As the school library media specialist for your school, I will help incorporate technology into the curriculum. The modern workforce requires a greater level of technological knowledge to operate. I will help teachers locate useful technological resources and help students develop the technological skills that will help them thrive in the workforce.
I will also help students better understand the research process. True research is not just the repetition of facts found in textbooks. It involves the interpretation of those facts to create new knowledge. In order to help students perform richer projects, I will introduce them to the Research Cycle. The stages of this cycle include the Questioning, Gathering, Sorting & Sifting, Synthesizing, Evaluating and Reporting stages. This cycle can help students stay on track as well as gain awareness of the questioning and creating sides of research.
I will collaborate with teachers to develop assignments that promote deep understanding learning should incorporate new ways of thinking rather than memorized lists which are forgotten as soon as the test is over.
I also hope to promote a love of reading in students. I will develop a library collection and activities that encourage reading for knowledge and pleasure and support the curriculum and school mission.
Related to traditional literacy is information literacy. Children today have access to much more information that their predecessors. It is important to teach them the skills to figure out which sources are trustworthy and which are dubious. As your school library media specialist, I will help students in this area.
It is important for students to understand, not just what they are learning, but how they are learning it. As a school librarian, I will encourage student self-assessment enabling them to become familiar with their own gaps and progress.