Issue 133

The importance of evidence-based practice

From the early 2000s onward, Ross Todd promoted the idea to teacher librarians that just embodying good practice is not enough – there is a need to provide evidence about the difference the teacher librarian’s practice makes to student learning. Todd noted that evidence-based practice is fundamental to the survival of the role of the teacher librarian into the future: ‘evidence-based practice is accountable practice’ (Todd, 2002, p. 34). As teacher librarians, we know we are doing amazing things in our practice, but there is an essential need for evidence to demonstrate this to others.

In 2010, Hay and Todd made recommendations about the essential elements for future libraries, including, for teacher librarians, ‘Developing capacity as an evidence-based practitioner’ (Hay & Todd, 2010). They argue that to create more credibility for the teacher librarian role, there needs to be evidence and data to support claims regarding impact and improvement in student outcomes that occur when teachers collaborate with a teacher librarian.

Anecdotal observations of effective practice

In 2022, I was a teacher librarian in two small schools. In School A, the model was collaborative teaching with the class teacher with lessons of 60 to 90 minutes each week, while School B had shorter lessons with just me, as teacher librarian, working with the class for approximately 40 to 45 minutes weekly. Comparing these two different styles, I noticed a vast difference in the depth of content I was able to effectively teach, as well as the time I had available to support students to learn how to select books they might enjoy reading and borrowing. It is important for students to be able to know how to select books and to know what they enjoy reading given that ‘reading for pleasure supports student wellbeing’ (Merga, 2022, p. 96).

Anecdotally, I found the quality of the teaching more effective when the longer collaborative/team-teaching model was used, and there was time available to support students to select books they would enjoy reading. Within these lessons it was possible to support class teachers by integrating instruction to align with an area of the curriculum that they were teaching in class (Montiel-Overall, 2005). As this observation was anecdotal and purely my own thoughts, I began to explore how I could collect evidence.

Doing my own research

On further examination of the literature about collaborative teaching with the teacher librarian, I found a variety of articles about this topic, indicating this is not a new topic but rather a topic that has been actively in discussion for over 25 years. I read numerous research articles and the content relevance, despite being 20 to 25 years old, was extremely topical in the teacher librarian world today. Montiel-Overall’s 2005 article about collaboration in libraries reads as though it was written today. However, much of the research and articles are international, with little evidence relating to the Australian context. This highlighted the need for research within Australia about the benefits for both teachers and students when collaborating with the teacher librarian. 

As Todd (2003) has discussed, local research has a greater impact than research conducted overseas. This reinforced the need to undertake my own research to show evidence of effective practice.

Within Australia, there have been numerous discussions, but few studies on the outcomes of collaboration between the teacher librarian and classroom teacher. In 2005 and again in 2006, Hay wrote about the teacher librarian supporting students to learn by providing access to current resources and technologies as well as working with students to develop information literacy. Research in Queensland by Hughes (2013) provided Australian data about collaborating with the teacher librarian. I realised my project could contribute to filling the gap with local data to support the impact of the teacher librarian.

Getting set up

Initially, to provide data to support my anecdotal observations about the benefits of classroom teacher and teacher librarian cooperative teaching, I explored the idea of a comparative study between my two schools. However, in October 2022, the principal at School B asked me if I was happy to change to a collaborative team-teaching model for library in 2023. I was excited by the prospect of changing to longer lessons alongside the classroom teacher. I then considered how I could use this change to inform practice and to see what, if anything, resulted from the change. 

I created a research proposal that I shared with Carmel Grimmett, Library Coordinator at the NSW Department of Education. I also applied for, and received, the Ross Todd Research Grant from the School Library Association of NSW (SLANSW). The proposal described a structure for my research, which included a mixed methods approach based on questionnaires including both quantitative and qualitative questions.

School B is a K–6 school of around 135 students within six classes. This school has an ICSEA value of 991, which has been stable for the last 5 years. I chose to start collecting research at School B, given the change to the way we were conducting library sessions. This would allow me the opportunity to assess the effects, both positive and negative, this change in library sessions may have.

To minimise the burden on teaching staff, the questionnaires would be completed at the start of the year, middle of the year, and at the end of the year – preferably during a library lesson. Another benefit of using the questionnaires was that they could be completed at the correct times, but the data analysis could be undertaken later when time was available. 

Devising a project structure that can be implemented within the constraints of the busy teacher librarian role is one key to successfully engaging in evidence-based practice.

Following through

During 2023, I ran the project at School B as described above and began the first stage of data analysis in 2024. I found that my initial focus about the impact this change in teaching would have on students’ learning was only a part of the results. This led to me formulate the following as my Statement of Claim: Collaborating with the teacher librarian empowers teachers and students by enhancing their knowledge and skill sets.

The resulting dataset was quite large and to effectively analyse and present the findings would be a multistage process. Initially, the data showed there was a positive impact on students, as I had hoped for, but there was even more of an impact for the teachers. Even in this first stage of analysis, the data provided me with information on how to support and inform future practice by highlighting what was working well. I have achieved my goal of successfully collecting evidence to inform my practice. And, through this article and a more formal writeup of stage 1 of this project, which I plan to publish later this year, I also hope to achieve a contribution to evidence-based practice in Australian school libraries in the spirit of Dr Ross J. Todd.

Bibliography

Hay, L. (2005). Student learning through Australian school libraries Part 1: A statistical analysis of student perceptions. Synergy, 3(2), 17–30. 

Hay, L. (2006). Student learning through Australian school libraries. Part 2: What students define and value as school library support. Synergy, 4(2), 28–38. 

Hay, L., & Todd, R. J. (2010). School libraries 21C: School library futures project. Report for New South Wales Department of Education and Training, Curriculum K-12 Directorate, School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit. NSW Department of Education and Training. Curriculum K–12 Directorate. 

House of Representatives Education and Employment Committee. (2011). School libraries and teacher librarians in 21st century. Commonwealth of Australia. 

Hughes, H. (2013). School libraries, teacher-librarians and their contribution to student literacy development in Gold Coast schools. School Library Association of Queensland Queensland University of Technology. 

Lonsdale, M. (2003). Impact of school libraries on student achievement: A review of the research. Australian Council for Educational Research. 

Merga, M. K. (2022). School libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing. Facet Publishing. 

Miller, K. (2005). Novice teachers’ perceptions of the role of the teacher-librarian in information literacy. School libraries in Canada: The profession of teacher-librarianship, 24(3), 13–17. 

Montiel-Overall, P. (2005). A theoretical understanding of teacher and librarian collaboration (TLC). School libraries worldwide, 24–48. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/slw/index.php/slw/issue/view/866 

Todd, R. J. (2002, February). Evidence based practice: The sustainable future for teacher-librarians. Scan: The journal for educators, 21(1), 30–37. 

Todd, R. J. (2003, August/September). School libraries & evidence: Seize the day, begin the future. Library media connection, 12–18. 

Todd, R. J. (2015, January/February). Evidence based practice and school libraries, evidence, advocacy and actions. Knowledge quest, 43(3), 8–15.