Assignment 1 - Evaluation of a Reference Work

Evaluation of a Reference Work

Reference books are an essential part of a school learning commons. Students, and teachers alike, use reference books to research and learn about a variety of topics. Riedling, in Reference Skills for the School Librarian, describes the role of a reference section as the area, in a learning commons, “to help students to use library resources to obtain relevant and credible information that meets their needs” (Riedling, p. 3, 2019). The reference section contains fact books, dictionaries, yearbooks, biographies, encyclopedias, geographical resources, electronic resources, and potentially other resources. All of these resources are an excellent starting point for learning about a topic. Fact books and encyclopedias can give students the core information on their topic, before they dive deeper in the science, or another section, of the learning commons. Dictionaries and thesauruses help students expand their understanding of words and how to use them, and biographies help us learn about people of the past and present. Without these reference tools students would be missing out on key learning opportunities.

School Learning Commons

For the purpose of this assignment, the reference resources discussed were from School A. School A is an elementary school that no longer has a physical reference section. Even though there is no longer a physical reference section, there are still books that may be usually found in a reference section. There are still dictionaries and thesauruses for the students to use. There are fact books, like Guinness Book of Records, which Riedling labels as “probably the most famous fact book” (p. 39, 2019). There are also computers where students can access School A’s online reference section. In the online reference section, students can use World Book, online magazines, National Geographic Kids, and other reference tools. These resources are accessible for all elementary schools in the district, and are paid for by district accounts, not the school learning common’s budget.

The book, chosen for assessment, was once part of the reference section. It is still labeled with an “R” for reference. It originally came from another school but was donated to School A’s learning commons when it closed. The book, Scholastic Science Dictionary, was published in 2000 and covers a wide range of science related topics. The back of the book says it “is an essential resource that gives kids easy access to more than 2,400 definitions of terms and concepts that will help them decipher the language of science” (Berger, 2000). This resource, and its suggested replacement, will be assessed using the rubric below.

	1	2	3	4
Relevance – “How does the work meet the information needs and interests of students and the curriculum” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019).	Does not meet the information needs or interests of students at the school. Does not meet the curricular needs for elementary grades.	Meets some of the information needs and interests of students at the school. Meets some of the curriculum for elementary grades.	Fully meets the information needs and interests of all ages of students. Fully meets the needs of the curriculum for elementary grades.	Meets more than the student’s informational needs and interests. Meets, and expands on, the curriculum for elementary grades.
Authority – Is the publisher of the print or electronic resource credible” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019).	The publisher of the resource is not credible.	The publisher of the resource is somewhat credible.	The publisher of the resource is credible.	The publisher is extremely credible and has many other useful resources.
Accuracy – “Are there typographical or factual errors in the work” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019).	There are many typographical and/or factual errors in the resource.	There are some typographical and/or factual errors in the resource.	There are no typographical or factual errors in the resource.	There are no typographical or factual errors in the resource, and the resource is regularly updated.
Completeness – “Does the work include all the information needed to meet student interests or curricular needs” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019).	The resource lacks the information needed to meet student interest and curricular needs.	The resource contains some of the information needed to meet student interest and curricular needs.	The resource includes all the information needed to meet student interest and curricular needs.	The resource contains topics beyond the information needed to meet student interest and curricular needs.
Currency – “What is the publication or copyright date listed on the item” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019.	The publication or copyright date is over 10 years old.	The publication or copyright date is 5 to 10 years old.	The publication or copyright date is current and no more than 5 years old.	The publication or copyright date is from this year or updated every year.
Format – “How is the resource arranged and is it useful to the user” (Riedling, p. 43, 2019).	The publication is not accessible to elementary students. The publication has little to no pictures, diagrams, and does not have accessible language.	The publication is somewhat accessible to elementary students. The publication has some pictures, diagrams, and somewhat accessible language.	The publication is accessible to elementary students. The publication has pictures, diagrams, and accessible language.	The publication is accessible to early learners as well as older elementary grades. The publication has pictures, diagrams, suggestions of other resources and accessible language.
Cost – What is the cost? Is it affordable?	The publication is not affordable. It would require extra funding to purchase.	The publication is somewhat affordable. It may take up a good portion of the learning common’s budget.	The publication is affordable and can easily be covered under the learning common’s budget.	The publication is extremely affordable and can easily be repurchased to keep the resource current.

 

Scholastic Science Dictionary

The Scholastic Science Dictionary is a dictionary and a fact book. It contains definitions and facts about a variety of science related topics. The resource has pictures throughout; at least two or more per page. All the pictures are drawn and not real. Some of the pages contain diagrams, where it is appropriate. The entries start with “aa (ah-ah) – a thick bed of labal from a volcano” (Berger, p. 6, 2000) and end with “zygote (zie-ghot) – the fertilized egg cell of a plant or animal” (Berger, p. 218, 2000). There is also an index and a list of resources at the back of the science dictionary.

Relevance:

This resource is a two on the rubric. It contains useful information that will meet the needs of some of the students, as well as aspects of the curriculum, but lacks real-life pictures and diagrams, may contain outdated information due to its age, and would not include new findings from the last five, or even twenty years.

Authority:

This resource is a four on the rubric for authority. Scholastic is a very well-known company, that has resources for many topics, ages, and from a variety of authors. Scholastic is an educational company, that works to staying current with the changes in education.

Accuracy:

Due to the age of the resource, there are no doubt errors, or missing information, in the text. The science field is regularly changing, updating, and discovering new information. There for it is a two on the rubric.

Completeness:

The Scholastic Science Dictionary is a two for completeness. While it covers a wide range of topics, it will be missing new discoveries from the last twenty years. The topics discussed in the text are also broad. The terms "insect" and "larva" can be found, but a student would not be able to find very many specific insects in the text. There are ways to access other resources, at the back of the text, but those resource may no longer be useful, as they are from twenty years ago.

Currency:

This text falls under a one on the rubric, for this section. The copyright date is 2000, so it is twenty years old. Reference resources are outdated after five years. Riedling says “printed resources are often considered to be out of date before they reach the student” (p. 24, 2019).

Format:

This resource meets a two on the rubric. It is visually accessible. There are pictures, diagrams, clear headings, and easy for an elementary school student to look through. The language isn’t accessible to all elementary ages though. Depending on the student, grade two or three and up, would be able to read and gain information from this text. There is definitely room for improvement in the format though. There are no real-life pictures, and there are only pictures for a few of the terms on each page. Many terms do not have a picture or diagram. Elementary students, and even older students, like to see pictures for what they’re learning about. While this is only a starting point for research, it is a lot easier to find the term you need when a picture for it catches your eye. Real world pictures are a lot more powerful than a drawing.

Cost:

In 2000, the cost of the book was $26.99 Canadian. Similar texts, today, cost roughly the same; some less, and some a little more. The text is very affordable and could easily be purchased using the budged provided for an elementary school learning commons. Newer versions could also be purchased each year, or every few years, to keep the reference resource current. For cost, this resource is a four on the rubric.

Overall, the Scholastic Science Dictionary, from 2000, is a two on the rubric. It is extremely outdated, lacks real world images, and is not overly accessible for early primary students. While it may meet some of the curriculum, it only offers small pieces of information on each topic. It is very much a dictionary for science terms, and does not cover all science related topics that a student may be interested in. The text needs a current, richer, and more engaging replacement.

Replacement

There are many resources that could easily replace the Scholastic Science Dictionary. Scholastic currently has many science related books in its collection. There are books on artic animals, birds, bugs, trees, snow and ice, rocks and minerals, as well as other topics. All of the books could be found in the reference text section of the Scholastic website. There are also many encyclopedias and dictionaries by other publishers, such as The Children’s Encyclopedia of Science, DK Children’s Encyclopedia, and The Smithsonian – The New Children’s Encyclopedia.

Since there is no longer a reference section at School A, and there are already many science books in the collection, it may be better to replace the Scholastic Science Dictionary with a virtual reference resource. Early primary grades benefit from having reference sources with videos, and texts that can read to them about a topic. Older grades need resources that are engaging, in depth, and can link them to other sources. The suggested replacement for the Scholastic Science Dictionary is TrueFlix, created by Scholastic.

TrueFlix

TrueFlix is an online site that allows students to learn about different science and social studies related topics, and it offers many resources to go along with each subject. Scholastic says “TrueFlix helps students improve literacy skills, build content-area knowledge, and cultivate the critical skills necessary for academic success and college and career readiness” (Scholastic). There are a wide range of topics covered, from plants, to biographies, to health, and it is an engaging, and informative, online platform.

Relevance:

True Flix covers many topics, which could be applicable to a variety of ages and interests. Each theme has four to seven books. It does not only focus on science topics, but also looks at social studies related themes. While the program is designed for grades three to five, younger students could easy use it since it has videos and reads the books aloud. Older students could also find useful information and use the “explore the web” (Scholastic) feature. Since it has many themes and topics, it could easily meet the interests of many different students. It is a four on the rubric.

Authority:

TrueFlix is a Scholastic program, that is based on the True Books. They are award winning books, and Scholastic is a well known, reputable, education company. It is a four on the rubric.

Accuracy:

As it is an online resource, it is likely updated regularly. As new True books are published, they are hopefully added to the website. The information page for TrueFlix was updated this year. At this time, TrueFlix, is a two or three on the rubric, as it is unclear how often it is updated.

Completeness:

TrueFlix is connected to the curriculum in Canada, though many of the Social Studies topics are related to United States content. It gives students detailed information about many topics. It also checks their understanding, offers project ideas, and connects them to vetted resources. Based on the list of themes, with five plus topics under each, it covers much of the British Columbia curriculum for science. For completeness TrueFlix is a three on the rubric. It covers many subjects, but still has a lot of USA content, which isn’t as useful in a Canadian school. It's possible, TrueFlix from Scholastic Canada may have more Canadian content. The themes are not listed on the Canadian website.

Currency:

TrueFlix has been around since at least 2009, but the information page is current. The copyright date is 2020, so ideally the website is still being updated with new content. Since the exact copyright date is unknown, TrueFlix rates as a two on the rubric.

Format:

The format of the page is very accessible and engaging for students. Students can easily access the videos and books. While looking at a certain book, they can find more detailed information, other resources, and activities. While reading the book they can easily find definitions for highlighted words and how to pronounce difficult words. It is colourful, has real-life images, and is accessible to all elementary aged students. It is rated a four on the rubric.

Cost:

The cost of TrueFlix is $2 per student for an annual membership. For a single classroom this could be anywhere from $36 to $60; depending on class size. For a school the size of School A, this would roughly be $720 for an annual membership. Pricing may change if a district is buying memberships for multiple schools, as the cost will change for number of buildings istead of number of students. There is also discount pricing available for multiple purchases. While the cost is not cheap, and could not be easily covered by the schools learning common’s budget, there are other ways to get the resource. It may be that only certain classes want access to it, so the overall cost may be less. With the support of the classrooms, and the admin in the school, it could potentially be covered by the resource budget. There is also the option of promoting it to the district and seeing if they would be willing to license it to all schools, like the other online reference websites. With the cost being what it is, based on the rubric, it would be a two.

Conclusion

While a little more research, and inquiring, needs to take place to see if TrueFlix is the right fit for School A, it is definitely an excellent replacement for the Scholastic Science Dictionary. It fits better in the age of online learning. Riedling says "the interent has become the most important reference tool in the digital age, providing many of the electronic information sources required for reference services" (p. 99, 2019). With School A not having a physical reference section anymore, this new reference tool fits well into the online reference section. It is very accessible to elementary students and could even be used by kindergarten students since it can read to them and show them videos about science and social studies related topics. It is engaging, informative, and has many features that improve students' understanding of a topic and allows them to learn more about a topic. The only draw back is the annual cost to have TrueFlix. There are ways of getting that cost covered though.

If School A had access to TrueFlix, it would be an excellent tool for the learning commons and for individual classrooms. It can easily be accessed by one of the many Chromebooks at the school and is great for researching and inquiry projects. It’s accessible for K-7 and could also be used to support literacy, with the way the site is formatted. TrueFlix is an extremely useful resource for any elementary school.

Ms. Armstrong

References

Berger, M. (2000). Scholastic science dictionary. New York, NY: Scholastic Reference.

DK childrens encyclopedia: The book that explains everything. (2019). Melbourne, VIC: Dorling Kindersley.

Guinness Word Records. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

National Geographic Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Parrish, M., Gerhard, K., & Douglass, M. (2019). The new childrens encyclopedia. NY, NY: DK Publish

Province of British Columbia. (2020). Building Student Success - BC's New Curriculum. Retrieved October 10, 2020, from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC CLIO, LLC.

Scholastic. (2020). TrueFlix. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.scholastic.com/digital/trueflix.htm

Scholastic Canada. (n.d.). Scholastic Canada: Canada Close Up. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from http://www.scholastic.ca/books/series/canadacloseup/

Scholastic Canada. (n.d.). TrueFlix. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://education.scholastic.ca/productlist/TRUEFLIX_3-5

Sparrow, G. (2019). Childrens encyclopedia of science. London: Arcturus Publishing Limited.

World Book. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.worldbook.com/