Reflection

5/31/10 After reading about the importance of reflection, I think it's fitting that my first reflection should be about just that! I was never a person who kept a journal and when I was forced to do so for a class, I admit I was never excited by the prospect. It is more in my nature to forge ahead to conquer the proverbial next task than to reflect upon what has just been completed. As I mature (age:), I am beginning to understand why that isn't always the best way to accomplish things. When I begin working in a school library, I realize it will be imperative for me to change my ways and include reflection in my teaching. My plan is to use this first relection as a launching pad and to continue journaling once this class is over. Stay tuned...

6/7/10 While planning my Socratic Seminar, I had the opportuity to pick the brain of my brother-in-law who is a 6th grade teacher. He told me that he frequently uses Socratic Seminars and that his students love them. I asked him what he has learned from his experience. He shared that his biggest challenge is getting his students to listen to their classmates' ideas and respond to them rather than just jumping in with their own thoughts. He implemented a 3 second rule after a person has finished speaking to prevent students from cutting each other off. He also included an assessment tool which measured how well stdents responded to their classmates' thoughts to promote consideration.

6/14/10 "The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback," states researcher John Hattie (Marzano, p. 96). It's a strong statement, and when I consider how I learn, it rings true. However, we've all been in classrooms where our assignments have been given a letter grade with no constructive feedback. I imagine it's tough for teachers to keep up with grading papers, much less providing lengthy feedback for each student. I'm glad that, as a school librarian, my role won't primarily be to assess. I relish the chance to give useful feedback rather than letter grades. It also reserves the library as a place where students can focus on learning rather than maintaining a high grade point average.

6/21/10 Marzano points out research findings that "one of the best ways to learn a new word is to associate an image with it." This finding supports the need for librarians to take a multi-media approach to teaching. We have the technology to easily teach the meanings of the word "victory" and "defeat" by showing a youtube video clip of the Yankees celebrating a World Series Championship while their opponent mourns the loss. Using such images along with dictionary definitions to teach will obviously make students more successful learners, as well as make the library a cooler place to be.

6/28/10 While completing the matrix, the image Linda provided of choosing tea cup became more clear. I suspect that no library media specialist sticks to one type of lesson plan or learning strategy to teach a curriculum unit. It seems to me that we will be challenged by the different learning styles of our students to pick the right teacup as we go along. That's not to say that we shouldn't have a plan of action with specific goals in mind. But especially during these rapidly changing times, flexibility is key, and the more tools we have in our kits, the more prepared we will be to meet the needs of all of our students.