1.1 Knowledge of Learners and Learning
Rebus cards located near the whole group instruction area allow for convenient access for student use.
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In order to best meet the needs of the students and teachers who use Media Center space and resources, I must first understand the nature of our community of library users. I selected three artifacts to represent the work I will do to know my learning community: a School Analysis and Curriculum map from my McDaniel coursework, and a more current document required by the Carroll County Media Supervisor: a Community Analysis. Analyses and curriculum maps can be completed early in a school year to stay updated on changes in a school population, or curricular or program changes. They can also be done in the spring of every year, to prepare for the fall and inform purchasing and planning decisions. All of these examples reflect the working nature of these documents. Communities of learners are always changing, and Media Specialists need to be aware of these changing needs as much as possible.
The strengths of these documents are the comprehensive nature of each. A variety of data is shown, to accurately reflect the diversity of the population that each library serves. The documents created in my McDaniel coursework prepared me for the collaboration and research that is required to know a learning community: these numbers are typically provided by a team of staff members and pulled from a variety of school data reports. Confidence with starting these discussions with staff and with accessing school data has allowed me to smoothly transition to completing my own Community Analysis when it is required by my county supervisor. Each year, I feel more confident with identifying the needs and supporting the goals of my media center users. One possible weakness with these documents is the ever changing nature of schools. In order for these documents to be the most effective, they must be reevaluated at least annually, if not more often. I feel that these documents clearly connect to the portion of this objective that states: Candidates support the learning of all students and other members of the learning community, including those with diverse learning styles, physical and intellectual abilities and needs. Collecting the information for these analyses guides all of the future decisions that allow me to support the learning of my media center users each year. Although this information can seem vast, it also is a means of communicating to library stakeholders how and why our programs are important. Demonstrating knowledge of my learners will allow my programs to thrive and my students to excel. I plan to continue to complete this type of thoughtful information collection every year, to keep my media program and materials effective and meaningful for all community members. |
The artifacts below are my School Analysis and my Curriculum Map. To view my Community Analysis, click on the button below.
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