We have a relational curriculum database that allows us to overlay a 5-12 IL/ICT scope & sequence document that I created. For every skill we can see who teaches it, or who does not. We then meet with grade levels and look over the resulting report.
There is discussion about how the missed, overlapping, redundant skills can be modified and then the librarian for that division starts working with the teachers to modify their curriculum to meet the student's IL/ICT needs. This process shows us where
we are and what we feel we need to accomplish. To access how well we do it we assess the 8th grade in the spring with the free research assessment tool Trails ( http://www.trails-9.org/)
that is provided by Kent State's ILILE. In the beginning of the school year we then do the same assessment on the students who enter our 9th grade but have not been to our middle school. This way we see how well the integration is working in the
middle school and we also see what remediation the new students might need. The entire 9th grade also takes the technology assessment provided by learning3.com (this is the most reasonable in price, if anyone knows a better one please let me know). This
shows us the tech skills level of our freshman class. In the spring our seniors take the ETS iSkills assessment. This shows us how well our high school integration is going.
This process is constant and ever changing. The scope and sequence is a hybrid of NETS, AASL Toolkit rubrics, and a couple of really good state standards. The librarians work as team teachers with the classroom teacher to integrate these skills, taking
on many of the integration tasks and the stduent instruction in IL/ICT skills. Our experience is that with the library staff being willing to take on part of the teaching and with the engaged response of the stduents to the enhanced curriculum most of
our teachers buy-in with little problem. We have a few who are reluctant and will probably not every join the ranks, but that is OK. Our tech department has input but the brunt of the task and assessment falls to the librarians.
Susan M. Allen
Director of Libraries & Academic Technology
Nichols School
1250 Amherst Street
Buffalo, NY 14216
(716)875-8212 x259
sallen@nicholsschool.org
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