Candidates in school librarian preparation programs collaborate with the learning community to strategically plan, deliver, and assess instruction. Candidates design culturally responsive learning experiences using a variety of instructional strategies and assessments that measure ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Preparation Standards (2019) - 9 the impact on student learning. Candidates guide learners to reflect on their learning growth and their ethical use of information. Candidates use data and information to reflect on and revise the effectiveness of their instruction.

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2.1 Planning for Instruction: Candidates collaborate with members of the learning community to design developmentally and culturally responsive resource-based learning experiences that integrate inquiry, innovation, and exploration and provide equitable, efficient, and ethical information access.

2.2 Instructional Strategies: Candidates use a variety of instructional strategies and technologies to ensure that learners have multiple opportunities to inquire, include, collaborate, curate, explore, and engage in their learning.

2.3 Ethical Use of Information: Candidates teach learners to evaluate information for accuracy, bias, validity, relevance, and cultural context. Learners demonstrate ethical use of information and technology in the creation of new knowledge.

2.4 Assessment: Candidates use multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth. Candidates, in collaboration with instructional partners, revise their instruction to address areas in which learners need to develop understanding.

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Evidence

• Required: LIS 654 Inquiry Unit Plan

  • 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4

• LIS 693 Lesson Plan Parts 1, 2, and 3

  • 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4

 

How It Aligns

 

The LIS 654 Inquiry Unit Plan makerspace activities enabled students to create their own book covers, mock Google AI output, and drawings of bees which blended their own research inquiries with creative and hands-on writings and drawings that bridged the gap between research inquiry and innovation by linking what they learned to something that they made. These lessons employed a variety of instructional strategies including exploration of physical and digital media, thoughtful analysis of online resources, group-based discussion, and independent research. While the first lesson, Information Detectives, focused on their understanding of how the physical layout of the library and books themselves give us information, the second lesson, Super Searchers, had students assess the reliability and validity of online AI-generated content. The final lesson, The Buzz About Fact and Opinion, directly engaged the students in an analysis of the differences in facts and opinions about bees and asked them to ask themselves questions about their own feelings and facts about bees. These lessons were developed in collaboration with the AIG teacher.

 

The LIS 693 Lesson Plan introduced 1st graders to foundational research skills. While we did not explore more complex topics like validity, bias, and ethics, this lesson did delve into issues of accuracy and relevance to our topic, barn owls. We used two kinds of digital resources: a video and multiple websites that I identified beforehand. For 1st graders, independent research using online resources can sometimes be unproductive, so to keep students focused, we began with a group discussion and then a printed worksheet was used to assess their learning. Students were allowed and encouraged to work with their peers in completing the worksheet, a process that was supported by my collaboration with the AIG teacher, who co-taught with me during the lesson.

 

What I Learned

 

• For younger learners (1st grade), online research must be supported with interspersed group interaction, structured activities, and ideally, additional instructional support in the library.

• For older learners (4th grade), there was a wide range of initial understanding of issues such as fairness, bias, and validity about resources. Instructional activities must be able to accommodate this.

• When possible, providing a variety of activities within a single lesson is going to ensure maximum student engagement so that students feel at ease to explore the topic in ways they find most helpful.

 

Impact on Students and Connection to Best Practices

 

While the LIS 693 Lesson Plan was created with the AIG teacher, I have taught it with and without her so I am well aware of the benefits of a 1:15 versus a 1:30 teacher to student ratio, a factor that is well documented in educational research. In all instances, I have found the students enjoyed the combination of discussion and independent work on a topic they find interesting. However, as educators, our ability to provide differentiated instruction in a co-teaching environment is essentially doubled, improving the classroom experience for all students. In particular, having additional discussion and instructor interaction provides 1st graders with an opportunity to express their opinions and discover their accuracy of their own understanding in a comfortable environment.

 

In terms of the LIS 654 Inquiry Unit Plan, having taught it multiple times, I have been able to refine it for different levels and interests of students. It was originally developed for 4th grade students, but with some modifications the same unit plan works well with 3rd and 5th grade students as well. This makes sense given that I knew that the original 4th grade target included a broad range of library research skills and designed the original unit plan to serve the least informed and best informed students. That initial design was easily extended to serve other students.

 

References

 

DeHart, J. (2023, August 16). Moving Past Old-School Definitions of Literacy. Middle Web.  https://www.middleweb.com/49455/moving-past-old-school-definitions-of-literacy/

 

Stripling, B. (2009). Teaching inquiry with primary sources. Teaching with Primary Sources Quarterly, 2(3), 2–4. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/about-this-program/teaching-with-primary-sources-partner-program/documents/inquiry-learning.pdf

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