DPI 3.B School library media coordinators serve, promote, and facilitate inquiry-based instruction and the effective use of information and technology /
AASL 3.3 Information Technology
AASL 3.3 Information Technology
- Leads other educators in the implementation of inquiry-based instruction
- Candidates demonstrate their ability to design and adapt relevant learning experiences that engage students in authentic learning through the use of digital tools and resources
One of the greatest professional compliments I have received thus far is being asked to host the Board of Education and demonstrate how students learn in the media center through the marriage of technology and curricular content. One of our selections for the extracurricular book club, Fiction Diggers!, is an adventure/mystery that centers on the disappearance of the Star-Spangled Banner Flag from the National Museum of American History. After doing a book talk on the text early in the year, a great variety of students wanted to be put on a wait list for the four copies in our library, and several went out to buy it. Due to the high interest, I selected this book to do a lesson as it focuses on the importance of the setting in understanding the text as a whole. 4th and 5th grade students who have read, or have started reading, Capture the Flag were invited to participate. We started off by reading some descriptions of the setting from the text, then students accessed a Symbaloo webmix (see below) I created for them via an iPad. We took a virtual field trip to the setting of the book with the help of the National Museum of American History website, where students could view the high-security room that houses the flag, and examine the flag itself. The time to explore brought about some excellent inquiry questions that lead the second part of the lesson. Examples of these questions include:
- How did the author learn so much about stealing the flag?
- Why wasn't there more security, like alarms that go off when the flag has been touched?
- Why is the room so dark and how does it seem to be lit up from below?
Feedback from the Board visitors:
The assistant principal sent me an email that afternoon with the following compliment: "Great job today. :) They were impressed, even more so when I told them you folded an EC [Exceptional Children] student in because of a high interest in the book."
At the reception later that evening, one of the Board members approached to offer congratulations on conducting a lesson that was so engaging to students, as well as the adults who were observing. As a former history teacher, he was impressed that elementary students were being introduced to more advanced concepts through literature, technology, and discussions. He joked that I looked like a high school student in front of the children, but lead the class like a literature professor - a very flattering remark.
DPI 3.B School library media coordinators serve, promote, and facilitate inquiry-based instruction and the effective use of information and technology
- Collaboratively plans, implements, and assesses inquiry-based instruction
Using the upcoming holiday as a launching point, 4th grade students discussed several issues and concerns they have about Halloween to initiate an inquiry project. Many brought up questions about staying safe, how much candy is appropriate to eat, and if sugar-free candy is really better for you. From there, the Technology Facilitator and myself determined that students would be interested in doing a project using the guiding question:
How can you have a safe and healthy Halloween?
The goal was for students to find solutions to potentially unsafe, and unhealthy habits around Halloween, such as eating contaminated candy, the result of consuming too much sugar, lack of sleep, and spreading germs. The inquiry covered several curriculum standards such as:
North Carolina Essential Standards
- 4.NPA.1.2 Carry out measures to prevent food borne illness, including hand washing and appropriate food storage and preparation
- 4.SI.1.3 Use reliable sources of information
- 4.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities
- 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
- 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.
DPI 3.A School library media coordinators develop a library collection
that supports 21st century teaching and learning / AASL 3.4 Research
and Knowledge Creation
that supports 21st century teaching and learning / AASL 3.4 Research
and Knowledge Creation
- Ensures that the library collection is aligned with and supports the NC Standard Course of Study, and provides for the recreational and informational needs of students in a variety of formats
- Candidates interpret and use data to create and share new knowledge to improve practice in school libraries
Due to the large size of our school, it is impossible for every student to use the library each day, or to check in with teachers on curricular information. The media center has a home page that students and teachers can reach from classroom computers or from home in order to stay informed on things happening in the media center, check out the catalog, and find resources. The homepage can be found here. While this is a good tool to make the media center more accessible, other technology is used to collaborate with teachers on curriculum standards and material requests. In the past, the media specialist would pull books via verbal or telephoned request, and did not plan media lessons around classroom curriculum. I have created several Google Forms to help stay in-tune with the units and objectives being taught in the classroom so that I am able to enhance their lessons and provide resources for students and teachers. The below form is sent to the grade level chairs each month as a reminder to keep the information current. I take their responses and organize them in a spreadsheet to share with my PLC so we are all working towards common goals.
The information provided on this form is also used to create collection displays for students that align with their ELA, Math, Science, and/or Social Studies lessons. Because students can so easily find these materials, they have demonstrated a greater interest in investigating the content further.
Teachers can request materials via a Google Form, or by email. This procedure allows me to have a record of what they are in need of, how I can help, and when it is needed. The communication also allows me to get a pulse on what is happening in individual classrooms, any upcoming field trips or special events, and discover more options for collaboration with teachers.
Teachers can request materials via a Google Form, or by email. This procedure allows me to have a record of what they are in need of, how I can help, and when it is needed. The communication also allows me to get a pulse on what is happening in individual classrooms, any upcoming field trips or special events, and discover more options for collaboration with teachers.