Jamie Winchell

GSLIS ePortfolio Reflective Essay

March 16, 2015

Owning our story and loving ourselves through the process is

that bravest thing we will ever do.
-

Bren

Brown
The hard work of synthesis is something I have always pursued and avoided, avoided and pursued. Though
at 37 I feel young, my life has evolved in sometimes tumultuous but ultimately wonderful ways: I have lost,
gained, and created cherished family members; I have poured my heart and soul into my work at beloved
schools and institutions; and juggling and understanding my current responsibilities and roles--mother,
partner, teacher, student, self--is recursive and endless. I have found this culminating project of my
Graduate School of Library and Information Science studies at Dominican to be both intriguing and
off-putting: contextualize all of my work? Create a thoughtful presentation to my education? Articulate how
my philosophy of librarianship has evolved? Clarify my professional goals? These are worthy and exciting
questions, but because I have been caught up in living them, I havent been able to gain the clarity I expect
myself to already have.
It is true that my mind overworks, and it is equally true that this ePortfolio is precisely the vehicle
that pushes Dominican GSLIS students to synthesize their learning experiences and find this clarity. Once I
allowed myself to give into the process, I have found the experience of crafting this culminating project to
be extremely rewarding. By matching artifacts from my coursework to GSLIS student learning goals and
outcomes, I have grappled with both the minutiae of my time at Dominican as well as the themes that
comprise my professional identity. I have come around to gratitude, and with that I will attempt to reflect
on the GSLIS student competencies I have gained through my studies at Dominican.
One thread that runs through all of my ePortfolio artifacts is that of authenticity and practicality, a
theme that permeates each of the five GSLIS student competencies. I am attracted to theory and love
thinking broadly about new concepts, but I need to attach them to real-life situations in order for them to
stick with me and integrate. For almost every assignment I undertook and certainly for most of the artifacts
represented in my ePortfolio, I drew from problems I was experiencing in my own current work or volunteer

Jamie Winchell
GSLIS ePortfolio Reflective Essay
March 16, 2015
experience. For example: Portrait of a Leader project (Goal 1, first artifact), issue paper on the achievement
gap and school librarians (Goal 1, second artifact), Tweets from professional conferences and activities (Goal
1, third artifact), PKP Supply Drive (Goal 2, second artifact), American Dream book talks (Goal 2, third
artifact), Teen Tech Gurus observation (Goal 3, third artifact), Longfellow visitation and action plan (Goal 4,
third artifact). All of these assignments came from my desire to wed what I was learning in class with
problems or goals I had in my roles at the Oak Park Public Library, my sons preschool program, or in my
teaching at Oak Park and River Forest High School. Both my learning in my courses and the application of
these ideas in my work were stronger because I was marrying theory to practice, was crafting my
professional identity as a teacher librarian, and was wrapping my mind around information needs and how
to communicate and advocate for them.
A similar thread that runs through the artifacts showcased in my ePortfolio (and is also true of
assignments not shown here) is one of enhancing my understanding of library resources and broadening my
scope of instructional capability. Because of my background as a high school English teacher, library
instruction that centers around reading and writing feels natural to me. Other than ages-ago volunteer
experience, I have not had recent professional contact with grades K-8, or math, science, history, and art
subject areas. In many of my assignments, I pushed myself to try these on: Controlled language in AP
Psychology research unit (Goal 2, first artifact), American Dream book talks (Goal 2, second artifact),
Preamble close reading lesson plan (Goal 3, first artifact), Human Geography resources (Goal 3, second
artifact ), Gale Science in Context resources (Goal 4, second artifact ), James Howe author presentation
(Goal 5, first artifact). I have tried to use my time at Dominican to become the ultimate generalist: I want to
be ready to teach and collaborate with teachers of any grade level and any subject. These assignments and
this ePortfolio have allowed me to integrate the core values of LIS into my professional identity, to gain a
broader understanding of information needs, and to learn how to communicate and advocate for them.
The technology skills I have gained throughout my time at Dominican range wide and deep. I had
always considered myself a tech-savvy English teacher, but I was home with my children for 4 years before
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Jamie Winchell
GSLIS ePortfolio Reflective Essay
March 16, 2015
starting in the GSLIS. The artifacts from my early semesters reflect my reliance on tools I was familiar with
(Powerpoint, Word) and my attempts to try on a few newer technologies (Slideshare). In the ensuing
semesters and especially in my current work as an Instructional Technology Coordinator, I have become
proficient in Google Drive, Prezi, social media, many Web 2.0 tools, website creation, and a host of other
applications. Because I currently support teachers with the integration of instructional technology, my
biggest takeaway and message is that of the importance of a growth mindset: student learning outcomes
are still the goal, and technology is a tool that can help students achieve them in previously unforeseen
ways. I have learned that, in theory, librarians are at the cutting edge of emerging technologies and are
leaders in digital literacy and the shifting information landscape. In practice, however, I have observed many
teacher librarians holding back on technology and/or not realizing the enormous potential of digital tools for
collaboration, inquiry- and project-based learning. It is not easy to embrace the changing and complex
nature of information and its relevance to society because we can no longer be
the
expert on technological
tools that are emerging daily. I will always lean into the discomfort of this professional goal.
Another thread elicited by my ePortfolio is my very focused efforts to merge my professional
identity as a high school English teacher with the core values of librarianship: my research on how librarians
can help mend the achievement gap (Goal 1, second artifact ), Information Literacy, Motivation &
Instructional Implications for School Librarians (Goal 4, first artifact ), and the Meeting of the Minds panel
discussion (Goal 5, third artifact). The latter is perhaps my most significant learning experience in GSLIS
because it helped me name my doubts about librarianship, gave me insight into the kind of collaborative,
dynamic work I could do as a librarian, and pushed me to extend my professional learning network in ways
that are still paying dividends.
In my first semester at Dominican, I experienced a professional crisis of faith and strongly considered
switching gears and getting an endorsement to teach Reading, something I touched upon in my reflection
about the Meeting of the Minds panel discussion. Even after listening to Erin Wyatt and her colleagues
showcase their work and finding new faith in librarianship, I was drawn back to English teaching and was
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Jamie Winchell
GSLIS ePortfolio Reflective Essay
March 16, 2015
fortunate to teach English again for 6 months. That experience revitalized my love of classroom teaching
and explicit reading and writing instruction. But now instead of feeling like I need to pursue one or the
other--English or librarianship--I realize that these professional directions are not incompatible but, rather,
wonderfully inform the other. I have a broad base of knowledge when it comes to media and information
literacy, and so I can approach reading and writing instruction with all the more vigor. I have a wide scope of
knowledge about childrens and young adult literature--titles that exists and resources for finding them,
understanding of why young people read and how to promote a love of reading and life-long learning--and
so I can approach selection of resources and readers advisory in and out of the classroom with all the more
vitality.
What has grown stronger through GSLIS is that my orientation as a Librarian and an English teacher
places active, meaningful student learning front and center. I did that for myself in every GSLIS course and in
every assignment; many times, my own assignments created learning opportunities for my classmates, as
well. It was, is, and always will be my first priority in any role I take on. No matter the information learning
environment and because I will always be synthesizing theory and practice, I will always advocate and do my
part for equity and learning that transforms. During my three years in Dominicans Graduate School of
Library and Information Science, I have gone from at-home parent to library circulation assistant to English
teacher to Instructional Technology Coordinator. My coursework has kept me anchored as a pre-service
librarian, has helped me synthesize my professional identity, and has pushed me to integrate the many
phases and aspects of my life and career. This ePortfolio shows that I am a capable, creative, reflective
library professional with an ear for information needs and an eye for big picture of relevance.