IASL Research Abstracts: 176

Findings: Field practica can be a critical part of teacher librarian education when they provide opportunities for students to shift to the organizational, collaborative mindset that is the foundation of school library programs.

Abstract: Pre-service teacher librarians in the United States often are en route from careers as classroom teachers and view field experiences as needless repetitions of student teaching. Meaningful internships can be pivotal in helping students explore potential roles, build collegial networks, and gain valuable on-the-job insight. For an educator in transition from a single classroom to a many-faceted school library, field practica can provide crucial opportunities to shift to the organizational, collaborative mindset outlined in Information Power, the U.S. school library guidelines (1998). This paper presents an instrumental case study gathered as part of an ongoing study of practicum experiences.

Mardis, M. (2006). From one-to-one to one-to-many: An instrumental case study of a pre-service teacher librarian in the U.S. In The Multiple Faces of Literacy: Reading, Knowing, Doing -- IASL Reports, 2006: Selected Papers from the 35th annual conference of the International Association of School Librarianship, and the Tenth International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, Lisbon, Portugal, 3-7 July 2006. Ana Bela Martins, Antonio Pina Falcao, Elsa Conde, Isabel Andrade, Manuele Barreto Nunes, Maria Jose Vitorino, editors. International Association of School Librarianship, Erie (PA), USA, 2006. ISBN: 978-1-890861-32-2.

Subject Categories: 4