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Collaboration of the Media Specialist and Classroom Teacher: How it Works. Planning. Media specialist and classroom teacher meet, discuss, and plan the lesson to meet both academic and information literacy standards.
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Collaboration of the Media Specialist and Classroom Teacher: How it Works
Planning • Media specialist and classroom teacher meet, discuss, and plan the lesson to meet both academic and information literacy standards. • Both individuals contribute equally to the planning, utilizing his or her strengths and areas of expertise.
Lesson Explanation • For this lesson example, students are comparing and contrasting cultural aspects of the Iroquois, Cherokee, and Hopi Native American tribes. • Students pick a feature of their choice in which they are interested, such as style of dress, type of shelter/housing, religious practices, type of food, treatment of women, etc. (Students already have some background knowledge as they’ve been studying Native Americans.)
Lesson Explanation Continued • Working individually or in groups of two, students research the aspect of Native American culture they have chosen utilizing all media center resources available (non-fiction books, reference books, databases, Internet, etc.). • They also should determine why the differences among the cultures occur (environmental differences, religious beliefs, etc.) This part of the project will require less fact-finding and more creative and inferential thinking.
Lesson Explanation Continued • Students create a final project to show what they have learned. Students may pick their final project based on their learning styles and what best fits the topic they have chosen. • Final projects could be a written research paper, poem or song, PowerPoint presentation, oral presentation, digital video, or model (i.e. – models of each of the three types of homes, or creations of the three types of dress).
Lesson Explanation Continued • Students who receive a “B” or higher on their project will have their project on display at the local history museum for the next month’s thematic focus: Native Americans.
Lesson – Day 1 • Students meet in the media center this day, and will continue to meet there for the duration of the project. • Classroom teacher explains the assignment to students and goes over the requirements and rubric. • Media specialist discusses with students the different resources available (books, magazines, journals, databases, Internet, etc.) and how to utilize them.
Lesson – Day 1 Continued • Media specialist provides students with a handout detailing how to identify if a website is a reliable source for an inquiry project. • Media specialist goes over these criteria with students. • With a partner, students explore a list of 5 websites the media specialist has provided and decides whether each site is a reliable source. • Class comes back together and discusses which sites are reliable.
Lesson – Day 2 • Teacher and media specialist provide a handout on the correct way to cite sources and how to avoid plagiarism. Working individually, students practice citing sources using resources provided by the teacher and media specialist. • Students come back to a whole group and discuss their practice example answers.
Lesson – Day 2 Continued • Students are now free to begin their inquiry, using the resources in the media center. • Classroom teacher and media specialist should both be available to assist students in their research. • As students begin finding the information they are looking for, they take notes on the info in their journals.
Lesson – Day 3 • Students continue with their research and note-taking. • Classroom teacher and media specialist both continue to be available for assistance and to provide scaffolding. • If students have found all of the information they need, they may begin their final projects.
Lesson – Day 4 • Students finish up any research and work on their final projects. • Classroom teacher and media specialist continue to be available for assistance and scaffolding.
Lesson – Day 5 • Last day to finish projects! • Peer editing and feedback should happen today.
Lesson – Day 6 • Projects are presented to the class. • Not all projects may be presented. For example, a PowerPoint presentation would be presented, but a written research paper may not be.
What’s the Point? • How is this example different from a teacher assigning an inquiry project and then taking the class to the library to complete the project? • Media specialist has an active role in lesson planning, understands the assignment completely, and therefore has a better understanding of which resources will be most beneficial to students and can instruct them on the use of these resources.
What’s the Point? • How is this example different from a teacher assigning an inquiry project and then taking the class to the library to complete the project? • Students are actively taught information literacy skills (how to utilize library resources, how to determine the reliability of a website, how to cite sources) they will need to effectively engage in the inquiry process
What’s the Point? • How is this example different from a teacher assigning an inquiry project and then taking the class to the library to complete the project? • Students have two experts to assist them, each with different areas of expertise, rather than just a classroom teacher (while the media specialist hides in her office, annoyed the class has “taken over her library”) or just the media specialist (because the classroom teacher has dumped the class at the library and gone back to her room to grade papers).
What Do the Experts Say? • “The attributes of a collaborative teaching and learning environment, in which the school librarian engages in curricular issues on a par with other teachers and actually leads in many aspects in addition to providing expertise in resource, access, and use, include deep trust, collegiality, respect, equality, expertise recognized and valued, and communication that is constructive and frequent.” (Callison 2006)
What Does it Mean? • When educators are focused on how to best meet the needs of children, rather than petty squabbles over boundary issues, the children are better served. • When positive relationships exist between educators, the children can tell and benefit from it!
What Do the Experts Say? • “The dynamic interaction among members of a community created through collaboration invites creativity and innovative thinking: two fundamental ingredients for academic success.” (Montiel-Overall 2005)
What Does it Mean? • Two heads are better than one! • Students will have a superior learning experience and great academic success.
What Do the Experts Say? • Effective collaboration with teachers helps to create a vibrant and engaged community of learners, strengthens the whole school program as well as the library media program, and develops support for the school library media program throughout the whole school.” (American Association of School Librarians 1998)
What Does it Mean? • The general classroom benefits. • The media center benefits. • The whole school benefits. • Therefore, the children benefit.
Collaboration: Make it Happen • Establish a good relationship with teachers • Raise teachers’ expectations of what the school media program can do • Become an expert on the curriculum’s goals • Show the connections between information literacy and content-related objectives
Collaboration: Make it Happen • Solicit teachers’ assistance in library media program development • Be flexible in expectations and timing • Be persistent (American Association of School Librarians 1998)
Collaboration: Make it Happen • Create/take advantage of opportunities • Acknowledge agendas • Discuss expectations • Determine goals and objectives • Set priorities • Create teams • Keep team focused on mission
Collaboration: Make it Happen • Evaluate • Document evidence • Reward positive results • Lead professional growth • Share leadership (Stripling & Hughes-Hassell 2003)
Works Cited • American Association of School Librarians. (1998). Information power: building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Library Association. • Callison, D. & Preddy, L. (2006). The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Works Cited • Montiel-Overall, P. (2005). Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians. School Library Media Research 8. Available at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume82005/theory.cfm (accessed November 9, 2008).
Works Cited • Stripling, B.K. & Hughes-Hassell, S. (Eds.). (2003). Curriculum connections through the library. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.