I'm responding only to let everyone know that the "Holocaust project"
(as it is referred to here), has been a tradition at our school with
this specific teacher. Since my arrival (last year), I have encouraged
the "broader viewpoints" aspect of the assignment, but was asked not to
tamper with what was working.....until now.
This year I have been asked to use the Big 6 techniques with this group
of students as they begin their investigation of World War II. My hope
is that by using a different research model than what has been here
before (choose a broad topic, teacher approves, read books, take notes,
rewrite information) will help them to begin to think about (compare,
contrast, investigate and question) the assignment so that we can get
the types of reports that the teacher has always wanted (we've had
problems with plagiarism and I think that much of the problem comes from
our students not understanding that this assignment requires them to
think about the events and how they impacted not only the individuals
then, but all of us now.) I am hopeful that by being allowed to
collaborate (for the first time) with this teacher on this major
assignment, that I can help the students and the teacher to begin to
really investigate, question and understand some of the things that they
will read and study for this assignment.
I am hopeful that the Big 6 process will also inspire my teacher to
realize that asking good questions will help the students to investigate
areas outside of the "traditional WW II" areas--- Germans, Japanese,
Pearl Harbor, Death Camps, etc. However, as a "new librarian" at this
school, I also realize that our resources in print limit what we can do
(although we have an extensive collection of Holocaust materials), so
the ability to utilize and examine online resources will also come into
play (which will allow me to teach them how to evaluate websites).
(Sometimes I feel like I'm spinning my wheels because private schools
are slow to adopt many things that public schools do--- and after a
recent conversation yesterday with an administrator regarding guidelines
for libraries in private schools, I now realize why everyone is looking
at me in "shock and awe" when I do things that I consider conventional
in most public school libraries---it's because they've never seen them
before---unless someone else from the "outside" has presented them, and
in my case no one has.)
Everything that I'm doing is a change of direction for many of my
teachers and their students, so taking research and turning it on its
side to think about an issue in a new way is NOT what many of my older
teachers are used to doing. Ours is a traditional "lecture---take
notes" situation, so introducing planned research that starts with a
great question is new.
I'll let you know how things go with this (we begin in two weeks). In
the meantime, I'm trying to change things one class at a time....
~Shonda Brisco
Trinity Valley MS / US Librarian
Fort Worth, TX
briscos@trinityvalleyschool.org
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