Yes, beginning with the end in mind is usually what WE, as librarians do but
I'm not sure that my teachers are ready for it...they live day-to-day.
Survival seems to be the key for some of them.
Turning them upside down will certainly cause me to be tossed topsy-turvey
right now. It's taken me nearly 2 years to get to this point with research
skills and I've only now gotten the administration to understand why
Information Literacy is important. I've spent at least 4 meetings with
administrators discussing reasons why our kids are not even meeting the
standards that public school students must meet--and we're private school,
so that's hard to swallow-- (even though we score high on tests, I don't
believe our kids could research their way out of a paper bag). They are so
used to the "spoon-to-mouth" method---lecture, notes, recite, remember--that
they don't know how to use higher level thinking skills. That's why testing
is not that difficult for them. It's the writing, the documentation, and
the research that eats their lunch! They can't just can't do it. Many
expect the answers to "universal truth" questions posed by one of our
English teachers as an essay project to be written in some literary
criticism in the online databases. When it's not, they complain that we
have nothing on "that topic." We have tons...they just can't figure out how
to extract the information and reformulate the research into their own
words.
I'm watching the recent graduates to see how they perform in college and I'm
doing surveys and testing on the remaining students to determine their pre-
and post- abilities in research. To be able to even collaborate (or be
asked to collaborate) with this teacher is miraculous...but the winds of
change are within our school and some teachers will not be returning. Those
who are left are looking for new and different methods to win approval and
be retained. Perhaps this is only a phase....
In the last three weeks I have been able to get my administration to agree
to a Big 6 workshop for my teachers at the beginning of next year (I need
someone to come to our school to teach this....!!); a copyright workshop for
our teachers; AND immediate approval of formal instruction of information
literacy skills for our 5th and 6th graders with the 7-12 to be worked into
my schedule when I have "free time."
To be able to move these mountains has taken much pressure and support from
not only myself but also a few teachers who DO believe in what I'm trying to
do.... and now I've been told by those who are supporting me to "maintain
the edge" and continue with the program--which means, don't cause too many
waves...just let them see what is happening and how things are changing for
the better.
I'm not at all opposed to asking my teachers "what is all of this about?"
because there have been some assignments that were really strange to me.
But I think that I need to approach this in a very professional manner that
doesn't seem like I'm attacking them...because I think they believe I am.
(Imagine being a traditional lecturing teacher and doing research "your way"
alone for 20 years when some "new" librarian comes bouncing in to tell you
how to create a new project from your old idea....It's territorial.)
My plan is to present to my teacher some of the Big 6 information for
teachers to use when planning projects. I hope that this will help her to
see how she can make it into a better project. As I teach her, I realize
that I'm actually teaching two groups--students and teachers. The pressure
to do this one correctly is overwhelming me but I'm determined to help her
see how this is going to work better than the old method that she's always
used.
Thanks for all of your support and ideas. I appreciate the insights and
information.
Trying to maintain my position as...
Shonda Brisco
Trinity Valley MS / US Librarian
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco021@charter.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Braxton" <barbara@AUSTARMETRO.COM.AU>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: TAR: Prisoners of WWII
> Hi Shonda
> You wrote
> "Ours is a traditional "lecture---take notes" situation, so introducing
> planned research that starts with a great question is new."
>
> While you are turning them on their sides, why not turn them on their
heads
> and before they do anything ask them what lifelong learnings they want the
> students to gain through the assignment. What knowledge, understandings,
> concepts, skills, values and attitudes do they want the kids to take with
> them and remember and use five years from now?
>
> When they have worked that out then ask them about how this assignment
will
> achieve that. That way they get a real reason for the big question that
the
> kids can work on as well as the reasons for the study that can be made
> explicit to the kids. If the kids understand why they are doing all this
> work there is a greater chance of them doing it and getting some personal
> value from it apart from a subjective grade on a paper.
>
> This approach is described by a number of people but I think it is summed
up
> by Stephen Covey - "Begin with the end in mind!"
> Barbara
>
> Barbara Braxton
> Teacher-Librarian
> Palmerston District Primary School
> PALMERSTON ACT 2913
> AUSTRALIA
>
> T. 61 2 6205 6162
> F. 61 2 6205 7242
> E. barbara@austarmetro.com.au
> W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
>
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