Mary Jo Thicksten
Portfolio
Objective
Education
MLS in Information Studies, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK. 2010
BS in Communication, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. 2006
Major: Telecommunication and Film, Minor: Political Science
Certifications
PreK-12 Library Media, Arkansas Department of Education
7-12 Language Arts, Arkansas Department of Education
Positions Held
Librarian, Bentonville High School, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2011-Present
Leadership Team Member, Bentonville High School, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2011-Present
Teacher of the Year, BHS STEAM Small Learning Community
Member, 21st Century Teachers, Bentonville Schools, 2012-Present
Teacher, Literature and Composition, Bentonville High School, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2008-Present
Inclusion Teacher, Special Education and English, Bentonville High School, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010-2011
Department Chair and English Teacher, Pea Ridge High School, Pea Ridge, Arkansas, 2007-2008
Assistant Librarian, Bentonville High School Electronic Library, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2006-2007
Reporter, Producer, Anchor, National Public Radio Alabama Affiliate, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 2005-2006
Constituent and Media Relations Intern, United States Senate, Blanche Lincoln, Washington, D.C., 2004
Experience in Librarianship
Young Adult Librarianship
I have increased library circulation from previous years due to adding diversity and relevancy to our collection. Traffic has increased drastically as I have opened the library up to be a collaborative space for students. I started the Library Advisory Board, which has given over 30 students the opportunity to collaborate with community members on information issues and topics. I have hosted and created numerous large-scale events for our school, with the traffic at our fall festival at nearly 300 students.
Instructional Design and Collaboration
I frequently collaborate with teachers across the disciplines to create projects and lessons. Some examples of past lessons are: -Story boards with the theater tech classes -Virtual portfolios with art and ceramics classes -Chemist research with Chemistry classes -Reliable Resources and evaluating sources during presidential elections with Civics classes -Graphic Novels and making inferences from visual media with ELL students
Peer Professional Development
Have hosted numerous workshops for my peers, including: -Tech Tools for Communicating with Parents -Project Based Learning -The Flipped Classroom -Library Resources for Each Subject -Grant Writing -Databases and Google Searches -Reliable Resources
Content Creation and Management
Increasing Connections through Social Media
I maintain the following resources on social media in an effort to increase patrons and users: on Twitter @BHSLibraries A blog at http://bhslibrarysouth.blogspot.com A posterous account at http://bhslibrarysouth.posterous.com Text message updates through Remind101. An interschool network account on edline: http://bhs.bentonvillek12.org/pages/Bentonville_HS/Departments/SouthLibrary
Manage a Massive Physical Collection
I manage a physical collection of nearly 80,000 works. I manage all of the textbooks for our school of over 4,000 students. We house a large fiction collection, nonfiction collection, biographies, growing graphic novel collection, a professional collection, print reference, and audiovisual materials.
Electronic Resources
I've made great strides this year in managing our electronic collection. Rather than growing our print reference collection, our resources are now allocated toward growing out electronic resources. I mangage multiple databases, video databases, and work with students and teachers alike on using electronic reference.
Instructional Experience
AP Literature and Composition Teacher- prepared students for the AP Literature exam, including close reading skills, annotation skills, complicated essay drafting skills, and college-level texts and writing assignments.
AP Language and Composition Teacher- focused mainly on non-fiction analysis and writing, helping students to understand the foundations of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. Prepared students for the AP Language exam, teaching research and synthesis skills, as well as other literacy skills per the College Board guidelines.
American Literature Teacher- students analyzed documents and primary sources from American History, as well as performed close-reading exercises on American prose.
World Literature Teacher- worked with students on reading various works of World Lit from all across the globe; worked on deep textual analysis and close reading skills, as well as essay composition and literature analysis papers in various modes.
British Literature Teacher; taught students the various conventions of British Literature, as well as British dramatic literature, and also assisted students with drafting of college application essays, and college-level writing.
Remedial/Special Education English Teacher- worked with special education students of all levels and with various learning disabilities. Taught them composition skills, textual analysis of various types of documents and literature, and grammatical conventions and mechanics.
Media Analysis Teacher- taught a film and media analysis elective course which helped students to better understand how to analyze and evalute media, and then respond to that media through writing and other forms of communication.
Skills and Additional Training
- Standard Library Cataloguing Practices: AACR2, MARC, RDA, LCSH
- Grant Writing
- All Microsoft Office and Macintosh applications
- Web 2.0 Functionalities
- Laying the Foundations, AP Language Arts Training
- Professional Learning Communities, National Institute
- Finalcut Pro Video Editing
- Audio Editing for Podcasts, Newscasts, Promotionals
- Special Education Co-Teaching Training
- Arkansas Pathwise Master Teacher Training
- Project-Based Learning
- The Flipped Classroom
Affiliations
Young Adult Library Services Association
Arkansas Association of Instructional Media
21st Century Teachers Cohort
Junior League of Northwest Arkansas
American Library Association
Society of Professional Journalists
Pi Beta Phi Alumni
Sponsor, BHS Student Library Advisory Board
Co-Sponsor, Gay Straight Alliance, BHS
Information Literacy Tutorials
Who I am
Email: mthicksten@bentonvillek12.org
Website: mjthicksten.tumblr.com
Location: 6 Stortford Lane, Bella Vista, AR
Phone: 479-719-8927
Twitter: @BHSLibraries