BLOG POST 4

 For this Blog post I interviewed Ms. Jefferson whom is a librarian at a local high school. During our interview we talked about Shared Foundation III which is Collaborate. We talked about the domains Think, Create, Share and Grow and how she uses these daily in her library. The school librarian domains and competencies we focused on the most was under the Grow domain.

“School librarians foster active participation in learning situations by:

1.Stimulating learners to actively contribute to group discussions.

2.Creating a learning environment in which learners understand that learning is a social responsibility (AASL, 2018, p.84).”

 

Ms. Jefferson uses the Grow domain in her library all of the time. One way she incorporates this domain is through Book Club. During Book Club students discuss certain pieces of literature but they also debate about the current events happening. During her classes she ties in debates on certain subjects so the students can learn how to properly hold a discussion. After the debate, students write a reflection on what happened during the debate. At that time students can also ask any questions or suggest things for the next debate.

 

Ms. Jefferson also leads book talks where students discuss books that have been read. The librarian thinks it is important that she models how to disagree with an author in a respectful way. She says an earlier activity she partnered with a classroom teacher and they did an activity that was a “Book Challenge” discussion. She pulled several books from the shelves that could possibly be challengeable material. Then students picked one book and discussed in small groups as to why they picked it. Students then worked together to pick one book from their group and they had to present the book to the class for discussion. Surprisingly, Ms. Jefferson said this sparked a lot of interest from students about her collection and it actually brought more students into the library to check out books.

 

Some challenges to implementing these competencies is finding the time to adequately complete the activities. Preparation and the actual discussion take a little longer than the average lesson. Although it takes a little longer the reward is well worth it. Once teachers have an initial, effective discussion they will want to add it to their units and it will become easier to execute. New librarians/teachers will have to take the time to craft the skill of teaching effective discussion lessons. For example, getting the students on a routine when it comes discussion time so they know what you expect as a teacher/librarian during that time. Students need to learn the difference between a serious discussion and a friendly discussion. Ms. Jefferson says she does a lesson on how the two discussions can be different.

 

References

 

AASL. (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. American Library Association.