Discussion 4: Riedling's Approach

4. Riedling’s Approach

There seems to be a consensus that Riedling’s approach to the evaluation process is thorough and usable in most libraries.  As a new teacher librarian I can appreciate the description of each type of reference material and how they are to be evaluated with specific criteria, not one size fits all.  There is just enough detail and guidance to make the inexperienced TL feel comfortable with the daunting task of evaluating an entire reference section.  Other things that I pondered and others have on this topic has been the way to approach other teachers in regards to reference material and resources and weeding/timeline of weeding.

I believe that you have to tread carefully when making suggestions to other teachers regarding the work and resources that they use in their classrooms.  Riedling suggests that the  “school library media specialist should review on a regular basis textbooks used by all teachers, asses teachers instructional methods, and become aware of particular research and other methods assignments given by teachers” (Riedling 16).  I think that a TL may collaborate with classroom teachers but the word “asses” is a loaded word.  As teachers are job is not to asses each other.  I feel that if a TL assessed another teacher it could be seen as encroaching on that other teacher’s autonomy and authority within their own classroom.

One of the things that I really liked that came out of the discussions this week was the idea of a weeding party, thank you Hilary Montroy for the amazing idea.  If during a ProD a bunch of TL’s could tackle a library and weed through deciding what reference materials are worthwhile and relevant.  The idea of weeding through an entire secondary library brings on a feeling of dread.  Many hands and like minded ideals and knowledge would make the task bearable.

Discussion 3: Reference

Discussion 3: Reference

A good reference source is one that serves to answer questions and a bad reference source is one that fails to answer the questions." (Riedling, 19).

In this week’s discussion and readings I’ve noticed a trend in discussions on funding, out of date resources, and lack of time.  As teacher librarians some of us who are new to the job on of the first things we should do is take a look at our reference section and determine the state that it is in.  By having a thorough look at what constitutes our reference section we can then determine how we can spend our tiny and ever dwindling budgets.

In Jody Brummund’s post she noted that in Achieving Information Literacy that the acceptable standard is $26-$35 per child with the below standard being less than $25 per child. It is stated "a quick way to calculate the funds required each year for maintaining a quality collection is to multiply the average cost of a hardcover book by the number of students using the collection of resources" (. 35).  This means that the fact that we are funded $9 per student we are severely underfunded.

Since we are underfunded and never have enough money the prospect of weeding material that is only 5 or 10 years old seems a little drastic. This leads into my next discussion about Riedling’s approach.  I have made up a chart to help out with going through our reference materials to evaluate the material at hand.

Book	Content Scope	Accuracy, Authority, and Bias	Arrangement and Presentation	Relation to Similar Works	Timeliness and Permanence	Cost

Discussion 2: Research

Discussion 2: Research

After looking through all of the discussions on the topic of research models and compairing and contrasting the benefits outlined by the Riedling text and by the BCLTA’s Research Quest I have come to the conclusion that our students can benefit from all of these models.   It is just a matter of preference to which model the classroom teacher of teacher librarian chooses.  It seems that the group consensus is that the most popular research models are the Big 6 and the idea of Research Quest.  As I stated in my discussion .  As a Socials/English/Teacher Librarian research is one of my favorite things to work on with students and teachers. When looking at the three research models from the Rielding text and the Research Quest I have found that I am more drawn to the Big 6 and Research Quest models.

I particularly like the way that Ben Koning and the colleges at his school have broken down the Big 6.  By using the same common language across the school teachers and students understand what is being asked and expected when engaging in a research project.  The wording is simple and easing to understand “1.What needs to be done? Task Definition, 2. What resources can I use? Information Seeking Strategies, 3. Where can I find these resources? Location and Access, 4. What can I use from these resources? Use of Information, 5. What can I make to finish the job? How can I share what I have learned? Synthesis , 6. How will I know that I did my job well? Evaluation.  These six easy to follow steps can be transferred across grade levels from elementary to secondary.  If all teachers from a school such as Ben’s come to consensus why can’t others?

Discussion 1: Definitions

Discussion 1: Definitions

After completing my discussion, hot topic question, making responses, reading classmates postings, and commenting on the topic of definitions I have come to a realization.  The topic of definitions is not as boring as it first sounds like it should be.

Definitions provide us with a singular language in which we can express ourselves as TL’s and have knowledge that we understand each other and are on the same page.  In my discussion I talked about some of the definitions that I had never come across in my brief stint as a TL this year.  Most of the definitions were the acronym ones (OCLC, OPAC, and RLIN).  If we all understand the same language we then assert our authority as a knowledgeable sector of the teaching community. 

By having proper knowledge of terms we can then teach this language to our students and staff that we interact with.  Jody made a great point In her discussion on definitions stating “. I would think it is immensely important not only to guide the students to the information, but also ensure they understand the process in which they got there and what the steps/resources are called in order to refer to and duplicate the process later.”  If we have an understanding and the authority  behind our words and practices we can impart them to those around us and enable them to take full advantage of the library resources, the TL and all of our resources.

Definitions seem like a boring topic, there is so much more to it than just words, it’s the meaning behind the words.