1.2 Effective and knowledgeable teacher
Candidates make use of a variety of instructional strategies and assessment tools to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments in partnership with classroom teachers and other educators.
2010 ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians
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Collaboration allows educators to share best practices and personal expertise that will increase student critical thinking and achievement. During my internship course, SLM 552, I was able to plan collaboratively with other staff members. This biography project between myself as the media specialist intern and a seventh grade ELA teacher took place over nine lessons; one where the media specialist visited the classroom and four lessons that took place in the media center. The ELA classroom teacher conducted the middle four lessons. Students created a Photostory presentation based on research on famous people that had overcome obstacles to be successful. The ELA classroom teacher instructed the students on the Cornell note-taking method. I instructed students on ethical use of research, research strategies in both print non-fiction and subscription databases. I also introduced the use of Photostory software.
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Photograph by Amy Soldavini 2013
The assessments demonstrated that the students were able to complete the assignment and meet the ELA Common Core Standards. Students were exposed to the subscription databases and used sources ethically. Both special educators that co-teach with Ms. Barth, the classroom ELA teacher, have asked for my step-by-step directions to Photostory because they loved how inclusive and adaptive it was for students with special needs. One student with Asperger’s took on a radio persona and shined during this project. It was apparent that the student had absorbed and understood all of his research. Although he struggled with putting this in his written script, going off script and speaking into the microphone allowed him to display all of his gained knowledge. The software helped bring out the students that struggle with writing and gave them a chance to express all their knowledge verbally.
I learned that having a technology “tour-guide” in the media specialist helps all staff find ways to meet diverse needs of diverse learners. This partnership equips staff with new tools and resources for future students and future lessons. I, too, plan to reuse this software and this strategy with future classes. Combining a lesson where students construct each portion of a works cited entry with locating already prepared citations on subscription databases is a balanced way for students to understand the parts of a citation without the tediousness that may influence them to skip that step. I learned that quick-start guides for technology with step-by-step instructions on their use encourage students to become confident. There were times that students would ask questions that I knew the directions already answered. At this point, I did have to remind them, “Did you follow the steps?” The pride on their faces when they went back, reread the direction, and solved their own question surprised me a little. My experience as a classroom teacher had shown that many students just skip the directions and jump right in; it is a skill in itself in following a process. I want to continue to develop “quick-start” guides on various presentation tools. In the modern workplace, adults find creative ways to present information to heighten audience engagement. Since we are teaching today’s students for jobs that do not exist yet, we need to emphasize creative thinking and creative presentation in a variety of formats.
I learned that having a technology “tour-guide” in the media specialist helps all staff find ways to meet diverse needs of diverse learners. This partnership equips staff with new tools and resources for future students and future lessons. I, too, plan to reuse this software and this strategy with future classes. Combining a lesson where students construct each portion of a works cited entry with locating already prepared citations on subscription databases is a balanced way for students to understand the parts of a citation without the tediousness that may influence them to skip that step. I learned that quick-start guides for technology with step-by-step instructions on their use encourage students to become confident. There were times that students would ask questions that I knew the directions already answered. At this point, I did have to remind them, “Did you follow the steps?” The pride on their faces when they went back, reread the direction, and solved their own question surprised me a little. My experience as a classroom teacher had shown that many students just skip the directions and jump right in; it is a skill in itself in following a process. I want to continue to develop “quick-start” guides on various presentation tools. In the modern workplace, adults find creative ways to present information to heighten audience engagement. Since we are teaching today’s students for jobs that do not exist yet, we need to emphasize creative thinking and creative presentation in a variety of formats.
 This portfolio and the artifacts contained herein by Amy Soldavini are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. |
Revised July 2013
