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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 internet. These students need more modeling with gradual release. She uses the Simple Four research process. She spends more time making sure students know how to use the online resources, and she introduces them to credible source at the start of any research unit. She also spends time teaching students about “borrowing” other people’s ideas through a plagiarism lesson.

West End Elementary is a low performing Title One school, so many students lack at-home support, and that is one of the challenges she discussed. Students need support within the school day to create projects. She tries to provide opportunities for creation time within her library time, but she often relies on the classroom teacher to bridge the gap.

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