It’s over. Finally.

Posted on April 27th, 2008 in Assessment, Elementary Schools by Laura Robinson

Well, we’re finally done with the WASL. You know- the big “high-stakes test” that all Washington state 3rd through 11th grade students must take. The one that 10th and 11th graders need in order to graduate. That’s right, in order to have the “in” diploma, student must pass this exam. You know, the WASL- Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

I could go on and on and on about this “fun” test and the experience of administrating it to my special education students… but instead, I’ll just highlight a few of my thoughts/questions with the great WASL exam.

  1. Is having a student work on this exam from 9:30am to 3:30pm really an appropriate measure of their writing abilities? Is this a productive day for this child?
  2. Are teachers “teaching to the test” when they begin practicing WASL-like questions with their students in February? Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing?
  3. Is this really an assessment of the students? Or of the teachers? Or is it about our society?
  4. Is this test “better” than others since it contains short and extended response questions along with the few multiple choice questions?

I do understand the extreme importance of assessing all students equally and in a fair manner, that it is important to track progress, and assessments help to plan instruction but… is a high-stake test like the WASL the answer?

None-the-less, after much preparation, planning, and practice using the Big6 and Super3, my students tackled the test and did the best they could- with confidence and a positive attitude!!  The Big6 and Super3 are information problem-solving processes that can be applied to any task or assignment or yes, even a test.  I just wonder if there isn’t a middle ground that would better meet students needs and accomplish fair assessment.

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Super3 and Real World Applications

Posted on April 27th, 2008 in Education, Elementary Schools, Super3 by Laura Robinson

I work as a special education resource room teacher within the Seattle School District. My third grade students were recently given a project where they have to research an animal, write a report, and create a presentation of their animal to the class. This is their “big project” for the year. Needless to say, my students were overwhelmed, confused, and perplexed. Thoughts included: Where do I start? How do I find the information? What kind of presentation? How will I ever pick an animal? How do I write a report and make a presentation? What do I put in the report?

Enter the Super3… I used our “famous” Super3: Information Skills for Young Learners book, copied appropriate worksheets, and we were on our way. The students and I have previously used the Super3 so we did a quick review and began our work!

We first completed a “Process/Planning” Page where students had to identify:

  1. What they will do before they start
  2. What they need to do in order to complete the assignment
  3. How they know when their job is complete.

Next, we completed a “Plan” page where students told what they need to do for the project, the sources they might use, and the supplies they need. This is where we organized the task, developed a plan and talked about possible resources to use.

For the “Do” part, I created a template for students to use while recording information about their animals. Information included what the animal looks like, where the animal lives, what the animal eats, and special facts about the animal. By doing this in a structured manner, students knew exactly what information they needed. From these notes, students wrote descriptive paragraphs about their animals and created a poster board or diorama presentation to share with the class.

And last, for “End”, students completed a checklist regarding their final project as well as the process they went through as they completed the assignment.

What a wonderful way for my students to tackle an “impossible” project with minimal guidance.

End result: students who are SO proud, confident and excited about their work, teachers who are extremely pleased with their students (they even reported that my students’ work were some of the best), and a special education teacher who once again, is amazed at how the Super3 helps to create an enriching and positive learning experience!


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Information Literacy tests

Posted on April 21st, 2008 in Assessment, Big6, Education by Mike Eisenberg

This is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. The framework on page 3 of the report reads like Big 6, plus a few other guidelines. I would be VERY interested in others opinion of the article and the tests.

“Educators Set Proficiency Level for Information-Literacy Tests:

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2781/proficiency-level-set-for-information-literacy-tests?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

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21st Century Skills

Posted on April 18th, 2008 in Education, Elementary Schools, Technology by Laura Robinson

As part of a technology project for fourth and fifth graders (see previous post on “definition of information literacy”), students worked in groups and were asked to define 21st Century Skills.  Groups were asked to identify at least 4 skills.   Here’s the results…

Group 1:  typing on the computer, researching on the computer, using the Internet, email, learning from computers

Group 2: email and IMing, learning how to use the computer for everything, cooperation and teamwork, learning another language,

Group 3:  communicating, writing and reading, research, email, knowing technology

Group 4:  computer work, explaining your thinking, typing, Internet, languages

Group 5: working together, technology, reading and writing, emailing, cooperation

Any thoughts???

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For Teacher-Librarians: roles and teaching reading

Posted on April 18th, 2008 in Education, Elementary Schools, School Library and Information Program, Secondary Schools, Teacher Librarian by Mike Eisenberg

In the February 2008 issue of Library Media Connection, Tina Hudak wrote an excellent feature article titled, “Are Librarians Reading Teachers, Too?” (page 10-14.) I think Tina iis right on target in saying that there is a clear role for teacher librarians in relation to reading. She goes on to say that whether that reading role specifically includes teaching reading is a question that the profession has yet to fully address.

Tina refers to my own work urging school librarians to strategically plan for the 3 roles of the teacher-librarian and library and information program:

  • information literacy instruction
  • reading advocacy
  • information management.

Equally important, the decisions about priorities in the school library and information program – how much time and effort is expended on each of the 3 roles – should be a school decision, not a teacher-librarian decision. School priorities change from year to year. So must the school library and information program change in relation to school priorities

As this school year finishes, it is essential that the library staff sit down with administrators and classroom teachers to set priorities for next year. Few (if any) have the resources to do all 3 roles at the very highest levels. So, if we are going to emphasize one function and cut back a bit on another, that decision should be made in the context of school needs by the school community.

That’s how teacher-librarians and school library & information programs make sure that they are vital to learning and teaching.

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Collaboration! Brand new, upcoming webinar – May 22

Posted on April 11th, 2008 in Training by Mike Eisenberg

Hi All -

Bob Berkowitz and I will be teaming up for our very first presentation on BIg6 and collaboration.  We will focus on realistic approaches to integrating information literacy skills instruction throughout the curriculum and schools.

It’s exciting to be working on a new presentation, and we hope you will consider joining us on May 22nd at 4pm EDT.

For more information – check out:

http://www.big6.com/2008/03/05/big6-and-super3-webinars-live-online-2008/

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School Library Funding

Posted on April 9th, 2008 in Education by Mike Eisenberg

Hello All -

Some of you may know that we in the state of Washington have been working on raising awareness and securing State support and funding for school libraries and teacher-librarians. The Fund Our Future Washington effort – http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org/ led by the “3 Moms from Spokane.”

The effort was truly extraordinary. Here’s a link to a story about the rally in Olympia (our state capital).

http://alfocus.ala.org/videos/washington-school-libraries-rally

While the full story isn’t finished – the good news is that in a supplemental budget year, new funds were allocated for school libraries – $4 per student – or $4 million! That may not seem like a lot, but for a state that has NEVER funded school libraries, it’s amazing.

There’s lots more to do – including changing the baseline education funding model and inclusion, but the moms are on the task. Anyone can help – and others are starting Fund Our Future organizations in other states. It’s time for action – because librarians have a crucial and central role in a 21st century education. The mission is to “ensure that students are effective users of ideas and information.”

And, of course, that’s what the Big6 is all about too.

3 cheers to the moms, to teacher-librarians, to educators and supporters everywhere!

… Mike Eisenberg

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Identifying Information Skills – Higher Education

Posted on April 2nd, 2008 in Big6, Education, Higher Education, Information Literacy by Mike Eisenberg

I started teaching my “Intellectual Foundations of Informatics” class today. I have 34 undergrads – freshman to senior. I raised the following questions:

“What do we mean by ‘information skills’? What are the key skills that relate to information?”

Their responses were varied and interesting. First, they focused on sifting out valuable information, deciding what is valid, true, and credible. All this falls under Big6 #4 – Use of Information.

Then, a student mentioned “sharing” information – and using technology to do so. We highlighted the web, e-mail, uploading, text messaging, You-Tube, and of course, social networks. This is Big6 #5 – Synthesis.

Another student talked about adding to your knowledge base – incorporating information for improved knowledge. This too is Synthesis, but it’s quite creative and also relates to Use of Information – extracting what’s valuable and relevant.

Then, it was my turn. So, I emphasized “search” – finding information (Big6 #2, ISS and Big6 #3, Location & Access) and figuring out what you need to do in the first place (Big6 #1 – Task Definition). We reviewed the key assignments for the class, and I was able to emphasize noting sources of information – citing in context and good writing skills. These are also part of formative evaluation – Big6 #6.

All in all, I thought it was a very successful discussion. I hope the students felt that way too.

– Mike

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