Print reference materials...the way of the dodo?

Originally, my plan was to blog about making print reference materials and nonfiction relevant and, therefore, selected by users.  We have students in our library constantly, and they almost never use actual print sources for information.  If we pull a cart of print resources, an occasional student will pick and choose from the sources, but generally, our print reference materials are hardly touched. 

Step one of our rectifying this situation has been to interfile our reference, as much as possible, in our nonfiction collection and to keep only selected sets of reference that function best as a complete set in a section of reference.  It turns out that interfiling reference and allowing it to circulate are hot topics in the library world.  Check out this blog (and the comments/replies!) for more: http://ricklibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/03/reference-books-to-go-liberation-of-our.html.

My co-librarian and I are both new to our library, so we were not the ones who initially made the reference material selections, nor are we familiar with the reasons the items were selected.  I can’t even imagine the last time the reference section was weeded because there were “The New” and “Modern” versions of resources from the 1990s. I say were because we heavily weeded the reference materials over the last few weeks, which was a little complicated, due to our lack of background knowledge on previous selection and use.  Needless to say, we have truly almost never seen a reference book picked up off the shelves, so we knew we needed to get rid of everything that was irrelevant and inaccurate to start.  Check out this blog for weeding tips – I found it helpful with an unfamiliar collection:  http://cdstacked.blogspot.com/2013/01/tips-for-weeding-your-reference.html.

For more on the decreasing need for print resources, a concept with which I truly am grappling, check out this article by Paul Hellyer – a little old (2009), but referenced in several other articles and blogs on the topic: http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/archives/Vol-13/pub_sp0903/pub-sp0903-ref.pdf.

And for more thoughts on spending less money from our library budgets on print resources:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/information-culture/why-i-done28099t-buy-print-reference-books/.

So, my initial search took me to different territories of the reference world than I was originally exploring, but it provided me with new ideas and additional ways  to think about the process we are undergoing – isn’t that the best kind of research after all, the kind that takes us where we didn’t know we wanted to go?

Computer Science...why would I introduce my students to that?

What student doesn't love to spend time on computers?  I, personally, know that students jump at the chance to use computers in the classroom or head to the computer lab.  Unfortunately, according to code.org, nine out of ten high schools do not offer computer science classes.  Why is that a detriment? Let me tell you.  Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that by 2020, there will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only 400,000 computer science students.  The number of computer science jobs, according, to Code.org is growing at a pace two times the national average for job growth.

Why is that important for us, as librarians?  

It may be up to us to introduce our students to computer science, and, luckily, it's not as hard as you might think.  And it's definitely a lot of fun for the students. Code.org, a public, non-profit organization has set up a website dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color.  

The website is called Hour of Code, and can be reached at www.hourofcode.com.

So, what is the Hour of Code?  Every December, people all over the world are asked to code for just one hour.  Of course, you don't have to wait until December!  HourofCode.com provides a simple way for everyone to jump in and try coding.  They have put together several tutorials to choose from including Minecraft, Star Wars, and even Anna and Elsa from Frozen.  Introducing coding to our students opens a new way of thinking for them and opens limitless possibilities.

Take a few minutes to check out the website, read a few FAQs, and even try it out for yourself.  My girls enjoyed participating in the hour of code, and they have even moved on to toys and games that require coding skills, like Dash and Dot and Super Mario Maker for the Wii.

Do you think your students would enjoy participating in the Hour of Code?  If you try it for yourself, let me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you!

Anybody Can Learn (1 min.) from www.hourofcode.com

Gunn girls (ages 8 and 9) coding Dash

Diverse Books for a Diverse School

Being a new librarian and new to my school as well, I've been slowly wiggling my way into different classrooms and trying to show people just what librarians these days are about.  It's been a lot of hard work fun getting to know new people and collaborating with all of the different grade levels versus the two or three that I was working with previously.  Well recently, two different grade level teachers at my school approached me and said they wanted to collaborate on projects that revolve around Black History Month.  They both (separately) said that they know their students all have learned about the most famous African-Americans that we study in school (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, George Washington Carver, etc.), but really wanted their kids to branch out a bit and learn about some other notable African-Americans.  Their ultimate goal was to expose them to more culture and more diversity through books and research. 

As we went through our planning meetings and began the division of labor I started trying to find books in my library.  I will say we do have some good books with diverse characters or even about some notable people, but I was kind of surprised that we didn't have more.  I work in a pretty urban school with a fair mix of diversity.  We are also an IB school that celebrates and focuses on other cultures and diversity, so I really thought we'd  be better stocked. I want to be the kind of librarian that the kids automatically know is looking out for them and I want them to feel like they see themselves in the books they read. 

I started digging around some more to try and find some resources and ran across a site I had seen before, but had completely forgotten about.  I am so glad I found it again.  We Need Diverse Books is an AWESOME site that adamantly advocates for the need for diverse literature in our schools.  They have information on programs and resources and even ways to get involved.  I know what I'm doing over the next few weeks.  A little research, a little ordering, and BAM!  Diverse books for a diverse school.

"Real" Books

This past week we had our school wide book club meeting.  This month the topic that we were discussing from the book was about increasing student engagement during reading.  There was an immediate agreement that it is best for students to be engaged while reading and that there are, unfortunately,always some students that are not engaged with reading in the class.  

One of the ideas/suggestions in the book was to use the popular books such as graphic novels during reading/strategy groups to hook the kids and get them reading.  Some of the teachers thought this sounded great, while most were very unsure and just wanted to know how to get children away from those “graphic novel-y” books and to the “real” books.  Of course this statement made me cringe. What makes a book a “real” and therefore better for students than any other?  I immediately thought of a quote I had recently read by Jon Scieszka “Jeff Kinney's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series and Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' books got 49,323,701 kids reading.” I was very happy when my reading specialist (who was in charge of the meeting) nodded and said she understood the concern but a student reading anything was better than a student who wasn’t reading.   

After the meeting I made sure to add Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read website to my weekly email along with an old news article from 2008 in the Chicago Turbine talking about Scieszka’s views on what reading is.  For some of the teachers at my school I find just hinting and giving resources works far better than flat out disagreeing.  Do you run into similar problems at your schools with teachers and or parents viewing some books as “not-real” books?  How do you help change their opinions?

The Power of “Why?”

My four year old’s bright blue eyes twinkle as she squishes her hands through the “Oobleck”, made specifically for the occasion in our kitchen. As the concoction changes form, from goopy to hard and back again, she squeals with delight before looking up to ask one of my favorite questions: “why?”  Her gleeful sense of wonder, her unbridled curiosity, and her fearless experimentation make her the ideal student. She embraces the opportunity to learn, always hungering for more.

I find myself wondering, what will happen when she goes to kindergarten next year? I’ve taught so many kind, thoughtful, and intelligent kids throughout my career who have struggled to trust their internal curiosities. It seems that many of these students learned, through no fault of their own, that education is about passively waiting to be told what they should study. They seem to believe that it doesn’t matter what they want to know, but instead it matters what they are told to learn. I remember feeling that way too. But now I know that educators everywhere want to encourage critical and creative thinking, active engagement in the learning process, and resiliency. So how is the glimmer of curiosity lost? And how can I, a secondary librarian, address the dormancy of something so natural, so essential in my students?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to my questions, but I do believe that innovations in teaching and librarianship have the power to encourage and facilitate these qualities in students. Approaches such as: 

Carol Collier Kuhlthau’s Guided Inquiry Design: http://goo.gl/jemHkP & https://goo.gl/OgbpGu

52 Weeks of Guided Inquiry Blogs: https://52guidedinquiry.edublogs.org/

Fairfax County Public Schools’ vision of a Portrait of a Graduate: http://goo.gl/FMZVIC

The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile: http://goo.gl/F53xcw

AASL’s Standards for a 21^st Century Learner: http://goo.gl/W57hU

My desires to cherish and preserve children’s natural curiosities and passions are at the forefront of my personal and professional goals. I’m grateful that my new position as a secondary librarian enables me to work with even more students, more curricula, and more teachers than ever before.

I believe in the power of educators, all seeking to move beyond the sage-on-the-stage models of the past to more engaging, inquiry based approaches to teaching and learning. I believe in the power of curiosity, the power of wonder, dancing in a child’s eyes.  

Image shared with permission from Serg C, via Creative Commons license to "Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format”. 

Flexible vs Fixed Schedule A New Librarians View

I recently made the switch from high school librarian to elementary school librarian and while it has been a lot of fun working with younger students there has also been a dramatic switch in my schedule.  I went from an entirely flexed schedule to one that is fixed and it has been interesting to experience this shift.

Over the last 3 years at Longwood University we have read articles about the benefits of a flexible schedule in all schools and now that I have seen both sides (although briefly) I can say that a flexible schedule overall implemented correctly with collaboration across the school would be best for the students.  The article below by Bright Hub Education explained the open aspect of a flexible library seems to be better than a closed off (your class set library time each week) and the idea that flexible  scheduling gives your school many more opportunities for learning.  I understand the need for fixed scheduling to cover planning time but overall this seems shortsighted to the potential impact a library that is truly the learning hub of the school can have.  However there is a downside if not implemented correctly with buy in from all the staff and the lack of seeing students on a regular basis but this could be solved administratively and through librarian outreach.  I have noticed that since my shift to ES that although I get time with the students each week it is limited and the opportunity to reach more students would be available with a flexible schedule.

The Bright Hub Education article is an interesting read but I am also interested to hear what others thoughts are on the subject and about the experiences that our group has had in their own schools or libraries and the impact these experience had on the students they worked with.

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-elementary-school/47569-flexible-scheduling-benefits-for-the-library-media-center/

Reading for Fun!

March is here and that means we get to celebrate Literacy!!! Not that I don't already do that in my classroom. I was sitting in a Literacy committee listening to my AP explain that students are not excited to read and they see it as a chore. We also discussed making sure our boys were motivated and excited to read as well. We were discussing ways to help motivate and inspire our young readers. Then, I received my NEA magazine in the mail explaining different solutions to this concern. I love when things like that happen! These article stress the importance of "enjoyable independent reading" and the librarian and classroom teacher need to collaborate together to make this possible in the classroom. If reading can't happen at home, then there needs to be time in class that students can read.  They also need to have the freedom of choice. Often there isn't enough time in class to read, because of the pressure and time constraints of testing. We as teachers and librarians need to help students love what they read and not see it as a chore at home or at school.

"Improving Reading Outcomes for Young Black Males"
http://neatoday.org/2016/02/26/reading-young-black-males/


"Independent Reading in the Classroom Critical to Student Achievement"
http://neatoday.org/2016/02/02/independent-reading-classroom-critical-student-achievement/