1. We can ensure that students understand the importance of problem solving skills by first introducing it as ways to deal with every day problems. Students should be told they can use these skills to solve problems at home, with friends, etc. as well as using problem solving skills in a classroom. Also, any time a teaching moment occurs in our classroom that may not be a part of the "plan" that demonstrates these skills, we should grab them. The other day one of my students inspired a ten minute discussion about his newly checked out nonfiction book. Why are these pictures in here, are they real, which led to how do we find out, etc. It was great.!!
2. Collaboration can be difficult face to face, but I am finding that connecting to grade level curriculum and even the scoring guides in lessons taught in the library, opens discussions with the teachers when they are with their students in the library. This connection is opening the way for future discussion concerning students and introducing the teaching, of perhaps, together problem solving skills that connect to grade level reporting topics.
(1) I agree with Linda. I think you have to mask problem-solving strategy instruction into every day student concerns. What are issues that students deal with in their day-to-day lives? How do they open a bank account? How do they apply for a college? How do they find legal music online to download? How do they safely use social networking sites? How do they complete their homework assignment with quality information? If you find examples that are meaningful to the students, then those skills will stick and transfer to other areas where problem solving is required.
ReplyDelete(2)I think librarians have to be proactive when collaborating with teachers. Waiting for the teachers to come to you usually doesn't work. I have been actively seeking out the grade level reps. and asking what can I do to help them cover their reporting topics. We decided that for the Media specific topics, I will create a rubric listing all of the specific skills addressed during library instruction so that the classroom teacher and I are more connected. Ideally, this will benefit the students who will get more focused instruction and also will reinforce the classroom teacher's instruction along with mine. This collaboration, as it grows and strengthens, could become a very powerful tool for teaching problem solving strategies like the Big6. The more key people that buy into teaching a strategy, the more effective that instruction is going to be.
1) I like the fact both Linda and Nicole have identified the importance of engaging students through real life situations. Students will only engage when they feel the lesson is relevant to them. As we look at introducing the Big6 we need to show students that many times it takes just a few minutes to work through all the steps to reach a solution while other times it may be a more involved process.
ReplyDelete2) I believe that teacher buy-in to the Big6 is going to be huge when it comes to student success. They have so many opportunities during the school day to reinforce the use of this problem-solving model. I hope you, especially at the elementary level will be reporting back on how your teachers respond to this model.
I think the use of the rubrics that Linda and Nicole mentioned are a step in the right direction.
(1) I am looking at my dear 6th graders and fearing that their lack of real life independant thinking is frightening. I am worried that they have the network of information and basic skills to attack a problem... but not the depth or breadth of global thinking to apply what they know. The phrase a little knowledge is a dangerous thing... I worry that they know just enough about a computer to enter through the portal... but not enough to protect themselves from some of the stuff they find. When I started teaching kids believed anything they read... if it was on tv or printed... it was true. Now, with the 89 million Americans (Berger) on the internet-- I wonder if they believe everything they see there as well. I think it is a new dimension of our jobs to teach kids how to identify good information and biased information. We have always done that to a degree... but I think it is a even bigger responsibility now. Do you think collaborative sites will help... since collectively a group of students will view the information?
ReplyDelete(2)I think that teachers are overwhelmed by our curiosity sometimes. Why I ask some teachers what they are doing in their classes... they see it as a challenge... instead of a collaboration. I think teacher will respond positively to anything we do that they perceive will make their jobs easier, their tests scores higher, and their kids smarter.
ReplyDeleteJust caught error... independent...
ReplyDeleteAfraid this post may have gotten lost... so I will repost... skip it if you have already read it...
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what this is supposed to look like… so, I will begin with observations… The Web 2.0 book has caused an information revolution at the DiBlasi household. We have always been proponents of discovery learning… But to watch my own children play with such joy in the information pool offered by the different search engines. I just I have been in the Dark Ages on many levels. I did not realize there was a Google for scholars, or an ask for kids (which would be very user friendly for our English Challenged students). My gifted-ld son loved www.search-cube.com... So visual, global, and interactive… almost like kinesthetic learning in the cyber dimension. But I digress. I think we are standing at the threshold of a new information age. We are no longer collectors of information or guardians of knowledge. We need to help our learners harness the collective intelligence. Research has expanded beyond the big six to include collaborating, managing/organizing information, and in the case of glogs and blogs… editing a living document.
I am just rambling… but does anyone else feel that this expansion of websites (1994/10,000 to 1998/3.5 million) make you feel wholly informationally inadequate? If 87% of 12-17 year olds use the internet (21 million youth), can we afford to thrust books at them as the best resource? How can we make them want to come to use for relevant information when our print materials can’t dry fast enough to be as current as the information at their fingertips?
Bobbie, thought you'd like this link. It is a real eye opener for all of us. It is called
ReplyDeleteSocial Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng&feature=autofb
1. I believe that our role in helping students understand the importance of problem-solving skills is two fold. I think planning activities that provide students with the opportunity to practice using problem solving skills is one step. Along with that I think that our role is to be a guide. The teacher should not answer every question the students have, but instead help them discover how use their resources to try to figure out the answers in their learning groups or teams.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, as others have said, about taking advantage of teachable moments. I had a group of students who could not come to consensus on one answer for their team. I had to walk them through taking a vote and understanding that if one person disagreed with 3 others that was ok.
2. I think that technology can be a great tool in encouraging collaboration. If there is not time for a face to face meeting, communicating through email is always an option. Another example of using technology to encourage collaboraton is sharing projects that students have completed in the library with their classroom teacher via technology.
1. To ensure that students understand the importance of problem solving skills, I believe we are at the time where information overload is so pervasive that we need to have information literacy courses in the high school curriculum. Here at the high school students still rely heavily on google, and conduct research like they use their cell phones and facebook. I see a course in the curriculum the only sure way to make sure every student understands how to problem solve effectively, becomes information literate and can use their critical thinking skills for life beyond high school. A 41/2 week course would be sufficient! that would be awesome.
ReplyDelete2. Discussing ways to collaborate to solve problems while learning content is a daunting task for 1 teacher (me) and a staff of 110 and 1700 students. Collaboration with every single teacher to teach the skills students need to know for research in their content area is not possible due to staffing and time constraints. This is just one of the challenges in the high school LMC. In order to attempt to reach more students, I've become more mobile and travel to teacher's classrooms utilizing the classroom projector to display Internet and database research information for example. Since often the library computers are in high demand for word processing, traveling to classrooms allows me to teach when the teacher needs me, instead of waiting until there is free space in the LMC. Maybe this didn't answer the question, but on a basic level, these are some of the obstacles we deal with at the high school in order to teach!
Dana,
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of an Information Literacy course at the high school level. I think you could write several justifications for this course.
You solution to meet the teachers where they are is a great strategy. I just wish they would see that there so many other ways we can help them other than with just research skill lessons.
Barb, You bring up something that I had not actually put into thought but it has been niggling at me a long time. I forget that teachers may be questioning why we would be full of so many questions. I dont think many of my teachers are comfortable with collaborating although I have championed it for years. One way I can help them relax is to make sure that I am only asking questions that will help me integrate my focus with theirs.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I too have been actively seeking out the grade levels and working with them on planning. Once my teachers understand that we can help them work through many of their GLEs by incorporating the problem solving model, I have had more cooperation and teacher imput. once they can see that it is not necessarily something taught in isolation but along with their curriculum, they become more enthusiastic!
ReplyDelete1) Teaching problem solving always seems so simple, but I am constantly reminding myself that some of my students don't have those skills. What I do is I usually problem solve even tiny things aloud to my students. Like when they ask me where a book is I walk them through all the steps every time. All the things I do to find the books. Especially with my kiddos that like to ask me for "the blue book" or "that one book". I think as Library Media Specialist we have so many opportunities for teachable moments. That is one of the reasons I made the switch from the academic library to an elementary school, I wanted to help teach younger kids how to utilize the library to its fullest potential before they became college students. My brother who is getting his doctorate at the University of Texas in Austin still calls me to walk him through how to use his library there. We need to make sure we are equipping the students today with the tools they will need for the future.
ReplyDelete2) This year I have hit this one hard, I bug my teachers to work with me. I have gone to bribing the like I do my 4 year old daughter. I will go to them and say is there any books you want me to add to the collection that would help you do your job. They always come up with something, and then I add is there anything special you are teaching that I could work with the kids on in the library. They have been pretty responsive thus far. Before I leave I have started writing down they word wall words. It impresses the teacher when I piggy back on what they are doing. I have been pretty successful so far this year, we will see how long it lasts I guess.
1)I think I tend to encourage my students to problem solve in a similar way to Meta and Kerri. I will "think outloud" or sometimes just pretend to not exactly remember what to do or what comes next and then quite often they will come up with the correct answer or find it themselves. They are so tickled when they do. I agree with Meta that LMS are even more excited with "teachable moments" than our peers---I think that is what leads us to this profession. We enjoy helping others find answers for themselves--not just giving them the answer. But I also agree with all of you who mentioned how much "information overload" can affect our students--I think a course like mentioned for the high school would be a terrific asset.
ReplyDelete2) I cannot say I have done a very good job this year so far at collaboration. I have never missed so many days of school and especially so early. I feel like all I'm doing is trying to catch up. Now RtI is coming and there goes my planning time again. But the one thing I know is that we have to make it quick and easy especially for them...They don't want one more thing they think they have to do. I will pick up the pace!
Supporting students by "hand-feeding" them every problem solving step as they need it, sets up the structure for students to begin thinking in a problem solving manner. Students will probably never "know" they need these skills until after they have learned them well. Once students are able to start applying problem solving strategies, even in small steps, they will begin to feel success, and hopefully, continue applying them on their own.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to collaborate with colleagues, especially the media specialists, is very beneficial. The more we reinforce each other, the better students will "get it." Because the "Big6" is so general, it really can be tied in with any topic. I think this makes it that much easier to collaborate on any content being taught.