Audio Transcription of Africa Research Video Clip
Narrator:
Africa is the topic of research. Susan Angstadt-Sullivan working in tandem with the classroom teacher provides the important library skills component of information exploration.
Susan Angstadt-Sullivan, LMS:
The purpose of the lesson is for students to locate information as a pre-search step on regions of Africa, and then it’s delineatedinto a particular topic--Plant, Animal, Land Form, orClimate. And they are required to locate information on those topics to get some background knowledge,so that we can eventually produce a visual product.
Narrator:
What teaching strategy does Susan employ in this lesson? Some of the best strategies aresimple and straight forward, like a well thought out checklist,for example, to help guide students in the process of exploration. This is one in which student receive pointsforusing the various resources. They can’t just check off anything though, they have to check off what they’ve taken notes from. Does using a check list really make that much of a difference?
Susan:
Without that checklist sometimes they jump from resource to resourcewithout really concentrating on the resource that they are using. That check list is almost like a map through the library, and provides them with an outline of how to work their way through different resources in the library.
Narrator:
These students,who already know how to use general and specialized encyclopedias as well as online sources, also benefit from the motivational value of the check-off list, that is,it helps build confidence.
Susan:
Students always want to do well, and they want to feel successful. And I’ve set it up that if they use the toolsthat are listed on that check-off list, they will be successful. They can look at that list and say “okay, I’ve used this, I know how to use it,I know where to find it in the library, and that makes me asa student feel great, because I have a number of concrete examples listed on the checklist that I know how to use”.
Narrator:
And she is hoping they will internalize the checklist, so they don’t even require it when they move on to middle school. However,while raisingconfidence, it may also raise something else.
Susan:
It also raises their level of anxiety a little bit that “oh, my gosh, there are some things I don’t know. Before assessment comes,I need to learn those.” And I have had students take that check list and come over to me. Today, they did it in fact.
Narrator:
I noticed that.
Susan:
And said, “where is this? I don’t know how to use this, can you help me?”
Narrator:
And the students feel comfortable asking Susan for help. With their check list in handthey are equippedto ask the right questions, plus the check list also gives Susan a quick focus to assist them. Because the timeframe she has to work with students is short, that quick focus is a big help. What is herlong range goal for helping these elementary students?
Susan:
My larger goal is to have them become lifelong learners and researchers, and they can go to middle school with abackpack, so to speak, of library skills that they have, that they can pull out to use for their middle school projects.
Narrator:
We can’t show their faces, but if we could you would see that this dedicated educator really getsthesestudents involved in learning.
This strategy, using a research check-off list helps:
#1. Guide students in the process of locating appropriate information sources.
#2. Build student confidence by providing a concrete list of examples they know how to use, and,
#3. Provides a quick focus for the library media specialist of where students need help.