Standard 1: Teaching for Learning: Candidates are effective teachers who demonstrate knowledge of learners and learning and who model and promote collaborative planning, instruction in multiple literacies, and inquiry-based learning, enabling members of the learning community to become effective users and creators of ideas and information. Candidates design and implement instruction that engages students' interests and develops their ability to inquire, think critically, gain and share knowledge.
In order to gain a knowledge of learners and their learning (standard 1.1), I conducted a school and school library demographic assessment for Hough High School where I completed my LIS 692 practicum. This assessment increased my awareness of classrooms designed to cater to students with special learning styles and academic needs (AIG, EC, college preparatory/organizational study halls, etc.); after recognizing that very few of these classes receive special, differentiated instruction in the library from the teacher-librarian, I chose to collaborate with the EC teacher to create and lead a 45 minute differentiated lesson that catered to the intellectual abilities and learning styles of these special needs students. School librarians are charged with the task of differentiating instruction for all students in the school, regardless of their abilities and culture by providing learning activities that involve a tactile or “hands-on” approach” (Kachka, 2009).
Having never worked with an EC class before, I quickly learned that they perform best when lots of visuals are involved, so I incorporated lots of WWII propaganda images to teach a lesson about persuasion, imagery, and symbolism in the media. I also found it to be more effective for the students to do more of the talking about the propaganda than me. These EC students greatly benefited from being taught using differentiated instruction. The EC teacher commented that she was surprised how eager her students were to participate in discussions that she at first thought were too challenging for them and to utilize a new digital tool (postermywall) to cater to their very visual learning styles.
My LIS 654 lessons incorporated a lot of different types of differentiated instruction. For my ELA lesson plan to teach 2nd graders fables and folktales, I planned for lower level readers to work with higher level readers when reading and analyzing their folktales and fables. For my social studies unit teaching map interpretation skills to 2nd graders, we modified the worksheet that accompanied each map so that students who struggled with map reading skills could simpler, more surface level questions and more advanced students could have more analytical questions. Finally, the collaborative group unit lesson plans encouraged students with learning disabilities to use assistive technologies to type their outerspace poems on the computer or to work in groups to act out their poems instead of writing them down; likewise, ESL students could be given the option of talking through the graphic organizer for their celestial body research instead of writing it down.
My LIS 692 lesson plan also met standard 1.2 (effective and knowledgeable teacher). This lesson plan utilized several inquiry based instructional strategies including group discussion, pair work to analyze the propaganda posters, and using a 21st century tool (postermywall) for students to design their own propaganda poster implementing the propaganda criteria they discussed. The posters were assessed using a rubric designed by myself and the EC teacher.
Librarians play an integral role in teaching and supporting 21st century skills (School Libraries Work!, 2016).
Additionally, my LIS 693 lesson plan was developed collaboratively (in person and via Google doc) and co-taught with a third grade teacher. This lesson was one of the best ways I’ve integrated 21st century skills and learning standards (standard 1.4), by means of incorporating digital tools into the lesson. This lesson involved teaching opinion writing by having kids access online encyclopedia databases to compare the strengths and weaknesses of two different animals in pairs. They then presented which animal they thought would win in a fight through a digital graphic organizer called Popplet. This allowed for the integration of multiple literacies as students researched, synthesized information, and made a digital presentation. It took me a while to locate appropriate databases and digital tools to create this lesson, but once I identified these materials, this lesson was a huge success!
According to the Pennsylvania School Library Project, “Librarians are certified teachers who are highly skilled in using the latest information technologies and in teaching teachers how to integrate these technologies into their learning/teaching process” (PA School Library Project, 2012). The report goes on to say that becoming transliterate (being able to understand pictures, text, and video across multiple platforms) is one of the crucial skills students need to be successful in the 21st century and that school librarians can help teach these skills most effectively (PA School Library Project, 2012).
After reviewing the video tape, I believe my 693 lesson was a strong example of me being an effective and knowledgeable teacher who also learned from the classroom teacher. I did only a small amount of talking to the class and spent the rest of the time leading the students in guided practice and walking around the class with the teacher helping students research on their own. I also felt that Popplet, the digital app I chose for the second lesson was something the students and their teacher thoroughly enjoyed using so the assignment seemed less like a chore and more interactive and engaging. If I was to do this lesson again, the biggest thing I would need to work on would be the pacing of each lesson; using the inquiry-based lesson model, I ran out of time for reflection and sharing at the end of each lesson, but with time, I'm sure I could improve on this.
It was great to be able to co-teach my LIS 693 lesson. Right away, I could tell how this lesson was much more effective than LIS 692, which was simply taught while the teacher sat in the back of the room. Having the teacher and librarian assisting students one-on-one provided a lot of extra opportunity for individualized instruction, which really helped the students make great gains. I have no doubt this kind of co-teaching would lead to an increase in test scores and student achievement. Based on a study conducted by Keith Curry Lance and commissioned by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, schools in which librarians spent 20 or more hours teaching each week resulted in all students being far more likely to have exemplary test results on English Language Arts Standards than those schools whose librarians did not teach this frequently each week (Gavigan, 2016).
The School Libraries Work! study indicates that certified school librarians have maximum impact when they collaborate with teachers to meet needs of students by helping students use a variety of resources, conduct research and present their findings (School Libraries Work!, 2016). The National Center for Literacy Education reveals that school librarians are highly involved leaders and as such they should not only participate in, but also deliver professional development sessions to their peers, educators and staff in their communities (School Libraries Work!, 2016).
Another example of this technology integration for the purposes of teaching teachers was my LIS 635 (Media Production Services for Library Programs) App smash assignment. I created a blendscape designed as a professional development workshop for beginning children’s librarians (specifically in public libraries) about how they can create their own blendspace to digitally plan a multi-age storytime around a certain theme (in this case winter). I was able to digitally curate a variety of resources into my blendscape to illustrate how to appropriately select and incorporate the recommended elements of a well designed storytime; these elements include the books, songs, fingerplays, flannels, literacy activities (crafts), and, for the older ones, digital apps that reinforce basic concepts. The blendspace mashed together YouTube videos of librarians singing songs, Google images and Flickr images of the crafts and literacy activities, web links to curated book collections, and a link to an original Voicethread recording of myself explaining how any librarian could create a blendscape outline of their own storytime plans and then embed this in a blog to share with other librarians. Ideally, I would teach librarians how to build one of these blendspaces during an interactive, hands-on workshop that would allow them time to search for their own images, video clips, and curated collections to include.
Because I know that children’s librarians love to share ideas and resources from a lot of different curated sites (pinterest, librarian blogs, YouTube, etc.), I felt that blendspace, more so than any other digital tool I examined, allows librarians to share resources in one place in a very visual way with components can be drug and reordered until the storytime flows in a very natural way for each individual librarian. I also liked that blendspace allows you to add your own written instructional text in between boxes with digital content; using blendspace as an instructional tool, I was therefore able to type steps and tips for how to build a multi-age storytime and intersperse these throughout the sample content I curated. The beginning librarians would be able to use the text feature to write in their own literacy tips that they hoped to share with the caregivers during the storytime. Forcing beginning children’s librarians to type their literacy tips for caregivers into the blendspace lineup makes the beginning librarian more mindful of how they are going to incorporate these tips into their actual storytime. After experimenting with Voki and Tellagami, I decided that these tools seemed a bit too cartoonish and elementary for my audience. So instead, I decided to record myself talking in Voicethread (which was easier to embed).
To demonstrate my role as an instructional partner and a professional development leader (standard 1.3), I presented a ONE Access presentation during a staff meeting at a J.V. Washam Elementary School, which highlighted public library resources (electronic databases and eBook resources) and encouraged teachers to use these resources in their classes with students.
I also spoke to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade planning teams at Cornelius Elementary, presenting on specific e-resources that would help their students with specific grade level projects. Using the Smartboard, I showed the teachers how to access the databases and how to search and navigate the sites to later use with their students.
My biggest takeaway is that teachers have virtually no time to give you for professional development. So not only do you need a very concise presentation, but you also need to tailor your presentation as closely to the teacher’s needs as possible. For this reason, my experience presenting at Cornelius Elementary was much more effective as I emailed teachers before presenting so I would know exactly what their upcoming curriculum projects were. That way I could hone in on those topics specifically. On the other hand, J.V. Washam teachers didn’t seem to care much. Survey results from my professional development activities revealed that the Cornelius teachers did in fact use digital resources I suggested with their students while working on specific research projects. While one would hope these resources would have improved student achievement, that portion of my work I was unable to measure.
Artifacts referenced for standard 1
654 lesson plans
In order to gain a knowledge of learners and their learning (standard 1.1), I conducted a school and school library demographic assessment for Hough High School where I completed my LIS 692 practicum. This assessment increased my awareness of classrooms designed to cater to students with special learning styles and academic needs (AIG, EC, college preparatory/organizational study halls, etc.); after recognizing that very few of these classes receive special, differentiated instruction in the library from the teacher-librarian, I chose to collaborate with the EC teacher to create and lead a 45 minute differentiated lesson that catered to the intellectual abilities and learning styles of these special needs students. School librarians are charged with the task of differentiating instruction for all students in the school, regardless of their abilities and culture by providing learning activities that involve a tactile or “hands-on” approach” (Kachka, 2009).
Having never worked with an EC class before, I quickly learned that they perform best when lots of visuals are involved, so I incorporated lots of WWII propaganda images to teach a lesson about persuasion, imagery, and symbolism in the media. I also found it to be more effective for the students to do more of the talking about the propaganda than me. These EC students greatly benefited from being taught using differentiated instruction. The EC teacher commented that she was surprised how eager her students were to participate in discussions that she at first thought were too challenging for them and to utilize a new digital tool (postermywall) to cater to their very visual learning styles.
My LIS 654 lessons incorporated a lot of different types of differentiated instruction. For my ELA lesson plan to teach 2nd graders fables and folktales, I planned for lower level readers to work with higher level readers when reading and analyzing their folktales and fables. For my social studies unit teaching map interpretation skills to 2nd graders, we modified the worksheet that accompanied each map so that students who struggled with map reading skills could simpler, more surface level questions and more advanced students could have more analytical questions. Finally, the collaborative group unit lesson plans encouraged students with learning disabilities to use assistive technologies to type their outerspace poems on the computer or to work in groups to act out their poems instead of writing them down; likewise, ESL students could be given the option of talking through the graphic organizer for their celestial body research instead of writing it down.
My LIS 692 lesson plan also met standard 1.2 (effective and knowledgeable teacher). This lesson plan utilized several inquiry based instructional strategies including group discussion, pair work to analyze the propaganda posters, and using a 21st century tool (postermywall) for students to design their own propaganda poster implementing the propaganda criteria they discussed. The posters were assessed using a rubric designed by myself and the EC teacher.
Librarians play an integral role in teaching and supporting 21st century skills (School Libraries Work!, 2016).
Additionally, my LIS 693 lesson plan was developed collaboratively (in person and via Google doc) and co-taught with a third grade teacher. This lesson was one of the best ways I’ve integrated 21st century skills and learning standards (standard 1.4), by means of incorporating digital tools into the lesson. This lesson involved teaching opinion writing by having kids access online encyclopedia databases to compare the strengths and weaknesses of two different animals in pairs. They then presented which animal they thought would win in a fight through a digital graphic organizer called Popplet. This allowed for the integration of multiple literacies as students researched, synthesized information, and made a digital presentation. It took me a while to locate appropriate databases and digital tools to create this lesson, but once I identified these materials, this lesson was a huge success!
According to the Pennsylvania School Library Project, “Librarians are certified teachers who are highly skilled in using the latest information technologies and in teaching teachers how to integrate these technologies into their learning/teaching process” (PA School Library Project, 2012). The report goes on to say that becoming transliterate (being able to understand pictures, text, and video across multiple platforms) is one of the crucial skills students need to be successful in the 21st century and that school librarians can help teach these skills most effectively (PA School Library Project, 2012).
After reviewing the video tape, I believe my 693 lesson was a strong example of me being an effective and knowledgeable teacher who also learned from the classroom teacher. I did only a small amount of talking to the class and spent the rest of the time leading the students in guided practice and walking around the class with the teacher helping students research on their own. I also felt that Popplet, the digital app I chose for the second lesson was something the students and their teacher thoroughly enjoyed using so the assignment seemed less like a chore and more interactive and engaging. If I was to do this lesson again, the biggest thing I would need to work on would be the pacing of each lesson; using the inquiry-based lesson model, I ran out of time for reflection and sharing at the end of each lesson, but with time, I'm sure I could improve on this.
It was great to be able to co-teach my LIS 693 lesson. Right away, I could tell how this lesson was much more effective than LIS 692, which was simply taught while the teacher sat in the back of the room. Having the teacher and librarian assisting students one-on-one provided a lot of extra opportunity for individualized instruction, which really helped the students make great gains. I have no doubt this kind of co-teaching would lead to an increase in test scores and student achievement. Based on a study conducted by Keith Curry Lance and commissioned by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, schools in which librarians spent 20 or more hours teaching each week resulted in all students being far more likely to have exemplary test results on English Language Arts Standards than those schools whose librarians did not teach this frequently each week (Gavigan, 2016).
The School Libraries Work! study indicates that certified school librarians have maximum impact when they collaborate with teachers to meet needs of students by helping students use a variety of resources, conduct research and present their findings (School Libraries Work!, 2016). The National Center for Literacy Education reveals that school librarians are highly involved leaders and as such they should not only participate in, but also deliver professional development sessions to their peers, educators and staff in their communities (School Libraries Work!, 2016).
Another example of this technology integration for the purposes of teaching teachers was my LIS 635 (Media Production Services for Library Programs) App smash assignment. I created a blendscape designed as a professional development workshop for beginning children’s librarians (specifically in public libraries) about how they can create their own blendspace to digitally plan a multi-age storytime around a certain theme (in this case winter). I was able to digitally curate a variety of resources into my blendscape to illustrate how to appropriately select and incorporate the recommended elements of a well designed storytime; these elements include the books, songs, fingerplays, flannels, literacy activities (crafts), and, for the older ones, digital apps that reinforce basic concepts. The blendspace mashed together YouTube videos of librarians singing songs, Google images and Flickr images of the crafts and literacy activities, web links to curated book collections, and a link to an original Voicethread recording of myself explaining how any librarian could create a blendscape outline of their own storytime plans and then embed this in a blog to share with other librarians. Ideally, I would teach librarians how to build one of these blendspaces during an interactive, hands-on workshop that would allow them time to search for their own images, video clips, and curated collections to include.
Because I know that children’s librarians love to share ideas and resources from a lot of different curated sites (pinterest, librarian blogs, YouTube, etc.), I felt that blendspace, more so than any other digital tool I examined, allows librarians to share resources in one place in a very visual way with components can be drug and reordered until the storytime flows in a very natural way for each individual librarian. I also liked that blendspace allows you to add your own written instructional text in between boxes with digital content; using blendspace as an instructional tool, I was therefore able to type steps and tips for how to build a multi-age storytime and intersperse these throughout the sample content I curated. The beginning librarians would be able to use the text feature to write in their own literacy tips that they hoped to share with the caregivers during the storytime. Forcing beginning children’s librarians to type their literacy tips for caregivers into the blendspace lineup makes the beginning librarian more mindful of how they are going to incorporate these tips into their actual storytime. After experimenting with Voki and Tellagami, I decided that these tools seemed a bit too cartoonish and elementary for my audience. So instead, I decided to record myself talking in Voicethread (which was easier to embed).
To demonstrate my role as an instructional partner and a professional development leader (standard 1.3), I presented a ONE Access presentation during a staff meeting at a J.V. Washam Elementary School, which highlighted public library resources (electronic databases and eBook resources) and encouraged teachers to use these resources in their classes with students.
I also spoke to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade planning teams at Cornelius Elementary, presenting on specific e-resources that would help their students with specific grade level projects. Using the Smartboard, I showed the teachers how to access the databases and how to search and navigate the sites to later use with their students.
My biggest takeaway is that teachers have virtually no time to give you for professional development. So not only do you need a very concise presentation, but you also need to tailor your presentation as closely to the teacher’s needs as possible. For this reason, my experience presenting at Cornelius Elementary was much more effective as I emailed teachers before presenting so I would know exactly what their upcoming curriculum projects were. That way I could hone in on those topics specifically. On the other hand, J.V. Washam teachers didn’t seem to care much. Survey results from my professional development activities revealed that the Cornelius teachers did in fact use digital resources I suggested with their students while working on specific research projects. While one would hope these resources would have improved student achievement, that portion of my work I was unable to measure.
Artifacts referenced for standard 1
654 lesson plans
northcote_ela_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 67 kb |
File Type: | docx |
lis_654_social_studies_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 2952 kb |
File Type: | docx |
lis_654_unit_plan_collaborative_subject_unit.docx | |
File Size: | 1165 kb |
File Type: | docx |
692 demographic needs assessment
northcote_librarydemographicstudy.docx | |
File Size: | 744 kb |
File Type: | docx |
northcote_schooldemographicstudy.docx | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | docx |
692 lesson plan
propaganda_lesson_plan__1_.docx | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |
northcote_lesson_plan_revised.pdf | |
File Size: | 418 kb |
File Type: |
northcote_lesson_plan_revised.pdf | |
File Size: | 418 kb |
File Type: |
northcote_collaboration_planning_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |
assessment_reflection_northcote.docx | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |
northcote_lesson_reflection_and_evaluation.docx | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | docx |
693 Professional development project
northcote_professional_development.docx | |
File Size: | 1070 kb |
File Type: | docx |