Preamble
The following is the draft of plans to assist two separate teachers in evolving their
practice in regards to the effective use of reference resources. It should be
noted that these plans will likely evolve after interaction with the teacher and should
be considered flexible. The two teachers mentioned are fictitious and not intended to
represent real individuals, but rather be an example for how this type of collaboration
could work. The model used is the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model.
practice in regards to the effective use of reference resources. It should be
noted that these plans will likely evolve after interaction with the teacher and should
be considered flexible. The two teachers mentioned are fictitious and not intended to
represent real individuals, but rather be an example for how this type of collaboration
could work. The model used is the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model.
Teacher A Current Approach
Teacher A, hereafter known as Sarah Jones, is a Social Studies teacher whose course-load consists of
two blocks of Social Studies 9, and two blocks of Social Studies 8 on a semester system. Sarah is in the
second year of her career, and this is her first year teaching the Social Studies 9 curriculum. She
completed her teaching degree with a focus in Elementary education, however her History minor has
allowed her to successfully post to this Social Studies position.
two blocks of Social Studies 9, and two blocks of Social Studies 8 on a semester system. Sarah is in the
second year of her career, and this is her first year teaching the Social Studies 9 curriculum. She
completed her teaching degree with a focus in Elementary education, however her History minor has
allowed her to successfully post to this Social Studies position.
Aside from having students complete work from the Social Studies 9 textbook, she also has students
complete one research project in the Library. Sarah has very little background with providing students
with effective research project, and the project that students are to complete is an “All About…” project
with a First Nations focus; students are to choose a First Nations group and complete a poster about said
group. Sarah has booked the Library for three classes for research time, and then students will complete
the remaining work in the classroom. Sarah did not discuss the project ahead of time with the Teacher-
Librarian aside from ensuring the Library was free for the chosen blocks. Upon entering the Library, Sarah
directed her students to the Non-Fiction area with First Nations materials and then gave her students
some time to look at the material.
complete one research project in the Library. Sarah has very little background with providing students
with effective research project, and the project that students are to complete is an “All About…” project
with a First Nations focus; students are to choose a First Nations group and complete a poster about said
group. Sarah has booked the Library for three classes for research time, and then students will complete
the remaining work in the classroom. Sarah did not discuss the project ahead of time with the Teacher-
Librarian aside from ensuring the Library was free for the chosen blocks. Upon entering the Library, Sarah
directed her students to the Non-Fiction area with First Nations materials and then gave her students
some time to look at the material.
Sarah is currently at a Non-Use or Level 0 in terms of effective use of reference resources and her
awareness level is 0, based on the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model. While she does have students
complete a research project, the use of reference resources is rather ineffective as Sarah is not teaching
students what to look for in a resource, how to narrow down the information that is found, or how to use
different types of resources. Aside from providing a generic assignment outline and directing the students
to the correct area of the Library, Sarah’s involvement is quite minimal as she simply does not know
what effective research looks like for middle school students.
awareness level is 0, based on the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model. While she does have students
complete a research project, the use of reference resources is rather ineffective as Sarah is not teaching
students what to look for in a resource, how to narrow down the information that is found, or how to use
different types of resources. Aside from providing a generic assignment outline and directing the students
to the correct area of the Library, Sarah’s involvement is quite minimal as she simply does not know
what effective research looks like for middle school students.
Teacher A Plan
After observing Sarah and her students working in the Library for their “All About First Nations” project, I
have determined that both Sarah and her students could be using the reference resources more
effectively. I have devised a gentle, non-confrontational plan to bring more awareness around the effective
use of references resources without making Sarah and other teachers feel like they are targeted or that
they are doing something “wrong”.
have determined that both Sarah and her students could be using the reference resources more
effectively. I have devised a gentle, non-confrontational plan to bring more awareness around the effective
use of references resources without making Sarah and other teachers feel like they are targeted or that
they are doing something “wrong”.
- The first aspect of my plan is to create signage and brochures around the Library (assuming there
(see link for sample)
- I give a brief introduction of myself and the Library at the next staff meeting outlining some of the
- Update the Library website so that the research section contains online links to databases, has
excellent example of this can be found here.
Possible Limitations
The main limitation that I foresee in guiding Sarah, and teachers like her, to evolve their practice is
reluctance on the part of the teacher. Change is difficult and teachers may not know where to begin, and
may feel embarrassed or awkward that the Teacher-Librarian senses something that needs changing
within their practice. It is for these reasons I chose to start guiding Sarah without even approaching her.
Once Sarah begins to show some interest in altering her practice then I would begin to contact her more
directly. I would hope that in making more information about reference services clearly available for Sarah
and her colleagues, she would move to Level 1, or possibly even Level 2 of the Concerns-Based
Adaptation Model.
reluctance on the part of the teacher. Change is difficult and teachers may not know where to begin, and
may feel embarrassed or awkward that the Teacher-Librarian senses something that needs changing
within their practice. It is for these reasons I chose to start guiding Sarah without even approaching her.
Once Sarah begins to show some interest in altering her practice then I would begin to contact her more
directly. I would hope that in making more information about reference services clearly available for Sarah
and her colleagues, she would move to Level 1, or possibly even Level 2 of the Concerns-Based
Adaptation Model.
Teacher B Scenario
Teacher B, David Hall, is a grade 12 Chemistry teacher at a 9-12 high school. David has taught
Chemistry courses for roughly seven years, focusing primarily on the senior level. Recently, David has
developed innovative experiments for the lab portion of the course; however, the content/classroom
portion of the course has remained grounded in the textbook. David has heard from one of his Senior
Science colleagues that they have recently completed a inquiry research project in the library in
collaboration with myself, and David is interested in learning more about this. As David has never taught
research skills before he is struggling with where to begin and has contacted me for help. David would
rate at a level 1/ 2 for Levels of Use as he is interested in learning more about using reference services
in an effective manner, and integrating them more thoroughly into his course plan, and has definite plans
to begin doing so. He is at the Informational Stage for Levels of Concern according to the Concerns-
Based Adaptation Model.
Chemistry courses for roughly seven years, focusing primarily on the senior level. Recently, David has
developed innovative experiments for the lab portion of the course; however, the content/classroom
portion of the course has remained grounded in the textbook. David has heard from one of his Senior
Science colleagues that they have recently completed a inquiry research project in the library in
collaboration with myself, and David is interested in learning more about this. As David has never taught
research skills before he is struggling with where to begin and has contacted me for help. David would
rate at a level 1/ 2 for Levels of Use as he is interested in learning more about using reference services
in an effective manner, and integrating them more thoroughly into his course plan, and has definite plans
to begin doing so. He is at the Informational Stage for Levels of Concern according to the Concerns-
Based Adaptation Model.
Teacher B Plan
I would hope that as soon as I had completed a successful research project with another colleague I
would share this success at a staff meeting so that all staff members would be aware of the possibility of
working together. After sharing this success I would survey the staff for those who might be interested in
future collaborations. I would also be interested in offering a school level Pro-D sharing the details of the
collaboration for those who are interested in learning more. Hopefully, after learning more through the
staff meeting and Pro-D, staff members such as David would approach me about beginning a
collaborative unit/ lesson.
would share this success at a staff meeting so that all staff members would be aware of the possibility of
working together. After sharing this success I would survey the staff for those who might be interested in
future collaborations. I would also be interested in offering a school level Pro-D sharing the details of the
collaboration for those who are interested in learning more. Hopefully, after learning more through the
staff meeting and Pro-D, staff members such as David would approach me about beginning a
collaborative unit/ lesson.
Once David approaches me, I would set up an initial meeting so we can discuss what he hopes for the
students to get out of the research project (the Objectives stage of Haycock’s Collaborative Planning
Process). After realizing that David has little to no experience with teaching research, we decide that I
will come into his classroom to do a couple of mini-lessons on effective resource selection and proper
research strategy so that the students can start their project on the right track. As a Science teacher it
could be easy to assume that students get their research skills in other courses and you can easily just
jump into working on the project without reviewing these skills, however this would be a mistake.
students to get out of the research project (the Objectives stage of Haycock’s Collaborative Planning
Process). After realizing that David has little to no experience with teaching research, we decide that I
will come into his classroom to do a couple of mini-lessons on effective resource selection and proper
research strategy so that the students can start their project on the right track. As a Science teacher it
could be easy to assume that students get their research skills in other courses and you can easily just
jump into working on the project without reviewing these skills, however this would be a mistake.
It should be noted that working with a colleague who is quite unfamiliar with research and reference
resources to an inquiry based research project is quite ambitious. Unless this particular school has
allotted some collaborative release time to work on such projects, it may be more realistic to slow the
timeline of this project down and work towards this project for the next semester or school year.
resources to an inquiry based research project is quite ambitious. Unless this particular school has
allotted some collaborative release time to work on such projects, it may be more realistic to slow the
timeline of this project down and work towards this project for the next semester or school year.
Innovations and Possible Limitations
In this scenario I would make use of a number of innovations to make the collaboration process
smoother. I would survey the staff members using an online tool such as Google Forms that gives me
immediate feedback and is simple for staff to respond to. If the teacher I was collaborating with had a
website I would assist him in adding a research section to the website highlighting the research
strategies that we have explored in class. On the website I would have any handouts used embedded,
as well as online tutorials such as this video on making better searches using Boolean operators.
smoother. I would survey the staff members using an online tool such as Google Forms that gives me
immediate feedback and is simple for staff to respond to. If the teacher I was collaborating with had a
website I would assist him in adding a research section to the website highlighting the research
strategies that we have explored in class. On the website I would have any handouts used embedded,
as well as online tutorials such as this video on making better searches using Boolean operators.
I believe the main limitation in working with a colleague at this level would be the scarcity of time. It’s
difficult to have an adequate amount of time to plan projects in advance. To overcome the time crunch
there are a number of possibilities:
difficult to have an adequate amount of time to plan projects in advance. To overcome the time crunch
there are a number of possibilities:
- Approach the administrator for collaborative release blocks which have been encouraged in a
- Start working on collaborations well ahead of time. If this semester is planned - start on a project
Summary
Working with other colleague always presents unique challenges, and specifically guiding them to
improve an area of practice can be particularly challenging. I believe that the most important part of any
collaborative plan is allowing room for flexibility and a willingness to meet the individual where they are
at. If we want them to eventually get to Level 6 of the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model but they are currently at Level 1 - we need to work on Level 1 first.
improve an area of practice can be particularly challenging. I believe that the most important part of any
collaborative plan is allowing room for flexibility and a willingness to meet the individual where they are
at. If we want them to eventually get to Level 6 of the Concerns-Based Adaptation Model but they are currently at Level 1 - we need to work on Level 1 first.
References
Clark, Sarah. (2016, January 20). Online Research: Tips for Effective Research Strategies. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJygQwYV84 on February 24, 2018.
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJygQwYV84 on February 24, 2018.
“Concerns-Based Adaptation Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals”, (2005), National
Academy of Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm on February
25, 2018.
Academy of Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm on February
25, 2018.
Ken Haycock. "Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning" School Libraries Worldwide
13.1 (2007): 25-35
13.1 (2007): 25-35
Langley Secondary School Library. (2015). Library.langleysecondary.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018,
from http://library.langleysecondary.com/
from http://library.langleysecondary.com/
“Resource Sample.” https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0a/11/c1/0a11c1c806fcb99f798df8b28ec7f8cd.jpg
