Prof. Cheryl Ann McCarthy Home
address:
Rodman Hall Office
#8 69
Slocum Road
Kingston, RI 02881 Portsmouth,
RI 02871
Office Phone: (401) 874-4654 Home
Phone 401-848-7689
Fax Number (401) 874-4964
E-Mail:
Chermc@uri.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is the capstone course of your program.
In this course you will put into practice what you have learned in your MLIS
and school library media certification program. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills and
talents by mastering the 11 Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards (RIBTS). Furthermore, you will have the
opportunity to see how theory and practice mesh. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate the FOUR major
roles of the library media specialist as teacher, information specialist and
instructional partner and program manager. You will recognize the importance of
the school library media program in a dynamic integrated curriculum. In
addition, you will implement the national mission of the library media program
Òto ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and
informationÓ at two different sites, one elementary and one secondary. Under the able direction of your
cooperating media specialists, you will a complete a minimum of 300 contact
hours of internship in a ten week full-time directed field experience in two
school library media centers, elementary and secondary. You will also attend
faculty, department and district meetings as required by your LMS. By the end
of your directed field experiences you will demonstrate your mastery of the
RIBTS and outcomes identified on the evaluation form. You will be evaluated by your cooperating media specialist
three times: at the end of 50, 100, and 150 hours. YOU will also do a self-evaluation at each of these three
points and you will also be visited once at each site by your University
supervisor who will also assess your progress in meeting the RIBTS. You will
also attend seminar classes at URI or participate online on Web CT for the
discussion topics assigned each week. You will keep a daily log and write six
journal entries reflecting on your growth as a LMS at the end of 50, 100, 150,
200, 250, and 300 hours.
METHODOLOGY: The methodology employed in this course will be practice and reflective
inquiry on your practice as a beginning teacher and Library Media
Specialist. Students will be asked
to discuss, to question, to reflect, and to write responses to the challenges
and issues raised during your formal and informal teaching lessons, your
practicum experience, class discussions, the readings, book discussion
questions, and the case studies.
Your journal entries should be used to reflect on your personal and
professional GROWTH throughout the semester. Ask yourself "What am I
doing, and why am I doing it?" If you are unsure, ask your cooperating
media specialist to help you understand the significance of what YOU are doing
and why you are doing it. Use your metacognition skills to reflect and think
about your own thinking process.
The seminar discussions will revolve around specific themes, topics,
books and questions. Try to
reflect on your practicum experiences and share your knowledge during the
discussions either face-to-face or online.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES & GOAL:
The major goal for the practicum student is to be able to demonstrate
mastery of the RIBTS and the four roles of the library media specialist: teacher, information specialist, and
instructional partner as well as beginning skills as a program manager. You
will be assisting your LMS with program management. In fulfilling the goals and outcomes, the student will be
able to identify the roles and responsibilities for information specialist,
teacher, and instructional partner and program manager to create an effective
library media program. In
addition, the student will be able to work cooperatively with the cooperating
media specialists, teachers, administrators, and the university supervisor to
fulfill all of the school library media certification requirements. The student will be able to meet the
following objectives at each practicum site (adapted from Information Power):
1. to
provide intellectual access to information by planning systematic learning
activities and lesson plans for a diverse population in at least ONE curriculum
content area.
2. to
provide physical access to information in all media formats available at the
site and assist with organizing the collection within the library through an
introduction to selection and cataloging.
3. to provide lessons that encourage students to be
effective communicators and creative users of information and ideas using a
variety of media and technology.
4. to provide instructional consulting services
through leadership, instruction and assistance to at least one teacher at each
school in a planned instructional lesson or unit using informational and
instructional technologies through collaborative efforts.
5. to provide resources and learning activities that
encourage lifelong learning and lifelong reading by promoting literacy while
emphasizing a whole language approach in elementary grades and an integrated
and resource based approach to information skills on the middle and secondary
level.
Moreover, most importantly you will be able to
demonstrate evidence of meeting either the 11 Rhode Island Beginning Teacher
Standards (RIBTS) or the INTASC Standards, or the NPTS for Library Media (if
you are currently certified). The
University supervisor evaluates each studentÕs work on site with the
cooperating media specialist and also assesses your portfolio/e-folio with
evidence, artifacts and rationales, documenting your mastery of the following
eleven Rhode Island Beginning Teaching Standards:
1. Teachers create learning
experiences using a broad base of general knowledge that reflects an
understanding of the nature of the world in which we live.
2. Teachers create learning
experiences that reflect an understanding of central concepts, structures, and
tools of inquiry of the disciplines they teach.
3. Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect an
understanding of how children learn and develop.
4. Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect a respect for
the diversity of learners and an understanding of how students differ in their
approaches to learning.
5. Teachers create instructional opportunities to encourage students'
development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
6. Teachers create a learning environment that encourages appropriate
standards of behavior, positive social interaction, active engagement in
learning, and self-motivation.
7. Teachers foster collaborative relationships with colleagues and families
to support students' learning.
8. Teachers use effective communication as the vehicle through which
students explore, conjecture, discuss, and investigate new ideas.
9. Teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to
support the continuous development of the learner.
10. Teachers
reflect on their practice and assume responsibility for their own professional
development by actively seeking opportunities to learn and grow as
professionals.
11. Teachers
maintain professional standards guided by legal and ethical principles.
Option 2: Option for regional or out-of-state
students: the 10 INTASC Beginning
Teacher Standards: (See page 6 in How to Develop A Professional Portfolio) You
will include ONE sample for each of the following 10 standards in your
portfolio.
Standard #1: Knowledge of subject matter
Standard #2: Knowledge of Human Development and
Learning
Standard #3: Adapting Instruction for Individual
Needs
Standard #4: Multiple Instructional Strategies
Standard #5: Classroom Motivation and Management
Skills
Standard #6: Communication Skills
Standard #7: Instructional Planning Skills
Standard #8: Assessment of Student Learning
Standard #9: Professional Commitment and Responsibility
Standard #10: Partnerships
OPTION 3: If you are already a practicing and
certified teacher in Rhode Island or certified LMS, you may opt to develop your portfolio based on the 9
Standards for National Board Certification for Library Media Specialist
(NBPTS).
REQUIRED TEXTS: Read according to the dates given for each seminar:
FIRST CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Campbell, Dorothy M.,
et al. How to Develop a Professional Portfolio. (Allyn & Bacon, 2000).
SECOND CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Sizer, Theodore and
Nancy. The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. (Beacon Press, 2000) ISBN: 0807031216..
FOURTH & FIFTH CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Tucker,
Mark S. and Judy B. Codding. Standards For our Schools: How to Set Them,
Measure Them, and Reach Them. (Jossey Bass, 1998)
RECOMMENDED TEXTS: Your texts from LSC 520 will also
prove helpful throughout your practicum experience. Refer to them as needed.
AASL and AECT.
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning
Chicago:
ALA, 1998.
AND: Woolls, Blanche. The School Library Media
Manager. Second Edition. Englewood Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.,
1999.
AND AT LEAST ONE EISENBERG BIG6 TEXT:
Eisenberg,
Michael B. and Robert E. Berkowitz.
Curriculum Initiative: An Agenda and Strategy for Library Media
Programs. New Jersey: Ablex
Publishing Corporation, 1988.
Eisenberg,
Michael B. and Robert E. Berkowitz. Information Problem Solving:The Big Six
Skills Approach to Library & Information Skills Instruction. New
Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1990.
Eisenberg,
Michael B. and Robert E. Berkowitz. The New Improved Big6 Workshop Handbook.
Ohio: Linworth, 1999.
OBSERVATIONS & PRACTICE: Refer to the ÒGuidelines for a Good Practicum
Experience: Roles and Responsibilities for Cooperating Media
Specialists." This document
provides the recommendations for a quality practicum. Be sure to read it and follow it. You will be evaluated by the cooperating media specialist
three times at each site: 50 hours,
100 hours, and 150 hours. These evaluations are an opportunity to assess your
progress and identify the competencies or outcomes you have met successfully
and those you need to develop. Use
this opportunity for discussion of your strengths and weakness and how you can
improve. Do a self-assessment with the checklist to compare your perception
with your cooperating media specialist.
Your University supervisor will also visit you ONCE at each site to
assess your experience and GROWTH
at that site. Be prepared to discuss your progress and growth and show your
lesson plans, daily logs and journals as well as your accomplishments at this
site during my site visit.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: All
assignments are to be submitted at the seminar class as assigned. Your Portfolio is DUE at the completion
of your Practicum field experiences but you must be prepared to show your
evidence and documentation during your site visits and during your seminar
classes.
PROGRAM OUTLINE: Refer to the Guidelines for suggestions on how to develop your program
outline. The first Program Outline
is due at the first class for your first site and at the second class for your
second site.
BOOK DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Read the books assigned for class discussion and be
prepared to discuss each book by answering and preparing questions for each
book or assigned chapters and participating in class discussions live or online
for regional students.
JOURNAL ENTRIES AND DAILY
LOGS:
CREATE A DAILY LOG of activities at your school and
include your reactions to questions, problems, and issues. Your logs will
become part of your portfolio and will document everything you do at your field
site. List activities for each
hour or 45 minute periods or blocks depending upon the schedule for your
school.
You should write SIX journal entries, three
for each site, one at the completion of 50, 100 and 150 hours at each
school. Each journal entry should
be approximately two pages word-processed and double spaced. In your entries, focus on your
practicum field experience during those two weeks. Your journal will grow out
of the experiences in your log.
This is a time to reflect
on your growth and knowledge and
development as a beginning professional school library media specialist. I suggest that you begin each journal entry with a
significant or essential question about YOUR GROWTH and proceed with a thoughtful response including
WHAT you did and WHY or HOW you responded and how you would respond in the
future. Your responses should be
real or realizable within the context of a school library media program. Be objective and analytical in
your problem solving. Date each
entry. Remember these journal
entries should be about YOUR
growth and development as a professional school library media specialist. Be specific and illustrate with anecdotes
about what you are doing and why
you are doing it. Think and
reflect on what you are
doing in relation to your studentsÕ achievement. Be sure to discuss HOW you are
meeting the RIBTS and the four roles. By the completion of your sixth journal,
you should have covered all of the RIBTS and the four roles of the LMS.
LESSON PLANS: Prepare lesson plans for all
formal and informal teaching you do.
Your lesson plans should be in the same formats that you used in LSC
520. Try to relate your lessons to the school
curriculum for the site where your are doing your directed field study. At the elementary level, the focus of
instruction should be on literacy: reading, writing, listening, speaking, and
mathematics using a literature and whole language approach if possible; at the
middle level the approach should be an integrated resource based approach
connected with content areas; and at the high school the emphasis should be on
information skills integrated with curriculum. You will most likely be doing
more informal lessons at the high school in the area of reference and research.
Write those informal lessons. Ask
your cooperating media specialist to try to help you connect with at least one
teacher to work on at least one instructional unit or a series of lessons where
you can practice the role of instructional consultant. Be creative. Think of
ideas or connections that you see.
You should share all your lesson plans with your cooperating media
specialist for approval, suggestions and criticism. No one likes criticism, but your cooperating media
specialist knows what works best at his/her school. ASK.
CASE STUDY: You will select a partner
at the first seminar class and you will share your questions, problems, and
ideas throughout the semester. During
the last class you and your partner will have the opportunity to present ONE
case study of a real problem that you encountered during your practicum. The names and situation should be
fictitious, but based on a real scenario.
You will each write a scenario from YOUR experience but as a team you
will select and present an analysis of only ONE case study by using the problem
solving technique in a role-playing situation with your partner. Each of you
must submit a case scenario in writing.
Try to engage your classmates in the discussion of the problem. ( Ask thoughtful questions.) The
problem-solving model will be employed so that students will examine a range of
alternatives to consider thoughtfully before devising a response for
action. Begin the session by
posing the major problem in the form of a question: What should C... do about the problem of ...? or How should
C ... proceed to solve the problem of ...? Be sure to raise questions for class discussion. Engage the
class in the discussion by asking for alternatives as well as approaches for
the remaining issues or areas of concern.
You and your partner should, however, choose the alternative you both
believe is BEST and give a rationale WHY.
You will be graded on your effectiveness in both problem solving and in
your presentation and questions raised.
Put yourself in the shoes of the individual with the major problem and
present the case from the first person point of view. If this role is difficult for you, act as a colleague or
consultant offering advice. Plan 15 minutes. The action plan that you and your
partner develop should reflect your collaboration and informed judgment. In order to support your transition
from theory to practice, try to recognize the reality of each situation, and
your solutions should be realizable, at least in so far as we can determine the
desired outcome. Try to steer
towards the ideal as revealed in Information Power: Building Partnerships
for Learning while also recognizing
that in practice, few sites are ideal.
We should acknowledge, however, the real and the ideal by creating the
art of what is possible in any given situation.
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT: You will have the opportunity to gather together and
present ALL your written work completed for each of your practicum schools,
including program outline, book discussion questions, daily logs, three journal
entries for each school, and all lesson plans. Your portfolios are to be presented online on True Outcomes in the
e-folio format as well as ONE hard copy in a large three ring binder with
contents labeled and organized according to the rubric including: title page,
practicum dates and HOURS, updated resume, table of contents, and evaluations
and site visit reports. YOU will
need evidence for each of the 11 Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards
for all Rhode Island students OR the
10 Standards developed by Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium (INTASC) for out of state students. Please submit your materials for the portfolio at
each seminar class so I can read about your progress before I visit you. Your materials will be graded when your
portfolio is complete. You will
receive a portfolio/e-folio rubric.
Prepare your materials carefully as you can use your portfolio as
evidence of your work/ practicum experience during your job interviews.
Include a video of you teaching one lesson of your choice.
EVALUATIONS: You must submit your final evaluation and site visit reports separately
because they go into your student record file as verification that you
completed the practicum at the specific sites identified. You may keep a copy of this evaluation
to use as a recommendation. Please
submit my site reports separately also. You may keep a copy to use as a
recommendation. If you would like an additional recommendation, please submit a
formal recommendation request.
GRADING:
Your grade will be based on your practicum experiences, all written
assignments, lessons, journals, etc. presented in your exit portfolios/e-folio, class discussions,
and case studies. Seminar class participation will include thoughtful
reflections and responses to the book discussion questions for the three
required books as well as discussion topics and case study presentations.
____________/100 POINTS
FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO
____________/100 POINTS
FOR YOUR E/FOLIO
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR RIBTS Statements/Rationales
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR MENTOR Final EVALUATION Site 1
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR MENTOR Final EVALUATION Site 2
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR FIRST SITE VISIT REPORT-URI
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR SECOND SITE VISIT REPORT-URI
____________ /100 POINTS
FOR CASE PRESENTATION & SEMINAR
PARTICIPATION
____________ /TOTAL
POINTS FOR LSC 596 OUT OF 800
POINTS
Grade for LSC 596
720 - 800 Points A- to A+
(Exceeds Standards 4-5 level)
650 - 719 Points B to B+
(Meets Standards 3+ level)
640 Ð 650 Points B-
(Approaching Standards 2+ level)
560 Ð 640 Points C- to C+
(Little Evidence of Meeting Standards Level 1)
Below 560 Points = F
(Level 0) Not meeting standards and
not sufficient documentation.
LSC 596 Practicum & Seminar Prof.
Cheryl A. McCarthy
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY
& INFORMATION STUDIES--URI
REGIONAL SEMINAR
PRACTICUM SEMINAR TOPICS AND DATES
The
following seminar topics will be discussed at each seminar classes. ATTENDANCE
AT SEMINARS IS MANDATORY in face or online. Regional studentsÕ attendance will
be adjusted for meetings online.
Please share these seminar topics and dates with your cooperating media
specialist. Cooperating media
specialists are welcome to attend any seminar sessions which interest them.
Practicum students should come prepared to participate in class
discussions for each date and READ the required books and prepare questions for
assigned chapters. You should also keep current by reading professional
journals and keep up to date with online journals and AASL website. Be prepared
to respond to the book discussion questions and prepare your own questions for
each book you read. You do not have to write answers to the questions unless
you are absent for the seminar. If
you miss a seminar class, then you must prepare questions and answers for that
topic and book title. The following books are required reading:
REQUIRED TEXTS: Read according to the dates given for each seminar:
FIRST CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Campbell, Dorothy M.,
et al. How to Develop a Professional Portfolio. (Allyn & Bacon, 2000)
SECOND CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Sizer, Theodore and
Nancy. The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. (Beacon Press, 2000) ISBN: 0807031216..
FOURTH & FIFTH CLASS READ AND DISCUSS: Tucker,
Mark S. and Judy B. Codding. Standards For our Schools: How to Set Them,
Measure Them, and Reach Them. (Jossey Bass, 1998)
NOTE: IF you are absent for any seminar, then you
must prepare a written analysis for the book discussed during that session or
receive a zero for that session.
1st CLASS: Theme:
The Practicum: Learning on the Job
& Getting the Most out of your Experience. Expectations and Reality: A Reality Check with Information
Power and The New Vision. READ &
USE: How to Develop a Professional Portfolio.
Review the RIBTS and evidence to support each RIBTS.
Introduce E-Folio by True Outcomes.
How does one improve and grow and how does the
evaluation process and reflection
process help us become better teacher/library media specialists?
2nd CLASS: Theme:
Reform Movements in Education and knowing our students:
READ: Sizer, Theodore and Nancy. The Students Are
Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. (Beacon Press, 2000) ISBN: 0807031216..
Multiple Intelligences: Myths & Realities? Constructivist Learning: What is it and
is it happening in your schools? How do you model for your students? Prepare
discussion questions from SizerÕs book on the moral contract for one of the gerunds assigned to you:
i.e. modeling.
3rd Class: Special Needs Students: How
can we reach and teach ALL students especially students with IEPs.
4th & 5th CLASS: Theme:
Building thoughtful Learning
Communities:
READ: Tucker, Mark S. and Judy B. Codding. Standards
For our Schools: How to Set Them, Measure Them, and Reach Them. (Jossey
Bass, 1998).
Rethinking schools where STANDARDS and constructive
reflection infuses the school culture. How do you develop good intellectual
habits and enable students to meet the New Standards? Prepare one discussion
question for each chapter.
The National Standards: What are they and how are
schools teaching to the standards? Are students mastering the National
Standards? How are the Standards integrated into the library media program?
6th & 7th CLASS: Case
studies of fictionalized scenarios. Write
a scenario of a real problem that you observed or encountered but fictionalize
the case. Problem solve a solution to the problem using the case study method
presented in LSC520.
8th Class: Mentor Appreciation Tea
Party and celebration of your success as a beginning LMS and teacher.
DATES FOR REGIONAL PRACTICUM SEMINARS:
1ST Class: January 25, 2006
2nd Class: February 8, 2006
3rd Class : February 22,
2006
4th Class: March 8, 2006
5th Class: March 22, 2006
6th Class: April 5, 2006
7th Class: April 19, 2006
8th Class: April 26, 2005 Mentor Appreciation Tea Party and Celebration