Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
School library media candidates encourage reading and lifelong learning by stimulating interests and fostering competencies in the effective use of ideas and information. They apply a variety of strategies to ensure access to resources and information in a variety of formats to all members of the learning community. Candidates promote efficient and ethical information-seeking behavior as part of the school library media program and its services.
Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
School library media candidates model and promote collaborative planning with classroom teachers in order to teach concepts and skills of information processes integrated with classroom content. They partner with other education professionals to develop and deliver an integrated information skills curriculum. Candidates design and implement instruction that engages the students' interests, passions, and needs which drive their learning.
Standard 3: Collaboration and Leadership
School library media candidates provide leadership and establish connections with the greater library and education community to create school library media programs that focus on students' learning and achievement; encourage the personal and professional growth of teachers and other educators, and model the efficient and effective use of information and ideas.
Standard 4: Program Administration
School library media candidates administer the library media program in order to support the mission of the school, and according to the principles of best practice in library science and program administration.
The "Super 8" Alignments and Reflections
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
- 1.1: Efficient and Ethical Information-Seeking Behavior
- 1.2: Literacy and Reading (Key Assessment)
- 1.4: Stimulating Learning Environment
- Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
- 2.1: Knowledge of Learners and Learning
- Standard 3: Collaboration and Leadership
- 3.1: Connection with the Library Community
- 3.3: Educational Leader
- Reflection: This project was really useful for when I become a Media Specialist. The project helped me to see different ways that reading and literacy could be promoted. My group decided to find ways to promote reading of the Georgia Book Award books. We came up with many ideas for how to promote reading them and making it easier on the teachers as well. To make it fun, we decided to include a "Kick-off Week" at the beginning and voting activities for the end, among other things. One thing I would change now is one of the ideas to continue making it exciting. We said we would have the teachers track who read what books in the classroom, but this could have a negative effect. If one student has read either one or none of the books, he or she may become embarrassed that they don't have as many charted in the classroom. This may discourage them to read altogether.
PDEP (Program Development and Evaluation Plan)
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
- 1.3: Access to Information (Key Assessment)
- 1.4: Stimulating Learning Environment (Key Assessment)
- Standard 3: Collaboration and Leadership
- 3.2: Instructional Partner (Key Assessment)
- 3.3: Educational Leader (Key Assessment)
- Standard 4: Program Administration
- 4.2: Managing Program Resources: Human, Financial, Physical (Key Assessment)
- 4.3: Comprehensive and Collaborative Strategic Planning and Assessment (Key Assessment)
- Reflection: While this assignment seemed very overwhelming at first, it did prove to be a useful task for the real world. There were many parts to this assignment, but each one had importance. It really opened my eyes up to everything that is involved in being a media specialist. The goals our group came up with seemed like very realistic goals in a Media Center. It also helped to know that these were long-term goals, and none of them would happen overnight. This is also a great document for me to refer to when thinking about my own media center and what its possible goals might be. Seeing the final product helped me to see how this could be an organizational tool for my media center. Once thing I might focus on more since I'm in a media center is trying to publicize the Media Program to the school. This is such an important part of having a successful program so that teachers are willing to collaborate.
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
- 1.3: Access to Information
- Standard 4: Program Administration
- 4.1: Managing Information Resources: Selecting, Organizing, Using
- 4.2: Managing Program Resources: Human, Financial, Physical
- Reflection: This may have been one of the more useful assignments in the SLM program. Our group was able to study the criteria suitable for the selection of materials. I am now very aware of the types of books that would be appropriate to order. As a new media specialist, when I am selecting items, I am definitely looking to see if the books and materials align with the curriculum standards. There was also a plan to follow for when books may be challenged. This selection policy would help to defend the media specialist in the case of a challenge. One thing I might include next time is more flexibility for types of materials purchased. We focused on Science materials for the first year, but I believe that more sections could be looked at for improvement.
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
- 1.2: Literacy and Reading
- 1.3: Access to Information (Key Assessment)
- Standard 4: Program Administration
- 4.1: Managing Information Resources: Selecting, Organizing, Using (Key Assessment)
- 4.2: Managing Program Resources: Human, Financial, Physical
- Reflection: This assignment really showed our group all the details that go into placing an order for materials. We focused on purchasing new science materials. By looking at the science curriculum standards, we were able to focus on appropriate materials. We used Titlewave for the order, so this gave us practice using one of the vendors. Their site was easy to use, and you could look up materials by the standards. Next time, I might create the order using more than just one area. Now that I'm in a media center, I see that orders could include more than one subject area. Teacher and student requests are always included in my orders, and those may not necessarily be in the same category. Also, I might consider including AR quizzes in the practice order.
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 1: Use of Information and Ideas
- 1.1: Efficient and Ethical Information-Seeking Behavior (Key Assessment)
- Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
- 2.3: Information Literacy Curriculum (Key Assessment)
- Reflection: I loved doing this project! Since we were able to choose what we searched about, it really made it interesting to me. This also allowed me to see that this is so important when working with students. Choice is such a big motivator for them. The process allowed me to start with one question, but as I moved through the research process, my question evolved into something different. I also liked how the double-entry draft worked. I can see how this helps students to put their own thoughts into their final presentations. It allows them to write down important items, and then reflect about them in the column next to it. My I-Search mainly consisted of conducting interviews for information, and listening to what each person had to say was very interesting and helpful.
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
- 2.1: Knowledge of Learners and Learning
- 2.2: Effective and Knowledgeable Teacher (Key Assessment)
- 2.3: Information Literacy Curriculum
- Standard 3: Collaboration and Leadership
- 3.2: Instructional Partner (Key Assessment)
- Reflection: The collaborative unit was done with a class using the topic of the Civil War. We implemented the I-Search process. While I-Search is known for allowing someone to choose what they want to know more about, this was a little more limited. Because it is in a school setting, the students were given a set of choices based on the curriculum standards. After being introduced briefly to each significant person from the Civil War, they were then able to choose which person to do more research on. This process also helped them to make their PowerPoint presentation without plagiarism because of the double-entry draft format. This assignment allowed me to see what it would be like to collaborate with someone else in order to improve student learning. Once thing that I now know from experience is that most of the time, the collaboration is more informal than what was done in this assignment. For this, we were able to sit down and fill out the planning sheet. In reality, collaboration seems to happen more in passing and through email.
Internship (Documentation is not posted online.)
AASL Standards Alignment
- Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
- 2.1: Knowledge of Learners and Learning (Key Assessment)
- 2.2: Effective and Knowledgeable Teacher (Key Assessment)
- Standard 3: Collaboration and Leadership
- 3.1: Connection with the Library Community (Key Assessment)
- Reflection: The internship was one of the most useful parts of the program because you were able to see what it's like in a "real" media center. It was also the push I needed to try and get a job as a media specialist early. It was also beneficial to be around a media specialist for longer periods of time. I was able to ask questions and learn so much. The middle and high school visits also gave me a "taste" for what it would be like at different levels. One thing that would probably have been more beneficial to me would be if I had longer time periods to visit the media center. For a lot of my internship, I was squeezing time in the media center during my planning period. Although I still learned a lot at those time, I would have enjoyed taking three straight weeks to complete the internship.
GACE (Media Specialist Test)
- Passed on May 19, 2007 (scores not posted online).