School Media Specialization: Curriculum
All courses in the school media program are required. The courses are listed below. For more information on course sequences, students should consult their advisor.
IST 511 Introduction to the Library and Information Profession
This course is a survey of key components of the field and its relationship to other fields and professions. Also addresses general structure, issues and problems, research, and literature of the library and information profession. IST 511 is required in the first semester of matriculation. (3 credits)
IST 601 Information and Information Environments
Provides an overview of the field and an orientation to the School of Information Studies. Describes the past, present, and future of information studies. A one-credit, two-day course normally taken as the students first course. (1 credit)
IST 605 Information Resources: Users and Services
The use of information resources and service provision in libraries. Assumes an integrated approach, combining print and electronic resources and comprehensive services in a broad range of contexts. (3 credits) (Pre-requisite: IST 511)
IST 611: Information Technologies in Educational Organizations
Includes information and communications technologies, ethical issues, knowledge management tools, collaborative learning technologies, education databases, etc. On-site project fieldwork constitutes a major portion of course requirements. (3 credits.)
IST 612 Youth Services in Libraries and Information Centers
Theories, practices, media, literature, and emerging trends of youth services from preschool to high school are explored. A broad range of competencies necessary to work with youth in a variety of library settings are presented. (3 credits)
IST 613 Library Systems and Processes
User-focused planning, marketing, and assessment activities that support core functions of libraries, such as collection development, systems, and public services. (3 credits)
IST 616 Information Resources: Organization and Access
An introduction to theories, tools, and standards for information organization and access, including cataloging rules and formats, content analysis, indexing, classification, and fundamentals of information retrieval systems. (3 credits) (Pre-requisite IST 511)
IST 618 Survey of Telecommunications and Information Policy
Public policy issues of the digital environment, including freedom of expression, intellectual property, economic regulations, privacy, security, access, standards, and dissemination of public information. Application of economic, legal, and political science concepts to policy analysis. (3 credits)
IST 661 Information Management in Schools
Management of media centers. Information flow in school environment, analysis of curriculum, problem solving, management principles, development of information services for students, teachers, and administrators. (3 credits)
IST 663 Motivation and Information Literacy (formerly IST 504)
Methods for designing and delivering information literacy skills instruction in schools. Exploration of appropriate interventions that support motivation for and learning of research and information problem-solving skills. (3 credits)
IST 668: Literacy Through School Libraries
Introduction to methods that support and reinforce classroom instruction in developmental reading and language acquisition processes and skills. Development of programs and services that foster self-expression, promote literature appreciation, and encourage information-seeking behaviors. (3 credits)
Fieldwork: 100 hours
School media students must complete 100 hours of fieldwork before their practicum experience in order to satisfy New York state certification requirements.
IST 972 School Media Practicum (6 credits)
Students must take two three-credit, school-based practica in order to satisfy New York state certification requirements. More information about these requirements may be found in the Fieldwork and Practica section below.
Each practicum placement will be in a school-based library, where the student gains experience and is evaluated at both the elementary and secondary level. Each practicum is fully supervised by a certified School Library Media Specialist (SLMS). IST 972 is a full-semester online seminar for students who are doing practica. All practica students are expected to participate in this seminar.
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Students in the School Media Program are required to complete the Competency Checklist during their MSLIS program. The competencies are aligned with the current ALA/AASL Standards for School Library Media Specialist Preparation and describe the tasks and activities expected of the 21st century school library professional.
A new, revised competency checklist has been developed.
Students beginning the MSLIS/SM program during or after the SUMMER 2007 semester should use the new competency checklist. Students beginning the School Media/MSLIS program PRIOR to the SUMMER 2007 semester should continue to use the older version.
1. Baseline: Students should complete the competencies at the very beginning of their program, before taking any courses. The list should be used as basis for selection of fieldwork projects, class projects, and other course-related activities.
2. Fieldwork: Students are required to update and complete the competencies before beginning their second fieldwork experience. Students are to use the list with guidance from their advisor, the fieldwork coordinator and their site supervisors for both fieldwork and their first practicum as a way to identify gaps that need to be filled or for project selection during fieldwork and practicum experiences.
3. Practicum II: Students must update and submit the competencies prior to beginning their second practicum. Students should use the list with guidance from their practicum site advisors as a way to identify gaps that need to be filled or for project selection during their practicum experience.
4. Final: Students are required to update and submit a fourth and final checklist after their final practicum and all coursework has been completed. Students should submit the final competency checklist with their portfolio.
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Students are required to satisfy 100 hours of fieldwork experience in K-12 schools (50 hours in an elementary setting, 50 hours in a secondary setting; some experience in urban, suburban, and rural schools). Students are required to have completed at least on semester of course work before beginning their field work. All fieldwork must be achieved through two 50-hour experiences, each completed during the course of a semester.
It is the student's responsibility to document all fieldwork and submit documentation at the time of certification. This documentation is done by submitting a one page Final Report and by filing out a
Record of Fieldwork form (Word file) for each site where fieldwork is completed. All Record of Fieldwork forms should be submitted when registering for a practicum. They should also be included as part of a students final portfolio.
For detailed information on the Fieldwork Process, please consult the
Fieldwork Guide (pdf file) or contact your School Media Advisor.
Students will complete two 3-credit (150 hours each) school-based practica (one practicum should be completed at the elementary level and one at the secondary, either middle or high school, level) as part of their degree program. The course number for school media practica is IST 972. The school media program uses the apprenticeship model for all practicum experiences. The site supervisor acts as teacher/mentor/role model with the student observing and then doing various tasks with site supervisor feedback. Students should be considered colleagues-in-training and not substitute librarians or library aides.
School media students are advised to enroll in their practicum experiences late in their programs and not until at least 25 credits of coursework and 100 hours of fieldwork experience have been completed.
All school media practica must be completed in K-12 school settings. One practica should be in an urban or high-risk school district. The student and faculty supervisor will determine an appropriate site for each of the student's practica. Some criteria for selection are:
- a fully-functioning library and information literacy program
- regular information skills instruction with students
- technology
- planning and collaboration with teachers
- interaction with administrators and parents
Note: Practicum sites must be approved by the faculty supervisor/instructor for IST 972.
The site supervisor must have an MSLIS with school media certification and should provide a role model for the student.
The student should not choose a practicum site in a school district in which he or she is currently employed, where his or her spouse is employed, or where his or her child is a current student or where he or she own property and pay school taxes because of possible conflicts of interest.
Beginning the Process
Students begin the process by making an appointment with the School of Information Studies Director of Career Services to review all paperwork and deadlines. All completed non-academic paperwork must be returned to the School of Information Studies Office of Career Services.
After meeting with the director of career services, the student must meet with their advisor and the faculty supervisor/IST 972 instructor to discuss site selection (based on results of competency checklist) and practicum requirements. The student should give their advisor and the 972 instructor a copy of his or her completed competency checklist and resum. This will allow the faculty supervisor and advisor to identify areas of strength and weakness in order to better select an appropriate practicum site. The faculty supervisor will make every effort to recommend sites that are within 30 minutes commuting time for the student. Make an appointment to see the faculty practicum supervisor or your advisor; they can advise you on possible practicum sites. As well, talk to fellow students who have been through the process; they may have insights about various sites. Where possible, students should complete one practicum experience in an urban setting.
Note: Students who bypass any step in this process are in danger of having to cancel their practicum arrangement.
For each practicum, the student must submit a:
- weekly journal of all practicum activities
- one-page description and summary of one or more major on-site projects completed during the practicum
- completed Skill Set form
- videotape/CD of a teaching episode
Either the faculty supervisor (if new sites) or student (if former practicum sites) will initiate contact with the potential site supervisor.
The student will arrange to meet with the site supervisor. At this meeting they will determine if they both wish to proceed with the practicum. If affirmative, the student will complete the practicum proposal form and return it to the Office of Career Services.
It is highly recommended that the student arrange to spend five full days a week at a site. If this is not possible, the student should spend a minimum of two full days a week at a site. This allows for continuity and a richer professional experience.
All students participating in school media practica are required to participate in a semester-long WebCT-based seminar for each semester that the student is involved in a practicum. Students completing two practica in one semester only participate for that semester. Students completing two practica over two semesters must participate each semester.
The practicum seminar will include sessions on specific relevant topics and opportunities to discuss general practicum issues with other students and specific practicum problems and questions with the faculty supervisor and director of career services. Once a student enrolls in the practicum experience (IST 972), he or she will be automatically added to the WebCT practicum seminar site.
Some students work full-time for the required 150 hours, while others work a couple days a week or half-days. It depends on their schedule and the needs of the library. By the 30th hour of the practicum, the student and site supervisor are expected to complete the School Media Learning Agreement in accordance with the specifications in the internship handbook and return it to the Office of Career Services. The Skill Set should also be submitted at this time.
If the site supervisor is absent for any reason and a certified (MSLIS) substitute is not on site, the student may not count those hours as part of the practicum. The practicum is considered an academic learning experience; it is imperative that the site supervisor is always available for instruction and professional consultation.
The student is expected to do the tasks which mirror the site supervisors tasks. This may entail some routine tasks (e.g. weeding a vertical file, circulation, etc.) but the majority of the time should be spent on higher level, professional activities. Some appropriate activities include (but are not limited to):
- information literacy/research skills lessons
- in-service teacher training
- technology selection and implementation
- budgeting
- long-range planning
- collaborative instructional planning with teachers
- presentations to school board
- development of a school/library web site
- curriculum mapping
- development of a library newsletter and other public relations materials
Note: Attendance at professional conferences and preparation and lesson planning done at home, while laudatory, may not be included as part of the 150 practicum hours.
Wherever possible, the students should save examples of his/her practicum work for his or her portfolio. Take photos of story times, bulletin boards, and other displays.
During the practicum experience, the student is expected to work with students, teachers, administrators, and parents, where possible.
Each practicum is expected to give the student a broad range of experiences as well as specific experiences in each of the competency areas.
At approximately the mid-point in the practicum, students (both local and distance) completing their practica in Central New York schools must contact the faculty supervisor to arrange a site visit for sometime during the latter half of the practicum experience. For distance students outside of Central New York, the student should contact the faculty practicum supervisor to arrange a phone call with the site supervisor.
Students should communicate with their faculty supervisor regularly during each practicum. This is easily done through the WebCT Practicum Seminar.
Note: From time to time, personality and other types of problems arise during the practicum. Most of these problems can be resolved with help from the faculty supervisor. Students should not wait until near or at the end of the practicum to communicate problems as it may not be possible to correct the situation at that point.
Students hand in completed practicum assignments to the faculty supervisor during the last week of classes of that semester. These assignments include the teaching video, a description and/or a copy of the major practicum project(s), and the daily log. At the end of each practicum, students also turn in the completed student evaluation form (see practicum packet) which allows the student to evaluate their practicum experience. Site supervisors submit the site supervisor evaluation form on practicum student performance and the practicum experience to the Office of Career Services
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All students are required to assemble a portfolio (either electronically or in hard copy) of their credentials during their last semester in the program. The portfolio contains such items as artifacts from course and practicum-related projects (NOT graded papers), student-authored publications, resume, photos, video clips, and other relevant artifacts produced/created by the student. It is highly recommended that students begin to collect artifacts for their portfolios from the very beginning of their program.
The portfolio is intended to provide students with (1) a synthesis of their learning over the course of their academic program and (2) tangible demonstrations of their knowledge and skills that would be relevant for presentation at job interviews. Students are asked to organize their portfolios according to the School Media Competency Checklists four Standards and sub-sections, including:
- Use of Information and Ideas
- Efficient and Ethical Information-Seeking Behavior
- Literacy and Reading
- Access to Information
- Stimulating Learning Environment
- Teaching and Learning
- Knowledge of Learners and Learning
- Effective and Knowledgeable Teacher
- Information Literacy Curriculum
- Collaboration and Leadership
- Connection with the Library Community
- Instructional Partner
- Educational Leader
- Program Administration
- Managing Information Resources: Selecting, Organizing, Using
- Managing Program Resources: Human, Financial, Physical
- Comprehensive and Collaborative Strategic Planning and Assessment
It is recommended that students review the competency standards and related sub-standards for each area to determine which portfolio artifacts are relevant to that area.
Each portfolio must be submitted electronically or in hard copy for review during the last week of classes of the semester in which the student completes his/her program. The portfolio is an exit requirement of the school media program. It will be assessed as pass/fail. If a student does not pass the portfolio, he/she will be required to revise and resubmit. The portfolio is part of the second IST972 grade, so a failing portfolio results in a no grade for the course until it is revised and approved. As a result, additional fieldwork may be required to address gaps in the students competency areas.
The portfolio is graded based on a rubric. Please consult your 972 faculty supervisor or your advisor for questions about the rubric.
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The following program options provide a recommended sequence of courses during your program. These include one suggested sequence for full-time students and three suggested for part-time students (those who have a teaching background, those who lack a teaching background, and those who can or wish to only take one or two courses per semester).