Group items tagged

How can students be taught to effectively use a library and tap into its vast offerings if library media specialists are not there to teach and guide students to develop the judgment necessary to choose the correct information?

A series of studies that have had a great deal of influence on the research and decision-making discussions concerning school library media programs have grown from the work of a team in Colorado—Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell (2000).

Recent school library impact studies have also identified, and generated some evidence about, potential "interventions" that could be studied. The questions might at first appear rather familiar: How much, and how, are achievement and learning improved when . . . librarians collaborate more fully with other educators? libraries are more flexibly scheduled? administrators choose to support stronger library programs (in a specific way)? library spending (for something specific) increases?

high priority should be given to reaching teachers, administrators, and public officials as well as school librarians and school library advocates.

Acknowledging the tough economy and lost library jobs, Doug Johnson, director of media and technology for Mankato (MN) Public Schools, declared, “We have no choice but to change,” as he kicked off the June 28 Forum event of SIGMS, ISTE’s special-interest group for media specialists.

That change means not only embracing technology directly, but taking a leadership role in helping teaching peers and students manage the shift, whether it’s going from print to ebooks or using instructional videocasting to “flip” the classroom.

1. Leverage social media and the Web.

Several information problem-solving models exist for teaching and reinforcing the research, problem-solving, and writing processes. The Big Six information skills model (Big6) is one that is primarily aimed at kindergarten through twelfth-grade students. This model is intended to foster the acquisition of research, problem-solving, and metacognitive skills through the cooperation of both school library media specialists and classroom teachers. While a strong anecdotal record exists supporting the use of Big6, empirical research support is less evident in library and education literature. This study examines the effect of Big6 on a class of eighth-grade students asked to research and write about events surrounding the African-American Civil Rights movement.

“I think the definition of writing is shifting,” Boardman said. “I don’t think writing happens with just words anymore.”

In his classes, Boardman teaches students how to express their ideas and how to tell stories —and he encourages them to use video, music, recorded voices and whatever other media will best allow them to communicate effectively. He is part of a vanguard of educators, technologists, intellectuals and writers who are reimagining the very meaning of writing and reading.

The keys to understanding this new perspective on writing and reading lie in notions of collaboration and being social. More specifically, it’s believing that collaboration and increased socialization around activities like reading and writing is a good idea.