Competency K

Preparation and Evidence

Teacher librarianship is a path I had not considered despite my interest in YA librarianship; however, the skills teacher librarians possess are skills I would like to embed as a future public YA librarian. Throughout my years as a student at SJSU, I have learned to use various web tools that can advance the education experience, and I believe these are tools that community members can benefit from, especially students. Libraries, as described in Competency D, is more than a house for books, these educational institutions provide a wealth of educational opportunities, for community members, and can help users of all ages acquire and polish critical thinking skills when engaging in inquiry-based research.

I speak about teacher librarianship for this competency more than any other career path because of Dr. Loertscher's INFO 250 Instructional Design: Systems K-12 and Academic course. This course demonstrates how valuable teacher librarians are in the world of academics, especially in grade school systems because they can ensure success in satisfying the CCSS. The course provided an analysis that evaluates current teaching methods and explains how current assignment practices are passive. For example, powerpoint lectures do no contribute to the learning experience because once the project is complete, students do not revisit the subject with new inquiries. They are also ineffective in capturing the attention of audiences. Dr. Loertscher proposes that learning activities should always reflect and examine the material after it is presented to develop newer curiosities and inquiries about the subject. This ensures that students are utilizing critical thinking skills and vocabularies as they reflect on the material.

To understand the design of an effective lesson plan, Dr. Loertscher had us create several lesson plan activities, which I will present here as a demonstration of Competency K.

In this class, student groups were assembled based on interest. For example, I was interested in learning how to design a lesson plan for younger students, so the professor put me in a group of four that focused on elementary students. I recall two of the members were teachers or had teaching experience, while the other person and I had no previous experience, and I remember thinking it was a great dynamic for the group. However, once we began designing the lesson plan, we came across conflicts that did not satisfy the Big Think models as described by Dr. Loertscher. For our topic, we selected the water cycle because one of the group member's child was learning about the water cycle at school. Our initial design presented the following:

Inquiry: What is the water cycle?

1. Motivate: Present a series of easy books that focus on the topic for display, and have each child select information from the book that satisfies their search inquiries.
2. Question: Each student shall focus on a different section of the water cycle. What is precipitation? What is condensation? What is evaporation?
3. Investigate: The student will focus on their section to gather as much information as possible to present to their team.
4. Construct: After their investigation, the students can design a drawing the pieces all the elements into a whole picture.

The presentation above attempts to follow the inquiry phases as illustrated by the six instructional shifts defined by ALA. The error with our initial template is that it did not focus on what Competency K strives us to learn. Every lesson plan or assignment should have a follow-up that reflects on the subject learned so that students can evaluate and utilize necessary critical thinking skills. It took us two attempts before we could finalize a draft that followed the elements that satisfy Competency K and Dr. Loertscher's teachings.

Our final presentation (Lesson Plan: The Water Cycle), followed all of the inquiry phases and called for interactive activities. The lesson plan is as follows:

• Day 1: The classroom teacher (CT) and teacher librarian (TL) work together to help students ponder about the water cycle through a series of questions that focus on its components. Next, students are taught vocabulary words or attributes to help describe elements of the water cycle as they perform research on YouTube.
• Day 2: The CT and TL review with students what they have learned about the water cycle before engaging with learning stations. The learning stations have reading materials and AV materials to engage students in the research process. The learning stations are very well equipped to attract different learning styles to help children find an interest in education and research. At the end of the activity, students must chart new inquiries and list their discoveries.
• Day 3: The CT and TL present students with ideas for science experiments. Student groups must select a design from the Pinterest board. After the experiment, students reflect on the activity by describing their interest in pursuing that activity and providing details to what they have learned.
• Day 4-5: Students apply learned vocabularies as they practice their writing skills. In this activity, students must select an image the represents the water the cycle or its properties and draft a story that examines what they have learned as they apply learned vocabularies. New questions may arise from this practice, which is encouraged. Students can utilize technology to create an interactive story to share with the class blog. In the final component of this lesson plan, the CT and TL test students understanding of the subject by conduction a survey that can be accessed using tablets.

This model tests reading comprehension by analyzing texts in the learning stations and identifying key terms related to the subject. It tests critical thinking skills by advising students to ask questions and chart their discoveries and practice writing skills through elements of storytelling. It also covers CCSS in Earth Science by making connections and providing descriptions of physical properties of Earths materials and using scientific tools to measure data in regards to weather.

I am grateful Dr. Loertscher allowed us to make corrections to our models. Our understanding of the subject improved, allowing us to perform much better in future assignments. Our second lesson plan (Solar Car) focused on solar energy, which is the second piece of evidence that satisfies Competency K.

Solar Car is a lesson plan for grades 9-10, and it attempts to grab students attention and interest in solar energy by designing a solar car. It is crucial for the CT and TL to test students knowledge of solar energy before proceeding with the science experiment. On day one, the TL covers important vocabulary terms with students before they conduct research. These terms are essential to learning to identify car parts as they design their model. After the students demonstrate competency in these terms and have developed inquiries to address in their research, the CT will provide them with a balloon-powered car kit. Students must reflect on their successes and failures to share with the class blog, which enables them to practice critical writing skills while utilizing new vocabularies. On day 2-3, the TL continues to test their understanding of solar energy by engaging in an activity that discusses solar panels. In a collaborative virtual environment, student share what they have learned. Next, the CT prompts students to reflect on their model and create new inquiries that will address the deficiencies in their prototype. Days 4-6, student learn new scientific terms and mathematical skills to apply to their design. During this time, students will resume inquiries and research to solidify their model before the race. The culminating event requires students to practice their verbal skills by creating a video that will express their opinions in regards to their model and race. The culminating video must address key terms learned throughout the lesson.

This lesson plan satisfies CCSS because the dynamic of the lesson plan focuses on learned vocabularies to encourage students to use new terms in an analytical form as they express their research findings in the text. The step-by-step design is also evidence that complies with the CCSS because students perform technical tasks that commit to their understanding of solar energy as they apply the terms they have learned during the design process. The use of technology to record data satisfies reading and writing standards because they use these tools to express quantitative data while analyzing their models against other models, thus apply critical 21st-century learning skills.

The final lesson plan (World War II) I created for this class allowed me to work with a real grade school teacher. Mr. Salazar was a high school history teacher at Palo Verde High School in Blythe, California, and he revealed that many students are not aware of all the events that took place during World War II (WWII). We decided to utilize this information to center in our lesson plan. The home page for our website (World War II) starts with the question that will drive upcoming learning activities, what happened during World War II? The goal is to present details of events that took place during this time and have students question these events to ignite learning curiosities. Their culminating project is an art piece that will contribute to the class art gallery and a reflection that addresses how these events have shaped the future.

The lesson plan is as follow:

• Day 1: The CT uses modern media to introduce key elements of WWII to students. Students should soak this information and consider which topics are of interest to their research assignment. The TL then demonstrates to students how to access the school's database.
• Day 2: The primary lesson will focus on references. The CT will show the class a variety of sources that played an immense role during that era, and the TL will teach students the differences between primary and secondary sources. The class activities are designed to help them perform research and acquire sources for their defense and analyze if the texts they have gathered can contribute to their work.
• Day 3-4: The student will utilize this time to draft their ideas and create blueprints for an art piece that reflects any of the events that took place during WWII. Students are encouraged to use a variety of web tools for their design, and media. Students will practice written and verbal skills, as they are required to include audio for their piece.
• Day 5-6: Students will finalize the script for their audio, and the TL will demonstrate how to use web tools to record and upload their audio.
• Day 7: The library will set-up a timeline, and students are to place their materials in the year that corresponds to the event they have chosen. After the gallery is set up, students must take notes of other presentations. Their final assignment is a reflection that uses key terms and what they have learned about these events to post on the class blog.

In terms of the CCSS, this lesson plan address "the origins of American involvement in the war" by exploring multiple events that took place, and analyzing the aftermath of these events and how they shape modern history. The lesson plan also cover literacy skills, as the TL shows students how to analyze sources, the TL and CT cover new terms to reference in their analysis, and the TL's suggestion to use modern technology to enhance creative thinking and learn to apply new skills.

I was impressed with the outcome of the final lesson. The teacher librarians in this class stated that many teachers were reluctant to work with TL's, so when I asked Mr. Salazar, I was surprised with how open and energetic he was with the idea. An art gallery is something he had never thought of as a possible assignment activity, so he was pleased with the pitch. To have worked with a professional was beneficial because it allowed me to observe how teachers approach lessons, and Dr. Loertscher was right, many of them use dated methods. This collaboration taught us both something, but mainly that I don't need to be in the career path of a TL to create instructional programs.

Future Applications

After listening to various colleagues state that teachers are not enthralled with the idea of collaboration, it becomes hard to believe that a public librarian could ever collaborate with a teacher in designing a lesson plan; yet, the YA Librarian at my library is proof that these feelings and negative perceptions may not always be true. She has collaborated with school teachers on numerous occasions, and together they have created some of the most successful programs. Her diligence inspired my idea for an art gallery. Working with Mr. Salazar taught me that public librarians can also perform a pivotal part in producing lesson plans.

Reflecting on these collaborations propels me to think of what I will do in the future to apply Competency K. So what would I do? The answer isn't so much as to what I would do, but what I have done to show my worth as a future librarian and understanding of Competency K. I collaborate with the YA Librarian quite often, and the most successful program we have had is Create Your Own Comic Book. In this program, I teach students terms that define elements of writing, explain how to draft a story, and demonstrate how to properly utilize speech bubbles for their creations. We focus on these elements for the first half hour. During the second half hour, students can continue working on their story or begin illustrations. The students are encouraged to collaborate, much like the creators in comic books, because let's face it, some people prefer writing while others prefer illustrating. Each time we host this program I learn something new. If I was able to do this, there is no doubt that I am ready for the future.