Curriculum Connections: Chapter 11

Collaboration can be the key to success for teacher librarians. It is a way for us to prove our value to the school and to the district. While the concept scares some (and keeps them from developing further as teacher librarians), for others it is what drives their jobs and their libraries. It is a way for them to relate to other teachers, administrators, parents, and students.

There are some difficulties, however, with collaboration. For whatever reason, a teacher can work with a teacher librarian successfully, but then return to their old ways of teaching sans collaboration. What's a teacher librarian to do?

To begin, teacher librarians must accept that their job involves leadership. A good TL must be guided by a vision for what is possible and must have an administrator who will support that vision. The book describes Loertscher (2000)'s premise that collaborative planning is key to having a successful library program. Importantly, you must link academic achievement to your library program.

Collaboration can be difficult for two reasons:

1. Internal elements (over which librarians might have some form of control); or


2. External factors (such as district policies, funding issues, and the like).

Clearly, it is easier to deal with the first than the second. Local issues can be solved locally.

There a number of factors in leading collaborative efforts. They include:

1. The principal's mental model. How the principal views your position has much to say about how successful you can be.


2. The teacher librarian's knowledge of the curriculum. Teacher librarians need to be able to provide support even in areas where they do not have teaching experience.


3. Teachers' prior knowledge and experience. Many teachers have a preconceived notion as to the job of a teacher librarian and it can be difficult to convince them otherwise. That being said, it is the TL's job to do so.


4. Ability to see the big picture. It is important to be able to view the curricular needs of the whole school and not one tiny part.


5. Belief in the ability to lead. The teacher librarian needs to view their position as a leadership one. Affecting change means providing leadership.

There are three qualities that a successful teacher librarian must possess. They are the ability to be patient, an ability to know when to encourage others, and empathy to what occurs on the day-to-day in a teachers classroom.

There are a number of principles and stategies necessary if you wish to lead successful collaborative efforts. They include:

1. Create/take advantage of opportunities. Determine how you can take advantage of situations to promote collaboration


2. Acknowledge agendas. What is it that the partners want to get out of the collaboration.


3. Discuss expectations. While in a perfect world, teacher librarians could map out how a collaboration should work, the classroom teachers and administrators often have their own expectations.


4. Determine goals and objectives. What does the ending point look like?


5. Set priorities. What is most important to achieve and what is less so?


6. Create teams. While many collaborations are with two partners, it does not need to be so.


7. Keep team focused on the mission. Sometimes people can drift off into other projects, programs, and goals. It is the teacher librarians job to schedule and keep focused.


8. Evaluate. Did it work? Did it not work? Why?


9. Document evidence. Being able to produce evidence of success is powerful both for the teacher you worked with, but also for other teachers and for administrators.


10. Reward positive results. Being able to mention in front of administrators what a wonderful collaboration you had with Teacher X goes a long way toward getting others to work with you.


11. Lead professional growth. You should be a part of the professional development opportunities for individual teachers and for your staff.


12. Share leadership. While you need to provide direction, you do not need or is it desirable that you are the sole leader.

Related articles

Montiel-Overall, P. (2009, September). Teachers' perceptions of teacher and librarian collaboration: Instrumentation development and validation. Library and Information Science Research (07408188), 31(3), 182-191.

Forrest, M. (June 2009). Good Practice in Action. Information Scotland, 7(3), 4-4.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 10

The use of learning communities broadens what a school means. In effect, it encapsulates all of the stakeholders in a student's learning. It shows appreciation both for the individual, but also for the shared strength of all the members.

Learning communities work to connect knowledge between disciplines and move beyond the traditional school boundaries.

There is a strong correlation between learning communities and the standards in Information Power. With the first three standards, the information literacy standards, students learn how to use information. The teacher librarian:

• inform learners of available resources for a project.
• teach learners how to evaluate reliability and relevance.
• assist learns in the construction of a project.

With the next three, the independent learning standards, teacher librarians:

• build collections that support individual needs.
• provide students with materials in a variety of formats.
• assist learners with search and information processing strategies.

With the final three, the social responsibility standards, the teacher librarian:

• encourage learners to look at a variety of perspectives.
• inform learners about access policies.
• model collaborative behavior.

In this model, school site administrators and teacher librarians share similar duties which include:

• Knowing curricular goals for all levels.
• Acquire/allocate resources.
• Communicate policies.
• Manage facilities.
• Manage/lead personnel.
• Disseminate information.

Administrators and teacher librarians should be allies in this process.

Quote: A library media specialist whose program is an integral part of a learning community turns his or her "vision" of an information-literate citizenry into a reality through advocacy, example, and reflective practice."

Related Articles
Loertsher, D. and Diggs, V. (2009, April). From library to learning commons: a metamorphosis. Teacher Librarian 36(4), 32-38.

Pennell, S. (2008, Fall). Teacher Librarians in Professional Learning Communities. CSLA Journal, 32(1), 25-26.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 9

Learning communities often focus on projects that bring together diverse curricular areas, but that also move outside the traditional boundaries of a school. The general thought is that people learn better in community than alone.

As a member of a community, you are valued for what you know even though it is recognized that you still need to learn things. One key piece of this article relates learning communities to the use of technology. One of the models suggested using the themes below:

1. Students-as-scientists (or social scientists or historians)
2. Information or data at the center of problems
3. Constructivist learning (where students create their own understanding)
4. Societal implications of intellectual inquiry
5. Collaborative/cooperative learning
6. Appropriate use of technology

The author looks at the research of Nardi and O'Day (1999) which uses the term information ecologies to describe learning communities. The parts are:

• System. All of the members - students, teachers, librarians, administrators - are necessary parts and a change to one changes all.
• Diversity. Everyone involved has multiple roles to play and all of those roles are necessary for success.
• Coevolution. The members of the community grow and change in relationship to the other members of the community.
• Locality. What the technology is is almost irrelevant. What is important is who uses it, where it is used, and how it is used.
• Keystone Species. These are the members who are key to the survival of the community.

The learning community uses three general types of technology which are:

1. Information technologies. In our environment, this would be computers, catalogs, databases and the Internet.
2. Communication technology. This includes email, instant messaging, and more. Much of social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) fall into this group.
3. Dissemination technology. These are the technologies that are most like tools and include word processing software, databases, desktop publishing, and more.

Some of the possible techniques that can be used in learning communities include:

• electronic field trips.
• online mentoring and distance education.
• science investigations.
• learning communities in the humanities and social sciences.

There are also a number of challenges related to technology which include:

• The Internet has become the first stop in research instead of the library.
• Inadequate tech support and staff development for teachers.
• Teachers using old techniques to teach new technology.
• Understanding that not all technology tools work in the same environment.
• The Internet lacks adequate intelligent guideposts. All information is treated equally even when it is not equal.

Related Articles

Bennett, O. and Gilbert, K. (2009, May) Extending liaison collaboration: partnering with faculty in support of a student learning community. Reference Services Review, 37(2), 131-142.

Held, T. (2009, May). The Information and Learning Commons: a selective guide to sources. Reference Services Review, 37(2), 190-206.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 8

Quote: Assessment is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting data and differs from the term "evaluation," which implies judgment, often at the end of a project.

There are two types of assessment; formative and summative. Formative assessments are given at regular intervals during a project to assess on-going knowledge and to improve growth and instruction.

Using formative assessment is of particular value as students learn how to do research. It is also of value to teacher librarians when they are designing and monitoring instruction. While you are teaching students how to do research, they must also gain content knowledge. Using formative assessment ensures that happens.

Formative assessments take many forms and can be quizzes, tests, writing assignments, projects, a show of hands, what have you, but the key component is the on-going monitoring. Content-based reflection, in some form, is key to greater understanding.

It is important as the teacher librarian collaborates with the teachers that assessment be part of the activity or project design. There needs to be agreement on what form the assessment will take in relationship to the curricular objectives.

Successful alternative assessments include four parts:

1. Direct. They measure real projects.
2. Ongoing. They are tied to continuing work.
3. Instructional. The teacher is the primary assessor.
4. Empowering to students. Because students need to actively participate, they take responsibility for their own learning.

So how should teacher librarians be involved in assessment. It makes sense that librarian skills - finding, analyzing, evaluating, using, and presenting information - play key parts in any assessment.

• Finding. TL monitors students ability to find materials.
• Analyzing, Evaluating, and Using. These are all skills that can be taught using Big6 or another research method.
• Presenting. Students enjoy learning how to present information using PowerPoint, HyperStudio, or other technology. The assessment piece is the on-going work and the finished project.

Related Articles

Adamson, P. (et al). (2008, October 2). Formative Assessment for Literacy, Grades K-6: Building reading and academic language skills across the curriculum. School Library Journal 54, 75-75.

Morrison, T. (2007, May). Carving a New Assessment Trail. Knowledge Quest, 35(5), 48-49.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 7

Recursion involves revisiting parts of the research model. Often research is viewed as a linear process, but in fact it is more cyclical with the research returning to previous information.

Key Quote: In various ways, each of these models describes the process of narrowing in on a satisfactory solution to an information problem by searching for and identifying relevant pieces of information, then creating contextual relationships among them. The development of these relationships comes about through a broad cognitive pattern of approximation, testing, analysis, and reformulation in response to a growing understanding of the information problem.

Recursion is repeating a particular practice within research until deriving a reasonable conclusion. The author focuses on the need to provide direct instruction in the recursion process. It is one thing to tell students that this is all part of research, but it is equally important to show them.

Self-talk, for the author, is an imporant piece of the research process. By allowing students to see and hear how you work through research, the students learn how recursion works. The author uses the example of Sarah who has two pieces of information that seem to be related, but there is no connection to support the relationship. She is advised to broaden the original scope of the research, in essence, traveling backwards, and then trying to connect the two topics.

The author asserts the importance of teaching students what is going on during an internal monologue. By looking at the author's own thinking processes students can derive the process.

The author begins with an identified information problem and then seeks to solve it. She tests it against:

1. The perceived effort of the search
2. Its importance
3. the researcher's initial affect or emotional state

Researchers look for:

• relevance
• coherence
• complexity
• usefulness

If all of these pieces of information match the researcher's mental model, then the researcher has a thesis. If it does not, then recursion sets in. It is important to teach that you do not continue ahead with research when it does not work.

Key quote: By modeling and supporting the pattern of recursion within the research cycle, we help our students understand the value of risk.

Related Articles
Elges, P. (et al) (2006, March). Professional Development and Recursive E-learning. Computers in the schools 23(1/2), 45-57.

LaForty, J. and Mills, S. (2006, January). Research + Library = Student Success. Teaching Librarian, 13(1/2), 34-37.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 6

This article focused on curriculum mapping as well, but also included collection mapping and discussed the relationship between the two topics. The basic premise is that school who has spent time developing curriculum maps for all grade levels should have a library media center where a teacher librarian has developed a collection map that supports that curriculum map.

I see where this fails so often. When I took over my library, there were many non-fiction books that had no correlation to middle school curriculum. While it is nice to have a collection of books on the fifty states, that is not taught at the middle school level. There were many similar examples.

Curriculum maps ensure that what we are teaching are actually aligned with state standards. With curriculum mapping, the teacher librarian has the ability to become an expert at what is taught at all levels in the school.

To create a curriculum map, it takes a great deal of work from all concerned parties, but it also can mean that some people must step out of their comfort zone. When you are completed, it can become the driving force behind academic achievement at a school.

Curriculum maps can have many different looks and that is acceptable. The only outcome from creating a curriculum map should be in having one that works best for your school. The one key is that there should be a "seamless curriculum flow between all grade levels." Duplication of content should be gone.

One way to ensure that everything works as it should is to create a curriculum committee with a grade-level representative, the teacher librarian, an administrator, and whomever else is necessary for success.

The second piece of creating a curriculum map, though, is how it is used by the teacher librarian. When the curriculum map is done, then the teacher librarian should begin the work of mapping the library's collection to the curriculum. Easier said than done. The author uses the example of weeding 75% of her collection because it did not relate to the curriculum and/or was outdated.

The author discusses Loertscher's model for collection mapping. Basically, you:

1. Divide the collection into several small segments that relate to your curriculum.
2. Build, weed, or maintain each segment based on the needs of the school that is outlined in the curriculum map.
3. Create a graph that shows how many items are in each area. This is now easily done using modern systems like Follett's Destiny.
4. Rate each section from Poor to Exemplary. Fix the Poor areas first.
5. Determine if the collection has current information. Where it is not current, weed.
6. Weed heavily, if necessary.

The author does not recommend sever weeding unless there are immediate plans for rebuilding and there is funding attached to that rebuilding. The author also stresses working with grade levels and helping to write units and plan projects. Being part of the process ensures that teachers are using the curriculum maps, but also that your collection continues to reflect real needs of the school.

The advantage to having a collection map is that you can immediately know, graphically, if your current collection supports the curriculum of the school.


Related Articles
Franklin, P., & Stephens, C. (2009, May). Use Standards to Draw Curriculum Maps. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(9), 44-45. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Bushing, M. (2006, August). Collection mapping - An Evolving Tool for Better Resources and Better Access. Signum, Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 5

This is the chapter that I see having the most immediate effect on my day-to-day work. I have yet to work at a school that has implemented curriculum mapping, but it appears to be the real deal. Yes, we have pacing charts, but those are district-imposed and often have little relationship with what is actual being taught (or, indeed, in what can be accomplished in a real academic year).

A curriculum map is a visual representation of what needs to be taught during a year. It is calendar-based and each month has its own column. In a sense, it is rather simplistic and holds only the content, the skills, and the assessments for each unit that will be taught during a given month. What is taught is driven by the state standards for that content area.

What it does not have within it are lesson plans and activities. Those are developed outside the curriculum map. An analogy would be a regular road map. Yes, it shows you how to get from Kansas City to Los Angeles, but it does not show you where to stop for gas and to sleep for the night.

Curriculum maps can look different bases on the particular subject and the needs of the school site. A curriculum map for a school that has block scheduling could look very different than one that has traditional scheduling.

Certainly there are numerous benefits for stakeholders in the process including:

• Benefits for teachers. It gives the teacher a visual representation that shows when and where thing should be taught. Sharing the maps between grade levels gives other teachers a solid connection to what is being taught around them and eliminates duplication of content.
• Benefits for new teacher. The maps give new teachers a scope and sequence to follow for that all-important first year. It also gives the new teacher enough information to be able to ask the right questions.
• Benefits for librarians. It gives us the necessary information to understand what should be taught at each grade level. It also shows us what is being taught at the school and can be used as a tool to advocate for increased funding to support instruction.
• Benefits for students & parents. It illustrates that there is a real plan for the year and gives parents the opportunity to support instruction (by knowing what is coming next).

Once you have your curriculum maps, you need to begin to write the units that go within the map. This is a six part process which includes:

1. Standards. This is where all instruction begins. You have to know the expected outcome before you know what to teach.
2. Brainstorming. Begin to consider different sorts of activities.
3. Essential questions. What should students be able to answer?
4. Assessment. How will students show that they have reached the expected outcome from the standard.
5. Activities. In this step you will choose from your brainstorming in (2) based on what you have determined in your other steps.
6. Post-unit reflection. This is the time where grade-level partners get together and determine what was effective and what was not and to make preliminary plans for the next time.

NOTE: Often when you begin to develop curriculum maps, there is much angst amongst the staff because you are asking them, often, to give up things that they have taught for many years, but which are not part of their curriculum. Do not think that teachers will give up without a fight.

Curriculum mapping can be a short-term process over several hours or it can take an entire year. Either can be an acceptable time-frame depending on the desired outcomes. The first step in creating curriculum maps has nothing to do with creating maps. First you need to establish an environment where teachers are honest about what they really teach and, more importantly, what they don't teach. The maps should be a true reflection of the classroom's curriculum.


Related Articles
Dickinson, G. (2007, Winter2007). Curriculum mapping; A stepbystep guide for creating curriculum year overviews. Education Libraries, 30(2), 40-41. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Loertscher, D., & Rosenfeld, E. (2007, April). CURRICULUM MAPPING FOR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION, K-8. Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 47-49. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 4

Key Quote: "A major goal of a good librarian is to help the young move up the ladder to become lifelong adult learners." (p. 89)

Contrary to popular belief, literacy learning continues into the secondary grades. It is, however, for fragmented as students learn reading within a variety of subject areas.

It is important to take a look at what we know about young adults and their reading habits:

1. There is a misconception that young adults do not read. Several surveys suggest otherwise. It is important to note, though, that the reading they choose may look different than the reading chosen for them by others.
2. Reading is a social activity. Students are more likely to read books based on the suggestion of their friends than on the suggestion of their English teacher.
3. Young adults have wide tastes. What they want to read today can be very different than what they want to read tomorrow (or what they read yesterday).
4. Gender does play a role in reading choices. Typically, girls choose fiction and boys choose non-fiction. Certainly not a hard and fast rule, but it is a part of the choices that teen readers make.
5. Young adults relate to books and to the characters with books. The example in the text is The House on Mango Street, but certainly you can see this happening with the Twilight series of books and the star-crossed lovers theme.
6. Young adults ofteen have trouble reading academic books. They hit a peak when the reach middle school and it tends to slow them down.

On the other side, what do we know about young adults and writing:

1. They need an audience. Teens need to relate to other people and the world around them.
   
2. They like publishing to the Internet. I see this in my own work. You take what they would have put on paper and transfer it to a blog and the world becomes a more interesting place for them.
3. Like all people, young adults write for a variety of purposes. Giving them the opportunity to do so creates writers.
4. Young adults don't necessarily comprehend the power of writing. Writing is perceived by them as an academic task only.

Given all the information above, what are some reasonable implications for teacher librarians?

• Create a library space that draws teens. Make sure that you get teen input. As I have discovered with READ posters, students know some of the people on them, but not others. Have some furniture that is more tables and chairs.
• Work with your administrators and staff to have free reading time as part of the school day. Encourage teachers to have students read whatever they desire.
• Extend the reading community. Since we know that teens read what their friends are reading, have multiple copies of certain books available. Create a blog where students can comment on books.
• Invite teens to read. Have a variety of books, both on grade-level and not, and display them in alternative ways.
• Teach teens how to better understand academic texts using specific strategies.
• Invite young adults to write. The most success I have had in the past as a writing teacher was when I implemented Freedom Writer journals. Middle schoolers are often fixated on themselves and a small group of friends. Invite them to write about whatever they wish.

Related Articles
Sanderson, C. (2003, November 14). How the other half read. Bookseller, Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Bodart, J. (2008, Fall2008). It's All About the Kids: Presenting Options and Opening Doors. Young Adult Library Services, 7(1), 35-45. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 3

This chapter was about literacy learning in the elementary school and the implications for teacher librarians. Instead of the more traditional view of literacy as solely being the ability to write, the author takes a more constructivist approach in that active learners do not acquire knowledge, but rather construct knowledge.

There are certain best practices in children to read and write. They include:

• Children need time to do a lot of reading. Access to time for free voluntary reading is paramount, but often is not built into the school day. Without that time built into the day, it falls onto the home, but life is increasingly busy there as well.
  
• Children need access to a variety of books. Teachers and teacher librarians need to provide children with many different kinds of reading materials, both traditional ones and less traditional ones.
  
• Children need adult supporters. Children need help in finding books that they might otherwise not find. This is one of the primary roles for teacher librarians.
  
• Children need authentic literacy experiences. The type of reading that students conduct should relate to real-world experiences.

In addition, the teacher librarian should be perceived as a literacy leader and should be responsible for:

• Creating and sustaining the reading environment. What is the setting for reading? What does your library look like. Also, what are the perceived "sets" for the reading to take place? What are the mental and emotional attitudes involved?
  
• Fostering children's reading. Children need a wide variety of books both at their level and at other levels. Also, TLs need to be totally involved in the reading circle (select, read, respond).
  
• Collaborating with classroom teachers to support reading and writing. How can you extend what the teacher does to the library and how can you extend what you do to the classroom? One way is book talks.
  
• Working with parents and families. Make sure to include parents in library program activities. Encourage parents to visit the library and allow for parent check-outs.

Importantly, the teacher librarian must know what current research says about literacy learning and how that research can be applied to practice.

Related Articles
Waskie, N. (2009, April). ABC Literacy Storytimes: Storytimes to Promote Literacy & Learning. School Library Journal, 55(4), 155-155. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Adamson, P., Adamson, B., Clausen-Grace, N., Eames, A., Einarson, C., Goff, J., et al. (2008, October 2). Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. School Library Journal, 54, 78-78. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 2

Summary
Chapter Two, written by Violet Harada, focuses on fostering thinking across the curriculum and, in particular, the role a teacher librarian can play in the mix. In particular, the chapter looks at some of the "intellectual capital" that twenty-first century citizens must possess including:

• basic language proficiency
• scientific thinking
• competent use of ocmputers and applications
• decipher, interpret, and express ideas with visual media
• appreciation of cultural diversity
• proficiency in locating/evaluating/using information

One of the concerns, as has been mentioned elsewhere, is that there is not a lack of direction, but rather that there are too many directions; too many standards to guide us.

Unfortunately, in many schools we are viewed as "...providers of ancillary (and dispensable) services and gatekeepers of underused collections." Instead we should be pushing to be perceived as the person who provides depth to instruction and to learning.

Harada asserts that there are certain characteristics that showcase productive centers of learning and they include:

• Schools are learning organizations where stakeholders change norms and habits
• Empowerment is part of the school vision
• Schools create a foundation of thinking that relate pieces of information with other pieces of information
• Thoughtfulness is a key ingredient; how students percieve themselves as thinkers is important

When you align curriculum with these four characteristics, learning becomes focused on depth rather than breadth.

Our role in empowering learning in our schools works specifically because our jobs are structured in such a way that we can have an impact on the entire school population.

How this looks, like was discussed in Chapter 1, is related to the specific disciplines. What works in one discipline may not work in another. What it looks like for the disciplines can be:

• Language Arts: Literary appreciation/analysis require students be able to predict/validate/synthesize and the ability to analyze from multiple points of view.
• Social Studies: Students formulate questions/obtain data/test sources for accuracy and authority.
• Mathematics: Problem solving means students need to formulate problems and consider alternative strategies to solve the problems.
• Science: Using scientific inquiry asserts that students understand key questions/concepts that guide investigations.

Information Literacy: Searching for and using information requires student engagement in different formats/purposes.

Reaction
I had a particularly strong reaction to how we are viewed at some schools ("...providers of ancillary..."). Unfortunately, this is likely true. And, importantly, where this is true, the teacher librarian often plays a role in making in true. The connection that I see to the job and my livelihood is that when funding is low, they want to keep positions where they see the most benefit. Teacher librarians have the ability to make or break their positions.

How we relate to the others teachers in a school determines our ability to be successful. We are in a unique position to work toward changing the culture of a school and how students learn by collaborating with teachers in such a way that inquiry is key and that the goal is depth of learning.

One point I found interesting was how many of us have focused our efforts on tradtional tasks (using an online catalog, creating a bibliography, etc.). Yes, these are important skills, Harada asserts that, in addition to teaching those skills, we should also be teaching:

• Perception and recognition
• Storage and retrieval
• Organization and transformation
• Reasoning and utilization
• Metacognition

The question then becomes how we implement such strategies. We should:

• Generate questions
• Focus instruction on distinguishing between fact and opinion
• Use graphic organizers
• Have students reflect on they performed specific operations

Part of this requires the use of scaffolding, providing a temporary support for students, until they are able to perform the work on their own.

Key quote: In short, substantive learning requires focusing on a smaller number of critical ideas, concepts, and themes that can be studies in depth.

Related Articles
Zmuda, A., & Harada, V. (2008, April). Reframing the Library Media Specialist as a Learning Specialist. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 24(8), 42-46. Retrieved June 24, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Yoshina, J., & Harada, V. (2006, April). Engaging Students in INQUIRY. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 22(8), 22-25. Retrieved June 24, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Curriculum Connections: Chapter 1

Summary
Chapter 1 is an introduction to inquiry learning. Inquiry learning is a system of learning where we start with the known and move to the unknown. We inquire by asking "intriguing" questions about what is not yet know, begin an investigation of the question(s), and communicate with others to achieve greater understanding.

Unlike informational problem solving, inquiry-based learning is open-ended. Constructivism, the melding of inquiry with the practice of teaching, has turned regular classrooms into student-centered learning environments. How this occurs is through the use of a series of experiences that are related to each other as well as due to the interactions between students, teachers, and the community around them. It provides students and teachers with opportunity to look at important ideas in depth.

Significant text is devoted to the difference between inquiry and information problem solving. While both are based on a process, inquiry most closely relates to the constructivist environment. It provides a situation for learning that is "...active, shared, and based on pursuit of student-generated questions; meaning is constructed by the learner; the curriculum is based on big concepts; assessment is founded on student work rather than on teacher-generated tests; and the teacher's role is to interact and mediate the environment."

The Inquiry Process includes:

• Connect (to previous knowledge)
  
• Wonder (develop questions)
  
• Investigate (find and evaluate information)
  
• Construct (new understandings related to previous knowledge)
  
• Express (new ideas to share learning with others)
  
• Reflect (on own process of learning and ask new questions)
  

Once you have decided to use an inquire model to drive curriculum and instruction, you need to look at organizing curriculum by disciplines. Student need to inquire in discipline-specific ways because which discipline determines the types of questions that need to be asked. They look like:

• Science: Students are searching for the truth and for explanations of the physical world.
• Math: While also a focus on finding the truth, math is immutable. Math does not need the who, why, and where.
• Social Studies: Emphasis is on values and behaviors. Beyond just why, who, and where, but also how good or bad and what are the consequences.
• Language arts: Emphasis is on process. Because educators are now using more non-fiction, more inquiry can now be used in the language arts classroom.

Inquiry requires four pieces in order to be inquiry:

1. Learner-centered
2. Knowledge-centered
3. Assessment-centered
4. Community-centered
   

Response
Inquiry based learning is the librarian's job. When we talk about information literacy skills, this can best be taught through the use of inquiry. When we talk about those "experiences" that need to be strung together, we are talking using those information literacy skills in creative ways along the inquiry model. While inquiry is not the collection of those skills, there is a solid relationship between those skills and content.

Related Articles
Pappas, M. (2009, May). Inquiry and 21 st-Century Learning. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(9), 49-51. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

Curriculum Connections: Introduction

Summary

1. There has been an increased focus on standardized testing. This focus has resulted in legislators and others defining achievement as solely high test scores.

2. Stripling and Hughes-Hassell assert that reaching high achievement is through developing independent learning skills.

• "Read and write with comprehension and expression."
• "Use mathematical and scientific principles to solve real-world problems."
• "Find, evaluate, and use information."
• "Seek and interpret multiple perspectives on historical/current issues."
• "Appreciate the arts and express themselves creatively."
• "Construct meaning for themselves."
  

3. Teachers and Teacher Librarians need to provide students with to develop and use those skills.

4. The one thing that the focus on achievement through standardized testing has brought is a focus on what should be included within curriculum.

5. The curriculum needs to spiral so that what is taught in earlier grades comes back in later grades.

5. The first step is to clarify curriculum expectations, but that is not the end of the work. You must also recognize and deal with competing expectations for assessment.

6. Key quote: Teachers who have embraced educational reform ideas are changing their instruction to focus on students' active learning and their ability to demonstrate and apply their learning.


Response
The introduction has three key components:

1. Students should learn to be independent learners and the specific components necessary.
2. There is an inequity in curriculum expectations across states and even across districts.
3. Teachers need to change their instruction to focus on active learning.
   

First, by becoming independent learners students learn the skills necessary to be successful both as students, but also in life.

Second, in addressing the inequity in curriculum expectations we also address why schools that are "failing" in one state would be "passing" in another.

Third, active learning means that students will be apply to apply what they have learned to real-world problems and issues.

Related Articles
Carmichael, P. (2008, June). An independent learning project that can change the culture of learning in your school. Access (10300155), 22(2), 27-33. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.

Mokhtar, I., Majid, S., & Foo, S. (2008, September). Information literacy education: Applications of mediated learning and multiple intelligences. Library & Information Science Research (07408188), 30(3), 195-206. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2007.12.004

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