Category: Internship/Practicum

Using Evidence to Enhance Learning

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As librarians, we are good at collecting data: circulation checkouts, database use, number of patrons walking into the library, etc. But how valuable is this information? This kind of data has little to do with our students learning to evaluate sources, gather evidence to support a claim, and ask good questions. 

Librarians are reconsidering how to collect data about our school library programs. We all need to ask ourselves: 
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How does my work make a difference in improving teaching and learning?

What is my value to the learning culture?

How might I use evidence to improve my practice and enhance learning?

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When my PLC (a multi-disciplinary grade level team) was tasked to begin collecting data about our practice and instruction I suggested we use our school-wide research rubric (see our research paper rubric and our content area research rubric). 

Our team of English, Social Studies, Science, and Wellness teachers picked 12 shared students. Each teacher used the research process criteria from our content area research rubric to give a quick formative assessment. The teachers had students compare given websites, or find evidence from a text to support a given claim. 

The teachers brought the students’ work into our PLC and together we scored their work. We recorded where the 12 shared students were on the rubric’s continuum to gather a starting point for our data. We noticed right away that our students were lower on the rubric when they were asked to do research in Wellness and Science. They were higher on the rubric when asked to do research in English. We decided to perform some interventions and have all of our teachers work with their students on making it clear that our expectations are consistent across the disciplines.

Later in the Spring, we did a second research-based formative assessment in most of our classes using the research process criteria from our content area research rubric. The teachers brought the student work back to our PLC where we graded and recorded where the students were now on the rubric’s continuum and we were happy to see our students had moved into a consistent grouping closer to proficient than our starting point. 

It was a new way to find out what students know about research at our school. ​

Tools: 
Use this Tuning Protocol for reviewing student work.

Use this Rubric Scoring Guide as a method for developing rubrics.

Use this template to begin collecting data with your team. Set SMART goals, collect and compare data, and plan for the next steps.

Reference:
Valenza, J. K. (2015). Evolving with evidence. Knowledge Quest 43(3) 37-43.

The Way of the Librarian

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1/28/2021

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For those of you new to librarianship or curious about librarianship, there is a Code of Honor that frames and guides our vocational life. When we agree to become a librarian, we agree to follow the Code, exhibit the behaviors and dispositions defined in the Code, and learn to recognize these qualities in others. This practice is known as The Way of The Librarian.
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This is the Code.
As a librarian, I promise to:

  • Be a searcher: I will look for information before asking anyone else. I will not email another to ask them where to find something until I have exhausted all possible sources. I will always seek the best proximity to the primary source.
  • Be a protector: I will preserve my patrons’ privacy, voice, and ability to access the information they want and need. I will stand by the ideals of equity, fairness, and justice in all that I do.
  • Be open: I will embrace outside opinions, new ideas, and multiple perspectives and share them widely. I am willing to modify plans, collections, and policies based on a variety of new information, and I will proactively and persistently pursue avenues of finding new information to better meet the needs of my patrons.
  • Be confident: I will accept uncertainty and understand ambiguity in all aspects of my practice. I understand that I will have to make informed decisions in ambiguous situations that are in harmony with my values and the values of my library, school, and/or, community.
  • Be Brave: I will strive to exemplify strength through vulnerability, honesty, and transparency. I will serve as a vanguard when others can or will not. I may fail, but I will fail forward and will learn from failure to better serve my patrons.

When we choose to become a librarian and walk the Way we agree to obey this Code of Honor. It is a duty, responsibility, and privilege of the highest order. 

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THIS IS THE WAY
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The Way of the Librarian by @pamlibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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School Librarians Advancing STEM

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Becky and Pam

I was lucky enough to be in year two of the School Librarians Advancing STEM Learning (SLASL) project led by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management (ISKME) in partnership with Granite State University, New Hampshire, and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). I worked with the most fabulous math teacher, Becky Hanna on a Geometry project involving fractals and city planning designs.

We used the OER Commons unit plan template to develop and share our units. Check out the NH cohort on the OER Commons site here.

Our lesson was created to model text-based inquiry in STEM. Over the course of the unit, students explored a variety of texts and grew in their knowledge of fractals, city design, and the ability to use informational text to support their inquiry and research.  

Let us know what you think of our unit.

Your Alternative Hours

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If you’ve already established your mentor school placement, now it is time to consider your 30 hours at an alternative level. Is there a school that you can visit throughout the semester where you can observe, learn, and reflect? Are there activities you can attend in order to gain a greater understanding of working in different grade level programs? Here are some ways in which you can fulfill your 30 hour requirement:

  • Plan to visit a school (or several schools) at another level in order to consider the ways in which elementary and secondary levels are both similar and different. How are these libraries organized differently in order to meet the needs of their communities?
    • While at the school you may want to ask the librarian for a tour of the school and have a discussion about school policies, philosophy, and rules.
    • Ask what practices in library management, organization, and teaching have been most effective.
    • Assist in long-term and short-term project and lesson planning. Offer to help curate sources for an upcoming research project or interview students about their favorite genres. Offering service to the library will get you involved in the culture of the library and it will also benefit the library you are visiting. 
  • Attend professional development activities relevant for librarians at a variety of grade levels. Do the librarians in your district meet for vertical planning? Is there a technology, library, or education conference you can attend? EdCamp? Google event? Twitter chat? Webinar? Author expo? Be creative and take these opportunities to meet other librarians and learn from them. A lot of these events take place in the afternoons, evenings, and on weekends.
  • If you are working at a school, consider hosting a regional school library round table for a day. You can work with the NHSLMA to promote it and Pam Harland at PSU can help you to facilitate the event.
  • During your practicum you will be offered a variety of options throughout the term. During the fall 2019 we will be working with the National Collaborative for Digital Equity on developing some training tools for school librarians to use in offering chat-based reference service to low- and middle-income learners.

Your practicum is a culminating activity in your certification process. Be creative in how you learn from this opportunity.

Your ePortfolio

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ePortfolioIn the LMS and ETI programs we are helping you to develop into innovative, passionate, and competent professionals. Your ePortfolio is one of the main tools to demonstrate your competency as a professional. We want you to use your ePortfolio to show off your professional successes using authentic examples of work that showcase your achievement and passions. 

I encourage you to evaluate several ePortfolio tools and choose the one that is best for you. We encourage you make this ePortfolio a valuable resource moving forward: not simply a checkbox on your diploma planning guide. How can your ePortfolio represent you and all your have learned? Here are some suggestions:

Be Creative
In order to share your passion your ePortfolio needs your personal touch. You may want to use a different tool (check out this list of possible ePortfolio tools). Customize your colors, pictures, and layout.

Use Interesting Evidence
Find work that demonstrates what you are good at and what you care about as an educator. Throughout your program you will receive suggestions from your instructors on what to include in your portfolio, but they are simply suggestions. This is your ePortfolio. We want you to choose how you demonstrate your competence. Show us what you know by sharing videos, lesson plans, tweets, projects, photographs, illustrations, booklists, notes from students, papers your have written. The sky is the limit. Actually, there is no limit!

Try a Different Tool
Check out this list of ePortfolio tools (most have a free option for educators). http://plymouth-lis.libguides.com/ePortfolios  I use VisualCV as my professional ePortfolio.

Make it Relevant
It’s important to me that your ePortfolio remain a vital part of your professional career. You will continue to learn and will want a place to share your successes and reflections on your learning process. An ePortfolio is a crucial tool to assist you in sharing your professional accomplishments with an authentic audience. Think of it as a digital resume!

Align it to the Standards
If you are in the Library Media program use the five AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians:

  1. Teaching for Learning
  2. Literacy and Reading
  3. Information and Knowledge
  4. Advocacy and Leadership
  5. Program Management and Administration

If you are in the Technology Integrator program use the 6 ISTE Coaching Standards:

  1. Visionary Leadership
  2. Teaching, Learning, and Assessments
  3. Digital Age Learning Environments
  4. Professional Development and Program Evaluation
  5. Digital Citizenship
  6. Content Knowledge and Professional Growth

Take the Class
Register for CE 5140 ePortfolio Development and Assessment – where we will help you to set up your own professional ePortfolio. Library Media and Ed Tech Integrator candidates should all take this course. Let me know if you have questions about our ePortfolio requirements.

Contact: Pam Harland pcharland@plymouth.edu

Building Your LMS Resume

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resumeIt is that time of the year when we start to see job postings for next year. Here is some information for building the resume that will get the attention of any administrator:

Keep it Simple
When I read through resumes, I initially skim them looking to see if the applicant meets the job requirements. Start off with education and certification so the people reviewing your resume do not have to search.

Education:
MEd, Plymouth State University, 2020 (or “expected graduation May 2021”)
Library Media Specialist and Digital Learning Specialist

Certifications:
Library Media Specialist (0036) and Digital Learning Specialist (0350)
Originally Issued: 6/1/2020 Expires: 6/30/2023 (or “expected 6/1/2021”)

Keep it Short
Resume reviewers prefer a single page document unless you have something important that will add value to this position. Have you published an article? Are you a photographer? Have you lead professional development? Does your previous career provide evidence of what a wonderful school librarian you will make? Are you a member of relevant professional associations? Do you have additional trainings or certifications? If so, it’s ok to go onto page two.

Additional Training:
Intel Teach to the Future Master Teacher, 2020.
Seacoast Professional Development Center, Exeter, NH.

Google Certified Educator Level 2, 2019.
Sanborn Regional School District, Kingston, NH.

Professional Associations:
New Hampshire School Library Media Association

New Hampshire Society for Technology in Education

American Association of School Librarians

American Library Association

Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Relevant Experience:
Here is where you can start talking about your experience as a librarian. Be sure to include an entry for your practicum and what you accomplished during your time. If you have worked in libraries be sure to include details of your experience. When possible, add the impact you have had on your school as well as the actual skills and experience you demonstrate.

Library Media Specialist
Hampton Academy, Hampton, NH. 2019-2020.
Provided a shared environment in which faculty and students became effective users of information.
* Automated the district libraries and established an online presence for resource sharing.
* Integrated information technology through collaboration and professional development.
* Created a positive culture of readers which lead to an increase in test scores.
* Managed library volunteers, a multi-faceted budget, the physical facilities, licensing and contract negotiations.

Library Media Specialist Practicum
Bakie School, Kingston, NH. 2019
Worked with my mentor librarian at the Bakie School for 90 hours gaining valuable experience managing a library and providing information literacy instruction to the K-5 students.
* Developed curated resources for projects across the curriculum using digital tools.
* Collaborated with 4th grade teachers on adding an audio-visual component to the Immigration Project.
* Created a “Best Practices for Chromebooks” program for all faculty.
* Earned my Google Certified Educator, Level 2 by helping with and attending district PD.
* Genrefied the Fiction collection to make it more student-centered and easily accessible.

Teaching Experience
If you are an experienced teacher, highlight your work as a collaborator, a technology integrator, a presenter, coach, and leader. Include professional development trainings you have given. Highlight collaborative projects that had an impact on student and teacher learning. Illustrate your leadership experience by detailing activities and initiatives. Share evidence you have collected that demonstrates how you’ve met goals.

English Teacher
Sanborn Regional High School, Kingston, NH 2015-2019.
Transformed the English curriculum in Freshmen classes by developing an inclusive project-based learning program.
* Collaborated with my PLC on transforming the Freshmen Learning Community into an award-winning center of integrated instruction.
* Through the reader/writer workshop model student reading scores increased two grade levels.
* Coached all new teachers on the use of Google Classroom.
* Served as Team Leader for NEASC Accreditation.

Future Ready
Include a heading under your library/teaching experience entry about your readiness, ability, and desire to move the library into the future. Administrators are no longer looking for policy enforcers in the Library Media role. They want to see that your priorities are their priorities. How will you positively impact student learning at their school? Think about your elevator speech. Why do we need school librarians today when we have 1:1 Chromebooks, access to the Internet, and tech-savvy teachers? Include this statement in your cover letter. In fact, start your cover letter with your pitch:

Successful schools need a future ready school library in order to instruct successful students on critical information literacy skills. 

Ask for Advice
Share your resume with your mentor, your Program Coordinator (ME!!), and other colleagues. Ask for input!

Good luck and keep in touch!
Pam

Student Learning Projects

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Student Learning ProjectsLibrarians and Tech Integrators are great at collecting data: circulation checkouts, database use, Chromebooks per student, number of patrons walking into the library, etc. But how valuable is this information? This kind of data has little to do with our students learning to evaluate sources, understand content, gather evidence to support a claim, and ask good questions.

I ask you to reconsider how to collect data about your program. We all need to ask ourselves:

  • How does my work make a difference in improving teaching and learning?
  • What is my value to the learning culture?
  • How might I use evidence to improve my practice and enhance learning?

When you develop your Student Learning Project during your field experience, you will be coming up with inventive ways to measure those questions.

Start with a Lesson Plan Template Tool
There is a value in different lesson plan template tools. The one you pick will help you stay focused and on task as your plan your Student Learning Project. Try out the STEM Inquiry Lesson Template from the OER Commons.

Choose Your Standards
Focus on 3 standards. It’s overwhelming when faced with the Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, C3 Social Studies Framework, ISTE Standards for Students, and National School Library Standards.

Nail Down Student Learning Objectives
What is it that you want students to know and be able to do when they complete the unit? Be specific and make sure these are measurable. Consider the diverse student populations in your classes and how you will meet their needs, too.

Develop Pre-Assessments
How will you know if your students actually learned what you are trying to teach if you don’t start off with some data? Think of creative ways to gather this data about your students. It doesn’t have to be a test or a quiz. Read this excellent blog post called 10 Creative Pre-Assessment Ideas You May Not Know by Angela Stockman. Once you have a pre-assessment, you can deliver it at any time and analyze that data. Do you notice any trends?

Plan
Prepare your actual lessons. Test your technology tools. Do you need any assistive technologies for your students? Talk to your collaborative partner about who is going to do what. I’m not recommending a rehearsal, but it’s great to know which content you were planning on delivering before you stumble over each other in front of students.

Co-Teach
While you are teaching, ask your teaching partner to video a presentation. You can use this to submit as your video demonstration of teaching.

Post-Assessment
This is your final project for your students. They will complete their projects, create their masterpieces, or share their knowledge in an inventive way. How will you measure whether they met the goals you set for them? Did they learn what you thought they would? Gather your rubrics, review your data, and analyze. How does it compare to the pre-assessment?

Reflect
“We don’t learn from experience… we learn by reflecting on experience” John Dewey. I know! Another John Dewey quote, but this is so important. Sit down and write a reflection on your student learning project. What went well? What needs improvement for next time? How can you use the data you found to improve your teaching practice? Be honest. Be thoughtful. Look at student work and think about how you could have done something differently.

Let me know if you have questions about your student learning project. The detailed description and rubric is in your Moodle. Now go forth and teach!

Creating a Rich Field Experience

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Whether you’re completing an internship or a practicum, this is your chance to pull it all together. Your field experience should serve as the culminating project in your program—where all your learning comes to life!

In the Digital Learning Specialist (DLS) track, you’ll likely be teaching, planning, and collaborating, with a strong focus on technology integration. If you’re in the School Library Media Specialist (LMS) program, your practicum will involve observing and participating in the day-to-day world of school libraries across grade levels.

No matter your path, a rich field experience includes a variety of learning opportunities—and the more well-rounded your experience, the more rewarding (and fun) it will be.

Here are some ideas to deepen your experience and log meaningful hours:

Attend PD at Different Grade Levels

Sit in on PD sessions at elementary, middle, and high school levels to see how strategies shift across age groups. Compare classroom management, grading practices, or digital tool use. Conferences, district trainings, or webinars geared toward unfamiliar levels = great insights + alternate hours!

Read (A Lot)

Read picture books, YA novels, academic articles, and everything in between. Read across content areas and grade levels. Interested in a specific topic? Do a mini literature review and add it to your ePortfolio as a showcase of your scholarly skills.

Build Your ePortfolio

Start building your professional identity now. Choose a platform (Google Site, VisualCV, Padlet, etc.) and begin organizing your work. Link your portfolio to your resume and bring it to interviews—it will speak volumes.

Shadow Across the School

Spend time with tech integrators, special educators, interventionists, administrators, counselors, or even the IT team. Notice how tech, data, and instructional support flow between roles. Ask how they collaborate—or wish they did. Log the overlaps and insights.

Co-Design a Learning Experience

Partner with a teacher to design a mini-unit, station rotation, or student choice board. Integrate media literacy, inquiry, or design thinking. Even better? Test it with a small group and reflect on what worked.

Run a Micro-Workshop

Offer a short PD session for teachers or students: 15 minutes on Canva, podcasting, digital citation tools, or AI. Keep it low-key and conversational. It’s all about building confidence and community.

Explore the Learning World

Binge a podcast series on equity in edtech, school library trends, or AI in K-12. Host a “listening club” chat with a peer or your mentor. Take notes on what inspired you and how it could show up in your future practice.

Facilitate a Student Voice Session

Ask students what they want in a library, what tech tools they actually use, or how they search online. Use Flip, Padlet, or old-fashioned sticky notes. What you learn can help shape a future collection, lesson, or space design.

Try Emerging Tools Thoughtfully

Experiment with AI tools, digital portfolios, or mixed reality apps—and document not just how they work, but how you might teach legally, ethically, and creatively with them. Consider writing short tool reviews to share with your mentor or colleagues.

Conduct a Mini Needs Assessment

Survey students or staff: What tools do they use? What books do they want? What would make the library or tech support more helpful? Analyze the data and share a quick summary with your mentor.

Your practicum or internship is more than just a checklist of hours. It’s your launchpad. Fill it with creativity, risk-taking, and curiosity—and make it your own.