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Standard One: Knowledge of Learners

Developing a Knowledge of Learners

In her book on National Board Certification in Library Media, Gail Dickinson


provided a diagram concerning levels of professionalism. Without reading the text
supporting the diagram, I marveled that I was in the quadrant that described
unconscious professionalism, a condition in which the practitioner acts on a
professional level without really thinking about why they take the actions they do.
That’s fantastic, I thought; the roots of professionalism is so ingrained in my psyche
that I automatically act in a manner that is in the best interest of my learning
community. After I finished congratulating myself on this accomplishment, I read the
text and learned that the goal was not to be an unconscious professional, but to be in
Quadrant IV, that of the conscious professional who knows why she acts and
responds in a particular way and knows how to assess the efficacy of those actions
and responses.1
I mention this in relation to this topic, because it is a challenge for me to
specify exactly how I know what I know about learners. Of course, it is an
amalgamation of many techniques and processes. I have taken many classes in
educational psychology relating to learning phases and behavioral modification, and I
am intrigued by all that I learn via staff development and personal professional
reading about learning styles and the 21st Century Learner. Still, I rely a great deal on
what my gut tells me about both individual learners and the group dynamics that
support them. This is where I exhibit the unconscious professionalism of the
Quadrant III worker.
Simply put, I learn a lot from watching learners. I realize that this practice
must by necessity by flavored by bias and prejudice, so I think it is important to place
my thoughts and observations into the frameworks that I have acquired through
professional learning experiences over the years. Of course, individual children
cannot be easily generalized, and some aspects of a child’s experience will always
remain hidden from even the most discerning eye. One can only hope that through
the shared observations with other professionals and parents that more details of the
holistic child may be revealed. Here I realize my need to take my gut feelings and
reflect on them in a Quadrant 4 conscious manner.
I become of aware of children’s reading habits by monitoring their Accelerated
Reader data, or lack thereof. I analyze each class’s reports on at least a bi-weekly
basis. I pass these analyses on to the principal, who communicates directly with the
children and the classroom teachers.
Even though I am not technically invited to School Assistance Team meetings,
I am often privy to the concerns and resolutions, as many of the meetings are held in
the library. This is a very good way to know what problems children are having and
what types of acceleration individual students might need.
I truly love the one-on-one time I am able to spend with my students. I can
learn of their interests and needs when they ask me to help them find materials of
given topics or sometimes at a certain reading level.

Developing a Knowledge of the Learning Community

Group dynamics, I think, is a fascinating phenomenon. While focusing on the


individual is important, the interplay of those individuals creates its own culture.

1
Dickinson, Gail. Achieving National Board Certification for Library Media Specialists: A Study Guide.
Chicago: American Library Association, 2005. pp.
My school recently promoted a fifth grade class that as a whole no grade level
teachers have enjoyed. There was truly a chasm between those children who were
clearly from a sub-working class culture and those who were from a more privileged
and intellectually-stimulated middle class. Also in this group was an unusual group of
special needs students whise learning had been drastically disrupted by crises in
their young lives. One student in this group of more than 70 was identified as gifted,
although I suspect others may also have had higher intellectual abilities than their
academic performances indicated.
Mostly, I think, this group was our first real example of a class comprised of
21st century learners, and I don’t think their teachers were prepared for such a high
concentration of these children in one class.
The class as a whole was quite collaborative. They responded really well to
open-ended discussions were they could bring their outside experiences into the
conversation. They enjoyed higher level applications of thought and learning
experiences that required them to produce a product. They seldom did homework
and rebelled at worksheets and other stationary learning activities. I noticed that the
children of the sub-working class culture seemed more isolated when more esoteric
external knowledge guided the conversation. Fortunately, many of these children,
because of their lower achievement, were grouped together so that they did not have
to feel their isolation from the experiences of their more privileged peers.
Unfortunately, they tended not to get the “middle class enrichment” these
experiences would have provided.
I had the opportunity to work with the lower segment of this class when they
were in both third and fourth grade. I found that these students responded as well as
their more successful colleagues when they were given appropriate scaffolding to
complete their tasks. For example, in third grade, each student researched a state
and produced a three paragraph report describing the state. To support the student I
developed a graphic organizer that had leading questions geared to the types of
information the students would be asked to find. With the help of the technology
integration specialist and the classroom teacher (a sub – this group went through
three different teachers that year) we guided children through appropriately leveled
text to find the information. After the rubric was complete, the classroom teacher
and I helped the children write the information in paragraph form. I think all the
children did well with the individualized support and were pleased with the success
they experienced.
In fourth grade the students from this third grade class were spread out
among the three fourth grade classes. I did have several opportunities to work with
these children both in social studies and language arts content areas. I found the
outcome to be repeated: the students did quite well with proper support geared to
their skill level. They did work quite hard on their projects.
Many of these children, mostly from the middle-class subgroup, became avid
users of our OPAC and interlibrary loan system to pursue their personal interests.
Because much of their borrowers’ privileges were linked to their responsible use of
library resources, these children became quite proficient in managing both loans from
our library media center and from other libraries. I was very impressed with both
their levels of responsibility and their confidence in recommending materials for our
library.
At the beginning of each school year one of our first staff development
sessions is used to analyze WESTEST scores for grades 4 and 5 and DIBELS data for
grades 1 through 3. These data are used to identify weaknesses and strengths of
students, and the teachers use these to inform placement, interventions and
classroom instruction. Also, throughout the school year the Title I team meets with
classroom teachers to discuss tiered intervention strategies for students.
As a member of our school curriculum team and local school improvement
council I am able to get to know issues facing our students, community and families
and be part of the decision-making process to address particular needs. We report to
the school board at least annually of any initiatives or needs that requires or
deserves its attention. The LSIC is particularly involved in for planning long-term
needs in our school community.
Our Partners-in-Education program, which I help facilitate, is an important
component for bringing the larger community into the school. We are partnered with
a local hospital and its broader health system, a bowling/entertainment
establishment, West Virginia Public Theater, and a banking branch located in our
community. The partnerships are reciprocal: we support their needs as well as they
support ours. For example, our students collected money and new toys to equip a
children’s play area in our hospital; the hospital provides health programs for the
students.

Collaboration with Colleagues and Family Members to Gather Information on


Learners

I think the most important thing I can do is to listen to my colleagues and to


the family members of my students. I have various approaches to accomplish this
goal.
First of all since I have a flexible schedule I am able to change my lunch
periods so that I can join each grade level during their lunch periods. This works well
with all grade levels except second and third, which tends to eat in a lounge in
another building or in their rooms. On the other hand, I have excellent rapport with
these teachers, and I feel confident that they will come to me with any needs they
think I might be able to support.
I facilitate the school’s EdLine accounts, and I often have contacts with
parents who need help using the account to access their children’s educational
records. I use EdLine to email parents to inform them of library media programs, and
I also communicate via the school webpage, three separate wikis, email, flyers, and
the school newsletter. Parents contact me via email or call me directly with a
particular need. I sometimes feel a bit smug when the parents of our “graduates”
contact me about finding information for their older children. This fall I plan to hold
instructional sessions for parents on various technology and information resource
topics.
I conduct two book fairs this year, and I maintain extended hours almost every
night of the fair weeks. These fairs are often scheduled to coincide with other school
events that would draw parents, such as the Spring Festival or the Fall Celebration.
Parents are encouraged to visit the book fair with their children, and I get to observe
family-child interactions at this time. I am also available for all open houses and
parent-teacher conference hours as would any other professional faculty member.
My goal is to be as accessible – and vital – as possible.
An advantage I have over many of my colleagues is that I live in the
community my school serves, and both of my children attending this school. I have
long-standing relationships with many families in the area. I get to see many of my
students play and learn, observing them in both the school and neighborhood setting.

Deepening My Understanding of Learners and Their Processes

No matter what I know about students, their families and our community, I
can always learn more. Kids change, families change, and communities change, and
all these changes impact how students will fare in our classrooms. I do actively
engage in measures to deepen my understanding of the learners in my community,
and as a result of writing the first three sections of this analysis, I realize there are
many things I can do in this regard to improve my practice. I will divide these actions
into two categories, intellectual and interpersonal.
I think I have been fairly dedicated to maintaining my professional
development across many fields. I am a member of Phi Delta Kappa, NCTE, AFT, and
ALA-AASL, and I regularly review the publications. I subscribe to feeds of many
bloggers, including Alan November, Kathy Schrock, and Will Richardson. My bill at
Amazon.com has run into tens of thousands. Despite all this monetary commitment,
I could do a better job actually reading and reflecting on that information. To that
end, I am compiling a bibliography of the professional resources I read and posted
synopses of the most relevant of information on my various wikis. Writing will help
my sharpen my knowledge of how the readings relate to my students and the larger
learning community, and from these experiences, I can form action plans to target
individual or group needs.
I am an avid fan of online classes and have taken eight 45-clock-hour courses
from WVLearns in the past two years. I also attend staff development offered by my
county, such as the week-long workshop on Rigor, Relevance and Relationships
presented by the International Center for Leadership in Education. I have just
completed a year-long training cycle to gain certification as a Technology Integration
Specialist-Library Media Specialist, and I must commit 45 hours of technology-
integration staff development each year to maintain this designation. I usually attend
one West Virginia Library Association function each year, and I very sincerely hope to
attend the AASL conference in North Carolina next fall.
I can maximize my efforts at professional development in several ways. I
realize I need to revisit much of the basic pedagogy and educational psychology
content that was core to my undergraduate degree. While I remember a good deal, I
think that revisiting this content with 20 years of teaching experience would reveal
deeper meanings and connections that I could not appreciate as an undergraduate. I
anticipate these readings would suggest topics for deeper study, for example more in
depth study of the works of Bruner or Vygotsky. Recent reading and professional
development has left me wanting a fuller understanding of language acquisition,
reading acquisition and brain research. As most of my undergraduate preparation
was in secondary education, I think this would especially help me understand and
assist preschool and elementary children.
I can also take fuller advantage of the professional development offered by
the Title I and special education communities. I understand that I need to be in sync
with these two communities, and I need a deeper understanding of the vocabulary
that is used by these groups. Acquiring additional knowledge in these areas would be
very helpful in assisting students whom these services benefit.
I will learn the most about the learners in my community by being more
assertive and maximizing the interpersonal connections in my school. I have keyed
on areas of increased contact that became apparent to me as I wrote the preceding
sections.
Although I am present for many of our school’s SAT meetings, I am not a
formal participant. I can and should inform the principal and our SAT coordinator that
I would like to have more of a presence in these meetings. Along the same vein, I
can and should ask to attend monthly Title I grade level meetings. Attending both of
these types of meetings will give me greater insight into the needs of my students,
particularly of the lowest and highest end of the achievement spectrum.
Attendance at formal meetings will greatly aid me, but will do very little in
terms of connecting with the student body and their parents as a whole. To achieve
that I can take the following steps:
First, I can institute more communication with the parent community by
increasing print and email messages to the parents as a whole; I can also update the
webpage to include pertinent information parents can use to help their children at
home or to contain information that provides parents background information on the
research often used to guide the teachers’ instruction.
A library media satisfaction survey should be designed and conducted that
would measure areas of need and interest for both parents and students. After results
are tabulated the results and an action plan should be communicated to parents and
children.
I can increase my involvement with the Local School Improvement
Committee, and I will begin attending the Brookhaven Parent Group meetings. Even
though I will have limited parent contact at these meetings, I believe they will be
beneficial to informing me about the parents and issues that are most likely to impact
our school.
One group that has not been sufficiently mentioned in this analysis is the
teachers. My plan to learn more about this group of learners includes resuming my
monthly planning meetings with each grade level and special group, additional
posting to the Brookhaven Technology Talk wiki, and reinstituting a monthly faculty
newsletter.
The point of the monthly planning meetings was initially to seek ways of
planning collaborative units. An added benefit of these collaborations could be to
gain more insight into the teachers’ needs as both educators and lifetime learners.
Action plans could be developed as a result of these meetings. Opening more lines of
communication can only increase the my effectiveness as a library media specialist;
the action plans would signify to users that their I value their time as well as their
goals and objectives.
Much of my reading reviews and staff development outcomes can be
discussed on the Brookhaven Technology Talk wiki. Hopefully my writings can serve
as a springboard for discussion on various topics, technology-related or not. A staff
survey of library needs could also be posted here, as well as outcomes from other
parent-student initiatives.
Finally, I should reinstitute a monthly faculty newsletter. I believe teachers
will take time to read this newsletter if it reflects their needs and concerns.

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