. The out come is a cooperative  event and the learning of skills is given by each partner.  Students will see the benefit if this type of learning. They will learn skills that are needed for the project at hand.

  Here is what a level 2 cooperation collaboration might look like:
 
    A teacher requests that the librarian teach the students certain research skills because    he/she wants the student to do a research project on a certain subject/ topic.  The librarian leads the class to the steps of the research and they do research on their topic along the way of doing the research.
    Then the teacher has them continue their work on the project, possibly bringing the students to the library or computer lab to help them complete  the assignment. The teacher does the final  grading/ assessment of the assignment. The librarian might keep a shelf of resources reserved for the students to use as they complete the project.

Why should we Collaborate?

       True  Collaboration is a process of shared creation of lessons and activities , where at least two educators share the work of creating lessons that provide students with authentic learning.
There are many way to collaborate: in person, on the phone, by email, or a web based tool that allows several people to share ideas and work together.
     Teachers and librarians can work together to identify and develop what students need to know ( information needs , and what skills ( information skills) they can use to find the information . The students need to be able to use the information and share with their classmates. By doing this, teacher and librarian integrate  ELA, Reading, and Media Literacy skills  into one subject area. Students learn the skills they need when they need them and have a reason to learn them.
      The role of the school librarian has many different aspects . Being a  teacher / instructor is just one  major part  of our roles in the school. We need to become more active in encouraging teachers to use our services in this area.
    Librarians can and should be an essential member of every school education team. There are several levels  and stages of collaboration that we will discuss in further posts.

What does an Administrator want from a Librarian? - Collaborator

        What else does an Administrator want from a librarian?     How does the librarian effect the whole school?  By collaborating with faculty and students , the librarian can  help establish  new ways to provide student learning and excellence.
         A library media specialist is collaborator who works with students and teachers.  For the best results in educating students ( and also increase/maintain test scores), librarians work with teacher in planing, instructing, and evaluating learning.
          In collaborating with teachers, librarians integrate information skills and literacy skills into classroom learning. This is by far the most efficient way for students to learn them. With time  and  consistency , the students will see connections to using library resources  and find out how helpful these skills are to  learning and finding out new facts and ideas.
        Being a collaborative partner with the staff  helps both the teacher and the student. The librarian is the extra pair of hands , eyes, and ears. The teacher is not working alone.  Whether lessons are done in whole groups or divided up in smaller groups, students have more individualized  learning . Problems  and questions are more likely to be caught and corrected. Attention given to students will be more concentrated .
         A collaborative lesson is  designed by both teacher and librarian  provides more opportunity  for successful learning and achievement .