Librarian Interview: Explore

 


For the explore competency, I interviewed Elizabeth Harris, the Media Specialist at Catawba Trail Elementary School.  The Explore competency calls for school librarians to guide students to"discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection"(2018). She achieves this in her program by creating eye-catching displays for cultural heritage months. She focuses on Biographies and Non-Fiction materials to increase their visibility and circulation. She also likes to do read-alouds with all her students. She does them less with her 3rd-5th graders but feels it's important for them to hear a read-aloud. She also has a suggestion box for students to submit books they think should be included in the library. These all help encourage students to read widely by showcasing books that are not checked out as often and give them a voice to help in the selection process. Elizabeth uses Sora, Epic, and Tumblebooks to expose students to materials in a variety of formats. She collaborates with teachers often and is currently working on a project with her 1st graders on Informational Text. A challenge she has faced when implementing this competency is teaching students to have a growth mindset. When exploring new things sometimes students lack the stamina to search for information of their own. This year she has decided to focus on teaching students how to provide constructive feedback to each other.

Reference

American Association of School Librarians. (2018). National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. ALA Editions.

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