STUDENT LEARNING GOAL
By the end of seventh grade, during the 2015/2016 school year, 85% of students will be able to correctly and independently identify parts of a source citation, namely the title of the resource, the author, the publisher, in what source it was originally published (if an online source), and when it was originally published. This knowledge will be determined by a pre and a post test and an independent activity related to the curriculum that will be assessed with a rubric.
Timeline:
Timeline:
- All seventh grade students will have had a citation review lesson in social studies and completed the Google form evaluating their knowledge of citations. (November 2015)
- Results of social studies lesson assessments will be reviewed by the librarian to determine what differentiation or alterations for special education or English Language Learner students need to be done. (by January 2016)
- Before beginning I-Search, students will take a pretest exploring their knowledge of citations. It will assess what they remember from the October lessons and what they know about citations in general. (January 2016)
- Formative assessments will be administered during I-Search to create a picture, over the course of the unit, of where the students are in their knowledge of citations to be able to provide attention to students’ individual needs. (January/February 2016)
- During the I-Search lessons students will be required to create citations using NoodleTools and identify parts of citations on their own. (January/February 2016)
- At the end of I-Search students will be given a post-test evaluating their knowledge of citations. (The pre- and post-tests will be the same.) (January/February 2016)
- Students will be asked to identify parts of a source citation as a part of a stand-alone activity which will be assessed by a rubric. (April 2016)
- I will assess data that has been collected and to determine future steps in consultation with collaborating teachers. (May 2016)
- I will begin the draft of an action plan outlining how the gathered information will be used. (May 2016)
Implementation of Goal
During their Explorers lesson, students were shown where to find the citation on a database entry and how to identify the different parts of the citation. They answered questions on the "Captain's CART-log" show what they had taken away from the lesson. Most of the students understood and could properly identify the parts of a citation, but it seemed worth continuing to instruct around that area.
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Before seventh grade students began their I-Search projects in January and February, they were all asked to take a pre-test asking them to identify parts of a citation. From the pre-test results, it was clear that the students were having trouble differentiating between the original publisher of a source and the source in which the article originally appeared.
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Pre Test Data
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To attempt to rectify the issue the students were having with the difference between the source the article was originally published in and the publisher of the article, I gave a more in-depth lesson when introducing NoodleTools to the students during the I-Search project.
As part of their I-Search projects, students were required to cite all of their sources and turn them in. The bibliographies are to be graded by the classroom teacher. See sample final project bibliographies below.
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The results of the post-test data show that students while students increased in understanding of the majority of the areas being evaluated, they are showing similar signs of confusion with the difference between the original publication of the article and the original publisher of the article.
In the case of this example, the publisher and publication were very similar (The Columbia Encyclopedia and The Columbia University Press). |
Post Test Data
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The students were given tricks to remember which was which (the name of the original publication is italicized), but it was not enough to help them differentiate. When assessing students' understanding in the future, I would like to change the names to those that are not similar and see if that adjusts the responses.
In either case, it is clear that the students need more thorough instruction about the difference between these two elements.
In either case, it is clear that the students need more thorough instruction about the difference between these two elements.
For the majority of the questions, the correct results increased, sometimes by as much as 13%. Only in the case of the publisher did the number of correct answers go down. In part, I believe this might be caused by the amount of time that had passed between when the students had the instructive lessons and when they took the post test. On average, that amount of time was about five weeks. In addition, it is clear that the library needs to do more work with the classroom teachers to emphasize the importance of this content area and give teachers the background information they need to support this knowledge.
Moving Forward
To move forward with the understanding for citations in seventh grade, two things need to be done: consultation with teachers and creating an action plan.
It has become clear to me that this is a subject area of which the students are able to understand the content, but I am not sure they understand the importance. In order for it to become something in which they are invested, students need to understand why it is important that they create citations and can identify parts of the citation. If they understand that they are crediting the work and thoughts of other people and organizations, they will be more likely to be invested.
One of the biggest challenges I face surrounding this issue is with the teachers in my building. The teachers all vary in their understanding of citations, how they work, and when to require them. They also don't consistently require students to submit citations, in part because they do not know how or want to check and grade the citations. Part of my action plan moving forward will be to include general instructions for all teachers as to how citations work, when they should be required, and why it is important that we create building-wide consistency in this area.
To move forward with the understanding for citations in seventh grade, two things need to be done: consultation with teachers and creating an action plan.
It has become clear to me that this is a subject area of which the students are able to understand the content, but I am not sure they understand the importance. In order for it to become something in which they are invested, students need to understand why it is important that they create citations and can identify parts of the citation. If they understand that they are crediting the work and thoughts of other people and organizations, they will be more likely to be invested.
One of the biggest challenges I face surrounding this issue is with the teachers in my building. The teachers all vary in their understanding of citations, how they work, and when to require them. They also don't consistently require students to submit citations, in part because they do not know how or want to check and grade the citations. Part of my action plan moving forward will be to include general instructions for all teachers as to how citations work, when they should be required, and why it is important that we create building-wide consistency in this area.