DPI 5.B School library media coordinators link professional growth
to their professional goals
to their professional goals
- Applies and implements knowledge and skills attained from professional development to improve the library program and their practice
During our professional development, the 3-5 grade teachers are learning The SIOP Model, which offers scaffolding and collaborative strategies so lower-level and ESL learners are included in whole-group learning. "Go to your corner" encourages students to share their knowledge or opinions on a topic, and work collaboratively with others who share similar ideas. Because the strategy, as described by our SIOP team, works best with words and pictures, I implemented this lesson with 2nd graders that included each table having an adjective that describes a friend, along with a photograph to help inspire conversation. The theme of the discussion was "What qualities do you want in a friend?" Students could select: Nice, Fun, Respectful, or Funny. Once they sat at their desired tables, they discussed why they chose that trait, examples of how it is demonstrated (i.e. "telling jokes" or "playing basketball together"), and how it makes them feel to have a friend that treats them that way. After a few minutes of discussion, the students wrote their ideas on a piece of paper and were encouraged to draw pictures as well of these traits in action. As a culminating activity, each table or "corner" had a few moments to share what they wrote down and, as a class, compiled a list of what makes a good friend. The discussion tied into our read-aloud, Charlotte's Web, as we were about read to the chapter where Wilber befriends Charlotte. After a few more chapters, we will revisit these four traits, and see how their examples complement what the text says about the friendship between the characters.
DPI 5.A School media coordinators analyze student learning
- Stays abreast of current research to determine the impact of the school library media program on student achievement
As a requirement of my Beginning Teacher status, my principal comes in to observe four lessons over the course of the year, and we have a scheduled post-observation meeting to discuss the lesson. Part of the process involves completing a reflection form (below) that encourages the teacher to look at various components of the lesson to ensure that it was successful. We discuss the lesson itself, as well as this reflection, and I'm able to receive feedback on how I can improve my instructional practices. For this specific lesson, the principal provided me with several examples of graphic organizers that will help me scaffold for the diversity of learners in this classroom, suggested how anticipation guides will help with connecting to the text, and offered to purchase dry-erase lapboards for student interaction and assessment in the media center. Small, Snyder, and Parker (2009) conducted a study on the impact that school library media coordinators make on student achievement, and found that not only is there a positive correlation, but more differentiation is done in the media center than anywhere else outside the classroom setting to accommodate the variation in learners. Not only do the graphic organizers and lapboards provided to enhance this lesson help motivate student learning, they also assists students with disabilities, learning delays, and language barriers. The school media center is a place to build literacy skills, enhance reading comprehension, and motivate students to become life-long readers. Reflecting on how each lesson reaches towards those goals is an essential part of improving my professional approach.
Small, R. V., Synder, J., Parker, K. (2009). The impact of New York school libraries on student achievement and motivation. School Library Media Research, 12.
DPI 5.A School library media coordinators analyze student learning
- Seeks feedback from stakeholders on the effectiveness of service deliver and needed changes
- Conducts action research to determine the impact of the school library media program on student achievement
The media specialist should have a way to collect feedback from stakeholders in the school community, and establishing good relationships with the staff is a guaranteed way to open the lines of communication. Being friendly and approachable while walking through the halls, attending staff meetings, and other places helps me be in touch with teachers and find opportunities for advocating the library, and initiate collaborative lessons. In the brief time I've been at our school, I've managed to demonstrate how the media center is integral to student achievement and how I can provide services to assist with instruction. Below are some emails from this school year that reflect the relationships I've made and the impression I set upon our school community.
- Spanish teacher (September 6): Hi Mollee, I know you're up to your eyeballs in course reading...but I wanted to send you a link to an article...because you already do so many of the activities that are suggested here, and I miss our collaboration time! You're a natural!
- AIG teacher (September 10):
Morning Mollee,
Since we won't be using AR for this school year I really would like to come up with a way to keep my AIG students accountable for what they have read. Can you help me come up with some type of report that helps me get my 4th and 5th grade students using their higher order thinking skills? I have gotten together several book report type forms from other teachers, but i would really like to have your input - I am sure you have some great ideas!
I also wanted to touch base with you about your Fiction Digger lunch group ideas that we discussed. I talked to my kids about having them eat lunch and discuss what is going on in the books and they loved that idea. Several extra kids wanted to come - not ones trying out for the teams but they had read the book anyway. Talk to you soon!
- Principal’s weekly memo (October 14): Good morning! Thank you to all who helped make our BOE tour, reception, and instructional highlights a very big success. It takes days and weeks of planning to host the whole event and our teachers, students, and staff stepped up beautifully. With the tour stops in Mollee Holloman's 4-5 ELA class, Dorlene Evans' 4th grade music class, and Lisa Fry's demonstration of the Daily Five with her fifth grade and our instructional highlights of Letterland in grades PK-2, we showed off the whole school.
- 5th grade teacher (October 29): Just wanted to say congrats to you both! All of your hard work and efforts do not go unnoticed. I'm grateful to be working with both of you!!!
- 5th grade teachers (November 12): Hi Mollee, Mrs. Hester & I were wondering if Mrs. Dunn and you would be interested in helping our kids create a Chamber of Commerce type of brochure for one of the 13 colonies? We thought it would be a great way for us to collaborate with media & technology as well as incorporating 21st century skills. Is Google docs the best way to create the brochure since every student has gmail & can easily access their work? Our start date is around the first week of December. A pair of students will work on an assigned colony & prepare a rough draft of their ideas before the start of the project. Please advise if this will work for you both?
DPI 5.C School library media coordinators function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.
- Seeks new ideas that support students' social, emotional, psychological, and academic success
- Changes practice to best meet the evolving needs of students, families, schools, and communities
The teacher-plan book by Scholastic is a very helpful calendar to keep up with the many different grade levels and classes I work with. There are 31 different classrooms and nearly 750 students that visit the library for daily lessons, and it's imperative that I not only plan, but reflect upon what works and what needs more attention with the class as a whole, and for certain individuals. To accomplish this, I carry my plan book to each lesson and take the 5 minutes in between classes to jot notes on how it went. This is a great way to also keep up with any student problems, requests, or ideas that occur during my instructional time. Examples in my book from recent lessons include "students worked well in pairs, next time allow them to work with partners on the character descriptions" and "Ivan showed interest in more Roald Dahl books - place Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on hold for him." This method of reflection is invaluable when it comes to planning for upcoming weeks, as I have immediate feedback from previous lessons, know which students/classes need differentiation, and keeps me on track with my goals and objectives.