My Learning Journey: Reference Materials (Thematic Blog Post #3)
My key takeaway from this Theme: information is everywhere!! As long as you know where to look, you will find vast amounts of information. Growing up, I was not aware of all the print and online reference materials available to me at home and at school. I learned to use a dictionary and atlas in my early intermediate years, but that was the extent of it. As a teacher (and future teacher-librarian), it sometimes feels daunting the amount of information we need to know in order to effectively direct students to the information they need. Theme 3 has allowed me to reflect on just how MUCH information is out there and how I can help elementary aged students and their teachers to make use of it.
I would like to work in collaboration with classroom teachers to offer students opportunities to explore topics they are interested in. Rather than simply searching in Google or Wikipedia, I would like to teach students to use the appropriate print or online reference materials. In the past, I have seen many teachers check out a collection of non-fiction books for their students, or select specific websites with information. Depending on what the focus of the task is (taking notes vs. conducting research), reference materials are often overlooked in the library. In my school, this is because of the lack of reference materials available (more on that in a different post!). My goal would be to find print and online reference materials that directly help students in their research.
My key learnings from Theme 3:
- When it comes to print material, quantity does not equal quality. With the cost of print materials, it is difficult for TLs to maintain a current and accurate print reference collection. The print materials end up collecting dust because they may be outdated.
- Online reference material is valuable, when students are given the tools to use it. Online tools such as The World Gazetter, Kids World Book, and Encyclopedia Britannica are only a few of the many available resources. My school has several online subscriptions that are accessible to students. My goal would be to host professional development opportunities for teachers so they can teach students to use these appropriately.
- Each type of reference resource has its own evaluation criteria. I enjoyed exploring the various reference resource types each week, including databases, bibliographies, biographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and maps/atlases.
References
ERAC (Revised 2008). Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide. Retrieved from https://bcerac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ERAC_WB.pdf
Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.