In 2003 Delia Neuman wrote "Research in School Library Media for the Next Decade: Polishing the Diamond." One of the most influential pieces on school library research written in the last twenty years, the article provided a map for school library research by defining areas of concern and importance. Neuman developed questions grounded…

The improvement of a professional group is due, in part, to its ability for introspection and self-evaluation. This is essentially the process of "analyzing" the profession as it currently is practiced, identifying necessary changes and improvements, and "synthesizing" or creating a new image or model of the profession to…

Rhode Island is committed to ensuring that all educators receive fair, accurate, and meaningful educator evaluations that provide information that can help all support professionals improve and refine their practice. Currently, local education agencies (LEAs) in Rhode Island may submit a district-designed model for approval that complies with the…

Library media specialists understand better than anyone else that students must learn to engage with a wide variety of information types and formats to be efficient and effective learners in the 21st century. The I-LEARN Model--Identify, Locate, Evaluate, Apply, Reflect, kNow--both describes the process of learning with information and provides a…

Rhode Island is committed to ensuring that all educators receive fair, accurate, and meaningful educator evaluations that provide information that can help all support professionals improve and refine their practice. This document describes the process and basic requirements for the Rhode Island Model Support Professional Evaluation and Support…

Rhode Island educators believe that implementing a fair, accurate, and meaningful evaluation and support system for support professionals will help improve student outcomes. The primary purpose of the Rhode Island Model Support Professional Evaluation and Support System (Rhode Island Model) is to help all support professionals do their best work…

This paper presents a study on the effectiveness of an action research model from the perspectives of school educators as action researchers. The study design followed seven action researchers--inservice teachers and school library media specialists--as they completed research projects in their schools. Data came from three different sources:…

Each profession has its own code of ethics. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2008) defines professional ethics as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA Council 2008) has served librarians for seventy years and reflects the ideals toward which all librarians…

Students learn best from well-designed instruction. To what extent can a school district design a curriculum that supports inquiry learning? How can a district implement consistent inquiry practices in forty schools? In this article, the author discusses Newport News Public School District's journey to inquiry which began in 2004 with a…

Library media specialists are a literacy model. They hold the world of literacy at their fingertips and in their collections. Everything individuals need to know about literacy can be found in some form in the library domain, either in the stacks or in the professional repertoire that librarians posses. There are plenty of ways that library media…

Some general principles related to differentiated staffing one must consider in designing differentiated staffing for school media personnel are presented. (Author)

The Domain of Instructional Technology is charted, defined, and explained. (LS)

Explores the feasibility of using cognitive style assessment in counseling students interested in the field of school librarianship. (Author/FM)

Three steps may be taken to minimize the difficulties involved in educational development: 1) a realistic expectation should be projected in regard to the prowess of development; 2) the "state-of-the-art" should receive continuous improvement; and 3) training programs to prepare fully professional developers should be established as rapidly as…

The media supervisor's role as a link (change agent) between the user and the resource system is discussed. In this role, the supervisor will function as (1) a diagnostician of the system; (2) a motivator; (3) a facilitator; (4) an innovator; and (5) an evaluator of the system. (Author/AWP)