Objective 3.4: Research & Knowledge Creation
Indicator: Candidates interpret and use data to create and share new knowledge to
improve practice in school libraries.
Becoming a school librarian brings many things to my mind: books, teaching, technology resources, and working with colleagues. One thing that never crossed my mind was data; that is until I took the class School Library Action Research. As a classroom teacher, I work with team members to collect and analyze assessment data throughout the school year. Just as data collection is important in the classroom, I now know that it can also serve to enhance my library program.
The School Library Action Research class allowed me to participate in the rigorous process of action research. I chose to investigate teacher-librarian collaboration and the impact that it has on student achievement. For my research, I had to create several data collection tools in order to yield data that would help me reach a conclusion. In order to gain a diverse sample of data, I varied my collection tools in terms of format as well as intended audience. I surveyed teachers and students about their time spent using school library resources as well as asked for suggestions regarding future resource purchases. Interviews were created for both teachers who experienced collaboration with the current school librarian as well as those who had not. Aside from gaining the teachers’ view on collaboration, I wanted to talk with the group who would best reap its benefits—the students. Interviews were used for a group of students whose teacher had collaborated with the librarian, as well as a group who had the same teacher but did experience instruction that was collaboratively planned. This data would give me a clear indication on how the students’ learning was impacted by the librarian’s involvement with the planning and delivery of the lesson. By creating various collection tools, it was my goal to have enough data for analysis in order to reach a conclusion about my topic. I must admit that I thought this assignment would be quite tedious in nature. However, I was actually intrigued by how much goes into creating data tools that are to be considered valid and reliable. What I thought would be a statistical ‘snooze-fest’ turned out to be an enlightening experience. It was quite engaging to be on the ‘creator’ end of surveys/interview questions. I even found myself crafting each question in order to yield data that would present an accurate representation of my school. Completing this assignment gave me a sense of pride and real accomplishment. I have created tools that can be used in any high school setting. If I do have the opportunity to fully conduct this study when I am a librarian, I look forward to the actual data analysis step, which we did not get to complete in the course. It is exciting to think that this course and data tools assignment in particular, has added to my own toolkit as a future school librarian. By creating opportunities for data collection, I am only providing myself the opportunity to improve my library program. If I take the time to analyze data and truly reflect upon my decisions as librarian, I can implement the needed changes to best serve my school. |
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