Post-Reflection

Now that the unit is complete, being evaluated, and my collaboration with Kara has come to an end I have to say that I have a greater understanding of the collaborative process and the steps needed to have a successful outcome. After going through this class and other coursework in the program, I can recall reading and discussing how important teacher/school librarian collaborations were and understanding the value of it. However, now after having hands on experience doing it, I have a in-depth understanding of how student learning can increase and that having a go to person to bounce ideas off of in extremely valuable. Working with Kara has introduced me to new resources and a fresh perspective on teaching a familiar unit. By working together, I now have more resources to examine, a new way to look at ongoing assessment and evaluation, and can display student work not only in my classroom but also in the library where everyone can see it! When school librarians and classroom teachers team up, student learning reaches a higher level of understanding of how to view, locate, and interpret information. The only question I have left is: When will I have the opportunity to work as a cooperating school librarian again? J I hope soon!

Assessment Blog

I have to say we are nearing the end of putting together the unit and looking back I have to say it has been a successful partnership. We both felt very comfortable with the roles we took on and met deadlines. After one would post additions to the unit, we would then discuss how to make it better. We wanted to have something that could be used in a classroom/school library which was appropriate for first graders.

As far as assessment and evaluation, we chose to use journals/portfolios as ongoing assessments. The journals/portfolios can be used by both the teacher and the school librarian to see which topics students are having trouble with. We are also using rubrics, think maps, and oral reports to monitor learning. As a final evaluation I created an online multiple choice quiz students will take with assistance. The questions will be read aloud and computer help will be given both by the classroom teacher and the school librarian. I thought by adding an "online" quiz, students would become aquainted with using the computer not only to gain information but to check their learning as well.

I have found that working in a first grade classroom now for 3 years, I rely heavily on portfolios, classroom discussion, and journal writing to gain a deeper understanding of what my students are struggling with and what they have mastered. I also find it very helpful to accommodate some of my students by having them verbalize the information if they are having trouble putting the information down in written form. Also drawings and pictures are another assessment tool we will continue to use throughout the unit.

We are also adding a portion where the school librarian will video record the final presentations so they can be added to the school website (a visual for the stakeholders). Their final posters will also be displayed throughout the school.

Mid-Planning

Somehow I just noticed that I missed posting my mid-planning blog and am late!! I don’t know what happened I thought I posted but somehow I didn’t. I am posting late and apologize for the mistake.

I feel like the lessons are progressing nicely. I am coming up with ideas for the classroom lesson plans and Kara is coming up with media center lessons. We have been communicating back and forth and have been giving each other ideas for both roles. We are continuing work on the butterfly life cycle unit and have approximately 5 lessons work out thus far.

As far as the school librarian role, we are going the route of support and added lessons. The School librarian will help with research and exploration of the topic. We are also thinking of having the media specialist video record the presentations. Some of the resources we are thinking of using are: video, print, online, and possible guest speakers. We are working on matching the standards with the lessons and making modifications for special groups. Overall the unit is coming along nicely!

Early Planning

Early planning Blog

So far I think Kara and I are off to a great start. We have been communicating through email and have narrowed down our unit idea. We decided to go with a Science subject and then further narrowed it down to Life Cycles. The reason we decided to choose topic this is because in the Spring I will be teaching this content to my first graders and would love to be able to implement some of our ideas into action within my classroom. I think we may need to narrow down “Life cycles” even further and work on the life cycle of the butterfly. After looking over grade level content expectations, this unit should fit in nicely with my curriculum and I am hoping to find valuable resources for the unit.

Essential Questions:

Kara came up with a great idea of dividing our essential questions into three categories: Unit Plan questions, School Librarian questions, and the teacher questions. With the questions being divided it helps us consider the roles and responsibilities of both the teacher and the school librarian. So far we have the following essential questions

Unit Plan Questions

1. Why is it important to stop, look, and observe clues in my world?

2. What are the life cycles of living things?

3. How do species change through time?

4. How many stages are there in the life cycle of a butterfly?

5. What is metamorphosis?

6. What is a chrysalis?

7. Compare a chrysalis to a cocoon?

Driving Questions for the SLMS

1. How do I teach students to locate information on a topic?

2. How do I use student time in the media center to further learning about life cycles

3. How can I integrate technology resources?

4. Where do I find the best possible digital and print resources to assist teacher planning?

Driving Questions for the Teacher?

1. How can I get first grade students to understand the life cycle and metamorphosis?

2. How can I integrate Science and Literacy?

3. How can I assess student learning?

Tasks

So far we have both looked over the rubric and the outcomes for the unit and have decided to complete the following roles:

1. Write an intro to the unit on our wiki home page (Kara)

2. Write up of our roles and responsibilities (Martina)

3. Add our driving questions (Both of us)

4. Standards (can be addressed in lessons and on summary page after lessons are written) (Both add after our lessons are written and Kara will add the summary to the wiki)

5. Assessment/measurement of learning (also written into the lessons and on wiki as a summary) (Martina will write up summary and post to the wiki)

6. Diverse population information write up on wiki (Kara)

7. Demographics (Martina write up on wiki)

8. Lessons (at least 2 each)

9. Resources being used (both Kara and I will add resources)

By keeping in close contact with one another I feel we are off to developing a great unit. I am looking forward to seeing where the unit will take us and implementing the unit this Spring!

Martina's Pre-Planning

For the upcoming teacher collaboration I would love to be able to put together a working unit that I will be able to implement sometime in the near future. One thing I am afraid of at the moment is not being completely clear about how to go about constructing the unit. I think the unit plan should be put together around one subject area and start off with a particular grade in mind so planning will run smoothly. One thing I am confused about is the way the unit should look. Are we putting together a few lessons in a formal lesson plan or are we putting together ideas for a plan without the formal lessons?

One strength of mine is completing work in a timely manner. I try my best to complete assignments before they are due to avoid any last minute stress on myself or my peers (if working in a group). One weakness I have is my lack of available time to collaborate with others working schedules. Right now I am working full time, completing practicum hours, and have 2 active kids at home. I have a crazy schedule and cannot always collaborate at the same time of day others are available. On a positive note, I always find some way to make it work and this has not really been a problem.

Witness accounts

I have witnessed both very successful media collaborations and unsuccessful ones. The successful partnerships I have witnessed occurred when both the media specialist and teachers worked together by putting time aside to meet and discuss the teaching units that were taking place and/or would be taking place soon. The SL took the time to sit down with each grade level teacher and discuss how the media center could be utilized within the units of study. The SL listened and came up with suggestions of materials to use, ordered materials from a local library for the unit and even went as far as co-teaching with the classroom teacher. It was a great partnership and the students all benefited.

One unsuccessful experience I witnessed was when the SL sat back and really did not collaborate with teachers or offer materials but rather worked on their master’s degree or other work not related to their job. It was sad to witness the lack of communication and unwillingness to get involved.

I think the best way to avoid falling into something like the experience I just mentioned would be to stay active and be sure to keep communication lines open with all staff members in the building. Playing an active role will keep the SL actively engaged.

Unit ideas

One unit idea I have is to work in the area of literature (Language Arts). I would like to somehow put together a genre study. Possible genres would include: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and Biographies. This type of unit would work well with all grades (I am thinking the elementary level) but the materials involved with each grade would have to be altered. If I were putting together a piece on genre for the lower elementary grades I would probably begin with fiction and non-fiction and possibly poetry. I might also consider doing an author study. I would pick an author to study and then incorporate a bit of writing into the unit and discuss the authors “craft of writing”. Eric Carle comes to mind because students are very familiar with his work and enjoy the illustrations.

Another possible unit would be to concentrate on one genre and develop lessons around

Finally, we may also be able to put together a research project for students where they would have to use various searching techniques to find information on a particular topic. This could also would on various levels as long as the materials and searching tools were considered and altered when necessary. Examples of resources would be: books, encyclopedias, Internet resources, maps, etc.

I am looking forward to putting a unit of study together and hopefully being able to implement it in the near future!