Mulligan, Kristi

ET

Easley, M. (2017). Personalized learning environments and effective school library            programs. Knowledge Quest.  Retrieved from             http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid  =d1d3c80a-4ad0-4e4a-99f9-9f99a20a9f6e%40sessionmgr101&vid=25&hid=125

Summary:  This article defines personalized learning.  Furthermore it explains the benefits that a student reaps through instruction that focuses on personalized learning and growth.  The article goes on to enumerate the ways in which school librarians hold a position that can be uniquely tailored to support personalized learning.  Emphasis is given to the need for choice and voice when developing personalized learning units.  The article tasks school librarians with preparing a collection, both physical and virtual, which will support student effort.  It also discusses the requirements of the physical space of the library in this educational context.

Evaluation:  I see today's schools and school libraries as institutions that should support individualized learning.  This article speaks to that belief.  In addition to supporting that belief, the article provides reliable suggestions for librarians who are moving in the direction of support for personalized learning.

Education and the Mediated Subject

Mary Fobbs-Guillory

ET

Saul, R. (2016). Education and the mediated subject: What today’s teachers need most from researchers of youth and media. Journal of Children and Media, 10(2). Pp.156-163

Roger Saul discusses how the education system that is still in place in most schools around or country is operating on old understandings of how children work and what they need from schools. He says that researchers can help bridge the divide of where were are now to where we should be by helping educators see the untapped potential of their students and the valuable skills they can contribute to their education. He states that there has been a “mass imposition and perpetuation of a constructed reality...embedded in power relations that have operated to deny in young people a range of options for self-understanding and expression that they might otherwise be entitled to” p.158. Teachers may not even realize they are marginalizing students because they are also being robbed of their agency.

This article echoed a lot of sentiments that I've been learning about in my Young Adults library class and that I have felt as an educator. Students can be very bored with the low level work they are often assigned. They need more of a challenge and they are more committed to that challenge when they have input and autonomy. There are a lot of studies that show the value and importance of inquiry and constructed knowledge, yet it is still not the norm in most schools. I sincerely hope that changes.

From Behaviorist to Constructivist Teaching.

Alpers, Jessica

ET-Educational Theory and Practice

Scheurman, G. (1998). From Behaviorist to Constructivist Teaching. Social Education, 62(1), 6-9.

Summary: Scheurman begins this article by explaining that in a given subject, when the constructivist view is applied deep understand of the topic develops and rigorously defensible beliefs about important disciplinary issues are developed. This is enhanced because student view the problems from different perspectives, and come to develop their own views. This is where knowledge is constructed. Teachers are able to be both transmitters and managers of knowledge. Transmitting occurs when a lecture is given, textbooks are read, and then that knowledge is used in an activity. Managing might looks more like “chunking” information, and helping students to build connections and their own thinking processes. Scheurman further describes the teachers as facilitators or collaborators. This means monitoring the “classroom learning and participate actively with students in its evolution.” Ending with some connections and concerns, one being how the movement to constructivism abandons the traditional instruction and assessment models. It is a challenge that would need to be overcome.

Evaluation: This is a good article that describes different ways teachers can teach. For those wishing to be more involved in their classrooms, and less lecture driving this article gives a good explanation of how to begin. This article is primarily directed at social studies classes, but it can be applied to any number of subjects.

Cultivating your inner leader

Aubree Burkholder

ET

Brautigam, F. October 2016. Cultivating Your Inner Leader. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/10/cultivating-your-inner-leader/

Summary:

This article points out the fact that most librarians are too busy with their day to day activities to focus on developing supervisory, management, or leadership knowledge and skills. The author lists different blogs and websites that are great resources to help librarians garner their leadership and managerial skills.

Evaluation:

I enjoyed this article because it reminds busy librarians to take time out of their days to work on bettering themselves so that they may better serve their communities. 

Beyond the Classroom (HOW LEXILE MEASURES ARE BEING USED IN THE LIBRARY TO ACHIEVE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS)

Frey, Jennifer

IL

Smith, M. I., Schiano, A., & Lattanzio, E. (2014). Beyond the Classroom. Knowledge Quest, 42(3), 20-29. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=17&sid=aaa26ac7-0982-4b89-9b80-670687af61fe%40sessionmgr4006&hid=4106

Summary:

                 This article talks about librarians being a driving force in education. It brings up the common core standards and how they have changed the role of the librarian. This article also explains lexile framework for reading. It gives a background on lexile and describes how it is used by educators and librarians to help pair up students with the proper reading materials and increase their readiness for college and careers.

Evaluation/Opinion:

I enjoyed this article because the lexile score was something I was curious about anyway. I liked how it listed both the lexile codes and scores. I think this article could be helpful to future educators/librarians who wanted to know more about the lexile framework.  

Digital Projectors for Interactive Teaching

I finally found an article interesting enough to post here on the classroom blog.

Kids around a table using an interactive projector.

Nelson, K. (2016). 10 game-changing ways to use an interactive classroom projector. WeAreTeachers.com. Retrieved from http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2016/02/01/10-game-changing-ways-to-use-an-interactive-classroom-projector

This article describes modern technologies, like digital projectors, used for interactive teaching, turning any surface into a whiteboard which then detects fingers or a special pen so it moves like the touchscreen on a tablet or smartphone. Think of the possibilities in that. Maps, history, geography, all able to be interacted with and change how classrooms work.

Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom

Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom

Binh Tran

Buch, Prateek. "Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom." Sense About Science. N.p., 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.senseaboutscience.org/blog.php/77/neuromyths-and-why-they-persist-in-the-classroom>.

Summary

The article discusses the many popular myths regarding neurology and how the relate to education. Popular conceptions such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory and also the left-right brain paradigm are rooted not in verifiable empirical evidence, but rather in spurious pseudoscience. Studies of the human brain through the use of neuroimaging technology reveals no truth to the idea that different sections of the human brain play a role in intelligence. Further studies suggest that different formats of learning: visual, auditory or kinesthetic, have no discernable difference on student performance or brain function. The author goes on to discuss major reasons why such myths continue to shape education even after decades of evidence have already disproven such claims. Often teachers and even academic researchers are poorly educated on matters of neuroscience and rely on word-of-mouth to get their information. This in turn leads to the creation of poorly thought out and outright incorrect theories on education being developed.

Evaluation

Buch’s article is very well written and informative, if harsh on this issue of neuromyths. The paper is well organized, and includes links to more in-depth studies on the matter. Much of the article’s claims seem inherently skeptical, if not outright hostile towards what has become a major foundation of educational theory. Also, more of the material deals not so much with educational theory so much as the ethics of using such neuromyths to shape educational theory itself. I find that while the article is extremely informative on a subject that I believe to be of great importance to the field of education, it also frustratingly presents a problem with no apparent solution. 

In School Libraries, Differentiation Through Curation

Karla Morones

IL, CO

Morris, Rebecca. "In School Libraries, Differentiation Through Curation". Harvard Education Publishing Group. N.p., 2016. Web. 2 May 2016.

Summary:

This blog posting covers how important the skill of digital curation is for school librarians to have.  The author would like to see digital curation not only in the hands of school librarians but the students as well. She believes having the students involved in the curation of digital material would lead to differentiation. Morris sees this happening by app smashing, a term coined by educator Greg Kulowiec, where a student would use multiple apps to complete a final task.  Morris suggests that school librarians would make excellent curators because they are enthusiastic and knowledgeable in helping teachers and students evaluate select and use digital tools

Evaluation:

I found this article informative and  a valuable resource.  This is a skill that would serve all librarians well, being able to provide students and teachers with a list of digital resources that could be used for a lesson or a research project would help immensely.  It is important to differentiate learning for students and teachers this would make way for more effective collaboration.

Enabling inquiry learning in fixed-schedule libraries

Alison Dinicola

ET, CO, IL

Stubeck, C.J. (2015). Enabling inquiry learning in fixed-schedule libraries. Knowledge Quest, 43(3), 28-34.

Summary:
This article discusses the process one school librarian went through to create a collaborative learning experience for fifth graders while being in a fixed library schedule. Carole Stubeck talked about how she had tried doing a stand-alone project with students and that it took several months to complete since she only saw her students once a week for a short period of time. After getting advise from a former library professor, she got in touch with a fifth grade teacher and an instructional facilitator to create a inquiry unit on the American Civil War. Carole and the classroom teacher developed a spiral collaboration model for their ISP (Information Search Process) allowing students to work continuously on their project without having to wait for the next library visit. "Action research is a continuous spiral of reflecting, planning, and acting." The overall assessment for the school librarian and her colleagues would take 3 years with each year a review of what worked and what didn't work with their ISP. Both the students and the teachers used Edmodo to discuss ideas, update progress, post questions and get answers, and submit assignments. Edmodo made it easier for Carole and her colleagues to review, discuss ideas, and follow students progress from a distance as their schedules didn't make it easy for them to meet. Once the project was done, Carole and her colleagues met to review the success and failure of the overall project. "[Their] greatest success was proving [they] could collaborate on a unit using Guided Inquiry despite the limitations of fixed library scheduling."

Review:
This article showed that if a librarian is willing to think outside the "fixed library schedule" a collaborative unit could not only be designed but implemented successfully. I found this article helpful in showing how as a librarian I don't have to be limited by a fixed-schedule to be able to collaborate with a classroom teacher to teach a lesson. I liked the idea of a spiral action plan; though the classroom teacher and the librarian wouldn't be in the classroom together, they wouldn't be teaching a lesson individually. The entire lesson would be continuous process of planning, acting, and reflecting both by the teacher and the librarian. I liked the idea that as one stopped the other one would pick up where the last one left off. Both were using their expertise but together. I highly recommend this article as many of us librarian are in a fixed-schedule environment.

Constructing Knowledge About and With Informational Texts: Implications for Teacher-Librarians Working With Young Children

Whitney Fischer

ET

Reference:
Filipenko, M. (2004). Constructing Knowledge About and With Informational Texts: Implications for Teacher-Librarians Working With Young Children. School Libraries Worldwide, 10(1/2), 21-36.

Summary:
This article explores how children learn information literacy skills by analyzing video transcripts of children ages 2 - 5 engaging with informational texts.  The author determined that children can engage with these texts that are often overlooked or deemed too complicated for that age group. The key lies in presenting the information in a context that children are able to reconcile with their world view.  When children are able to understand how a complex issue affects them personally or they can easily grasp the notion of cause and effect, they will approach the literature with enthusiasm.

Evaluation:
This article is valuable to teachers and teacher librarians alike because it demonstrates that it is a mistake to think that informational texts may be too complicated for younger readers.  After reading this article, teachers have the know-how to present these texts to students in a manner that is less intimidating by highlighting how the subject relates to them and the world around them.

Learning to teach through video

Jones, Erik

ET

Leeder, K. (2009, Oct. 14). Learning to teach through video. Retrieved from: http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2009/learning-to-teach-through-video/

Summary 

Knowing how to use more modern methods of teaching is essential for the growing digital world that we find ourselves a part of. This article does a good job at discussing how teaching though various media platforms allows for a wider diversity of lessons in addition to a larger online audience through video based websites like YouTube. The author goes into the pedagogical theories of instruction and learning which is necessary to understand the framework that a tool such as video can be useful and beneficial to both instructors and learners. The principles for multimedia learning are great takeaways for readers as they serve to set the boundaries and limitations that should be adhered to when lesson planners use this form of instruction to teach students.

Evaluation

Not having much experience with web tools and teaching, I really found this article to be incredibly informative and useful. I had an assignment for another course in which I used a screencast to teach viewers how to use the Disc Cleanup and Defragment tool that comes pre-installed on their computers. It was an eye-opening experience for me that opened up a lot of different avenues for getting lessons, ideas or messages to more people using more modern tech tools. I also enjoy this blog and follow a lot of the articles they post as it is frequented by fellow librarians and assistant librarians.

Tales of the Undead Learning Theories: The Learning Pyramid

Tales of the Undead Learning Theories: The Learning Pyramid

Jones, Erik

ET

Archer, A. (2014). Tales of the undead learning theories: The learning pyramid. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from: http://acrlog.org/2014/01/13/tales-of-the-undead-learning-theories-the-learning-pyramid/

Summary
This particular blog focuses on a learning theory that simply won't go away no matter how much research is done to disprove its effectiveness and overall uselessness. Appearing in many incarnations since the early 1900s, educational theorists have often speculated that people learn/retain only a portion of the things that we read, hear, look at, or do. The primary flaw with this learning theory is the percentages that people supposedly retain/learn at each level of the pyramid. It doesn't take into account differing teaching styles that play a significant part in the learning process, not to mention the different learning styles that each students has. Some students are visual learning, while others learn by doing, and others learn better in a group environment. The designers of this pyramid fail to take these differences into account which is a huge issue.

Evaluation

I actually like this particular article as it's about time people highlight some of the debunked learning theories that are our there that keep students from receiving a proper education. The author of the blog is also a little upbeat and while I would consider this to be more of a rant than anything else, his opinion and research is sound and needed.

Matching Up Learning Styles with Learning Objects: What's Effective?

Bullard, Sherrie

ET

Mestre, L. S. (2010). Matching Up Learning Styles with Learning Objects: What's Effective?. Journal Of Library Administration, 50(7/8), 808-829.

Summary:

Online instruction is quite prevalent on campuses and within libraries. Librarians are engaged in the creation of learning objects that can either be linked to or embedded within course-management systems. But are those instructional tools designed to best accommodate diverse learners or are they constructed to reflect the teaching and learning style of the designer? Results from a study (a survey of librarians, student usability studies, and interviews) document both considerations made in the creation of learning objects, and the effectiveness of learning objects from students' perspectives.

Evaluation:

I enjoyed this article. It gave examples of learning objects and how effective they were. These were all based on the students' perspectives.

Building a Better Teacher

Beverly Rupe

ET-Learning Styles, cognitive theory, teaching, teacher assessment

Green, E. (2014). Building a better teacher: How teaching works (and how to teach it to everyone). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

This book explores the history of efforts to transform teaching from ineffective rote methods to more creative approaches. It includes a discussion of the academic research leading to teaching reform beginning in the 1980s, and uses examples from classrooms to illustrate the differences between effective and ineffective methods. Engaging students, encouraging them to talk (using "academic discourse") and then listening to them to determine their needs are areas of focus in each of the classroom stories detailed in the book. The focus is on improving the art of teaching, which, according to the author, is a skill that can be taught. I found this book fascinating and very readable, and very pertinent to classroom teachers and TLs alike.

A Look at Self Directed Learning at the High School Level

Maciejewski, Gloria

Blakeway, Kristi. (2014, Sept. 2) Blakeway: Riding a roller coaster – How self directed learning changed my views. P21 Blog, Volume 1, Issue 7, No. 20. Retrieved from: http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1490

This is a blog post written for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which, if you haven't check out, you should!  In a nutshell, Kristi Blakeway writes about her experience as a vice principal at Thomas Haney Secondary, a self-directed learning high school in Maple Ridge, B.C. Canada. She clearly outlines in her blog post the way this self-directed system is organized.
The school is part of the Canadian Coalition of Self-Directed Learning (CCSDL) which is an organization of secondary schools throughout Canada that are dedicated to the personalization of learning. She touches on the elements of inquiry, collaboration, how work spaces are designed and what test taking looks like. Admitting that she was bewildered at the seeming lack of structure she was used to in traditional education settings, Blakeway chronicles her emerging understandings of the self directed model.  Elements of the article that I found appealing were the descriptions of close teacher and student relationships, the amount of free or flexible time the students have and the strong collaboration that informed the practice on site. As someone who is always considering home-school (or unschooling) as an option for my own children, it was quite enjoyable to get a look at how a high school that values the individual learning styles of each unique student  looks like.

Teacher spends two days as a student and is shocked at what she learns 

Gloria Maciejewski

ET - Educational Theory  

Strauss, V.  (2014, Oct. 24) Teacher spends two days as a student and is shocked at what she learns. The Washington Post. retrieved from: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/?tid=pm_pop

This is an article I think every teacher should read, no matter where they are in the career.

 It appeared first on a blog by Grant Wiggins, author of Understanding by Design. It turns out that it was written by his daughter, Alexis,  who had transition out the role of teacher after 15 years and was now an instructional coach at an American High School overseas. As part of an introduction into her new role, her administrator asked she shadow a 10th grader and a 12th grader.  She uses her experiences to form three reflective  Key Take-Aways.
1.  Students sit all day long and it is exhausting (no surprise there)
2.  High school students are asked to passively absorb for (a shocking) 90% of the time.
3.  Students wind up feeling like a nuisance all day long.

She then goes on to frame what she would have done differently given the chance to do it all again.

New teachers and old could benefit from this article. I wish there was an elementary version. Wake up teachers and get your kids moving and active.

ET: Inquiry--Five Ways to Integrate by Julia Marshall

Sullivan, Maureen
ET

Five Ways to Integrate
Dr. Julia Marshall

Summary: This article has been a staple of mine for the last six years when thinking about shifting pedagogy to integrate across content areas, particularly spanning art and science. The five creative strategies Dr. Julia Marshall describes are used by both artists and scientists alike in the real world, and are fantastic strategies to implement in the library setting to embrace student choice, collaboration, and synthesis of their ideas. They are cognitive strategies, that are used to communicate the creators' ideas through depiction, metaphor, mimicry, formatting, and projection.

Julia Marshall is an Art Education professor at San Francisco State University and I had the pleasure of working with her closely on a science and art integration initiative in San Francisco public schools.

Evaluation: In thinking about the cognitive processes that span art and science, Julia offers some specific ways in which both artists and scientists are manipulating information to communicate their thinking. I highly recommend it!

Five Ways to Integrate

A Meeting of the Minds

Michael Ayala

Bayliss, S. (2013). A Meeting of the Minds. School library Journal, 59 (12), 1-1.

ET

Link: http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=92709160&site=ehost-live

This article discusses how the private New City School in Missouri has integrated multiple intelligences into the design of its library. The library hosts weekly Multiple Intelligence Centers and engage in a variety of activities, such as performing scenes from a book, create murals, or complete puzzles. Though the library tries to incorporate activities to support all intelligences, it focuses on logical-mathematical intelligence the most with board game tournaments. It also creates a variety of group activities to help students develop their interpersonal intelligence. Other intelligences come naturally, such as linguistic, with the library's host of literature.

Evaluation:

Although this article doesn't explicitly discuss the multiple intelligence concept, the article is valuable as it demonstrates how some schools have embraced it and developed unique ways to cater to students. It also suggests several methods libraries can adopt to cater to multiple intelligences, and perhaps even give ideas to public librarians on how to serve multiple intelligences through their programming.

How engaged are students and teachers in American schools?

Angela Brugioni

ET – New Trends
ET – Learning Styles

Kamenetz, A. (2014). How engaged are students and teachers in American schools? MindShift: How we will learn. Retrieved from: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/how-engaged-are-students-and-teachers-in-american-schools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

The article describes the results of a very large Gallup poll that asked students, teachers, principals and administrators about their levels of hope, emotional engagement, and well being at school. The article evidences studies in which these factors correlate to academic achievement. For example, high “hope” scores are a more accurate predictor of grades in college than SATs or high school GPAs, and being “emotionally engaged” produces higher test scores. The challenge comes with the fact that in order to engage students, teachers must also be connected and involved, or engaged themselves and 70% of them report disengagement. Gallup recommends that principals should “adopt a more collaborative management style and help new teachers acclimate by putting them together to form partnerships with more experienced teachers.” By starting from the top (principal to teacher to student) the amount of overall engagement should rise.


The closing sentiment of the article is that “(s)urveys and polls aren’t perfect, of course. But overall, the message of this research is a powerful indicator that we need to do a better job at looking at the full range of factors that affect school performance.” Recognizing that multiple influences contribute to successful learning experiences is the fundamental message. 

What to Expect From Librarians in the 21st Century

Fleming, Giovanna

SandlianSmith, P. (2013, December 16). What to expect from libraries in the 21st Century. Retrieved

          May 4, 2014, from Youtube website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6ERdxyYdo

CO- Collaboration

ET- Common Core

IL- 21st Century Library

CA- New methods

Summary:

          This video featuring Pam Sandlian Smith is amazing.  She explains with emotion and grace the importance of having libraries as community hubs, learning places, “idea stores”. (Sandlian Smith, P.,2013) Librarians treat everyone with respect and allow them to have a special place to dream and be inspired.

 

Yes, watch this if you get a chance before you do anything else today!  Libraries have been "common core" for years. Many of us know already the other "c's" librarians bring to the table: community, connections, and cornerstone.

These are the type of libraries, everyone should want to have in our communities.  Our librarians are worth their weight in gold.  It would be "absolutely" wonderful to have more weekly hours in the library on a regular basis.  Let's not keep it a dream, it should be a reality for every student.  I keep hearing teachers saying, "Librarians are a gift."  I believe librarians are a necessity. How wonderful would it be to have a lounging area, a creative area, a research area?

Libraries have been common core for years, the four "c's" come easily, but, we also believe in another few "c's". They are "community, connections, and cornerstones".  We inspire, collaboratively, and build communities. Our libraries should be research centers, safe learning school community hubs with color printers connected to the library computers, lounge areas, as well as creative areas. Pam refers to the London Libraries in the video.  London is now calling their libraries, “idea stores”.  Let’s go shop for ideas. (SandlianSmith, P.,2013) How incredible is that?

I believe our librarians are worth their weight in gold.  Staff members around my sites are constantly saying, "librarians are a gift." Of course, absolutely!!!  I believe and say to them, "librarians are a necessity."  At times, it is exhausting but, we do take time to reflect. We evolve, we become better and we inspire others to do the same.  

"why do we need libraries"...."who else is going to do this?"  (SandlianSmith, P.,2013)I realize the focus of the video is of public librarians but, school librarians are created from the same cloth.

Evaluation:  

 

          This video brought me to tears and later, gave me goosebumps.  It’s emotional and inspirational. Would I recommend this video to others? ABSOLUTELY, “who else is going to do it?”.(SandlianSmith, P.,2013)