informed collaborations:

Informed Collaborations:Informed Collaborations:Librarians and the High

School to College Transition

K e n B u r h a n n a . 14 May 2009 . HACC Information Literacy Symposium

Watching the game before Ginger

Watching the game after Ginger

The Boss

Informed Collaborations

• Collaboration is key.

• 12-13 Transition in Ohio(Macro to Micro View).

• Share experiences, results, insights, challenges and considerations.

Why This Work Is Important

Information Literacy is critical to success in the 21st century.

It’s a basic human right.

The art of finding and using information effectively and ethically.

Can Information Literacy Save Lives?

Girl uses information literacy to save 100 lives!

Plus, we know they haven’t mastered it.

A 2006 study done by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) found that high school and college students were deficient in the skills needed to retrieve, analyze and communicate information online.

Andrea L. Foster (2006). Students fall short on ‘information literacy,’ Educational Testing Service’s study finds. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(10), A36.

Graduation & Retention Rates

“The need to increase retention and completion rates for students in higher education is a compelling reason for academic librarians to collaborate with their K-12 colleagues in developing information literacy activities across K-20 education.”

Jo Ann Carr and Ilene F. Rockman (2003).Information-literacy collaboration: A shared responsibility. American Libraries, 34 (8), 52-54.

The Future—It’s Coming! What Should We Make It? How?

• Connecting and working with school libraries is critical to the future of librarianship and education.

Jim RettigALA president

High school seniors or college freshmen?

A Vision of Students Today

• A Vision of Students Today, a YouTube video directed by digital ethnographer Michael Wesch of Kansas state.

Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education

(ILILE)www.ilile.org

Three KSU Library programs:

1. Informed Transitions (High School Outreach)

2. Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS)

3. Transitioning to College (Web site)

Special Task Force on 12-13 Transition in Ohio

Special Task Force on 12-13 Transition in Ohio

• K-12 and academic library consortia (INFOhio and OhioLINK).

• White page: Preparing 21st Century Ohio Learners for Success: The Role of Information Literacy and Libraries.

• Six Goals / Action Steps

Task Force Action Steps

1. Develop 21st Century Skills2. Incorporate Research Experiences3. Deliver Research Resources4. Prepare Student Teachers5. Partner with Groups Statewide6. Enable Collaboration

Informed Transitions

www.library.kent.edu/highschool

High school instructional classroom

Informed Transitions

How We Thought It Would Work• Open invitation (local).• 2 weeks notice. • Prefer groups of 25 or less.• Tie-in current assignment. • Add-on transition experiences.• Borrowing privileges available.• Collaborate with librarians and teachers.• Help them to collaborate.• Will provide assignment, if school doesn’t have

one.

Getting the Program Off the Ground

• Promotional flyer.

• Mailing to local high schools with follow up call.

• Presentations to local groups and associations.

• Open house.

• Word of mouth.

A Typical High School Visit

• Starts about 9:00 a.m.• Begins with a brief library tour.• Includes 20 to 30 minutes of library

instruction. • Rest of visit for student work and point of

need instruction.• Ends about Noon.

Information Literacy Instruction

• Brief and focused to facilitate the practice of information literacy.

• Broad points – Top 10 Things High School Students Should Know About Using College Libraries.

• Tailored to high school assignment.

• Work mainly on topic focus and accessing information.

Four Observations that

Inform InstructionHigh school students likely will not:

1. Have experiences in large libraries.

2. Recognize the library’s Web site as a starting place for research.

3. Be familiar with the concept of scholarly authority.

4. Be familiar with terms like reserves, scholarly journal or periodical.

Participation NumbersAcademic

YearParticipating

SchoolsGroup Visits Number of

StudentsLibrary Tours

InstructionSessions

2004-2005 8 17 507 17 14

2005-2006 10 19 547 19 16

2006-2007 8 17 453 13 10

2007-2008 8 13 389 13 10

2008-2009 9 18 371 12 15

Totals *18 84 2,267 74 65

5 yr avg   16.8 453 14.8 13

* Schools are counted only once over the five years.

Visits by School Type

School Types Number of Visits

Local Schools (within 30 miles) 78

Non-Local Schools 6

Public Schools 68

Private Schools 16

Top 50 KSU Feeder Schools 42

Non-Top 50 KSU Feeder Schools 42

• Seniors (60%) and juniors (40%).• Mostly advanced-placement, college-bound

students.• About half are English classes working on

literature research.• Another quarter are English, Government or

Social Studies classes researching topics for argumentative papers.

Students and Course Subjects

Challenges: Assessment

“One of our seniors from last year stopped in and thanked me for taking her class to the KSU

library last year. As a college freshman now, she feels like she knows what to expect and

how to get started when she uses the library.”Kara Haas, Teacher, Aurora High School

Challenges: Assessment

•Formative, classroom assessment occurs.•Summative assessment is the challenge.•Many issues conspire: time, student access, under 18 research subjects, tracking students across multiple institutions.

Challenges: Budgetary Constraints

• As budgets get tighter, fewer students can participate. • We need to be creative and flexible:

- Distance learning- Grant funding- Collaborative planning consultations

Challenges: Group Size

Limited budgets and access to transportation has had two affects:

1. Larger group sizes: access to computers, multiple instructors, more students to track.

2. Very small group sizes: devoting time and resources to just a few?

Challenges: Borrowing

- Borrowing is a great option, but can create overhead for planning the visit.- At KSU 1,150 high school students have borrowed over 4,300 items. - Overdue and replacement rate same as undergraduate population.- Teacher borrowing is the most popular option.- Many (about half) decide against borrowing.

Challenges: Communication

• Due to our differing work cultures, communication is challenging.• More than two collaborators creates additional obstacles.• Patience is key.

How It Did Work• Open invitation (local).• 2 weeks notice. • Prefer groups of 25 or less.• Tie-in current assignment. • Add-on transition experiences.• Borrowing privileges available.• Collaborate with librarians and teachers.• Help them to collaborate.• Will provide assignment, if school doesn’t have

one.

Transitioning to College -- T2C

www.transitioning2college.org

Five 3-5 Minute Videos

1. Welcome to Academic Libraries2. Talking to Databases3. Tips for Research Success4. Getting Help When you Need It5. College: What to Expect

T2C – Supporting Materials

Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS)

www.trails-9.org

• TRAILS-9 live in January 2006

• TRAILS-6 live in January 2008

• Geographic distribution: All 50 states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands; over 30 countries

• To date administered to over 200,000 students0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

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7000

Jan.06 Jun-06 Jun-07 Apr-08 Jan-09

Account Holders

TRAILS Use

Insights & Action Points

• We all have a lot in common.

• Connect thru professional associations.

• Information Literacy standards provide a framework for collaboration.

• Nurture a K-16 / P-20 educational worldview.

Insights & Action Points

• Identify and connect with existing programs (duel-credit, bridge programs, Upward Bound).

• Develop list of your information literacy expectations for students (new and graduating).

• Collaborate for Assessment.

• Take a leadership role.

Questions