The Relationship Between School Library Media Programs and Science Achievement in Michigan Middle Sc

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The Relationship Between School Library Media
Programs and Science Achievement in Michigan
Middle Schools

• Presentation to the CSTL Research Retreat
• Marcia A. Mardis, MILS, EdD
• April 10, 2005

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In humble beginnings
Detroit Catholic Central HS
The Keystone School of San Antonio
UM School of Information
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A few ideas began to grow

• Theory (once again) is not reality
• Very different situations in each place
• Role seemed linked to
• Personality of media specialist
• Attitude of administration
• Approval of students
• Receptivity of teachers.
• Does ?OTT ?OTL in the media center?

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Is McLuhan this right?
All media work us over completely. The medium is
the massage. Any understanding of social and
cultural change is impossible without a knowledge
of the way media work as environments.
All media are extensions of human
faculty--psychic or physical.1
Marshall McLuhan
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If the wheel is
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an extension of the foot, and
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the book is
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an extension of the eye, then is
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the school library media center
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an extension of the classroom?
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That would mean

• Media specialist is a metatechnology
• Why dont these two relationships follow? How can
  the medium be the massage?

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Enter The Michigan School Library Study (MSLS)

• Commissioned by Library of Michigan
• Advisory Board
• Mailed surveys to public K-12 schools (to SLMS
  attention) in 2002
• Used 2001 MEAP reading test scores, school data
  from MDE, community data from US Census
• Produced report in 2003

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MSLS Study Details

• Replication of previous quantitative studies done
  in 8 (now 16) other states
• Correlated school media program, community, and
  building variables to MEAP reading scores
• Research questions
• What characteristics of media specialists and
  school media programs have a relationship to
  reading achievement?
• How does teacher/media specialist collaboration
  relate to student achievement?
• How do the Internet, databases, and technology
  access relate to student achievement?

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MSLS Conceptual Framework
Source AASL AECT, Information Power (1998)
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MSLS Findings

• Reading test scores rise with
• Presence and availability of credentialed media
  specialists
• Computer availability, esp. to access Internet
  and databases
• Individual and group visits to media center
• Size of print and nonprint collections
• Media center annual expenditures

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Even when DPPE, PTR, poverty, ethnic/minority
identity, and educational attainment of parents
are taken into account.
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EnterImportance of science learning

• Science has become policy battleground
• International studies (e.g., TIMSS) focus on
  solutions to poor science achievement
• Feds have legislated scientifically-based
  research ? science ? science teaching and
  learning
• Science testing will be mandatory starting in
  2007 under NCLB
• Science learning was based on inquiry process and
  active learning--does this still fit?

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If strong school library programs have a positive
relationship to reading achievement, can the same
be said for science achievement?
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Maybe yes

• Science requires good reading skills
• Forensic activities (e.g., science fair) require
  inquiry research skills
• Collaboration benefits student achievement
• Qualities of good science teachers and good media
  specialists overlap

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Standards of Science Teacher SLMS Effectiveness
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Maybe no

• Few scientists are attracted to school media
• Media specialists dont learn about science in
  preservice education
• Media specialists dont get science professional
  development
• Professional literature doesnt often address
  science topics
• Scholarly literature hasnt looked at
  science/school media relationship

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In other words, there seems to be little science
in school library science.
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So whats going on here?

• How is the relationship between school media
  programs and reading achievement similar to the
  relationship between school media programs and
  science achievement?
• What are the characteristics of school librarians
  and school media programs that influence the
  relationship to science achievement?
• How do SLMSs feel that yearly testing in science
  and other systemic pressures affect their
  relationship with science educators and students?
• What factors do school library media specialists
  identify as key to effective interactions with
  science teachers and students?

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A Better Mousetrap or A Rube Goldberg Effect?
Sequential explanatory process used in this study
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In case you dont know Rube
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Caveat Celebratio

• Study only deals with middle schools
• Data management
• Same media specialist in 78
• Touch elementary and secondary issues
• Bounded horizontally (e.g., time)
• Bounded vertically (e.g., geography)
• Not focused on science teachers and science
  teaching

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Quantitative Results
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Significant Positive Correlations

• of SLMS
• of SMLS hours
• Total SLMC hours
• Computers with database access in SLMC
• Size of video collection

• Total computers in SLMC
• Hours available for flexible scheduling
• Total SLMC staff
• Computers with MeL access in school
• Computers with MeL access in SLMC

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Sure theyre significant
But are they
strong?
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Negative Correlations

• Staff and hours with
• Masters in LS and teacher certification
• Masters in LS
• Bachelors degree
• High school diploma only
• Staff with Bachelors with teacher certification

• Meeting with principal and/or other building or
  district administrators
• In library use of materials

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Multiple Regressions

• Take into account community, district, and
  building variables
• Used mainly to account for poverty-related
  factors and differences between district and
  school size
• NSLP and DPPE account for 40 of the variance in
  grade 8 MEAP science scores
• Significant variables clustered according to
  survey sections

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Multiple Regressions

• When NSLP and DPPE are taken into account, no
  clusters account for significant amounts of
  additional variation
• Number of videos per 100 students accounted for
  2 additional variation
• Video?????

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Qualitative Results
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Qualitative Analysis

• Explain quantitative results
• 11 secondary media specialists volunteered
• Discussion group performed via email list
• 10 days to answer 4 questions and interact with
  one another
• Text analyzed and thematically coded

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Discussion group questions

• How do you approach science collection
  development in your school media program?
• How is video used with science in your school
  media program?
• What type of professional preparation do you feel
  best positions you to work with science teachers
  and students?
• How do you feel that the resources in the science
  classroom affect your ability to be involved with
  science?

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Discussion Group Themes

• The Science Collection
• Science collections tend to be old
• Video is important
• Science materials selection is challenging
• Classroom collections common
• Science teachers not often involved in collection
  development

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Discussion Group Themes

• Professional Preparation
• Undergraduate experiences influence service areas
• Graduate coursework did not prepare SLMS for
  science
• Professional development opportunities scarce
• Other learning activities have to be sought

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Discussion Group Themes

• Science teaching tends to exclude outside
  resources
• Textbooks
• Labs
• Collaboration perceived to solve many problems
• SLMC space is a lure
• Administrator attitudes are very important

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Conclusions

• What makes a difference?
• Administrator support (1,3,4)
• Teacher collaboration (1,3,4)
• Well-staffed libraries (1,2,4)
• Media specialist background/education (2,4)
• Current collections with lots of visual media
  (1,4)
• What can make a difference?
• Preservice education changes for all 3 levels
• SLMS skill/knowledge of multimedia (e.g., digital
  libraries)

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Implications

• Understanding culture is impossible without
  knowing media
• Science is part of culture
• Media is essential for science understanding
• Meta-technologies emerge
• Media specialists are the extension, gateway
• Leadership is the massage
• Many questions remain