CAS in School Media: Curriculum

Curriculum Requirements
The Certificate of Advanced Study in School Media requires the completion of 21 total credits.

I. Certificate Core: 15 credits

The following required courses provide a foundation in literature and in media services provision for children/young adults. Skills and knowledge used in instructional design, collaboration, development, delivery and evaluation, information technologies in education, information literacy, motivation, and storytelling are also addressed. (Note: If a student has already completed any of the following courses with at least a grade of B, the course will be waived.)
 
  • IST 504 Motivation and Information Literacy
  • IST 611 Information Technologies in Educational Organizations
  • IST 612 Youth Services in Libraries and Information Centers
  • IST 661 Information Management in Schools
  • IST 668 Literacy Through School Libraries

II. Fieldwork: 100 hours

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). 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 filing out a Record of Fieldwork (Word file) form 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) or contact your School Media Advisor.


 

III. Practicum: 6 credits

 

Students must take two three-credit (150 hours each), 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.

See the School Media website for more detailed information about the practica: http://ischool.syr.edu/academics/graduate/mls/mediaprogram/curriculum.aspx.
 

See the Checklist of Practica Steps (PDF) for quick reference to the practica steps.


Additional Requirements

Competency Checklist

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.
 
Students using the NEW Competency Checklist (Word file) are to submit it FOUR times during their MSLIS program as noted below.
 
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 the 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 supervisors 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.
 
Students using the OLD Competency Checklist (Word file) are to submit it FIVE times during their MSLIS program as noted on the document itself. A Competency Checklist Appendix (Word file) has been created to guide students in completing the OLD version of the checklist.
 

Portfolios

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. Students should also consult the national information literacy standards for school library media specialists [http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html; see Information Power (1998), Chapter 2 for detailed indicators for each standard] so that at least one portfolio artifact addresses each of these nine information literacy standards.
 
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. As a result, additional fieldwork may be required to address gaps in the students competency areas.
 
 

 
 
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