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College of Education,

Sharon Porter

Teacher-Librarian Cognate

Prepared by Sharon Porter, Adjunct Instructor/Electronic Research Center Specialist (Pierce Library)

The teacher-librarian cognate in the MS in Education consists of 18 graduate semester hours. This course of study is a preparation path for licensing as a school library media specialist in Oregon and states with reciprocity. All the courses are 3-credits and are:

The activities, readings, and discussions are designed to be practical, based in best practices in school librarianship, and designed to prepare you for certification in the state of Oregon (and probably every other state.) Many of the projects will be based in real-life situations in local schools so that the student can do work that is directly related to everyday life as a teacher-librarian.  We are in the process right now of aligning national standards to the content of the courses to make sure that all the AASL standards (American Association of School Librarians) are met. We are also aligning the curriculum to the state standards in school media.

The two professors, Sally Mielke and Sharon Porter, have many years of experience as school librarians. They have taught classes online and have Master’s in Library Science degrees so are specially-prepared for issues in this field of librarianship. Sharon's webpage is here: http://www.eou.edu/~sporter/ listing her curriculum vitae. Sally's is available by request by emailing her at smielke@eou.edu. You will feel the dedication and energy behind our teaching, and we hope to inspire you in attaining knowledge in this vital and ever-changing role in the schools.

The first course is coming up this summer, 2008: School Library Administration. We felt it was a good survey course to start the series. It will introduce skills and tools that will be mastered in-depth in following courses. Some of the topics to be covered are: a brief history of teacher-librarianship, functions of the school library, developing a school library program, budgeting, staffing (with job descriptions of various positions), facility planning and utilization, selecting print and non-print media, technology use, acquisitions and organization, access services (circulation and interlibrary loan, for examples), evaluation of the school library, and professional associations and networking with other professional agencies and institutions.

Admission requirements, in addition to the requirements needed to the enter the MS in Education program, are Children’s Literature (LIB 388) or Young Adult Literature (READ 594) as a pre-requisite for this cognate. Equivalent courses from other institutions must be approved. Both courses are highly recommended.

Completion of an Oregon TSPC commission-approved library media academic program, to include completion of a practicum experience and passage of the commission-approved subject-matter examination is required in order to add the Library Media Endorsement to any Initial or Continuing Teaching License. (OAR 584-060-0071)

There is also a Reading and Conference companion credit arrangement to accomodate students whose goal is to master the content of a particular course and/or do not hold a Bachelor's degree.

Course Descriptions

The course descriptions are as follows:

ED 570 School Library Administration    3 credits

This course introduces the functions and organization of the school library media program. It will include services to the learning community, personnel, facilities, budgeting, collection management, and evaluation.

ED 578 Instructional Methods for the Teacher-Librarian     3 credits

This course provides a foundation for the teacher-librarian to provide quality, student-centered information literacy instruction. State and national standards will be addressed as students develop literature appreciation experiences, curriculum and skill lessons, and collaborative learning units with the classroom teacher.

ED 577 Collection Management in the School Library      3 credits

This course introduces the issues and practices of collection development in the dynamic school library. The focus will be on selection, acquisition, and maintenance of materials in all forms that support the curriculum and user needs of the learning community. Additional topics include collection review, evaluation, preservation, and intellectual freedom.

ED 573 Reference and Information Services in the School Library    3 credits

This course focuses on the basic reference sources and information services, analysis of the information needs of the learning community, and the ethics of reference service. It will prepare the teacher-librarian to evaluate and utilize online search tools and search strategies, understand database structure and access, and select, manage, and evaluate reference sources to support the K-12 curriculum.

ED 575 Information Technology Tools             3 credits

This course will address technological applications and current issues in the K-12 classroom including the role of the teacher-librarian in the training, uses, and development of technology in the school setting. Topics will include video streaming, website creation, social networking, Web 2.0 user services, presentation design, K-12 classroom and productivity software.

ED 579 Practicum           3 credits    

Pre-requisite for this course is Instructional Methods for the Teacher –Librarian (3 credits) (EDU 510) and 9 other credits from the cognate area courses.

To be arranged. This guided practical field experience under the supervision of a currently practicing teacher-librarian will require visual documentation of activities in integral areas of K-12 school librarianship. While placement occurs in one level (elementary or secondary) plans and projects will reflect experiences in both levels of school librarianship.

Course Rotation Schedule

The courses will be offered in a rotation and the tentative schedule is:

The extended schedule into 2010 is here.

Tuition Costs

Please follow this link http://www.eou.edu/staccts/tuition2.html#dde to locate the Distance Education table for tuition and fees for this cognate.

Praxis Test

The Praxis test is NOT required to complete the teacher-librarian cognate for the Master of Science degree. However, the Praxis test is necessary for licensing. Here is a link to the Praxis website (www.ets.org/praxis). The Oregon test number/title is 0310 - Library Media Specialist. Test preparation information can be found at : www.ets.org/Media/Tests/PRAXIS/pdf/0310.pdf.

Further Information

The courses are being developed like mad. Textbooks are being reviewed and ordered. Blackboard classes written, syllabi developed. Check here often for further developments! Please do not hesitate to ask for more information: Sharon Porter 541.962.3780 or sporter@eou.edu, and Sally Mielke 541.962.3865 or smielke@eou.edu