Assignment+4

Thomas Brown Fall 2010 LIS 620 Assignment 4

NYSED Rubric
 * Part A: **

Developing an Action Plan

I will evaluate a composite library of an elementary and middle school. The elementary school is average size and there is a large middle school. Both are in a suburban area of moderate means. **Collaboration** was one of the problems in the school. The librarians for their part wanted more collaboration but say teachers aren’t interested or really do not have time. Another complaint is that some teachers just want to come use the library without involving the librarian or they want to drop off their class in the library letting the LMS do all the work. There was collaboration work going on. It was really the perceptions of the librarians themselves that they wanted more or these problem cases that frustrate them. **Leadership** was better at the school. The librarian was on committees and created a fostering environment in the library. Teachers and administrators are supportive. **Curriculum** is important to the librarians. They deal with teachers from many different subject areas. There is evidence of integrating technology literacy and information literacy. Students are encouraged to use online sources. **Social responsibility** is also important. It’s not fair to rate it low as most schools in New York State and elsewhere have arguably highly filtered Internet access anyway. Librarians and educators across the board also feel that plagiarism is rife. **Collection** cannot be over looked as the profession move forward into being teacher- librarians. This fundamental aspect is still important. The schools I visited had many good books. I am only concerned that with overcrowding there is not ten books per student as the rubric reccommends. 1. Collaboration a. Orientation for new teachers: Explain how the library helps them, what they might expect from collaboration and inform new teachers of other library formalities. b. Attend department meetings- Learn about curriculum, discuss materials, and meet staff. 2. Leadership a. Work to integrate information literacy into the school environment. b. Regularly communicate library activities and successes. 3. Curriculum a. Synthesize information literacy standards with the school curriculum b. Identify state standards and materials appropriate for curriculum 4. Social responsibility a. Educate teachers on safe, responsible and ethical use of information and encourage them to be aware of these in student work. b. Encourage multiple perspectives in lessons. c. Move toward minimal Internet filtration. 5. Collection a. Evaluate current collection and regularly used materials. Use of Follets “Tidal Wave.” b. Weeding and new purchases based on needs of school and curriculum. The rubric provides a range for each of the various elements. Schools will fit somewhere on there. The school I looked at got few distinguished marks. The expectations for the most part are not unrealistic but together it can seam like a lot. The element “social responsibility” says minimal or non- filtered Internet. I don’t believe librarians in New York State are in control of that. It may be a matter of lobbying to the district.
 * Part B: Two Year Action Plan **
 * Part C: Reflections **
 * To what extent does the NYSED rubric match the reality of your field service experiences? **

I think the greatest challenges will be collaboration, time, and instructional design. While instructional design happens everyday. Some lessons seem inadequate. They either consist of librarians lecturing about a topic (which some literature tells us not to do anymore), are repetitive or the lessons don’t seem like they’re engaging the kids. Part of the problem facing quality instructional design is time.
 * Given what you have observed, what do you see as the greatest challenges facing new LMSs? **

Teaching for learning is important with the focus of librarians as teachers. This covers many things from instruction to assessment and development. Empowering learning through leadership is also notable. Program planning and communication are vital to get others to buy in to what the library is doing.
 * Which specific sections of the rubric do you believe are the most important? Why? **