SLIS 794 Blog Post 2 Curate

 Mrs. Angela Thole at Chapin Middle School showcases the Curate Shared Foundation. Part of her library goal this year was to work with classes to help students create research projects. She focused on helping students find and use credible sources. Students learned how to use DISCUS to find and evaluate sources for credibility and validity. Before students begin the process, Mrs Thole meets with teachers to determine topics for research. She then begins to look for resources to help model the research process for students. Within DISCUS, she makes sure that students know where to look to find diverse perspectives on the topic. Students also learn how to curate resources using Google. Mrs. Thole shows students how to evaluate these sites since they have not been vetted like a DISCUS resource. Students need to know how to evaluate and use all types of sources in order to effectively research a topic.  She then shows students how to locate their print sources in the library. Students work through the same process of finding information from their print source. By exposing students to a variety of resources, she is creating life-long learners that know how to use all types of resources effectively. 

Another goal that Mrs. Thole has is to curate a collection that meets the needs of the special needs classes in the building. She spends time working with the teachers to find reading levels and interests for the students. She believes that it is important that all students see themselves in a book, so all ability levels need to be represented in the library. Ebooks and audiobooks are also included to help make this collection inclusive and responsive to the needs of the students. 

Even though the library serves 7th and 8th grade students, Mrs. Thole believes that pictures books play an important role for students. She keeps a collection of picture books that are used with the special needs classes, but other teachers use these books for read a louds as well. She is working with all teachers to show the importance of reading a loud to students, so she must have picture books that meet the content standards. She has been working with classroom teachers to curate this collection. By looking at content standards and student interests, she keeps adding to the picture book collection.

The biggest challenge that Mrs. Thole faces is time. Teachers are not always willing to collaborate because they see library lessons as taking time away from classroom instruction. She is working to change this perception. As other teachers see how collaboration enhances classroom instruction, they are more willing to schedule library time. Mrs. Thole is always willing to help curate resources for classes, but she also wants to teach students how to curate their own resources. Through collaborative research projects, Mrs. Thole can teach students how to find and use resources that are credible and fill an information need.