Nesbitt

I conducted a quick survey on teacher's and student's use of the Tennessee Electronic Library in their classroom for research. I am also a teacher in that school and I had not heard of TEL until starting the MLIS program here at Trevecca. I remember struggling last year to help my second grade students research on the computer and thinking there must be some better sites to use. This lead me to believe that there would be a need in other grades as well. Gower is a Title I school with around 50% of the students on free and reduced lunch. The school has 20% English Language Learner population and around 17% Exceptional Ed. population. The ethnicity is roughly 8% Asian, 24% Black, 12% Hispanic, and 57% White. I surveyed the third and fourth grade teachers, which consisted of 5 teachers for each grade level. Out of the ten teacher seven responded. The majority of the teachers did not use TEL for research in their classroom and were interested in learning more about it.

**Plan of Action {POA} **  After analyzing the responses to the questionnaire I have concluded that there is a solid need for instruction on using the Tennessee Electronic Library. First, there is a need for professional development to guide teachers through using TEL in their classroom with their students. Secondly, there is a need for instruction and training for the students.  My first step in my plan of action would be to meet with the teachers to find out when the next research project is planned. From there I would set a date to attend their team planning to discuss how I can help with their research project and give them quick tutorial on TEL. Teacher’s planning time at school is so valuable and is often taken away for trainings and data meetings. Therefore, I don’t believe the professional development for TEL needs to be long and extensive. I would walk them through the website and show them the resources that would be most beneficial to them. Depending on the topic of the project, I would most likely start with Kids InfoBits and /or Kids World Book Encyclopedia. Next, I would then plan a time for their class to visit the library for training on using the site.  The library at Gower does not have a class set of computers, but there is a computer lab that teachers can sign up to use for their class. I would reserve a time for each class to come to the lab for some hands on training. We would begin with a common topic and I would focus first on the basics of searching and familiarizing them with the site. Ideally, they would already have their research topic at this point and, depending on how quickly they are catching on, they can search on their specific topic or we can schedule another session in the lab for more training. I would also request that the teacher stay so that this would also be a training session for him or her and could then help the students in the classroom.  Although, this plan of action begins with the steps listed above, I believe that it does not end there. As a librarian, I would want to be involved somehow in every research project that the classes conduct. The training would continue all year and every year. Slowly, over time, the students and the teachers would become comfortable and knowledgeable on dependable resources available to them online. Therefore, when they are using a Pathfinder or researching on their own, their time spent on the computer will be productive and beneficial to their learning.