Collaboration

Collaboration, cooperative learning, project-based learning -- all of these terms refer to teacher-librarians and classroom teachers working together to help students learn. Peruse these sites as you work on ideas for collaborating with your colleagues during this school year.

**[]** This Baltimore County Public Schools web site is a treasure trove of information on the instructional partner role of a teacher-librarian. Here you will find resources on collaboration, example lessons, lesson planning tools and several other tools. Be sure to check out the Long-Range Planning Form and Library Media Monthly Update links for great, ready-to-use ideas.

[] This Houston Independent Schools site features a great set of links on collaborative planning, with summaries of articles, additional web sites and print material references, as well as lesson plan formats and ideas.

[] Looking for a good PowerPoint presentation to help explain the benefits of teacher/librarian collaboration? This presentation covers the benefits, various forms of collaboration and the process of changing assignments to make use of this wonderful new partner.

[] This is another elementary school example based on the Indiana model. Be sure to look at the blank planning form as well as the Excel templates for organizing collaboration log information.

[] Project-based learning and problem-based learning make perfect partners for collaboration involving teacher-librarians. Dr. Annette Lamb has developed this superb overview of project-, problem- and inquiry-based learning. Here you will find a number of concise sites with explanations, examples and other teaching tools for each type of learning.

[] An excellent tutorial on project-based learning is available on this instructional module page from the George Lucas Educational Foundation. The module includes sections on why this type of learning is important, how the teaching strategy works and a number of other resources including a PowerPoint presentation and pdf files of each module.

[] Harnessing the Power of the Web provides good resources on developing a web-based project. Based on the Global Schoolhouse concept, you will find links to Cyberfair projects as well as an extensive resource on project development. Options for subscribing to a NetPBL mailing list and a discussion board are also available.

[] The PBL Guidebook is another good learning tool on project-based learning. The four-stage tutorial guides teacher-librarians and classroom teachers through the use of content standards as a base, developing an engaging project, deciding on what instructional strategies to use and gathering the necessary resources.

[] Among the wealth of well-crafted lesson plans available on the Internet, an excellent place to start when looking for collaborative activities and project-based lesson plans is the SCORE web site developed by the folks in California. Divided by the four major content areas, lesson plans for K-12 as well as Internet-based modules are cataloged. This is a treasure trove of materials making great use of project-based learning, collaboration and technology.

[] Jamie McKenzie provides a project-based learning experience that takes a student through the entire school year and builds a persistent learner. The activity is divided into modules that guide the user through selecting a topic, deciding what information sources to monitor during the year, and then creating a product. I'll bet you have one classroom teacher who will be willing to tackle this idea for the 2003-04 school year.

**Other sites to browse The switch to project-based learning also means a switch in assessment practices. If you are not used to using scoring rubrics (and even if you are) consider adapting or using the rubric on group discussions found at [] or the one on group work self-assessment at [] You can also find rubrics for cooperative learning, multimedia projects, PowerPoint presentations, web products and other projects at []. Finally, if you wish to create your own scoring rubrics, stop by the Rubistar site at [] Do you need to support your project-based learning strategies with some research? Take a look at the Executive Summary of Research on Project-Based Learning housed at [] and published in March 2000. Or, consider reading the five-year longitudinal study on the Silicon Valley Challenge 2000 Multimedia Projects, which deals with project-based learning and multimedia, [] Finally, take a look at the various research studies conducted by the Buck Institute for Education. Begin with the overview at [] and then look at specific studies on project-based learning and problem-based learning in economics.