University/School Library Collaborations to Integrate Information Technology into Resource-based Learning

Abstract

If the goal of teacher-librarians is to work with teachers to develop information literacy, then how do we model this collaboration for pre-service teachers during their teacher education program? This question was explored in a research study involving university researchers, teachers, and teacher-librarians in six elementary schools in Canada. Learning projects arose from collaborations among the pre-service teachers, classroom teachers, and teacherlibrarian as they developed IT projects that were integrated into the pre-service practicum. Data were collected on the learning strategies children used and on the collaborative relationship established between the pre-service teachers and the teacher-librarian. This study tracked how pre-service teachers reacted to working with teacher-librarians. Results indicated these projects created authentic environments where pre-service teachers learned the role of the teacher-librarian and how the curriculum development process associated with resource-based learning develops through school library programs.