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Note:
In this Web version of our Frameworks
we have edited out the actual rubrics
because we do not have permission
to publish them. To obtain the
full rubrics, contact MCREL http://www.mcrel.org/.
In-district
version of this document
Introduction
As schools prepare students for
citizenship in an Age of Information,
information problem-solving skills
become paramount. Students must learn
to make meaning from the complex
and mountainous arrays of data easily
available through countless sources.
The Library Media program will play
a central role in preparing teachers
and students to navigate complex
databases while protecting traditional
program elements such as the encouragement
of student reading and the enjoyment
of a rich mixture of media.
Library Media programs are caught
up in a vast “sea change” which
thrusts them into the center of new
technologies in ways requiring major
shifts in assignments, roles and
priorities. A close partnership with
classroom teachers is a fundamental
requirement for a successful program.
This document outlines a vision for
library media services during the
next decade as well as major steps
which may be required to convert
the traditional reality into new
programs.
Vision
The Library Media Program equips
users with diverse information resources
and skills to access, process and
apply information to problems and
decisions, thereby helping them to
make meaning of a rapidly changing
world.
Goals
Staff &
Student Outcome
Develop information finding, analyzing
and problem-solving skills to support
classroom investigations, encouraging
users to become skilled creators
of information and ideas.
Staff & Students
Attitudes
Cultivate appreciation for a variety
of experiences, including literature
and electronic resources.
Management
Establish and coordinate efficient
systems to enhance the use of information
resources.
Leadership
Provide leadership, instruction,
and consulting assistance in the
use of leading edge instructional & information
technology.
STANDARDS
Standards are statements outlining
major skills which students will
acquire during their years in school.
Standards tell us what we expect
students to be able to do. Library
Media Specialists team with classroom
teachers in delivering an information
problem-solving curriculum designed
to address standards in two areas:
information processing and complex
thinking.. Classroom teachers are
especially responsible for launching
student decision-making and problem-solving
projects which support curricular
goals in areas such as mathematics,
science, language arts and social
studies while the Library Media Specialists
are especially responsible for the
introduction and development of information
processing skills according to a
K-12 Library-Media Skills Scope & Sequence
Chart. This section outlines the
standards. The section which follows
on the next page outlines the rubrics
which will provide the basis to asses
student performance on these standards.
INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS
- Effectively translates issues
and situations into meaningful
tasks that have a clear purpose.
- Recognizes
where and how projects would
benefit from additional information.
- Effectively
uses a variety of information-gathering
techniques and information resources.
- Accurately
assesses the value of information.
- Effectively
interprets and synthesizes information.
COMPLEX THINKING STANDARDS
- Decision Making – selecting
rationally among alternatives.
- Problem
Solving – developing
and testing a method for overcoming
obstacles to reach a desired outcome.
RUBRICS*
Schools will measure student progress
on standards by storing three or
more decision-making or problem-solving
projects on the building file server(s)
throughout the year. In May, each
building will randomly select the
best project from 20 or more students
(at least half of them from exit
grades 5, 8, 12) to rate student
performance on the seven major standards.
*The rubrics were adapted and reprinted
with permission from Assessing Student
Outcomes: Performance Assessment
Using the Dimensions of Learning
Model (Marzano, et. al., 1993) ©1993
by McRel Institute, Aurora, CO. No
additional copies are permitted without
new permission and payment of copyright
fees.
AN ELEMENTARY
SCENARIO
The team of six 5 th graders enters
the Library Media Center to continue
work on their project. The question
they are dealing with is “How
can our community eliminate some
classification of non-recyclable
material?” They are in the
process of creating a multimedia
public service message to be aired
in a variety of formats on local
TV and the school district WAN.
Prior to this meeting the students
have gathered information from wide
ranging resources, including remote
interviews via video telecommunication
with the national, state and local
directors of the Department of Waste
Management, an Internet search and
survey to determine 1.) Why certain
materials are not recyclable? 2.)
What is the largest category of non-recyclables
currently in use? And 3.) What alternatives
exist which might replace the non-recyclables?
The students have used science application
software to analyze types of recyclable
materials that could be utilized
in place of non-recyclables. They
have done field studies at a landfill
and local industries. They have used
CD-ROM & laser technology for
additional data. Through virtual
reality they have visited a factory
where various types of recyclable
and non-recyclable products are being
produced.
Today the students are beginning
the task of pulling all the data
together for their multimedia presentation.
Using video production software,
one team will edit film taken during
their various visitations, graphics
imported form other sources to which
they will add their own scripted
message. A second group is at work
designing charts and graphs, title
and credit graphics at a separate
computer station. The remaining students
are putting the finishing touches
on their script and taping it for
the group to evaluate. They will
also select music from a CD-ROM compendium
of music, indexed by style, mood,
title and key word, to dub in for
background sound.
The production station is one of
several being used by groups of students
in the Library Media Center. It is
a compact workstation with all the
necessary equipment only a keystroke
away. Facilitated by the Library
media Specialist and monitored by
the classroom teacher through video
intercom, the students proceed from
step to step in the creation of their
finished product.
A SECONDARY
SCENARIO
2000 A.D.
The team spends many hours organizing
the “Estuaries and Wetlands” project
in the classroom, where the teacher,
highly skilled in teaching the process
of Information Skills Curriculum or
the Big Six Skills, helps
the team understand the process of
the Pre-Search (formulating the central
question, relating to prior knowledge,
identifying key words, developing
questions to organize the search
and identifying key information sources).
A tentative thesis statement is developed
by the team, with the help of expert
mentors in the field, with the understanding
that this is just a working thesis
and it will be refined or changed
as more information is learned. The
team will identify critical decisions
required to protect local wetlands
and will make a presentation to local
officials outlining recommendations
for action.
The team also plans the Search,
some possible Interpretation methods
they might use and how they will
apply the information they find.
After this initial discussion period
in the classroom, the tam visits
the library where the Library Media
Specialist briefly reviews information
sources available in the school media
center and suggests new on-line sources
available to them in the world beyond,
such as Internet and DIALOG, the
Public Library, the WWU Library (which
will be then be on-line).
The library is a large area, but
a warm and inviting place, full of
computers, comfortable seating, and
the most up-to-date information,
selected wisely by Library Media
Specialists and instructional assistants.
There is extensive access to computers,
all networked within the school,
an Internet node on campus, and direct
links by modem to resources outside
the school.
Each team is assigned one of the
many individual team rooms with network
connections into which powerbook
or laptop PCs may be plugged for
access to school network and outside
resources. Three of these rooms are
each outfitted with multimedia stations
which include a stereo-input television,
videodisk player with stereo output,
a multimedia computer with video
input and output capabilities, a
camcorder with fade-in/out feature,
a video recorder, and all appropriate
cables, for media production. There
is a small TV studio on campus for
students to display their work to
other students in the school via
the school video network. Both the
teacher and the Library Media Specialist
work with the team as they progress
through their project, giving assistance
and advice where needed.
Because the school network supports
modem access from home, the library
checks out one of the 25 circulating
laptop computers to team members
who plan to meet in student homes.
Other groups return to the library
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. where they
meet their mentors from the Padilla
Bay Center and the Whatcom Wetlands
Association, as well as other experts
in the community, the WWU Link teams
and technology people. There is enough
staff to manage the Library Media
Center from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. each
evening.
Students and teachers have only
three classes a day, so there is
much collaboration time to discuss
and work on the project. Support
for field trips to sites is ample,
and the same is true for school vehicles
and parent volunteers.
The students employ multimedia tools
to present their final project to
a group of experts in the field,
who give them a written and spoken
evaluation with Commendations and
Recommendations. They also make a
formal presentation to local officials
who are responsible for environmental
policy making. When the presentations
are finished, the students discuss
the process and fill out their own
evaluation form outlining what worked
well and how their work might be
improved.
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