We’ve all heard that two heads are better than one; that sentiment certainly echoes my recent experience as a media specialist intern with Montgomery County Public Schools. This spring, I had the distinct pleasure of collaborating with Ms. Joy Saxon, a tenth grade English teacher at Watkins Mill High School. Together we created and implemented a research activity designed to extend the students’ understanding and appreciation of their literature assignment, Lord of the Flies. This book, like so many other good literary works, brings up several controversial issues. In accordance with the MCPS curriculum, students are to select one of the topics raised in the text and conduct research to learn how this issue, in one form or another, is still relevant today.
Using the MCPS English 10 Instructional Guide, Ms. Saxon and I identified the mastery objectives and indicators to target with this assignment. Then, we devised a plan for instruction and created a schedule for classroom and media center use for her three on grade level classes. In their English class, students participated in literature circle discussion groups and identified the topics they would research. Ms. Saxon provided instruction on how to: format the research paper, use note cards to gather information, and create an outline to organize the information. My instruction, as the media specialist, focused on using the Patrons Catalog, accessing subscription databases, evaluating and using Web sources, and creating a working bibliography in MLA format.
After each lesson, Ms. Saxon and I debriefed and discussed possible modifications to enhance the lesson for the next group. No doubt, students in the third and fifth period classes benefited from my previous experience with the first period class! For instance, in my first lesson on composing an MLA citation for a print source, I shared an example and briefly reviewed each element of the citation. At the end of class, students were asked to compose an MLA citation for a print source they had located. The results were far less than ideal. It was clear to me that I had overestimated the students’ skills in this area, and they would have benefited from some guided practice before doing this exercise independently. Thus, the next two classes had a short guided practice component added to the lesson. Their exit cards were markedly better!
Through our collaborative effort, the students experienced the best instructional dynamic that we could provide. By working together, we created and implemented a research assignment that allowed students the opportunity to tap into Ms. Saxon’s knowledge and understanding of the tenth grade English curriculum and my own expertise with information literacy skills. Our students truly had the best of both worlds, and isn’t that what it’s all about!
