Putting Evidence to Work in Your Library

Course

Types of Evidence [3:20]

Learn about the three types of evidence you can use to improve your library practice: foundational, process, and outcomes.

We're going to discuss three types of evidence-based practice that were identified by Ross Todd. I'm going to use some language a little differently than Todd's simply because it helps us for practical purposes. Distinguishing different types of evidence by prepositions is a little difficult and the last thing we need with a tricky topic is an even trickier vocabulary.

Evidence for practice is the big picture. Evidence for practice is using the basic tenets of research and theory to inform our overall professional practice as librarians. For this reason, we're going to refer to this as using foundational evidence.

These are the ideas, theories, and proven practices that make school librarianship what it is today. Foundations may move and shift a little over time, but that doesn't keep them from being the bedrock of our practice. An example of foundational evidence would be the large amount of research out there on flexibility in school library scheduling. Numerous studies show evidence that flexible scheduling is preferable to fixed scheduling in school library programs at almost all levels. We use this foundational evidence for our practice and to shape our overall program.

Evidence in practice is about the application of evidence from others on a more micro level. Rather than big theories and the foundations of the practice, evidence in practice is about delving into current literature and examples to help us shape our day-to-day work to improve practice. With this definition in mind, we refer to this as using process evidence.

We're looking at current practices and the practices of others in the immediate, what we were looking at processing right now, and using that to shape our practice. A few examples. Did you attend a great webinar that provided positive results on how to introduce nonfiction text features to students? Did it motivate you to modify your own practice? That's an example of using process evidence to adjust practice.

Finally, evidence of practice is where we get to produce new data and provide our own results of trying something new in our professional practice. Every time you attempt something new in your library program and examine the results of that adventure, you're providing evidence of practice. In producing new results, I refer to this as using outcomes evidence. You're trying out new things and using the outcomes of those efforts to make changes to your practice. Here's another example. Are you making new efforts to collaborate with the math teachers in your school? If you document your efforts as you go, that's collecting outcomes evidence.

Throughout the rest of this workshop, we'll be discussing these different approaches to evidence-based practice and how you can put the evidence to work for you.

Reflecting on Past Evidence Collected

In this lesson, DiScala discusses three types of evidence that can help you strengthen your library program. By looking back on data that you've already collected in your practice, you can start to identify additional areas you want to intentionally investigate in the future. Use the Planning Template in the Resources below to complete the Reflect & Practice activity.

RESOURCES:

Template

REFLECT & PRACTICE:

Use page 3 of the Planning Template to reflect on the evidence you have collected before, both outside and inside your library. Perhaps you have had to report statistics to your principal or your district about circulation or services? Have you ever looked at the results of a lesson and realized that you needed to change your instructional approach? School librarians look at and collect evidence casually all the time. What are some of the ways you've already done this in your program?

MLA Citation

"Putting Evidence to Work in Your Library: Reflecting on Past Evidence Collected." School Library Connection, January 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2186023?learningModuleId=2186016&topicCenterId=2247903.

Entry ID: 2186128

Additional Resources

Bibliography.

About the Author

Jeffrey DiScala, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Darden College of Education at Old Dominion University. He earned his master's and doctorate from the University of Maryland. He is co-principal investigator for The Lilead Project, a research and professional development program for school library leaders. His research interests include education, technology, and information policies in education and professional development for school librarians and classroom teachers. He has co-authored numerous articles in publications such as Library Quarterly, School Library Research, School Libraries Worldwide, and Knowledge Quest.

MLA Citation

DiScala, Jeffrey. "Putting Evidence to Work in Your Library. Types of Evidence [3:20]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, January 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2186023?learningModuleId=2186016&topicCenterId=2247903.

View all citation styles

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2186023?learningModuleId=2186016&topicCenterId=2247903

Entry ID: 2186023