Decline in School Librarians study

 Communication from Stephen Krashen <skrashen@gmail.com>: Jul 24 02:12PM -0700

Studies have shown that the presence of a credentialed school librarian results in better reading & writing (e.g. Kachel and Lance, 2013). But according to a recently released report (the SLIDE report; **Lance and Kachel, 2021)**, the number of school librarians fell 20% during the last ten years. In 2009-10, there were 939 students per school librarian, but by 2018-19, it had increased to 1,199 to 1.*

*The usual explanation was that the decrease in school librarians was because of budget, but the SLIDE report **found “no clear relationship between staffing and funding. **Of great interest: ** Nationwide, the number of school administrators increased during this time (**Instructional
Coordinators, by almost 34%; District Administrators, more than 16%, School Administrators, more than 15%.)*
 
*Most disturbing: **Librarians are less likely to be found in smaller, rural, and poorly funded districts that serve more students in poverty, that serve mostly non-white and Hispanic students, and English Language acquirers. In other words, everybody’s not losing their librarians—mostly
those who depend on libraries the most. *
 
*Impact of school librarian: https://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/
<https://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/>*
 
*The SLIDE report: Lance, K. C., & Kachel, D. E. (2021, July). Perspectives on school librarian employment in the United States, 2009-10 to 2018-19. SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution? https://libslide.org/publications/perspectives. *

Reading on and offline research

 "This meta-analysis examines the inconsistent findings across experimental studies that compared children’s learning outcomes with digital and paper books. We quantitatively reviewed 39 studies reported in 30 articles (n = 1,812 children) and compared children’s story comprehension and vocabulary learning in relation to medium (reading on paper versus on-screen), design enhancements in digital books, the presence of a dictionary, and adult support for children aged between 1 and 8 years. The comparison of digital versus paper books that only differed by digitization showed lower comprehension scores for digital books. Adults’ mediation during print books’ reading was more effective than the enhancements in digital books read by children independently. However, with story-congruent enhancements, digital books outperformed paper books. An embedded dictionary had no or negative effect on children’s story comprehension but positively affected children’s vocabulary learning." The researchers also noted that Researchers also found that most of the commercially published e-books explored in the studies didn’t enhance the text in ways that focused children’s attention as adults naturally would when reading a story to a child, such as pointing out main story elements, asking questions, and focusing children’s attention on the chain of events in a story. 

 

Furenes, M., Kucirkova, N., & Bus, A. (2021). A comparison of children's reading on paper versus screen: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 91(4). 

https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654321998074

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0034654321998074

Mentorship research

New research examines school librarians’ perceptions of the Continuum of Care model for assessment of need, program theory, program process, impact, and efficiency. Researcher Rita Reinsel Soulen extends her prior research with an analysis of practices that enable school librarians to develop mentoring skills, which lead to more opportunities for collaboration with other educators. Her study finds that actions taken by the school librarian may promote new teachers’ resilience, leading to better-defined best practice by school librarians helping new teachers. 

Soulen, R. (2021). Enabling Collaboration through Mentorship: Examining the Role of the School Librarian. School Library Research, 24. 

https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/pubs/slr/vol24/SLR_EnablingCollaboration_V24.pdf

Library Instruction and teaching experience research

 New research examines the relationship between years of traditional classroom teaching experience and teaching in school library instructional environments. A longstanding shortage of certified school librarians in Maryland inspired David E. Robinson and Scot W. McNary to examine the preparation of school librarians with varying levels of prior teaching experience. Their primary research question was: in the role of teacher, what is the relationship between years of teaching experience and school librarian candidates’ effectiveness in planning, implementing, and reflecting on school library-based instruction.

Robinson, D., &  McNary, S.  (2021). School library instruction: Does teaching matter? School Library Research. 

https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/pubs/slr/vol24/SLR_SchoolLibraryInstruction_V24.pdf

We're All Ears

 

Ears are one of animals’ most important organ – and they come in different sizes and shapes. ‘Ears hoping you will perk up your ears with these online activities.

 

CONNECT:

• Watch how the ear works at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mptjEoHF2aI
• And how do hearing aids work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJBjIEUbaeM
• Watch the different kinds of ears that animals have at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAo3gsDptFM
• Guess which animal hears best – and check your guess at https://www.pbs.org/video/hearing-which-animal-hears-best-vnwtlx/

 

CREATE:

• Make your own animal ear headbands by following the directions at https://kidspot.co.nz/activities/make-your-own-animal-ears-headbands/
• What would you hear differently if your ears were shaped differently? Experiment at https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/designer-ears
• Discover how to create your own ear model at https://www.123homeschool4me.com/ear-anatomy-science-project_86/
• Learn some basic sign language signs at http://youtube.com/watch?v=CUy9Dos9264

 

CARE:

• Ears are subjected to lots of conditions: water, sun, even piercing. Here’s some ways to take care of your ears: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/ear-care.html
• What is hearing loss? And how do you communicate if you can’t hear? Here are some explanations: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/hearing-impairment.html
• Earwax is healthy – until it builds up too much. Parents can read how to safely clean their children’s ears at https://www.choa.org/parent-resources/everyday-illnesses/ear-cleaning-in-kids
• What are ear infections? What are the symptoms? How do you treat them? Read the answers at https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/ear-infections-children

 

CAREERS:

Are you hearing a call for an ear-related career? You could become an ear doctor (audiologist), veterinarian – as well as a sign interpreter, sound engineer, musician, jewelry maker, or even ear piercer

• http://www.listencarefully.org/5-careers-in-hearing/
• https://www.jewelers.org/ja/careers-education/jewelry-careers-guide
• https://www.planitplus.net/JobProfiles/View/715/62
• https://thebestschools.org/careers/jobs-working-deaf-hard-hearing/
• https://www.disabledperson.com/blog/posts/top-10-jobs-for-people-with-hearing-impairments
• And here are 8 jobs that lead to hearing loss – and how to prevent it: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/8-jobs-that-lead-to-hearing-loss-and-how-to-prevent-it/

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Teacher librarians and social media learning networks study

New research examines activities, motives, and barriers associated with social media learning. Results of an online questionnaire recorded perspectives on personalized learning networks. Results were categorized by media type (self-published content, curated content, microblogs, discussion forums, and social networks) and by user role (Passerby, Lurker, Networker, Content Creator, and Community Leader).

Cates, M. (2021). Social Media to Survive and Thrive: School Librarians Describe Online Professional Learning. School Library Research.

http://www.ala.org/aasl/slr

Teacher librarians' activities during COVID-19 report

 The American Association of School Librarians released its final survey in a series of snapshot surveys measuring the state of school libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses to the latest survey indicate that a majority of school librarians have seen an increase in responsibilities during the 2020–2021 school year, with 75% of respondents reporting they are doing more technology troubleshooting and nearly 86% reporting they are doing more ebook promotion in their districts.

AASL. (2021). Final school library snapshot survey results. KnowledgeQuest.

https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/final-school-library-snapshot-survey-results/