Graduating Students Who Are Not Only Learned But Also Learners

Posted by Karen Kotchka

IL

Donham, J. (2007) Graduating Students Who Are Not Only Learned, But Learners. Teacher Librarian, 35 (1), 8-12.

Summary

This article provides a lot of statistics on the increasing pace of knowledge generation as a way of demonstrating that students must be taught how to learn rather than just taught content that will be outdated.  It also talks a lot about how dispositions and habits of mind towards inquiry and investigation are most important in developing the learner's mindset and how the ibrary media program can tie into this goal.

Evaluation

I thought the article was a good read and provided a lot of good arguments for librarians looking to advocate for a fuller instructional program as well as providing a good review of what kind of criteria should be followed for authentic, inquiry type learning.

Theory and Research as the Foundational Elements of a Learning Commons

Whitney Fischer

ET

Reference:
Loertscher, D. V., & Koechlin, C. (2012). Theory and Research as the Foundational Elements of a Learning Commons. Teacher Librarian, 39(3), 48-51.


Summary:
This article posits that though school libraries are always changing and evolving, there will always be a place for teacher librarians.  Teacher librarians have the power to cultivate a friendly, inviting, and technologically advanced school library (budget permitting, of course) in the form of a learning commons.  The authors present five different articles to support their assertion that students and teachers alike benefit from the creation of these learning commons, as learning commons allow students to work collaboratively and use web 2.0 technology to work on the same documents or presentations simultaneously.  Lesson plans should incorporate tutorials on how to use the new tools available to students to keep confusion to a minimum.

Evaluation:
The idea that students should be given free reign to pursue their interests and use the tools available in the learning commons resonated with me because I agree that this self-directed approach to research with minimal restrictions on research tools and materials is an excellent way to keep students engaged with their projects.  I also appreciate the notion that teacher librarians should serve more as guides that are available to help students and point them in the right direction.

Fostering Technology-Rich Service- Learning Experiences between School Librarians and Teacher Education Programs

Whitney Fischer

IL

Reference:

Shepherd, C., Dousay, T., Kvenild, C., & Meredith, T. (2015). Fostering Technology-Rich Service- Learning Experiences between School Librarians and Teacher Education Programs. Knowledge Quest, 44(2), 44-52.

Summary:
 

The authors stress that teacher librarians have the power and know-how to serve as leaders of technologies in their schools,but they are often a resource that is seldom tapped.  A way to ensure that teacher librarians are being used to their full potential by the schools that employ them has already been explored by many researchers, and the answer lies in collaboration between teachers and teacher librarians. This article places an emphasis on the notion that future teacher librarians should take courses in their academic careers that will help them aid teachers in the classroom when necessary.

 

Evaluation: 

I appreciate that this article contains a friendly reminder that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching information literacy skills, and teacher librarians need to tailor their curriculum and methods to their unique make up of students.  Different learning styles, technological skills, and backgrounds should all be accommodated if able.

Three Heads are Better than One

Whitney Fischer

CO

Reference:

Parrott, D. J., & Keith, K. J. (2015). Three Heads Are Better Than One. Teacher Librarian, 42(5), 12-18.

Summary:
This article posits that due to ever-occurring budget cuts, now is the time for teacher librarians to step up and take a more active role in developing curriculum by working closely with classroom teachers. At many schools writing teachers and information literacy coaches have been forced out of the job, but teacher librarians possess many of the skills necessary to fill that gap in instruction.  With these new opportunities to be more involved in the classroom come new responsibilities, of course, and teacher librarians should familiarize themselves with Common Core standards to ensure that they are helping students reach the necessary benchmarks.

Evaluation:
This article is helpful because it suggests specific steps teacher librarians can take to increase their impact in the classroom.  Teachers possess the knowledge of how their individual students learn, but teacher librarians have the means and know-how to instruct students how to research effectively and accurately.  Though it is regrettable that information literacy coaches and reading specialists are becoming extinct in schools, I agree with the author that those positions can be filled by teacher librarians.

Piloting the Learning Commons

Whitney Fischer

CO

Reference:

Murray, E. (2015). Piloting the Learning Commons. Teacher Librarian, 43(1), 18-24.

Summary:

The author questions how to best serve the information literacy needs of students while adhering to the standards set forth by Common Core.  All too often, teachers feel frustrated that they are unable to teach students the current and relevant information literacy skills that students will require later in their academic careers due to benchmarks that have put in place by the government.  This creates a gap between what students need to learn and what they are being taught in schools.  The author recommends that librarians collaborate with teachers to take a more active role in creating curriculum that ensures that students are learning the skills they need to succeed.

Evaluation:
It is not uncommon to hear of the frustrations teachers experience due to the restrictions of Common Core, and I appreciate the author's solution of teachers and teacher librarians working together to formulate a curriculum that both satisfies the government and provides students with valuable information literacy skills that they will draw upon for many years to come.

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.