Thomson Gale and Library Media Connection Announce Three Recipients of The First Annual TEAMS Award

Thomson Gale, part of The Thomson Corporation and Library Media Connection magazine have announced the three winners of the first annual TEAMS award — Teachers and Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement.

The winners are E.B. Williams Stoner Hill Elementary Laboratory School in Shreveport, Louisiana; Rolla Junior High School in Rolla, Missouri; and Beachwood High School in Beachwood, Ohio.

Here are details of the winning collaborations:

E.B. Williams Stoner Hill Elementary Laboratory School in Shreveport, Louisiana used its library media resources to spark fifth graders’ interest in American history. The program, which resulted in a quiz-show type format pitting the students against a local American historian, aroused excitement for the students and stimulated learning. The local news media was also on hand to witness a student stump a Civil War aficionado, making headlines nationwide.
Rolla Junior High School in Rolla, Missouri developed a collaborative research paper assignment that is combined with competition in the National History Day program. The instructional materials for the program were developed by the educators at Rolla Junior High School. Since this competition’s inception, teachers have seen an overall improvement in students’ research and writing assignments. View Presentation [ppt, 2.9 MB]
Beachwood High School in Beachwood, Ohio developed the Biography Project — an intergenerational program that creates an opportunity for ninth grade students to connect with another generation through structured interviews. This engages the students with their subjects through nonfiction reading; essay, letter and report writing; interviewing; oral presentation; research using print and electronic formations. The project resulted in students receiving responses to their letters from authors of biographies, encouraging them to research, read and write.

 

The TEAMS Award was created to recognize the critical collaboration between teachers and media specialists in promoting learning and increasing student achievement. A panel of education industry professionals and Thomson Gale staff evaluated the nominations based upon:

• Demonstrated collaboration between media specialists and teachers during the 2004/05 school year
• Effective techniques that positively impact student learning and achievement
• Support received from school leadership
• Ability for others to replicate this best practice

The judges were awestruck by the overwhelming response of entries as well as by the passion and energy that jumped off the pages of the submissions.

“We had an astounding 132 submissions. We can see that there is collaboration going on at all levels. Whether small projects or larger-scale programs, the amount of effort in terms of buy-in, support, implementation and evaluation was amazing,” said Marlene Woo-Lun, TEAMS Award judge and president and publisher of the Library Media Connection.

The award, which is presented in cooperation with the Library Media Connection, is comprised of $2,500 (U.S.) cash; Thomson Gale products (approximate value $500 U.S.); a one-year subscription to Library Media Connection; and an Educator’s Professional Bookshelf (approximate value $500 U.S.) from Linworth Publishing. In addition, the winners will be featured in an article in Library Media Connection in the 2005/06 school year.

Awards were presented at a special reception held in conjunction with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) national conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The following schools received honorable mentions in the TEAMS Competition:

• S. Bissell Elementary School in Twinsburg, Ohio. This team was recognized for its efforts to close the gender reading gap at their school. Reading tests at Bissell showed that male students had tested lower than female students. This team researched information on boys and reading, then developed a literacy program to meet their needs.

• Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda, Maryland established studies with a heavy concentration in eco-systems. Through this program, fourth and fifth grade students became motivated to study the estuary of Chesapeake Bay. They continue to learn by going on field trips, listening to guest speakers, taking stream visits, fishing with watermen, and by raising marine life and submerged aquatic vegetation.

• H. Russell Swift Elementary School in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. The “Lunch Buddies” program for at-risk second grade readers is enabling students to develop skills in reading comprehension, writing, listening and public speaking while having lunch with their teachers. The program has resulted in overall higher test scores.

• Perry Meridian Middle School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Its “Sustained Silent Reading with Interventions” (SSR) project has successfully encouraged both reading comprehension and higher-level thinking for students.

• Clarksville Middle School in Clarksville, Maryland. This three-person team developed a research unit using the Big6 Process™, that culminates with 6 th graders creating a research project, which has also shown to improve literacy skills.

• Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, Pennsylvania is recognizedfor its Power Library Team (PLT). The 8-person team not only helps students to search the databases at the school’s library, but makes it an enjoyable learning experience for them, as well.

• West Aurora High School in Aurora, Illinois developed a collaborative effort called The Reality Store Project between the school’s librarians and the English department. It simulates life after graduation. The exercises prepare students for the realities they will face as adults.

• Mission High School in San Francisco, California. Funded through a grant, this team implemented a digital portfolio in its media library, which motivates and challenges students in media literacy.

• The State College Area School District in State College, Pennsylvania created Rockey’s Reader,an 82-page book about Pennsylvania’s history, geography and geology.This book was a key piece of a unit that the members of this team and its sub-teams collaborated on since 2003 to produce the first integrated instructional unit combining the science, language arts and social studies curriculums for third and fourth grade students.

For more information about the Thomson Gale TEAMS Award, please go to www.galeschools.com/TEAMS.

About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Gale

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues from continuing operations of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Thomson Gale™ (www.gale.com) serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats – books, Web-based solutions and microfilm.