McDaniel


 * Data:** The following Plan of Action (POA) was created based on the 2012 TCAP result for Science for A.Z. Kelly Elementary as well as a five-question survey given to a collaborative 4th Grade Science Class in the library. The TDOE reported that the school averaged a //C// in the content area; as a result, the survey sought to better understand what resources may help best educate the students as well as benefit them for the 2013 TCAPs. Although Tennessee offers many free online resources via Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) that could help educators seeking to help students learn and raise students' scores, the results indicated that the largest percentage of students recall using TEL only around twice a year. In addition, half of the students showed an interest in learning about Science on the computer and nearly 90% of students reported that computers make them feel happy, leading to the following POA.

//Note:// While the first half of the half of the report is not visible, it was created from a completely objective point of view and was comprised primarily of data. The following POA was created based on the guidelines for 5050 MLIS Peer Group Schedule: "based on what [I] read or found but adapted to my own environment." As a result, I have designed the POA in the active voice as if I were the instructor/ librarian.

** Plan of Action ** The following Plan of Action (POA) is an example of how I would respond to the information literacy gap uncovered in the school media center. The POA would close the gap that was found in the content area of Science and resulted primarily from under-utilized electronic resources; in addition, the POA would close the gap resulting from the ineffective use of resources that have been implemented, which is an area of concern considering that half of the students could not recall having attempted them. The following POA for collaborative library lessons at A.Z. Kelly Elementary works to raise 2013 TCAP scores for the target group and is three pronged: 1.) Tennessee State Standards for 4th Grade Science 2.) Traditional Lab Work and 3.) Electronic Resources. In addition, the POA incorporates state standards for Embedded& Inquiry.

Under the current POA, certain library factors remain constant: the physical library environment—including present technology, hardware and software—and a clerk; a large modification occurs in of ime with the current collaborative lesson plans as electronic resources are integrated into traditional lab work. Under my instruction, time allotment for current lessons is shortened. For the other half of the time, students work on specifically selected TEL Science resources. The Tennessee State Standards for 4th Grade Science serve as the foundation of the POA. For example, a collaborative lesson with the classroom teacher is created based on //Standards 5.1-3// for Biodiversity and Change (see Appendix), which help students understand relationships between environments, survival, food source, behavior, and adaptation. Students are best prepared for state tests when they are instructed within the framework of its standards.

Using the live habitats from past lessons, the POA allows students to continue to benefit from personal experiences with animals and environments; they enjoy and learn from this work. However, a time modification occurs: in lieu of spending an entire collaborative class period on traditional lab work, students spend only half. As a result, students continue to work with lab partners and explore, study, and notate their observations/ interactions (for a grade, as required by the classroom teacher) but time remains for the implementation of electronic resources, which leads to a more in-depth and well-rounded approach to learning.

Because TCAP scores demonstrate a need for further understanding in Science, students are guided through a series of lessons using TEL. The free resource offers a variety of subject-oriented materials, and many are easily aligned by the instructor or already aligned by the database with state standards. The science resources are specifically selected to support the standards for 4th Grade Science and increase the students' learning, promote higher-level thinking, and raise 2013 TCAP scores.

An example of a collaborative lesson plan for Science in the media center under this POA results from the aforementioned three-pronged approach: 1.) follow //Standard 5, A rich variety of complex organisms have developed in response to a continually changing environment// 2.) utilize kits to observe and study live animals in their natural habitats and via manipulation of light (//meets// //Standard 5.1// ) 3.) compare and contrast live animals studied (frogs, crabs, centipedes, and so forth) with each other as well those not studied, for example, extinct animals, on World Book Kids, World of Animals (//meets Standards 5.1-3//). Using this lesson plan, strong collaboration occurs with the classroom teacher and the students benefit from a variety of valuable resources.

Meeting //Standards 5.1-3//, the students will continue their round-table work with lab partners in the media center. Science kits—housing frogs, centipedes, crabs, potato bugs, earthworms, fish, and more— are placed at the centers of the tables. Students are encouraged to think critically about habitat, environmental and animal differences, how animals respond to outside changes such as light, and so on. Students observe the animals in their habitats, feed them the appropriate food for their species, and notate their findings in their packets, which are based on the state standards and created via the collaborative work with the classroom-teacher. In a one-hour class, thirty minutes is devoted to traditional lab work, which means that not all animals will be studied in a single class and a variety of lessons will created within the various domains, for example: Class 1, Habitat and Behavior or Frogs and Centipedes.

Also meeting //Standards 5.1-3// and embedding technology //Standard T/E.1// (see Appendix) students profit from a well-rounded approach to learning as electronic resources are incorporated into the lesson. Students remain at their lab tables as the clerk, classroom teacher, and one student collect the materials on a nearby cart. Under my instruction, one notebook computer is shared between every two students. Directions for accessing TEL are given from a mirrored projector screen at the front of the instruction room. The clerk and classroom-teacher assist students as needed. From TEL, students are guided through the process of accessing World Book Kids, World of Animals. From there, they are taught how to retrieve the information on animals consistent with their lab work and the standards. Moreover, they have access to information on extinct animals, which best opens the gateway to a discussion on //Standard 5.2.// Utilizing this electronic resource, the students utilize the last thirty minutes of class to compare and contrast animals, their habitats, species, sizes, and more; furthermore, they have access to age appropriate videos, photographs, and articles.

The POA incorporates the under-utilized electronic resources made available to the school without discrediting the importance of traditional lab work. It is important to note that TEL offers a multiplicity of resources that meet //Standards 5.1-3// as well as the remainder of Tennessee Standards for 4th Grade Science. Resources such as Kids Info Bits from Gale would also be implemented to meet //Standards 1.1-2// (see Appendix) and even World Book for Public Libraries, which specifically aligns articles to appropriate standards without any additional work from the educator. In an a effort to be succinct, the POA focuses on a narrow set of standards and gives a brief example of the best way to close the literacy gap uncovered at the A.Z. Kelly Elementary library; however, the three-pronged approach—standards, lab, electronic resources—can be applied to any collaborative 4th Grade Science lesson in the media center.