Bob Berkowitz
b_berkowitz@big6.com

Co-Creator of the Big6 Approach, Bob Berkowitz is an educator first and foremost. He earned degrees from George Washington University (MA in Education), State University of New York at Albany (MLS), and North Adams (MA) State College (School Administrator’s Certification).

Bob has over 30 years of teaching experience in both rural and urban settings. He began his career teaching language arts in high school. Bob enhanced his professional expertise by becoming a school library media specialist. He successfully managed and taught in school libraries at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. His credentials are rounded out with additional experience as district coordinator for library and information programs and university instructor. His breadth of experiences uniquely qualifies him to be a consultant and trainer to educators at every level regardless of their professional degree, interests, length of service or responsibilities.

Often requested to share his ideas at conferences, workshops and seminars Bob is a dynamic and passionate educator who taps his 30+ years in education to deliver powerful information to bring about educational change. He readily establishes rapport with library media specialists, teachers, and administrators regardless of their subject area specialties or grade level assignments. Bob’s Big6 workshops and speeches are interactive, informative, innovative and inspiring. He is able to draw from his abundant experiences to customize his presentations to the needs of any audience.

Bob’s contributions in education are far reaching. Both at home and around the world, his words and actions have inspired and empowered educators to transform their instructional practice based on the Big6 Approach, thus effectively preparing students for the rest of their lives. A central theme of his work is that we must prepare students for their future, not for our past.

In 2000, Bob was named a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Expert in Residence. He has been an Adjunct Instructor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and Consultant to Mansfield State University’s School Library & Information Technologies graduate program. Bob acted as Library Media Specialist Consultant to a research skills-based English curriculum project that won National Council of Teachers of English recognition as a Center of Excellence in English and the Language Arts.

Bob and Mike Eisenberg have collaborated on a number of books and projects, most notably Teaching Information & Technology Skills: The Big6 in Secondary Schools (2000), Teaching Information & Technology Skills: The Big6 in Elementary Schools (1999) Helping with Homework (1996), Information Problem-Solving: The Big Six Approach to Library & Information Skills Instruction (1990),Curriculum Initiative: An Agenda and Strategy for Library Media Programs (1988), Resource Companion to Curriculum Initiative (1988).
Other works by Bob Berkowitz include: Big6 Research Notebook (2007), “Moving Every Child Ahead: The Big6 Success Strategy,” (May/June, 2002), MultiMedia Schools; and “Acing the Exam: How Can Librarians Boost Students’ Test Scores?”(October, 2002) School Library Journal.

Currently, Bob is a School Library Media Specialist with the Wayne Central School District, Ontario Center, NY.