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List at least three things you do well and are prepped for as a school librarian. Celebrate. Brag. Let yourself shine: 

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List at least three things you do well and are prepped for as a school librarian. Celebrate. Brag. Let yourself shine: 

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Making connections with kids has always been a strength because I can see the important role they play as the future of the world. I treat them with respect and just show them the real me.

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When I see students struggling to locate or easily access books, I immediately come up with a plan to solve the problem. I then discuss this plan with my library staff and we make it happen.

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I will learn ways to create an inviting and dynamic library space that encourages high school students to actively engage with library resources.

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Mentor Topic: Standards                                                        

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Mentor Topic: Standards                                                        

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How have the national standards, state standards and/or other professional standards guided your mentor's work?

My mentor is a K-12 teacher librarian for a large school district. Each of her seven buildings have an associate working there daily. Therefore, she does not do any teaching for the district.

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Self Reflection: Standards                                                             

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Self Reflection: Standards                                                             

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For your thoughts: Which of the national, state or other national organization Standards would you find most helpful and why?

The AASL competencies for learners and librarians are the most helpful to me because they provided well-defined domains and progression that allows me to use them in developing lessons that are engaging and helps learners grow in both individual and collaborative settings. Although I am not responsible for digital literacy in my district, I do also appreciate the ISTE standards as they support critical thinking and problem solving that can help prepare students for a future that relies on technology.

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List here any professional books that you might want to spend more time with, or professional development opportunities or trainings that your mentor might suggest. Keep a log of the 8 hours of webinars, trainings, or conference. All must directly relate to school libraries (literacy, technology, inquiry, management, etc.).

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Please record, capture, take notes on your project for one of your site placements. Work with the TL to identify an important need and impact on student learning.

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Fort Dodge High School

Fort Dodge, Iowa

Practicum Log

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Topic: Fiction vs. Non-fiction book identification

Objective: Students will be able to recognize and apply the criteria for fiction and non-fiction text to classify a book with a partner or group.

Location: SCC Elementary

Date/Time: 3/2/25 11:50-12:20

Grade: 1st

Lesson Plan

Reflection

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What evidence of the Iowa SLP Anchors 2, 3, 4 in “Component 1 Teaching and Learning” have you seen/talked about? Where would you see the programs on the continuum?

(2) The TL is a catalyst in igniting a passion for reading in every student and creating a culture of literacy in the school.

Without teaching in her district, Christine's role in fulfilling this anchor lies in the work that she does to develop and maintain collections that represent the student community and building, provide materials that are of high interest, and are up-to-date. She does this through purchasing, weeding, and accepting book recommendations from students and staff. Only because her position of K-12 TL limits her from moving further on the continuum, I would most closely put her work at the "1" position.

(3) The TL teaches a systematic approach to inquiry and the skills that support information literacy.

Although Christine does not directly teach an approach to inquiry, she is involved with some co-teaching and collaboration with a teacher at the middle school for Project Lead The Way. This gives her the opportunity to interact with students and support their inquiry with STEM. She is very passionate about her involvement with this, but without more details I would not be able to comment on where to place her work on the continuum.

(4) The TL teaches the skills and understandings required for digital literacy and the safe, legal, and ethical use of digital resources.

Christine provides support for her library paraeducators as they oversee digital activities during their scheduled library time. We did not discuss specific ways, but it was clear during a library staff meeting that if they need assistance or additional resources she is their person to contact.

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(As you gather information on the library instructional plan and assessment, please stress this is not evaluative! We are just trying to gather different ideas, concerns, issues related to delivering the instructional component of the library program.)

Topics for discussion with your TLs: Is there a planned curriculum (scope and sequence)?  What skills do they make sure are taught? When and where? If there is a plan, how did it come about? Can you obtain a copy? If there isn't a predetermined plan, how do they determine what to teach?

N/A

Are there formative or summative assessments to document student learning? N/A

Are there examples of guided inquiry lessons/units/themes with teachers? How did that work? N/A

Are there other questions you have related to curriculum, instruction and/or assessment that they might have insight into?

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South Central Calhoun Schools

Rockwell City & Lake City, Iowa

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Topic: Book Selection

Objective: Students will be able to select a book they will enjoy by considering genres, length, books promoted with book talks along with other aspect generated by the class.

Location: FDHS

Date/Time: 2/26/25

Grade: 9-10

Lesson Plan

Reflection

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Do you have some additional ideas of things that might be done in a similar setting to create a culture of reading?

In my district, we offer a monthly opportunity to win a brand new book. Students must participate in a reading challenge and once they have completed it they are entered into a drawing. Some of the challenges include a genre bingo sheet, March Madness book brackets, and more! Students love to come to the library to see what the new monthly challenge is and make a plan for how to complete it. At the high school level we have a before school book club for students and staff that meets once a month. We provide coffee/hot cocoa and treats to help students feel more open to sharing their recent reads. It is amazing to see students conversing with teachers about characters and plots along with making suggestions for future reads. I would love to participate in a locally adapted version of Battle of the Books at the middle school level.

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What roles do your TLs play in supporting reading literacy? Christine feels that her role is to build strong, engaging library collections. She also works to create programs and resource collections that can be used by classroom teachers.

What are their viewpoints on some of the current issues/debates that relate to promoting reading?

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What different degrees of collaboration do you recognize?

As I mentioned, Christine collaborates with a middle school teacher for Project Lead The Way. I believe that she does this work every year. It requires her to be present at the middle school each morning to attend class with those students. She also works with the high school ELA teachers to give book talks about the beginning of each trimester, although she mentioned that she would like to see her paraeducator doing that work so the students see a face that is consistently in their library. The nature of Christine's position could offer her many more opportunities to collaborate with teachers but that would be dependent on their availability to meet with her.

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What strategies do your TLs use to encourage collaboration with teachers?

As part of her individual career development plan, Christine has attempted to send out a newsletter to teachers and other staff to keep them informed about her work and ways that she can assist with their work. She also mentioned that she is careful not to make this newsletter too complicated as she doesn't want to waste the precious time teachers have to read emails or do other things. She also makes herself available to help with Project Lead the Way at her middle school and sometimes helps with technology units or classes in that building.

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Thinking about the two programs, at what stage on the continuous improvement matrix (Iowa SLP Standards) “Program Component ! – Teaching and Learning” Anchor 5 would you place the program and what might be a “next step or two?”

(5)The TL leads, networks, and communicates the effective, research based integration of technology to enhance learning across curriculum.

I would put Christine's program at Level 0 as her district either already has someone dedicated to doing this work or they do not see it as an opportunity to use her knowledge and experience. My recommendations would be that Christine be utilized at the elementary level. With four sites, she would need to choose one grade level and maybe dedicate one day per week to each building to work with classes. She could start with some simple ways to assist teachers with adding technology to lessons or units. I would also suggest that Christine be allowed to lead one or more professional development sessions for teachers. She has so much knowledge of ways to use technology in the classroom.

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What works and doesn’t work? How do they plan for their technology needs? Are there “tools” that they recommend?

Christine could not think of any specific tools to recommend, but spoke often spoke of the ways she can use her LMS to run reports, create labels, and do other things to make her job easier.

If they have a makerspace, what LEARNING is happening – what materials and activities. Are they teaching the computer science standards?

The associates at the early learning and elementary buildings in Christine's district use library center work, but call it makerspace. They do all sorts of crafty projects and occasionally to something STEM related. The associates are not allowed to teach and therefore do not consider their work to be connected to standards.

Look at the library website or socials – how is it organized? What is a necessity; what is nice?  Who is the audience?

Christine's libraries do not have a website separate from that of the district. She has not attempted any work with social media or other online methods for promotion or communication with the community.

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Reflection: Managerial Aspects of Program Delivery

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Reflection: Managerial Aspects of Program Delivery

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What is their biggest “headache” and if you were them, what might you do?

Christine was clearly dealing with a bit of "headache" during the course of my time with her. With one paraeducator in each building, she has 7 individuals to manage even though she is not their supervisor. One of the elementary paras was new and Christine described her struggles to understand her role in leading library "classes" in her building. This para was much more interested in planning what she called makerspace activities (library centers) for students than providing time for them to enjoy the libraries resources and check out books to support their literacy and foster a love of reading. I would say that Christine would describe her difficulty with keeping library paraeducators grounded in the role they play as advocates for reading and appreciation of the library. Paraeducators are not allowed to teach, yet teaching is what many of them must do in order to fulfill this role. However, without professional training they don't always do things the way Christine would like. Christine's method of handling these situations is to address them with the building principal in hopes that things will be corrected. However, if I were in Christine's position I would go to that building and model for the paraeducator. I would continue to do so until I saw that individual uses practices that were acceptable within the parameters of what a paraeducator can legally do in that position. I would try to build a stronger relationship that supports that individual and shows them that I value their work enough to help them.

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Mentor Topic: Managerial Aspects of Program Delivery

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Mentor Topic: Managerial Aspects of Program Delivery

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How is the budget determined, managed, purchases prioritized, sources?

Christine's budget is determined by her district each year. She didn't share details about how administration makes these decisions. She manages her budget, purchases, etc. using detailed spreadsheets created with the help of AI.

What role did the associate play (if there was one?) Who evaluated the associates? (Is there an example of a job description, interview questions, evaluation?)

Associates in each building are taking care of the work of the individual libraries. Although Christine helps them and keeps track of their work, she is not their supervisors. The building principals are their supervisors and complete their evaluations.

What are some techniques the TLs used to manage student behavior?

Christine doesn't really deal with student behaviors as most of her work doesn't directly involve students.

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Self Reflection: How to Assess Effectiveness

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Self Reflection: How to Assess Effectiveness

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What might be some barriers to being a “true” leader in your building?

Two barriers that I face include a lack of understanding of my position and my inability to be present every day. My district went without any librarian for three years prior to me taking this position. Before that, we had someone who struggled to successfully carry out this role. Therefore, both students and staff are relatively unaware of the many wonderful ways I can support student learning. If my position is not understood or misunderstood then it will always be difficult for me to be viewed as a leader. The other part of this is that I am unable to be in any one building every day. I have to split my time and that means students and staff only have the opportunities to physically see me 1-2 times per week. Let's face it- Out of sight, out of mind. Students and staff must focus on what is right in front of them and most of the time... that is not me. If I had to opportunity to be in one building full-time, I would have a much greater chance of being viewed as a leader. I do not anticipate that will ever happen in my district, so I will need to find other ways to achieve this goal.

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Mentor Topic: How to assess effectiveness

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Mentor Topic: How to assess effectiveness

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How do the TLs assess the effectiveness of their program?

Christine keeps close track of check outs per building and uses that as one way. She also meets regularly with her associates to discuss what is working and what needs work.

How do they inform/educate others about their program?

Christine stays in communication with administrators about the work being done in the district's libraries. She does not engage in any online or other promotion of the libraries or the program.

What professional activities do they encourage?

Christine recommends joining professional organizations, attending conferences hosted by these organizations, and presenting at conferences when possible.

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I will discover new ways to build trust and foster collaborative relationships with teachers by demonstrating value and support for their classroom goals.

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I will use social media to promote my middle school library to help students become engaged with the events and materials offered.

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Beginning Reader bin at SCC Elementary. 

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I am very in tune with all three collections for the buildings in my district. This knowledge and awareness enables me to see strengths and weaknesses and make informed decisions when it comes to ordering new materials.

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Look back to your goals. Did you reach them? What are three of your biggest takeaways?

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Look back to your goals. Did you reach them? What are three of your biggest takeaways?

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Goal 1: While working with Christine Sturgeon at the Fort Dodge High School, I was able to help with her plan to reorganize the non-fiction materials. We worked to use a "bookstore model" by choosing more trendy and popular categories to arrange the books. This was a great way for me to see new and interesting ways to make a high school library more inviting for students. I was also able to see an example of the ways they use comfy furniture to provide a space for students to enjoy their time in the library.

Goal 2: Although I was unable to direct observe collaboration between Dr. Sturgeon and the classroom teachers, we did discuss the ways she support the Project Lead the Way program at the middle school. This gave me an example of co-teaching between a teacher librarian and classroom teacher with direct benefit for students. Dr. Sturgeon is able to share her knowledge and skill with technology to this class.

Goal 3: I did not meet this goal yet. I was unable to receive any advice or experience in my practicum hours with Dr. Sturgeon because she doesn't use social media as a marketing tool for her libraries. I will not give up on this goal though as I have plenty of time to achieve it in my many years to come.

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3 Big Takeaways:

1. Providing lessons on library and information skills at the elementary level will impact how students feel about using the library for years to come. This means that every lesson, every interaction, every check out is important and cannot be taken for granted.

2. Teacher librarians cannot assume that just because a high school has a library students will use it. We need to use some marketing tools and promote all of the wonderful ways the library can add to their high school experience. At the same time, this means we need to plan and implement programs and have materials available that are useful to students as patrons of our libraries.

3. With fewer teacher librarians in rural Iowa areas, library associates are often doing the work of a teacher librarian. If this is the best we can do, then what are ways we can support these individuals so that students are receiving the library and information skills they need rather than just a storytime each week? How can we find or initiate methods for a district's teacher librarian to provide these skills?

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Beginning Reader books in category bins.

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Project: Place all Beginning Reader and Everybody books into clear, open-front bins for easier access, organization, and browsing.

What worked: This reorganization has been a smooth transition while allowing students to become more independent with their use of these sections. Students are able to browse the front covers of books, identify specific topics, characters, and authors as well as less worry about books being place in one, exact spot on a shelf. This also makes reshelving easier and faster for library staff. Teachers are using these books more often because it takes less time to locate books they want to use.

What was challenging: This process took time as funding didn't allow us to purchase all of the bins at the same time or even in the same school year. Many books needed to be relabeled and recataloged for this to be complete. The first bins ordered went out of stock and we had to choose a new bin and company to order from. We have to relabel bins from time to time as we had books to these collections.

Future plans: Fairytale books (398.2), biographies, and some non-fiction series will be place in bins to encourage students to browse and check out these books. Holiday books will also be organized using bins so that students can access them all school year with the same ease and confidence of the other Everybody books.

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1. Ten Tips for Managing Conflict

2. Captivate & Click: Using AI...

3. Amanda Jones

4. Digital Resources

5. AI for School Leaders

6. AASL Series: Collaboration

7. School Librarians Lead Learning and Transformation

8. School Libraries and Youth Services