I've added Alice to my Bloglines feeds. I definitely want to continue to hear what she has to say!
Check out her website.
So here I am in the second session. This one is Impact of School Library Programs on Student Motivation and Achievement, conducted by Dr. Ruth Small from the Center for Digital Literacy at Syracuse University.
This project first looked at other studies to see what they did and how they did it, and found that many of the others were based on surveys. They opted to do not only surveys, which focus almost exclusively on student achievement, but also several other research methods:
1) general and in-depth surveys
2) focus groups
3) case studies
Collected data from SLMSs, principals, teachers, students and parents
Studied both student achievement AND motivation
Also looked at technology use, services for students with disabilities and impact on families/communities
The goal is to provide a model for LMS to collect research of their own in schools and districts and improve their programs
Research questions:
1) What factors, related to school library programs, services, and resources, impact NYS students' learning achievement
(State is looking very closely at this study and the data they collect)
2) How do NY school library services and programs affect student motivation for learning
3) What and how are school library services provided to students with disabilities?
4) In what ways do SLMS influence the use of technology by student & teachers & what is subsequent impact on teaching and learning?
5) What, if any, effects do school library services, programs, and resources have on families and communities?
Got lots of comments on the surveys, which they didn't expect!
Preliminary findings:
(presented by Jamie Snyder, doctoral student at Syracuse)
- First went through NYSED data
- Went to SLSA to get representation from SLMS in all areas
38.7% response rate!
Based on 30% response rate for each county. Average is 24% from everywhere except NYC, which has an average 31%.
Principal survey - 11% response rate
K-5 considered Elem., 6-up secondary. Schools which span both are in other
811 Elementary
703 Secondary
131 Other
Based then on Needs resource categories
Initial findings: survey successfully measures librarians' perceptions of:
- work climate
- student motivation to learn
- leadership within school community
- information literacy
- learning environment
- collaboration within school community
- diversity of collection
Strongest relationships are:
- Motivation & Information Literacy
- leadership & information literacy
- collaboration & leadership
- Motivation & Learning Environment
- Collaboration & Information literacy
motivation & leadership
Measures & grade levels
Grade level & motivation - elementary schools have higher motivation scores than secondary schools
Grade level & collaboration
- Secondary schools have higher collaboration scores than elementary schools
Needs Resource & leadership
- Low-need schools have higher leadership scores than most high-need schools
- Highest collaboration scores came from low-need schools
- In general NYC schools collaborate more than most other high-needs schools
Certified LMS scored higher than uncertified on selecting materials for schools library collection representing different points of view, but not on representing cultural diversity
- 40% respondents provide guidance to students in use of digital resources at least once a day
- 74% at least once a week
- 57% assist students in using information in a variety of media formats at least once a week
- 65% assist staff in using information in a variety of media at least once a week
- 79% make a point of selecting materials in a variety of formats
- About half provide access to the catalog at home
- 9% do not have automated circulation system
In-depth interviews, case studies, and focus groups will take place next year.
Results will be available on the SU digital literacy website
Future analyses:
- What is the relationship between student achievement and the measures provided by the general survey?
- Additional factors to be considered:
- NYS LMS certification
- Control of Needs/Resource Categories
Also...
- Do school library media specialist & principals perceive work climate differently?
- Is there a relationship between technology in the school LMC & student achievement?
- Is there a relationship between technology in the school LMC and student motivation?
Next steps:
- Select 48 schools for focused, in-depth surveys (LMS, teachers, students, principals)
- Select 24 schools for focus groups and interviews (LMS, teachers, students, parents, principals)
- Select two schools for comparative case study
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