Skip to main content

Posts

Interview with Stephanie Mann

  Interview with Stephanie Mann Interview Date: 3/28/2024 Stephanie Mann is the current librarian at West End Elementary. I focused our conversation on Shared Foundation VI: Engage. This proved to be an interesting conversation considering she serves a wide variety of ages and grade levels. She said she often teaches children how to locate information for the very first time. She said students bring more of their life experiences into the research process because that is really all they know. Elementary kids in the lower grade levels need to know how to look for information, and often need audiovisual resources instead of print. She has a wide range of books on the same topics that are geared towards different age levels. She finds presenting a video, a storybook read aloud, and then picture books are best for lower grade levels. Upper elementary grade levels are not complete novices, but they are usually reluctant or resistant to using research methods outside of the interne...
Recent posts

Interview with Amalie Turner

  Interview with Amalie Turner Interview Date: April 10, 2024   Amalie Turner is the current librarian at Liberty High School. I focused our interview on Shared Foundation IV: Curate. I asked Ms. Turner how she challenges learners to act on their information needs. She said she often uses the KWL graphic organizer or the Big6 process. This allows students to see what they already know about a topic, and what they needed to know about a topic. She often collaborates with teachers to have a “heads-up” on upcoming topics. Teachers often bring their classes to he library for research, and she provides students with a Big6 handout. Students who decide to work on common topics are grouped together to work collaboratively. When she is able to pull materials, she tries to have audiovisual materials and a wide variety of print materials. She guides students through online research to ensure they are searching appropriate materials. She does provide instruction using the CRAAP t...

Interview with Karen Williamson

  Interview with Karen Williamson Interview date: April 8, 2024 Mrs. Karen Williamson is the librarian at Pickens High School. I focused our conversation on Shared Foundation III: Collaborate. She often works with classroom teachers to plan activities that allow students to collaborate with each other to complete a task or project. She works closely with teachers to monitor and interact with cooperative groups to facilitate respectful and effective discussion within those groups. She often guides discussion by asking a question that refocuses groups that are lost or off task. She creates opportunities for diverse perspectives within the assignment. Mrs. Williamson works well with the teachers at Pickens High, and she has worked with teachers on a wide variety of projects, and as a result, she can tell anyone some of the projects particular teachers use. This allows her to build upon previous years’ experience and think of ways to build in collaboration. She communicates with ...

Interview- Shana Dalton Pickens Middle School

 Interview Date: 4/15/2024 Mrs. Shana Dalton is the current librarian at Pickens Middle School. This is her last year as a school librarian. I focused our conversation on her focus on Shared Foundation I: Inquire. Mrs. Dalton said she encourages students' curiosity by asking students a unique question that they can research on their own and submit via a QR code or Google form. It is usually a question that asks them to deep dive into a topic. This can be focused on a specific question relating to an upcoming topic or a holiday. Students that submit a correct answer receives a prize.  Additionally, Mrs. Dalton assists students who are conducting inquiry-based research for a class assignment. She often curates materials for a unit of study to guide students' research, and she leads students through the research process. She collaborates with teachers about upcoming units of study that she can offer assistance with, and this guides her curation. When I asked about her preferred r...