Field+Service

Pamela Buddy-D’Ambrosio Long Island University 620-Assignment 4 December 2011 Field Service Project

In my 25 hours of observation at a high school, I was impressed by the collaboration that took place between the two librarians and the teachers. On my first day, not only was there a fire drill, but I witnessed a collaboration between the librarian and a teacher of political science through films for juniors. The class was working on the death penalty. The fact that the librarian had majored in pre-law was a benefit to the teacher. The librarian pulled noteworthy books from the collection that numbers around 16,000 books. The teacher expressed her desire for some of the books the librarian had pulled, but did not use all of them. Due to the success of the Pathfinders on which this particular teacher and the librarians collaborate, this teacher comes often to the librarians to collaborate. I witnessed the second librarian presenting database and reference information on presidential greats to another class. She had done so without computers and now that they had the computer room, she went down the list of websites that the students could use to get information. She and the teacher helped the students with answers to their questions. The Instructional Leadership portion of this rubric is rated Proficient to Basic as the librarians don’t have as much of a say in the district as they would like. There are monthly faculty meetings that administration, teachers and librarians attend. There have been a couple of committees that a librarian has taken part in: an anti-racism and bullying committee and a Sustainability Day committee, both of which are no longer active. One of the librarians attends poetry readings and literature fests not affiliated with the school or with BOCES. While she can’t attend the book expos due to the cost, she feels she gets her information in other ways. Instructional Design receives a check mark in the Distinguished box. As previously mentioned, the teachers and librarians have great success with the Pathfinders. The students cover specific areas of a topic using inquiry learning, models/frameworks and databases. The teacher has the responsibility of differentiating, although the librarian said when they have special education classes, the librarians will pull books at their levels (quick reads with many pictures), they have scavenger hunts and teach an introduction to library. Staffing and Climate Conducive to Learning are combined here due to the overwhelming feeling of the librarians that there is no support system for them. In past years, there has been a guard to check schedules and kick out unruly students, but due to budget cuts in the district, there is no guard which is one of the reasons a librarian was struck on the arm by a student (who was suspended for five days) as she asked for his schedule. Many students skip class or the disruptive ones are sent by the teachers to the library, which means the librarians have to deal with them. There is no place in the school for the kids to hang out and on rainy days, they head to the library. The librarians like a quiet library, one that is good for the kids who want to study. There are approximately 3,500 students in the high school, grades 9-12. The city has a population of 74,281 (as of July 1, 2009); the estimated median household income in 2009 was $64,304; and the estimated median house or condo value in 2009 was $607,500. Whites make up 51.8% of the population followed by Hispanics and Blacks at 24.0% and 18.1%, respectively. There are ten schools in the district. There are special education and ESL classes as well as aides for handicapped students. There is an accelerated program in the high school as well as an arts program for music, drama and dance. Two-Year Action Plan:
 * Collaborative Planning**
 * Meet with teachers individually to seek more collaborative teaching opportunities
 * Increase circulation with print, digital and audio resources
 * Instructional Leadership**
 * Meet bi-monthly with school administration to plan professional development for faculty
 * Collaborate with teachers regarding the students’ use of the library—how to get more students in and using the resources?
 * Instructional Design**
 * Collaborate with teachers to ensure that there is a reflection-based element to each Pathfinder
 * Create a step process regarding the scaffolding of skills that students can check off once the skills are acquired
 * Inquiry Learning**
 * Create more in-depth inquiry-based Pathfinders with teachers
 * Have students create their own inquiry-based Pathfinders


 * Climate Conducive to Learning**
 * Survey students regarding their desire for a quiet library or commons-type
 * Implement the results of the survey if corresponding with the needs of the librarians. If the students’ desires are different than the librarians’, determine the best way to maintain a balance for both parties.
 * Staffing**
 * Work with administration to secure funding for a security guard who can check schedules and maintain a quiet presence of students
 * Security guard is able to free up the librarians’ time to work on more collaborative endeavors

Pamela Buddy-D’Ambrosio Long Island University 620-Field Service Survey for the Students of _High School

It is the desire of the librarians to have a quiet library in which students can read and study. They would like a security guard reestablished in his post to free them from checking schedules, keep the library to a low buzz and attend to their duties. This survey’s purpose is to understand the desires of the students.

Rate from 1 to 5 how conducive the library atmosphere is for your studying needs:


 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent

Rate the library’s hours?


 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent

When do you use the library?


 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Every day
 * 3) Study hall only
 * 4) Before school
 * 5) After school

How do you feel about the private learning space in the library?


 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent

Give your rating on the number of individual computers.

How do you feel about the technology accessibility in the library?
 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent


 * 1) Don’t use the library
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent

Rate the technology (database) accessibility at home?


 * 1) Don’t use the database from home
 * 2) Inadequate
 * 3) Meets my needs
 * 4) More than sufficient
 * 5) Excellent

How do you feel about a security guard checking your schedule upon entering the library?


 * 1) Agreeable
 * 2) Disagreeable

Grade:


 * 1) Freshman
 * 2) Sophomore
 * 3) Junior
 * 4) Senior

Please add additional comments regarding your use of the library and its suitability as a quiet learning area.

If you could change aspects of the library, please list them.

If the library were transformed into a learning commons what would you like/dislike?

Having a voice that first year, will be a challenge to a new LMS. It is good to observe to see where you can make inroads slowly without stepping on toes. Class control (with respect) in the elementary school is another difficulty.

I don't think an element would be on the rubric if it wasn't important. They all are important in their own ways even if some of the elements overlapped like Instructional Design and Inquiry Learning which covered the pieces of a model/framework and getting the students to stretch their knowledge.

I look forward to the Reading element--who wouldn't want to help students be life-long lovers of books?

Since I haven't been a teacher, I'm concerned about Teaching for Diverse Needs. Will I know how best to get the information inside their heads?