Evidence Based Practice

Class Objectives Covered
Discuss the implications for school library programs of such current issues as evidence-based practice, intellectual freedom, site-based management, library cooperation and networking, flexible scheduling, and others identified by the class.

Is the contribution of the
instructional role of the
school library media specialist
to learning outcomes clearly
understood, documented, and
celebrated?

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What do the activities
of the school library
media program
enable students to do
and to become?

Tell The Story

• Know the Research
• With your expertise, use the research to build practices
• Impact learning
• Collect the evidence that your program makes a difference.
• Remember/Tell the story

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Research informing
professional practice
Professional practice
as research

Empowering Learners

• Chapter 4
• Empowering learning through leadership
• Actions
• Use research to inform practice
• Make evidence based decisions

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Macro-research
Micro-research

School LIbrary Impact Studies

• What do they show?
• Links between academic achievement
• and Library staffing
• and Librarian Activity
• and Collection size 

cont.

• and technology usage
• and library usage
• and library hours
• and library instruction
• and more.....

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Ohio Study
Examined the multi-dimensional dynamics of
student learning through effective school
libraries (specifically from the perspective of
students).
39 schools (students in grades 3-12 and faculty in selected schools)
Web-based survey

Likert response to 48 statements of “help”
Open-ended questions
http://www.oelma.org/OhioResearchStudy.htm

A key finding… 99.44% of sample (13,050 students)
indicated that the school library and
its services have helped them in
some way with their learning.

More recent Studies

• Wisconsin
• Student reading perf. higher in schools with LMS

New York Students in elementary schools with certified school
librarians score higher on ELA tests than students in
schools without them.

Pennsylvania Full time school librarians boost test scores in reading and writing
Link: http://paschoollibraryproject.org/briefings

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“This is not just [about] other school
libraries but YOUR school library as
well. How does your school library
make a difference to student learning
outcomes?” Ross Todd

At the micro-level…

• What documentation have we traditionally gathered?
• What difference does THIS library and its initiatives make?

What could you add to this approach?

• Checklists
• Rubrics
• Feedback Survey
• Others?

Evidence-based practice…
“It is a systematic method to assure all members of the school community,policymakers, funding authorities, and the public that schools and school libraries are producing desired results.”
Ross Todd (We Boost Achievement)

“Action research is a means to more systematically and rigorously examine one’s teaching and its impact on student learning.” Violet Harada

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Brainstorm ways that you
might demonstrate the
impact your program has
on student learning.

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