School

Teacher-Librarian

Target Audience

Project Goals / Description

Feedback / Next Steps

BCI

Lisa Filiatrault

ENG 2P1

Independent research project planned collaboratively with R. Werner.  Directed instruction on four-stage research project, with specific strategies at each stage, including topic generation, search strategies, website evaluation, note-taking, and plagiarism.

Student comments collected on feedback sheets: generally positive response, especially for note-taking and bibliography instruction.

T-L will simplify some strategies next time.  Results informed planning for Gr. 10 library orientation next year: focus on similar research strategies.

CHCI

Rich Payette

CHCI Teachers

Presentation to staff on research assignment design goals to foster higher order critical thinking.  Good project design, requiring students to create their own understanding of the topic, is the best way to prevent plagiarism.

A packed agenda meant that Rich had less than optimum time for his presentation.  Feedback was nevertheless very positive, and has set the stage for future collaborative planning with subject teachers for effective research units.

EDSS

Lynda Hicks

Gr. 9 Academic Geography Class

Plagiarism Initiative: The goal was to help students recognize unintentional plagiarism, teaching a process which integrated information technology for summarizing information in their own words, and citing web sources properly.

Students completed survey – results will be compiled and analyzed for fall association meeting.  Feedback from teacher will be shared after summative project assessment.

GCI

Marybeth Snyder

ESL 1C1 English class

Unit focused on specific research skills required in most courses, to help ESL students progress to regular classes. Using the project theme of disasters, students used SmartIdeas software to create mind maps and point form notes.  Students learned how to format a bibliography, and specific oral presentation skills. 

Students were excited about learning software, and found mind maps and point form notes done in this way less intimidating than written work styles.  Students were able to use oral and written skills. Teacher-librarian intervention in context (rather than skills taught in isolation) was effective, and will be incorporated into other course units.

GRCI

Linda Martin

ETS 4U1: Children’s Literature

Students were working on summative assignment, designing a teaching unit on a children’s novel of their choice.  Using the film Finding Neverland, the teacher-librarian used strategies from Carol Koechlin’s workshop: “Picture Prompts” and “Step In – Step About – Step Out” to demonstrate how books and films could be creatively compared.

Students enjoyed this activity, and it generated meaningful discussion about the author J. M. Barrie.  Some students’ written notes were sketchy.

The teacher-librarian will use these strategies to introduce course in future, demonstrating that we can enjoy and learn from children’s literature at any age.

KCI

Brian Tulloch, Chris Kingston

KCI English Dept. and Fast Forward Dept. meetings.

These presentations focused on sharing new resources available from the school library to support these programs, with listing of available resources.  The TLs also shared strategies for selecting and locating fiction resources for recreational reading and curriculum support, especially using the library webpage.

“Hits” on the library homepage increased noticeably after presentations.  Next step: The teacher-librarian plans to present at a staff meeting or STS day on the topic, “Using the Library Homepage to Promote Information Literacy”.

JHSS

Tom Gartshore

JHSS staff and administration

The teacher-librarian has held a number of meetings and presented to the staff on the merits of Sustained Silent Reading, promoting freedom of choice in reading materials.  Stephen Krashen’s research demonstrates that the more we read, the better we read, and that motivation to read increases with increased choice in reading materials.

During the school year 2005-2006 JHSS will have a scheduled daily SSR time, when everyone in the school will drop what they are doing and read.  Strategies from The SSR handbook: how to manage a sustained silent reading program by Janice L. Pilgreen will be used to organize and sustain the school’s program.

PHS

Janet Dixon

PHS School Council

The teacher-librarian made a presentation to the school council on how the library helps students to learn, and how library instructional strategies fit into the Think Literacy Success initiative.  The presentation summarized the research on how school library programs improve student achievement and prepare students for the working world.  Specific library instructional strategies were modeled.

The audience was very receptive, and parents, teachers and administrators all commented on their understanding of critical role of the library.

Future presentations are being planned on using the school library homepage as a specialized research portal, extending the influence of the library “beyond the four walls”.

SSS

Pat Zettel

ENG 1D1

This was a re-design of a much-used research unit on life in Elizabethan England.  By re-designing the assignment from a written report where students merely copied information into a far more creative product, an “Elizabethan newspaper” using Microsoft Publisher, students had to think at a much higher level, and transform their understanding in order to create the variety of components of the project.  Direct instruction was given in strategies for accessing and critically assessing information.  Instruction also focused on ethical use of information, and using information technology to process and communicate information. 

Teachers found that using this project design forced students to actually process information rather than copying without understanding.  The variety of writing forms used in newspapers inspired increased perception of the topic.  Teachers and students commented that the teacher-librarian’s lessons on specific search strategies and preparing bibliographies eliminated previously-encountered problems.

This new version of the project will be used in all EBG 1D1 classes next year.

WCI

Janina Wright

OLC 401

Students from the literacy class were invited to participate in the Ontario Library Association’s White Pine reading program.  Participating students met with the teacher-librarian twice weekly, who used specific literacy strategies to facilitate discussion and foster insight into the books.  The students set their own reading goals, and kept reading logs.  At the end of the program, students attended the OLA’s White Pine celebration, and got to meet and question the books’ authors.

The reading log kept by these students met and exceeded course requirements.  Students read between five and eight books each over a five-week period.  In written feedback about the program, students were very positive about how the element of choice in materials, and specific comprehension strategies taught by the teacher-librarian, increased their understanding and enjoyment of reading.  The final group meeting was videotaped: their taped discussion demonstrated the students’ fulfillment of many Think Literacy expectations. Students also commented candidly on the success of the program.  The Literacy teacher, Cindi Olsen, provided very positive feedback, and plans to continue the program next year.