ISCI 794 Interview #4

 

ISCI 794 Librarian Interview #4

Deborah Cooley - Elementary Librarian - Shared Foundation - Explore

Speaking with an elementary librarian provided discussions that led to the sharing of lesson ideas. It was very interesting to see the similar lessons we taught as well as ideas to enhance or adapt lessons. Mrs. Cooley taught text features by having students look at animal speeds using only the contents or indexes of books. Students then presented their information. While very specific questions are part of exploration, it is also necessary to ask broader or general questions. Teaching on a fixed schedule for me means that the lessons have to be shorter to fit in a 50-minute time frame or less. Breaking up how to do research and how others teach this is something that I am always looking for. I enjoyed learning some new ideas and i am looking forward to implementing some of these ideas. 

The challenges that we face implementing these competencies was also an aspect of our discussion that were notable. There are a number of Ukranian and Hispanic families in our district and the language barrier creates a continued challenge. In some instances, you may need to explain something in three languages to accommodate all your students. Students receive services to improve languages skills but there is not a translator or aid that travels with them, and we have to employ digital means to aid our teaching like Say Hi or Google Translate. While these applications are great, we must find the time to instruct students two or three times to give all students a chance to gather the knowledge we are sharing. Linked to this is also the diverse reading levels of our students within each grade.

ISCI 794 Interview #3

 

ISCI 794 Librarian Interview #3
Holly Rice - High School Librarian - Shared Foundation Inquire

This shared foundation really ties in easily with research for high school aged students. Students are completing far more extensive projects that require additional skills of developing a research question and then finding a variety of sources. Mrs. Rice likes to teach the "CRAP" method as it is easy for HS students to remember due to entertainment value of the word. Also of note is that during the instruction of research skills, information literacy can also be tied into the instruction. helping students to become more digitally aware their online presence is something that should be addresses regularly.

Visiting with Mrs. Rice has expanded my thoughts on what high school librarians can do with their students. I know that all librarians wear many hats, but the flexibility of a high school does allow for more collaborative opportunities, instruction that can have immediate be real world usage, and additional opportunities to develop relationships with the students.  Mrs. Rice has worked with teachers on research, with SPED teachers to teach marketing and advertising using Canva, creating escape rooms, advising clubs, and just being a hub for staff and students. 

Mrs. Rice made a comment at the end of the interview that really stayed with me. She stated that she excited that librarianship was moving to a more innovative way of learning, and not just checking books in and out. This is such a true statement and very evident in all that we have learned and all we will do in the future. 

 ISCI 794
Blog Post #2 
Interview with Amber Eaves - AASL Shared Foundation - Explore

This interview was with Amber Eaves. I worked with Amber last year in her library and we met over spring break to talk about some of the changes that have happened and to catch up with each other. Amber chose to answer questions based on the shared foundation of explore. 

The first question revolved around building hurricane houses to withstand winds and water. When students do research, they are explore and constructing new knowledge. I built a unit around topographic maps this year and after talking with Amber, I want to incorporate more exploration into this unit. We built topographic maps with Legos. I provided the map and the students had to construct that map. I want to encourage more exploration next year by having students possible create their own maps and exchange these to have the different group construct the maps. We can talk more about how the different Legos can represent land features and to possibly look at any constraints that we may need to put in place to help students or to make the task more difficult.

Our conversation also covered topics like time in the library schedules for collaboration. We are both on a fixed schedule and this makes it very difficult to meet with teachers to collaborate on lessons. We both try to make a point of responding quickly to teacher requests to show our enthusiasm for helping, we also try to be visible and get out of our spaces often to be seen and available for questions. Neither of our schedules accommodate attending grade level meetings so when there are staff meetings we also offer our assistance. 

Amber also stated that she struggles with students being disengaged with many or all lessons. This mainly is seen in the older students and she has tried a variety of lesson types, formats and structures with little success. In most instances, 80 to 90% of the class is engaged but there are that one or two that are not willing to participate fully or give their best efforts. I see this as well in my library classes and like Amber, I try to vary lessons and choose engaging topics that are of interest but there are still those few students who are not motivated or engaged. For the future, I want to try to get more student work hanging around the library and the hallway as way to possibly motivate students. I also want to find ways to incorporate more STEAM lessons into my programming. The lessons will also encourage more problem solving skills which was the final are we talked extensively about. 

We talked about students lack of problem solving skills and what some of the cause of this could be. We both considered how technology provides answers at the touch of a button and that this convenience may be a small part of the issue. Our conversation prompted me to look at different ways students can develop these skills in the library. Maybe have problems task cards that groups of students can discuss ways to solve these or have group discussions once a month about the task card. Adding Lego or other STEAM challenges also can improve these skills in the future. 

 ISCI 794

Blog Assignment

Interview #1

Interview with Carolyn Crosland - AASL Shared Foundation - Collaborate 

This interview was with my supervising librarian, and we had a great conversation during and after the internship. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with classroom teachers during my internship. The internship and collaboration opportunities were important aspect of the internship and provided some key points that will affect how I initiate collaborative opportunities in the future. 

The biggest take away that I had from our discussion was that unless you can insert yourself into lesson planning, teachers are only going to see you as the "book check out lady". Teachers in ELA have a tendency to reach out more often as books and literacy tend to go hand in hand, but the library is just as important to other disciplines. Mrs. Crosland shared some of the collaborative projects she has done at her time at her school such as world of finance with the math classroom and colonial times day for the social studies classes. Talking about these collaborative projects highlighted that the experience the students get out of this opportunity with stay with the students longer. Collaborative projects require more from both the teachers and the students but the benefit for the students is well worth the extra effort. 

Collaboration is hard to start when librarians are new. We talked about reaching out to teachers often with offers of help beyond book check out. The more the teachers here your name and your willingness to help, then they are more likely to reach out in the future. It is hard to be seen as more than just the book check out lady so as a librarian, we must be proactive and seek out chances to work with teachers and attend grade level meetings so that all subject areas can see that the library or librarian is there to not just pull resources but to be an active participant in the education of students. The final thought that Mrs. Crosland offered was the barriers that exist when the administration is not supportive of the library in general or collaboration. Administration that already understands the importance of collaboration goes just makes our job easier. If collaboration is not a priority or supported, then as a librarian we just have to be more creative about finding times in our busy schedules to make collaboration happen. Mrs. Crosland does not have very supportive administration and during my time with her, I came to better understand that collaboration does not require days and hours of conversations and meetings. Collaboration can be one 30-minute meeting with some follow-up emails or short conversations. This was a great lesson that I know will benefit me in the future. 

Donaldson_Christine_BlogShare

Donaldson_Christine_BlogShare_Post#8

Blog Share of the Blog The Lego Librarian

 For this blog post, I would like to share the blog, The Lego Librarian. My students always want to play with Legos, so I am always on the lookout for new ideas to incorporate Legos into my lessons. This blog jumped out to me as there were new ideas I discovered and some general library programming ideas as well.  

The first post I want to talk about caught my attention is a blog about using Legos to reinforce story elements. I have been reinforcing story elements during my library lessons and the creative way the Lego Librarian approached this was fun. The lesson begins with the librarian asking the students what is wrong with this story. Once upon a time, the end. The students will make suggestions, and the story is adapted until they add the required story elements. The students are asked questions throughout the process and enjoy helping create a story. The Lego Librarian experience has been that students say the story created is not a good story, but they are reminded that a good story is not required, they were only asked what was wrong and to add all the necessary story elements. This is a very different way to show students the importance of story elements and that a missing element changes that story. 

The Lego Librarian also posted a blog about creating a Lego comic. These are just three or four panel comics, but the idea is that the students must create a quite simple story line of setting, problem, and solution. This reinforces story elements but also allows for the students to create something a little different. The Lego Librarian likes to give fewer directions to see where the kids take the task. The photos on the blog really show how creative students can be. I could see having enough minifigures the only possible problem, but I know the students would really enjoy this especially if they can share the stories with the class or we could create a short movie of all the stories to share with many. 

I really enjoyed the post that was created on symmetry. This is an interesting concept, and the older grades would not need to have the concept explained but they could take the task and create some really interesting things. The Lego Librarian also calls it a mirror challenge where the mirrored side contrasts with the other side but also has symmetry. The blog examples were interesting, and I think you could do this challenge a few times with a variety of results. There was also a suggestion in the blog of having students work in pairs with the students working at the same time to create the two sides of the challenge. This is a wonderful way for students to work on compromise and communication as they work together to create a mirrored construction. 

The Carnival Games blog post was also fun. Students love to play games and there could be a creation day, and a playing day. I have done marble maze creations before, and I like the variety that carnival games offer. In one of the pictures, a Nerf gun was required to shoot some of the paddles off the game. Kids would have an exciting time problem solving the best way to create a game that is easy to set up after it is played. There are several skills used when students solve problems. Another great aspect of this post is the addition of the You Tube video that is also linked to help explain some of the challenges.  

The Lego Librarian also referenced another blog titled Jbrary. I explored this blog briefly and have bookmarked it to explore more in the future. My brief exploration showed me many song suggestions for story times. It is great to have these suggestions organized by a theme that can be easily searched later. There are a ton of story time suggestions as well as lists of the authors favorite picture books by publication year. There are many You Tube Playlists that offer musical suggestions for story time and many videos of the Jbrary authors, Dana and Lindsey doing many of the suggested songs.

What I am reading 

Too Many Bigs and One Big Bad Wolf by D. Cali 
Make Way for Butterfly by R. Burach
I am the Longest Dog by A, Monsen
Moon Camp by B. Gott
Something's Wrong by J. John
Knight Owl by C. Denise
How Does Santa Get Down the Chimney by M. Barnett

 

Donaldson_Christine_Blog #7_Free Choice

This class has improved many aspects of how I read to my students. I was a confident storyteller to begin with but there have been aspects that have improved the experience I create. I employed voices regularly, but I did not use props. These are great additions, and, in most cases, there are easy ways to use props. I had always thought that elaborate puppets and felt pieces were the norm, but the class has shown me that there are a variety of items that can be used. Commonly found items can be used that emphasize the story and bring something the students can really see and analyze into your story. Simple items can be used, and the younger audiences really benefit from the addition of props. Singing and rhymes have always come naturally so those aspects of storytelling have been present in my stories from the start. Storytelling is a blast but there are some aspects of librarianship that MLIS classes cannot prepare you for.  

We are busy and there is never enough time in a day, week, or year to accomplish all that we want. I walked into my first job apprehensive but ready to tackle everything. What I could not tackle was finding more time to accomplish the tasks I wanted. Yes, I knew I would be busy, but I had no idea how busy. Part of this is the combination of finishing up my master’s degree, teaching, lesson plans, and family. There were a number of things that took up more time than I had anticipated. Some of these extra tasks or interruptions that took up more time than I was expecting were purchasing books, technology, schedule interruptions, class time interruptions, and lesson planning. Many of these things are not daily occurrences but they happen often enough that it takes some extra planning to stay ahead of everything. 

Some of the various interruptions that can occur are “the pee pee disease”, technology issues, class coverage, and extra meetings. The “pee pee disease” strikes when one student needs to use the bathroom and four more suddenly also need the bathroom. Teachers remind students to go before activity but four- and five-year-olds still forget or are too excited. My room is carpeted so accidents are to be avoided. No one prepares you for children who need the bathroom as often as the younger students. It is sometimes comical how many have an emergency after one student does. It is frustrating and depending on your classroom location, it can be a problem. This really has no great solution but a gentle question of holding on for five or ten minutes until a break in the lesson will usually help most forget that the need is there.  

The number of meetings and additional commitments outside of the library focused items that happen in a school is astounding. You are asked to be a part of a few committees, help with the yearbook, create daily news shows, provide class coverage, attend IEPs, and laminate things. Libraries have a slightly more flexible space and schedule which puts us at the top of the list to help out with these things. This year the only one that I really feel unprepared for is the daily news show. There has been a steep learning curve and lots of feedback has helped improved things, but you want to have student involvement, except it is just plain faster to do it yourself. I probably spend an hour and a half or more each week creating these, and I knew it was a part of the job, I just did not think it would consume as much time as it has. 

Technology consumes a big chunk of time. Distribution and collection take up massive amounts of time at the beginning and end of the year, but the ongoing issues also are time consuming. Issuing devices to new students takes time as you wait for all their information to be transferred to the various databases. Assisting with device set up and making sure the students can have a positive start at the new school is vital and usually falls to the librarian to make that transition as smooth as possible. Librarians trouble shoot issues and try to fix the minor items before anything goes off for repair. When students have technology issues, they are missing a vital tool to complete many school tasks. Many schools use Seesaw or Google Classroom and if students cannot access these applications, they cannot do their work. Our society and our schools are very dependent on devices, and it is the librarian's job to be sure these tools work. How can you teach or learn when the tools you need are unavailable.  While I know my lessons are important, so are the classroom teachers. Finding the patience to resolve issues while continuing your own lessons can test the patience of many. There are various opinions about how to handle these situations with few perfect answers. I have learned to multitask and try the basic troubleshooting techniques and if those fail, send students back with my apologies and assurances that I will look at it later. One more note on technology. There is not enough time in a year to keep up with all the latest apps, updates, gizmos, robots, or websites. I think I need a yearly technology cliffs notes to have any hope of keeping up with my students and what is online.  

Lesson Plans are time consuming. Yes, I can write a lesson plan quickly but then there are Google Slides to create, a worksheet to go with our book so the students are occupied while they check out books, copies, and revisions when you have the occasional lesson flop. There are a ton of resources out there, but we all have our particular way we want to present things and creating that plan takes time. I combined two grades, so I only need to plan half as many lessons, but this still takes much longer than expected. The ideas I find usually require some adaptation to fit the plan I have. You must also consider that we have the AASL standards on how to teach materials but not really all the topics we should cover. We can teach all the basic library lessons like Dewey, ABC order, digital citizenship, and everything else under the library umbrella but we are also asked to assist the classroom teachers with their standards. The library is a good place to reinforce standards, but this adds to the complexity of lesson plans and the time required to create lesson plans that are meaningful and engaging. Teachers Pay Teachers is a great resource, but it is also a rabbit hole I often fall into as I search for that one perfect lesson. 

Purchasing books is incredibly time consuming. Reading reviews, choosing who to purchase books from, optimizing your budget, cataloging purchases, and developing an up-to-date collection with relevant and current titles all consume more time than I ever imagined. I work in a rural conservative district and while we purchase materials that are diverse, for some topics, subtle is better. Finding those subtle titles takes time. To find those titles, reading reviews or reading the title is required. Weeks could be spent searching and reading. Once again time becomes the issue. I was at a recent media specialist meeting in my district and a few librarians have stopped buying award winners and nominees as they are pushing the boundaries too far for their communities. This made me sad, but I also understand. I am also taking Young Adult Materials right now and we have had a discussion about how the age range of young adult materials has changed. What had an age range of 12-18 and has now expanded to 12-20. There is a vast difference in what are appropriate topics for 12- and 13-year-olds versus 18–20-year-olds.  Middle grade fiction is where I focus but more and more adult themes are making their way into YA lit thus also filtering down to middle grade titles. Parents seem to place schools on a pedestal, and we must ensure that students are sheltered and not exposed to anything that is minutely controversial. We must be prepared to defend our purchases and develop a collection that is both diverse and relevant. We have been given the resources to accomplish this, many of us just cannot find the time to dedicate to developing that collection the way we want.  

Current Reading List

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers and Adapted by Amy Novesky

The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson and translated by Naomi Lewis

Rumpelstiltskin by Jonathan Langley

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis