Putting it ALL together

As I reflect on all I have learned throughout this class and what I achieved during my first year as a school librarian I am excited for what is yet to come. I think the first is embracing other methods of social media such as Instagram and Twitter. I have seen to digital connections I can make with others is a huge opportunity and learning that I can connect without taking myself so far outside my comfort zone. Second I feel like I am better prepared to facilitate student-led project and still incorporate the skills needed for them to be successful. Finally the confidence to make it happen as I have refined my own skills to the point where they are second nature so that as I teach my students to develop their own skills I will be the best resource for them.

Information Literacy

I have know taught information literacy skills for almost 10 years, although I have basically used the same definition but  how I have gone about teaching it has grown and adapted so that my students of all ages can master it at their ability level. Most students embrace information literacy skills but I have discovered that most adults especially teachers fight learning what they consider a new skill set. I have tried to encourage them with the idea of building on the skills they already have but as we all know change is hard and if the old way works why change it.

Higher Order Thinking

I have loved the idea that is being pushed in education that we have our students to work at higher levels of thinking. I was familiar with Bloom's  original Taxonomy and tried as a new teacher to have my students reach the higher thinking levels. When I began my work as an academic librarian I discovered that Bloom's had been revised in 2002 and I liked the changes.

I then went back to work in a school district and was introduced to Webb's Depth of Knowledge. I have used it often since then and I have seen it not only benefit my teaching but help my students understand why we work to reach those higher levels f thinking.

Measuring Growth & Credibility

When looking at resources for any given reason it is important to evaluate the information. Two such evaluation tools that I have used are CRAAP and RADCAB. One of my colleagues asked what age group would you chose to use each of these evaluation tools.  Honestly I have used both for almost all ages except K. What I have discovered and I think the reason they can be interchangeable is the younger student think they have a special secret by using a bad word like CRAAP, so they remember it. RADCAB for the older students seems to give them a nostalgic look at research so again they remember it a bit better. I will say that part of it is knowing your students and their families as CRAAP can be offensive to some parents, even with older students.

Community Partnerships

I mentioned earlier about the WyTECC conference a few weeks ago and one of the greatest take-away was how easy it really is to find community partners world-wide. We have been tasked with using Twitter and other social-media platforms to connect with others who can benefit not only you as a teacher but our students as well.

I have gone so far as to arrange partnerships with family members in other states but have students with similar backgrounds or have careers or interests that I know my students want to know more about but have no real connections locally.

Research as part of a 21st century library & learning commons

For our week 3 we were assigned and article  written by Mirah Dow and published in School Library Monthly in November 2010. So first full disclosure Mirah Dow was one of my professors at Emporia in fact she was my teacher for many of my core library classes, we even chose her to speak at our graduations so I may be a little biases. I also see how many of her ideas shaped what kind of librarian I am and how I have struggled to educate my colleagues about the role we should fulfill in our schools. The idea that school librarians and librarians in general need to change our focus from information systems to focus on our students may be easy to understand but many to not accept it it practice because we then have to think outside of the box of tacks as shown in TED talk.

To give you a perspective I began my Masters program with Mirah in 2005, she even taught my first class that semester, and this was what we were taught should be the norm for all libraries. Now fast forward to 2016 and many of these ideas are still so outside of the box for some we may never get there.This continues to frustrate me but I know that I work for a district that values innovation and growth for all of it's teachers so I know I will ultimately have the support to develop a true twenty-first century library  and learning commons

Standards-Based Learning

 http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Seven_Reasons_for_Standards-Based_Grading.aspx

I am sure we have all heard that your district will move towards Standards-Based Report card and learning, but what is it and how will it be done. I found a great article

Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading by Patricia L. Scriffiny originally published in October 2008 | Volume 66 | Number 2 of  Expecting Excellence Pages 70-74 I have included the link above as well. Here are her seven reasons and as an innovative teacher/librarian and a parent what I value for my children and my students.

Reason 1: Grades Should Have Meaning

Reason 2: We Need to Challenge the Status Quo

Reason 3: We Can Control Grading Practices

Reason 4: Standards-Based Grading Reduces Meaningless Paperwork

Reason 5: It Helps Teachers Adjust Instruction 

Reason 6: It Teaches What Quality Looks Like

Reason 7: It's a Launchpad to Other Reforms

She also included a comparison chart that shows how the grade books compare, which illustrates just how schools can benefit from this innovative change.

Figure 1. Comparing Traditional and Standards-Based Grade Books

Traditional Grade Book
Name	Homework Average	Quiz 1	Chapter 1 Test
John	90	65	70
Bill	50	75	78
Susan	110	50	62
Felicia	10	90	85
Amanda	95	100	90
Standards-Based Grade Book
Name	Objective 1: Write an alternate ending for a story	Objective 2: Identify the elements of a story	Objective 3: Compare and contrast two stories
John	Partially proficient	Proficient	Partially proficient
Bill	Proficient	Proficient	Partially proficient
Susan	Partially proficient	Partially proficient	Partially proficient
Felicia	Advanced	Proficient	Proficient
Amanda	Partially proficient	Advanced	Proficient

 

 

 

 

Library Innovation

I returned last weekend from WyTECC an ed tech conference here in Wyoming that gave me such a new perspective on what a school library should and could be. So I came home and scheduled a meeting with my superintendent who is also just finishing up his first year. With a few days to prepare I began this class  and was able to take it to him where we discussed his vision for our libraries. We were not 100% in sync but we can still be innovative and moving into the right direction. 
I have always felt that students should be active participants in their education since I began but coming from a school/district where students expectations are to do as they are told, I know that for myself and my superintendent as well it will be a huge paradigm shift for both our students and teachers.As I spend this summer looking at curriculum and how to develop a curriculum that benefits my students as well as give me the continued opportunity to grow as a teacher/librarian. In reading Pure Genius a book by Don Wettrick he shared what his dad a retiring educator said to him at the beginning of his teaching career. "I don't care if you teach for the next twenty years,  just don't teach one year twenty times." In other words you can teach for twenty years; just don't do the same thing for twenty years..