Readers Response: Schultz-Jones, B. (2009). Collaboration in the school social network

I originally composed the following entry as a Readers Response Assignment for IST-511 at Syracuse University. I've posted it here as well for my own reference. Spring! Kate:

Through the article titled Collaboration in the school social network by Barbara Schultz-Jones we develop further understanding for the value of social networking within our schools, the impact it has on our ability to collaborate and to what degree. This construct builds on that of our own, Dr. Ruth Small’s research at Syracuse Unversity centered on the value of a “collaborative culture in which all partners see the benefits of collaboration to themselves, each other and their students” (Small, 2002).

The study followed 5 school library media specialists (SLMSs) with a range of practical experience and from varied districts who voluntarily documented their collaborative relationships with classroom teachers and administrators. The SLMSs classified their relationships according to 6 collaborative levels along an interaction continuum: “no interaction, exchanging information informally, providing books/resources when requested, consulting on course content, providing course materials, and designing a unit of study and presenting this unit together with a teacher or administrator” (Schultz-Jones, 2009).

Schultz-Jones then graphed and labeled the relationships. The result is a “webbed” illustration that documents the various subjects the SLMS interacted with and on what level of the continuum. Those plotted closest to the center (represented by the SLMS) are reflective of the highest level of collaboration – “designing a unit of study and co-presenting this material” (Schultz-Jones, 2009); those farthest away from the center represent those with no to low-level collaboration.

Through deductive analysis the data revealed 4 emergent themes referred to as “Social capital”, “Who’s your Fave 5”, “Strategic groups”, and “Professional learning communities” (Schultz-Jones, 2009). The first of these refers to the universal sentiment among the 5 SLMSs that social networks are a highly valued resource despite the investment of “time and effort…sometimes those efforts yield few results” (Schultz-Jones, 2009). The second emergent theme refers to effective collaborative relationships and how they are not necessarily those that are an SLMS’s 5 “favorite” informal friends, but those relationships where both parties have an agreed interest to engage and work efficiently together in the interest of their students. Thirdly, the study dismissed the assumption that existed at the onset, that is; that certain disciplines are more interested in collaborating than others. This was deduced from the data which, when plotted, showed various subjects in close proximity to the SLMSs. As a result, SLMSs are encouraged to look for those teachers who are willing to engage in high-level collaborative projects rather than target subject groups. Lastly, the data revealed the importance of demonstrating life-long learning traits and how the richness of your learning community can impact successful collaboration.

Schultz-Jones believes that “visualizing the school learning environment as a set of social networks provides the SLMSs with a way to map interactions and think strategically about building relationships”. Once these foundations are laid, SLMSs can then capitalize on their life-long learning communities to truly impact the academic experience of their students for the better.

Schultz-Jones, B. (2009). Collaboration in the school social network. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 20-25.

Small, R. (2002). Collaboration: Where Does It Begin? Teacher Librarian (29)5, 8-11.