HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

The IMC staff has also had a tremendous impact on the teachers with whom they have collaborated.
Experimenting with new pedagogy is stressful and requires a willingness to be disturbed; with a co-teacher at
your side, the process is more successful:
When I expressed fear that I didn't have the expertise to be able to help my students with their
research, [the librarian] became my co-teacher….I am absolutely certain that I would not have
continued with this project had I not had her support. I absolutely would have continued with
business as usual - assigning topics and having the class do PowerPoint presentations on them.
[The librarians] did such an amazing job with my PBL [Project-Based Learning]. I never would
have had the positive outcomes from it without their support, instruction, collaboration and
expertise.
This feeling was expressed by many staff members as they worked through a type of learning that is unfamiliar
to them and to students and can often be uncomfortable. The IMC staff not only provided support for teachers,
but also a knowledge of project design that helps students move away from cut and paste research outcomes:
[The librarian] made incredible suggestions as to how to enhance the project;, she worked
tirelessly to assemble resources for student use; helped instruct and to grade certain elements of
projects in both classes.
These ladies have been able to look objectively at a project and assist with so many aspects of
the activity. They helped me to organize and often reword requirements so that the student would
be better able to understand what was expected.
Most importantly, the process of inquiry and the critical thinking required for information literacy are integral
parts of the library field; therefore, we have been able to lead instructionally in these areas:
The library program supports learning because of the inquiry based model that the staff uses to
instruct students. You work with us; you are co-teachers. That makes the difference; you are not
just facilitating our class or learning, you are learners with us.
The IMC staff is partners in the instruction of classes and often work on-on-one with classroom
teachers to help shape lessons and research. Through this joint venture, the two teachers are
able to infuse inquiry-based projects and learning, and help our students become better prepared
for their future outside Hunterdon Central.
For many of these collaborations, the procedures involve common planning time with teachers, building a
project guide (LibGuide), co-teaching various lessons (such as developing essential questions, identifying
information need, searching and navigating electronic and print resources, source evaluation, MLA citations),
assessing student work in both a formative and summative manner, collecting feedback from student reflections,
and collaboratively reflecting on both the process and the product with teachers.
Teaching and Instruction by the Numbers
2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
Total Class Visits 1217 1288 1310
Librarian Visits to the 28 69 142
Classroom (House Calls)
Booktalks 39 111 136
80