The education learning resource center located in the garden level of the Marrs McLean Science Building provides a wide variety of resources not only for education majors, but for all students.
Dorothy Schleicher, director of the Learning Resource Center said the LRC is a place where help is available for education students who are teaching in classrooms.
“I think our teacher resource books are very helpful,” Schleicher said. “Like in this area, it’s elementary reading, so all the books here are giving ideas on how to organize the classroom and how to teach things like vocabulary, comprehension, how to organize the school day, ideas for teaching poetry, just all types of help.”
In addition, to teaching resources the LRC also has eight Mac computers, 12 PC computers, and two printers and scanners available for students to use during the center’s regular hours. According to the LRC website, in-house resources include bulletin board ideas, catalogs for educational materials and children’s books, maps, posters, math manipulative material and a standardized test collection, among others things.
There are also tables in different alcoves where students can find different subjects ranging from elementary reading and grammar to middle and high school literature. In addition, there are other resources focused on special education, English as a second language, or gifted and talented education.
Schleicher said in addition to using the teacher resource books for planning great lessons. Students are also free to check out anything they may see.
“We say even if they see something in a display that would help their lesson, they can check it out,” Schleicher said.
Schleicher said the LRC that it has so much to offer students who are learning to be teachers.
“There’s all kinds of support here. All kinds of materials,” Schleicher said. “People who came through here and are teaching school now say they really wish they had all this.”
Tulsa, Okla. junior Moriah Hinkle said she enjoys going to the LRC because it gives her space to work that is not available at the Moody Memorial Library.
“I just think its an atmosphere that promotes what we’re trained to do and everyone’s here for a common reason, which is nice,” Hinkle said.
In addition, Hinkle said that at the LRC she can get a lot of work done and it has more resources than most other programs on campus.
“I’ve checked out things like puppets, different types of books, phonics learning, different flash cards, and learning tools,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle said that puppets are a favorite in the lrc, there are over 100 different kinds, and in the classroom. She added that using puppets when working with students not only helps them learn, but it also keep them engaged in the lesson.
“When I was tutoring first grade reading, we would use puppets a lot because it really got the students more interacted in the story telling,” Hinkle said. “They would know more about what was going on because they liked what the puppet was doing as opposed to me just reading.”
Hours for the LRC during the fall and spring semester include Sundays from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
