Website: Teachnology
Link: http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/inquiry/
Teachnology is an online teacher resource that contains a comprehensive section dedicated to inquiry-based learning. The section contains a detailed definition of what inquiry-based learning is and how it has been proven to benefit student learning. The site details four specific elements that define effective inquiry-based learning: 1) it should be easily understandable for beginners, 2) the knowledge should be carefully structured, 3) the knowledge should apply to a wide array of situations and 4) the new knowledge should be retrievable.
Following the comprehensive explanation of the inquiry-based learning model, the site site links to a large selection of other resources that have additional resources and inquiry-based activities. These links include information on problem based learning, the constructivist model, and the Socratic method.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Week 4: Collaboration website review
Teachers and Librarians
The Teachers and Librarians web site provides an overview of the importance of collaboration between school library media specialists and teachers. It offers a brief discussion, with more lengthy source citations, regarding the ever-evolving process of teachers and media specialists learning to collaborate and define the most effective role of the librarian within the school faculty.
In addition to the central information regarding collaboration, the site also offers a nice selection of associated links. These include library lesson plans, materials on pedagogy, and further resources on literacy. In all, this site might serve as a good starting point for librarians and others interested in the role of the school media specialist and the importance of collaboration.
The Teachers and Librarians web site provides an overview of the importance of collaboration between school library media specialists and teachers. It offers a brief discussion, with more lengthy source citations, regarding the ever-evolving process of teachers and media specialists learning to collaborate and define the most effective role of the librarian within the school faculty.
In addition to the central information regarding collaboration, the site also offers a nice selection of associated links. These include library lesson plans, materials on pedagogy, and further resources on literacy. In all, this site might serve as a good starting point for librarians and others interested in the role of the school media specialist and the importance of collaboration.
Week 4: Collaboration readings
Bertram, B., Bishop, A., Heidorn, P., Lunsford, K., Poulakos, S., & Won, M. (2003). The inquiry page: Bridging digital libraries to learners. Knowledge Quest 31(3), 15-17.
"Educational resources must make sense in terms of the interests, backgrounds, and abilities of the users."
In order for the collaborative process to be fully successful, there must be a sense of buy-in - a personal efficacy - from all involved. The authors of this paper detail the various aspects of "The Inquiry Page," which is a website that encourages collaboration among educators. Specifically "The Inquiry Page" relies on questions and the inquiry cycle to involve all partners in the collaborative process. This serves to increase the buy-in from the users and aids in the effectiveness of the collaboration process.
The inquiry cycle relies on questions to guide the collaborative process. The various stages include: ask, investigate, create, discuss, and reflect. Users enter into the process at any step and can customize the ways in which their work is displayed, granting the user a large degree of control over the collaborative process. This is especially useful when students are using the collaborative tools, as each is allowed to maintain his or her unique voice throughout the process.
When teachers and media specialists use the site, they find most useful the vast, searchable archive of existing inquiry projects. These can be modified for use in day-to-day classroom activities, and often offer diverse perspectives on unique ways to incorporate the media specialist into the instructional process. Perhaps most useful is the degree to which this resource allows teachers to collaborate with media specialists. The inquiry cycle can allow diverse voices to be heard throughout the collaborative process and helps to highlight the ways that a classroom teacher can benefit from the knowledge and resources in the media center.
Abilock, D. (2002). Ten attributes of collaborative leaders. Knowledge Quest, 31(2), 8-10.
"Questions are the first steps in learning."
Like the authors of the previous reading, Abilock looks at successful collaborations and finds questions and inquiry at their hearts. In this brief article, she points out the 10 most significant factors that determine successful collaborations. The emphasis is not on the collaborative process nor is it on the actual results of the collaboration. Rather, the author looks into the traits that make up a strong collaborative leader.
On one level, the author indicates that collaborative leaders need to practice what they preach and need to be passionate about their practice. However, this passion must be tempered by reasoned, measured steps that are the result of careful listening and thoughtful dialog.
Secondly, the leaders actions must foster a collaborative environment. They must be mindful of the language they use, monitor the pre-conceived notions of their group, bring new and pertinent information to the discussion, and ask guiding and thoughtful questions.
Finally, leaders must have a belief in the collaboration as a process. They must truly trust that students will learn better if and when teachers and media specialists combine information and strategies to build a richer learning environment.
"Educational resources must make sense in terms of the interests, backgrounds, and abilities of the users."
In order for the collaborative process to be fully successful, there must be a sense of buy-in - a personal efficacy - from all involved. The authors of this paper detail the various aspects of "The Inquiry Page," which is a website that encourages collaboration among educators. Specifically "The Inquiry Page" relies on questions and the inquiry cycle to involve all partners in the collaborative process. This serves to increase the buy-in from the users and aids in the effectiveness of the collaboration process.
The inquiry cycle relies on questions to guide the collaborative process. The various stages include: ask, investigate, create, discuss, and reflect. Users enter into the process at any step and can customize the ways in which their work is displayed, granting the user a large degree of control over the collaborative process. This is especially useful when students are using the collaborative tools, as each is allowed to maintain his or her unique voice throughout the process.
When teachers and media specialists use the site, they find most useful the vast, searchable archive of existing inquiry projects. These can be modified for use in day-to-day classroom activities, and often offer diverse perspectives on unique ways to incorporate the media specialist into the instructional process. Perhaps most useful is the degree to which this resource allows teachers to collaborate with media specialists. The inquiry cycle can allow diverse voices to be heard throughout the collaborative process and helps to highlight the ways that a classroom teacher can benefit from the knowledge and resources in the media center.
Abilock, D. (2002). Ten attributes of collaborative leaders. Knowledge Quest, 31(2), 8-10.
"Questions are the first steps in learning."
Like the authors of the previous reading, Abilock looks at successful collaborations and finds questions and inquiry at their hearts. In this brief article, she points out the 10 most significant factors that determine successful collaborations. The emphasis is not on the collaborative process nor is it on the actual results of the collaboration. Rather, the author looks into the traits that make up a strong collaborative leader.
On one level, the author indicates that collaborative leaders need to practice what they preach and need to be passionate about their practice. However, this passion must be tempered by reasoned, measured steps that are the result of careful listening and thoughtful dialog.
Secondly, the leaders actions must foster a collaborative environment. They must be mindful of the language they use, monitor the pre-conceived notions of their group, bring new and pertinent information to the discussion, and ask guiding and thoughtful questions.
Finally, leaders must have a belief in the collaboration as a process. They must truly trust that students will learn better if and when teachers and media specialists combine information and strategies to build a richer learning environment.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Week 3 Website Review
Website: 21st century schools
Link: http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/index.htm
This site is a corporate consultancy web resource. The services they offer are expensive, but they are also comprehensive. Even clients not interested in purchasing the available resources can find the menu of choices itself to be instructive. The sites offerings include courses on media literacy, designing the 21st century classroom, and a range of other professional development opportunities.
The site links to a number of other blogs and web resources that are focused entirely on the theme of 21st century classrooms and education.
Link: http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/index.htm
This site is a corporate consultancy web resource. The services they offer are expensive, but they are also comprehensive. Even clients not interested in purchasing the available resources can find the menu of choices itself to be instructive. The sites offerings include courses on media literacy, designing the 21st century classroom, and a range of other professional development opportunities.
The site links to a number of other blogs and web resources that are focused entirely on the theme of 21st century classrooms and education.
Week 3 - pre planning
I will be working with Stephen Provo for the coming collaborative assignment. While I've never met Stephen, I am confident that we will work well together. Based on his introductory video, I get the sense that we have similar interests and that we both hope to gain needed experience from this assignment.
Neither Stephen nor I have worked as a media specialist in the past, and this is probably the biggest cause for trepidation that I have right now. Stephen has taken on the role of media specialist for this assignment. I'm sure that as the assignment progresses, though, we will be in contact with each other to make sure that both sides of the project are working. I think that we'll both benefit from both aspects of the assignment, so working together will help ensure that we're both comfortable with the work and that we're maximizing the learning.
Another interesting note is that Stephen works in elementary schools, while my entire career has been in high schools. This might mean that we'll bring a wide array of ideas to the project, but I anticipate that that diversity of information will be a strength rather than a liability.
Neither Stephen nor I have worked as a media specialist in the past, and this is probably the biggest cause for trepidation that I have right now. Stephen has taken on the role of media specialist for this assignment. I'm sure that as the assignment progresses, though, we will be in contact with each other to make sure that both sides of the project are working. I think that we'll both benefit from both aspects of the assignment, so working together will help ensure that we're both comfortable with the work and that we're maximizing the learning.
Another interesting note is that Stephen works in elementary schools, while my entire career has been in high schools. This might mean that we'll bring a wide array of ideas to the project, but I anticipate that that diversity of information will be a strength rather than a liability.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Week 2: The roles of the school library media specialist
Oberg, D. (2009). Libraries in schools: essential contexts for studying organizational change and culture. Library Trends, 58(1), 9-25.
"The school library can and must be a venue for change because its
core mandate is improving teaching and learning within the school, for
all members of the school community, for teachers and administrators as
well as for students."
As the state and national emphasis on standardized testing continues to increase, the academic orientation of schools will become more and more of a priority. Schools will need to continue to embrace programs that are specifically designed to improve student achievement, and that have at their heart the consistent improvement of initiatives that foster student development in literacy. As such, the role of the school media center will remain vital, and classroom teachers will need to regularly find new ways to tap into the resources the library makes available. According to Oberg (2009) the best way for teachers to accomplish this is to collaborate with the school media specialist; that collaboration is best facilitated in a school that emphasizes and integrate school library program.
When schools implement the integrated school library program model the principal, teachers and school media specialists are all effected in numerous ways. The media specialist specifically finds his/her roles quickly redefined. Oberg (2009) posits that the conservative and isolationist mindset that is so prominent in public schools can often hider the collaborative process, but that it falls to the teacher librarian to find ways to break down the established barriers to collaboration and create productive relationships that serve to further student learning. Oberg (2009) further states that while the roles of the teacher librarian in a collaborative environment are well publicized in professional literature and have been, in theory, widely accepted by the library community, many teacher librarians struggle to assume the appropriate stance in a collaboration and do not fully execute the role of a teacher partner. As a result, librarians are still often viewed as support personnel, in spite of their professional status, and consequently the necessary collaborative relationships soon break down.
Oberg (2009) concludes that teacher librarians must function as change agents within their school environments. They must help to redefine the teaching staff's understanding of the role of the media specialist and they must work in conjunction with the building administrator to establish a more collaborative environment. These changes can most readily be attained through careful reflection, classroom observations, and frequent professional conversations.
Turner, P. & Riedling, A. (2003) Helping teachers teach: a school library media specialist's role. Libraries Unlimited, Wesport, CT.
"As teachers go through the process of building instruction from the ground up, they require much more assistance than if they are simply following a textbook selected by someone else."
As public schooling has changed over the past decades, the manner of instruction in the classroom and of the theoretical principals that define best practices has, for the most part, remained uniform. Of course there are local variations, but one would be hard-pressed to find a school that did not emphasize data-driven decisions or high-stakes testing more today than it did 20 years ago. While the changes in education have been broadly applied, there is great inconsistency in the nature of the function of school libraries. The consensus across the profession is that school media specialists should function as teacher-partners and should be leaders in the school, but those functions are not always met. The publication of Information Power helped to define the roles of media specialists and has been a catalyst in the more uniform implementation of the best practices for school media specialists.
In short, Turner and Riedling (2003) state that there are three main functions that school media specialists should strive to fulfill: promote literacy in children and young adults, provide information skills, and help teachers as they design and implement their lesson plans. The third role is perhaps the most significant, as teachers are faced with such complexity in the instructional process. School media specialists can serve as content evaluators, technical consultants, and idea generators. A collaboration of that nature would help to ensure that the end product that the teacher delivers to the students is designed to maximize learning and engagement.
The authors admit that the library media specialist is not yet fully integrated into the instructional process and that there is need for continued growth in both collaboration and instructional planning. However, each small gain serves the greater purpose of steadily improving student achievement.
Website evaluation
Leslie Preddy: reading, thinking, learning, living...
This site serves as a clearinghouse for all things school library related. The site, while less that pleasing aesthetically, is a treasure trove of information for the school media specialist. Especially useful are the myriad links and the emphasis on collaboration and best practices.
"The school library can and must be a venue for change because its
core mandate is improving teaching and learning within the school, for
all members of the school community, for teachers and administrators as
well as for students."
As the state and national emphasis on standardized testing continues to increase, the academic orientation of schools will become more and more of a priority. Schools will need to continue to embrace programs that are specifically designed to improve student achievement, and that have at their heart the consistent improvement of initiatives that foster student development in literacy. As such, the role of the school media center will remain vital, and classroom teachers will need to regularly find new ways to tap into the resources the library makes available. According to Oberg (2009) the best way for teachers to accomplish this is to collaborate with the school media specialist; that collaboration is best facilitated in a school that emphasizes and integrate school library program.
When schools implement the integrated school library program model the principal, teachers and school media specialists are all effected in numerous ways. The media specialist specifically finds his/her roles quickly redefined. Oberg (2009) posits that the conservative and isolationist mindset that is so prominent in public schools can often hider the collaborative process, but that it falls to the teacher librarian to find ways to break down the established barriers to collaboration and create productive relationships that serve to further student learning. Oberg (2009) further states that while the roles of the teacher librarian in a collaborative environment are well publicized in professional literature and have been, in theory, widely accepted by the library community, many teacher librarians struggle to assume the appropriate stance in a collaboration and do not fully execute the role of a teacher partner. As a result, librarians are still often viewed as support personnel, in spite of their professional status, and consequently the necessary collaborative relationships soon break down.
Oberg (2009) concludes that teacher librarians must function as change agents within their school environments. They must help to redefine the teaching staff's understanding of the role of the media specialist and they must work in conjunction with the building administrator to establish a more collaborative environment. These changes can most readily be attained through careful reflection, classroom observations, and frequent professional conversations.
Turner, P. & Riedling, A. (2003) Helping teachers teach: a school library media specialist's role. Libraries Unlimited, Wesport, CT.
"As teachers go through the process of building instruction from the ground up, they require much more assistance than if they are simply following a textbook selected by someone else."
As public schooling has changed over the past decades, the manner of instruction in the classroom and of the theoretical principals that define best practices has, for the most part, remained uniform. Of course there are local variations, but one would be hard-pressed to find a school that did not emphasize data-driven decisions or high-stakes testing more today than it did 20 years ago. While the changes in education have been broadly applied, there is great inconsistency in the nature of the function of school libraries. The consensus across the profession is that school media specialists should function as teacher-partners and should be leaders in the school, but those functions are not always met. The publication of Information Power helped to define the roles of media specialists and has been a catalyst in the more uniform implementation of the best practices for school media specialists.
In short, Turner and Riedling (2003) state that there are three main functions that school media specialists should strive to fulfill: promote literacy in children and young adults, provide information skills, and help teachers as they design and implement their lesson plans. The third role is perhaps the most significant, as teachers are faced with such complexity in the instructional process. School media specialists can serve as content evaluators, technical consultants, and idea generators. A collaboration of that nature would help to ensure that the end product that the teacher delivers to the students is designed to maximize learning and engagement.
The authors admit that the library media specialist is not yet fully integrated into the instructional process and that there is need for continued growth in both collaboration and instructional planning. However, each small gain serves the greater purpose of steadily improving student achievement.
Website evaluation
Leslie Preddy: reading, thinking, learning, living...
This site serves as a clearinghouse for all things school library related. The site, while less that pleasing aesthetically, is a treasure trove of information for the school media specialist. Especially useful are the myriad links and the emphasis on collaboration and best practices.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)