General Overview
As the population of the United
States becomes increasingly diverse, it is
essential that library and information science professionals become
knowledgeable about diverse types of literature for children and young
adults. In this course, you will review
a broad variety of literature for diverse populations, specifically literature
for Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. However, other groups will be included in the
literature you read. The main purpose
of this course is to provide you with a rich experience in reading children's and
young adult literature. You will examine
how multicultural literature is used to develop a greater understanding of
diverse cultures particularly with groups who have had little or no experience
with diverse populations. You will also
examine the use of multicultural literature to develop literacy for English
language learners (ELLs). Through
service learning (discussed below) you will have an opportunity for real life
experiences with developing multicultural collections for use with children and
young adults.
Through your reading of children’s and young adult literature, you will be
introduced to notable authors, poets, and illustrators who specialize in
multicultural and multiethnic literature.
As you learn about these authors and illustrators and you will become
familiar with their works and their contributions to the field of children’s
and young adult literature. You will read approximately 100 multicultural books
for children and 15 chapter books for young adults. Your selection of
literature for this requirement will come from the reading lists provided in class, list of prize winning literature, and
website identified in class. Newer
books that are not listed in any of these sources should be included in your
selection. Current literature should
make up the bulk of the literature selected for this assignment. Current literature is defined as literature
written within the last five year. A few
older books you find to be exceptional may also be included.
You will be involved in online discussions about the literature you are
reading and each week you will discuss social issues raised in the required
texts for the course. Discussions will take place on D2L in small groups. D2L is the course management tool (www.d2l.arizona.edu)
provided by The University of Arizona.
Student enrolled in this course may access the course homepage on
D2L. Technical support and instructions
on the use of D2L is available for those new to this course management tool.
Service learning is a requirement of this course (25 hrs at the site and 5
hrs. of writing up logs and fieldnotes).
Logs are a record of your time spent and who you were with. Fieldnotes are detailed descriptions of what
you learned and what you observed during your service. Service learning is a teaching and learning
strategy used to give you real life experiences in the field. A complete description of service learning is
available on the National Clearinghouse for Service Learning at: http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/index.php
Service learning will take place at school or public library sites. The instructor can provide you with a local
list of sites in Tucson but for those out of Tucson, you will have to
find your own service learning site. The
only requirement is that you have a willing librarian to work with you. Further information about service learning
will be provided on the D2L website for the course and at the first meeting in
February. Service learning will begin
after the first face-to-face meeting in February to ensure that everyone
understands what service learning is and is not (It is not a volunteer job
where you empty trash cans and shelf books.).
Weekly discussions, a service learning log, and self-reflections will be
required during the course in addition to a record of the books read (100
children’s literature and 15 young adult chapter books= 115 books total of
books in different genres, for different age groups, about different
topics. You will want to have a
variety. In other words, you don’t want
to have 50 picture books).
A 10 page I-Search paper will also be required. This paper will be submitted in two
parts. The first part of the paper will
include the process you engaged in to develop your topic. The second part of the paper will be the formal paper on your findings. For those who
have never submitted an I-Search paper, a very complete discussion of I-Search
will be provided on the first weekend face-to-face meeting in February, and information about I-Search papers will be posted on D2L.
How this course will
be taught:
This is a virtual course with three face-to-face meetings in
Tucson. The online portion of the course requires
weekly online discussions of the readings with a cohort of approximately 5 students assigned
by the professor. Postings should
reflect thoughtful comments about the readings (chapters in the texts, and reflections
on the books you’re reading). Your
discussion of the chapter readings in the assigned text may include a well
articulated opposing viewpoint and support for your position. Your discussion of the books you are reading
should include a short description of the book (fiction, non-fiction, genre,
title, author/illustrator, and what is significant about what the book. It should also include a reflection (your
personal thoughts) about the book.
Self-reflections are used in this course to help you
formulate your thinking and to stimulate the thinking of others. These self-reflections will be posted to your
cohort of 5. Approximately once a month
your cohort will change. At that time,
discussions from previous cohorts will be open to the class to read. Your self-reflection about the books you read
(children and young adult) will be guided by the instructor in weekly homework
assignments. Student are required to
post their own thoughts and to respond to the thoughts of others. Responding
is as important as posting.
You will also be able to post comments and questions to an
open discussion space where everyone is free to post. There are few restrictions to the open
discussion except that comments should relate to the course.
Specific assignments will be given for the face-to-face
class. At least one assignment will be a
group assignment given to you on the first day of our meeting. You will also be asked to prepare an
individual assignment for face-to-face meeting. Homework and questions will be posted on the schedule each week for discussion also.
1. Read a wide variety of children's books including traditional and
multicultural literature.
2. Become knowledgeable about genres of children's and young adult literature.
3. Become familiar with a notable and emerging authors/illustrators/poets.
4. Recognize awards presented to authors/illustrators/poets for children's and
young adult literature.
5. Develop an ability to critically analyze children and young adult literature
from diverse perspectives.
6. Develop criteria for selecting and evaluation of children's and young adult
literature for public and school libraries.
7. Read professional literature concerning children and young adult materials
and issues surrounding children's and YA literature.
8. Be able to find and discuss professional organizations, groups, and
associations interested in children's and young adult literature and awards
presented by these groups.
9. Develop an understanding of how to develop literacy through children's and
young adult literature in the school and public library.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will:
1. Demonstrate the ability to recognize various genres of children's and young
adult literature.
2. Recognize and develop an appreciation of notable authors, illustrators,
poets, particularly those who contribute to bilingual, multilingual, and
multicultural children's and young adult literature.
3. Demonstrate the ability to select appropriate children's literature for
various age groups and for bilingual, multilingual, multicultural, and
multiethnic populations for public library and school library collections.
4. Be able to critically evaluate collections of children’s and young adult
literature for a multicultural society for school and public libraries.
5. Recognize a variety of awards presented for notable children and young adult
literature, authors, illustrators and poets, particularly those who
contribute to bilingual, multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic
collections.
6. Understand the role of the school and public librarian in the use
of children's and young adult literature in the curriculum development.
Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adult by
Mingshui Cai (2002).
Multicultural and Ethnic Children's Literature in the United States by Donna L. Gilton
(2007).
Additional readings will be assigned to complement these texts. Readings will be posted to D2L or will be available on E-Reserves two weeks before the reading is to be completed. You will notice that this appears on the schedule as “Additional reading may be announced.”
In addition, you will be required to read children and young adult literature
(100 children’s literature and 15 young adult chapter books= 115 books total of books in different genres, for different age groups, about different topics. You will want to have a variety. In other words, you don’t want to have 50 picture books).
The course requirements are:
- service learning (25 hrs. on site 5 hrs. log and reflection)
- participation (D2L online discussions and groupwork)
- log/self-reflections
- reading record
- I-Search
Each of these is described in greater detail below. Further information will also be provided on the D2L course homepage and at the February 2-3 meeting.
- service learning (25 hrs. on site 5 hrs. log and reflection)
You will select a school or public library to complete your service learning. Service learning is fully explained at the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/service-learning_is/index.php and this website should be shared with the librarian at the site you select. Questions about service learning will be answered at the first face-to-face class at February 2-3 or by contacting the professor at overall@u.arizona.edu.
- *log/self-reflections
A log of your service learning is required. The log should be like a researcher’s journal. Write down what you observed and comment on your impressions of how your service learning relates to the course content. Include in your journal time and date, who you worked with, what you did, literature you used or recommended, literature you learned about, the librarian, the library, the school or public library, and issues that come to life from being at the site. Remember, your service learning is not a volunteer position so you should not be shelving books or sweeping floors. The reciprocal relationship between you and the librarian should be an opportunity for you to share with the librarian at your service learning site what you are learning in the course, and for you to learn what librarians do in the field. A question I would like you to consider throughout your service learning is “To what extent does your librarian demonstrate cultural awareness?”
Weekly service learning journals will be posted to D2L to the Dropbox. This will be discussed further at the first meeting in February.
- *participation (D2L online discussions and groupwork)
Weekly discussions will take place on D2L. These discussions will take place among a cohort of class members. The cohort will change from time to time (approximately once a month) to give you a chance to meet new members of the class. Discussion questions for each week will be posted on D2L. The first set of questions are posted on the schedule below. The questions relate to the readings for the week. Your discussion of these questions should be a thorough as possible. Please do not post just to get a check mark that you posted. The comments should be substantive (evaluative, analytical) and they should relate to what others in your cohort are saying. Please do not ignore members of your cohort who ask questions or make comments that require a response. Also, please do not reiterate what you’ve read without making a substantive comment about it.
Groupwork will be assigned on D2L. You will discuss these assignments online and may be asked to present a summary of your discussion at the face-to-face meetings. Since there are only three face-to-face meetings, absences will significantly count against the points assigned for participation.
The instructor will also post a weekly area of literature for you to focus on. This will recommend a particular age group and genre. This will appear in the bar on the right of the discussion questions.
- *reading record
The reading record for this course will include the title of the book, author, date of publication, and a statement about what the book. The statement can be about and why you selected the book, an issue addressed in the book, a quote from the book and a brief explanation. The statements must be original reflecting your thinking. It is best to jot a note down about the book as soon as you read it. A bibliography created by REFORMA for Latino young adult literature will be made available on D2L as a sample.
- *I-Search
An I-Search paper will be required. An I-Search is a type of research paper, informs the reader about your thinking as you develop a topic. The I-Search is credited to Ken MacRorie “The I-Search Paper” and I will have his book available for you to look at on Feb. 2-3. Topics for the I-Search will be discussed at the first meeting in February. This paper will be submitted in two parts. The first part will provide a thorough description of the process you undertook to develop your topic. This part will be due at the end of March. The actual paper will be due on May 1, 2008. This paper is generally an informal paper but I would like you to use APA for the references and citations. Further information will be provided at the first class in February.
Academic Code of Integrity
Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.Assignment Policies
<Put your own material for the stuff in red>
- How to submit your assignments: Assignments will be posted to D2L Dropbox and/or Discussions.
- Comments
will be provided in the feedback section. Completion of work according to
the criteria established in the grading section (see below) will result in
full points.
- Assignment due dates: Assignment dates are posted to the course schedule. The schedule is attached to the D2L homepage and announcements of due dates will be made on D2L.
- Writing style: Students will submit an I-Search. APA format will be required for this paper.
- Late Policy: Assignments are due on the date indicated. If an extension of time is required, you must contact the professor. There is some flexibility in meeting deadlines. However, consistent tardiness may result in a reduced grade.
Incompletes
The current Catalog readsThe grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a term, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded in place of a failing grade or when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case, a grade other than I must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incomplete grade before the end of the term ...
If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.
|
90-100 pts. |
A |
|
80-89 pts. |
B |
|
70- 79 pts. |
C |
|
Below 70 |
F |
General grading criteria: Grading criteria for all written work including online discussions:
- clear articulation of perspective
- concise and organized discussion
- appropriate appeal to evidence
- clear and concise exposition of the points you are making
- consideration of intellectual context and relevant literature
Grammar, style, and spelling are considered important.
The website will be evaluated on timeliness, professionalism and completeness.
Service learning will be evaluated on completion of hours and log. The following scales will be used
Participation (individual and group)-15 pts.
Service Learning- 20 pts.
Reading Record- 15 pts.
Self-Reflection Journal (service learning)- 15 pts.
Online Discussions-20 pts.
I-Search -15 pts.
Total =100 pts.
Patricia Montiel Overall, Ph.D.
621-3565
Please feel free to contact me at any time on D2L email also.
