AASL Standards: Inquire

How Does a Recent MLIS Graduate and Classroom Teacher Implement the AASL Standards in Their Daily Practice?

AASL Standard: Inquire

As a recent MLIS graduate, A. Cawthon is currently employed as an 8th-grade ELA teacher. She aspires to move into a middle or high school library position next school year. She has also considered applying for a college or university library job. 

As an experienced ELA teacher, Cawthon is familiar with teaching students the research process and guiding them through research-based writing assignments and presentations. However, she shared that her current students have less research experience than prior students. She states that their first instinct is to Google the answer. Explicit instruction and modeling of the inquiry process are necessary, or they will stop looking and fail to "go deeper" into the research.  

Cawthon noted that the most effective method of instruction for her students has been through a collaborative demonstration with the school librarian. Together they model the inquiry process from exploration through evaluation, with one teacher playing the role of the student. Students are asked to reflect on the roleplay and give feedback. Cawthon says that this process allows students to discover the reasoning behind effective and ineffective research strategies. She emphasizes that guiding students to the point where they are focused on deeply analyzing the material is the goal in 8th grade. 

Cawthon and her librarian colleague work together closely to prepare lessons introducing students to using databases and SCDiscus for research. For example, during one lesson, the librarian explicitly modeled the different results obtained about the example subject, Alexander Hamilton, via Google compared to a search via Gale in Context: Biographies. 

For a recent project that was a joint assignment by the Social Studies and ELA teachers, the school librarian curated a collection of resources for the students, ordered new materials, and gave a lesson on using the print encyclopedia set. The project requirements called for students to use print and online resources. 

Cawthon states instructional time is always a challenge for her in the classroom. She feels that the class time is almost over by the time students begin engaging deeply with the material. For this reason, she would prefer to teach on a block schedule. She shares that finding print biographical resources, for a recent project, on some of the more obscure historical figures took a lot of work. For example, there were books about women during the Revolutionary War, but only a few sources about specific women, ex. Molly Pitcher.  

Cawthon shared that adding an MLIS to her ELA/teaching undergraduate degree has reinforced her understanding of the importance of consciously integrating the inquiry process in classroom instruction. She points out that teachers may avoid teaching the inquiry process because it is harder to measure and takes more time than other instructional methods. However, Cawthon adds its instructional value lies in the fact that inquiry is where learning happens.  

  

 

AASL Standards: Collaborate

 

How Does a School Librarian Implement the AASL Standards in Their Daily Practice?

AASL Standard: Collaborate

M. Black is a second-year librarian at an elementary school that serves 3rd-5th grade. She shared that during her first year at the school, her goal was improving the organization and atmosphere of the physical library space. She sent a Google Form survey to the faculty to gather input concerning the library's use from the teachers' perspective. After consulting with teachers, the decision was made to genrefy the library collection. She also has created a form for teachers to complete if they have suggestions for books to add to the collection.

As a new librarian, Black is still learning her collection. So she uses Follett Destiny to search for materials for lesson planning, teacher and student requests, and circulation management. She learned much about the Destiny program when reorganizing the library and added many sublocations and collections to help teachers locate and organize materials and equipment. 

Black has worked extensively with the 5th-grade teaching team this year to support their Social Studies curriculum. She has taught lessons about reliable sources with online resources, like SCDISCUS and print materials for research. She has a flexible schedule that allows the teachers to sign up for the session days and times that work for them.  

Black feels that a lack of library staff and rigid class scheduling makes it difficult for her to collaborate. For example, she does not have a library clerk and cannot leave the library unattended to go to a classroom and meet with students or teachers.  

Black values building relationships as the key to developing a collaborative model in the school community. She works hard to "prove her worth" as a resource for the teaching faculty.  

AASL Standards: Engage

How Does a School Librarian Who Specializes in Instructional Technology Integrate the AASL Standards into Their Daily Practice? 

AASL Standard: Engage

S. Dover was a school librarian for 3 years and currently works as an Instructional Technology Specialist in an elementary school. She works with teachers and students to safely, effectively, and productively integrate technology use into the classrooms through librarian-led lessons and school culture development. Dover uses Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship and Google Digital Citizen programming and curriculum to guide her instruction. Her lessons are based on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for students. Additionally, Dover uses the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model to guide teachers in integrating technology into classroom instruction. Dover states that her goal is to establish a meaningful standard technology practice throughout the school community. 

S. Dover can collaborate with teachers in the classroom lessons she leads and in monthly advisory meetings with teachers. She promotes intellectual freedom and advocates for privacy practices regarding content and student data. She also encourages the responsible use of information resources.

Dover states that her favorite sources for professional development and growth are the Common Sense Media Educator Webinars and attending the Future of Educational Technology Conference (FETC) conference. 

A significant challenge that Dover has faced in this position has developed during the post-Covid era. She states that technology has become a home tool managed by parents. This makes her role as an Instructional Technology Specialist more difficult because, as a result, her position needs to be validated by parents, administration, and teachers. At times she feels that discussions around tech topics, resources, and materials are more divisive than before. Finally, she states that technology use in the school community is more difficult now than before because there were fewer regulatory measures (concerning student privacy and data sharing) during COVID.    

AASL Standard: Curate

How Does a School Librarian Implement the AASL Standards in Their Daily Practice? 

AASL Standard: Curate

Curate: Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.  

A. Littlejohn has been an elementary school librarian for 16 years. Before that, she was a high school English teacher. During our discussion, Littlejohn and I discussed with humor the wordiness of the AASL standards. I noted they were reminiscent of the No Child Left Behind era standards I was required to write on my classroom whiteboard while teaching in North Carolina. My young students during those years usually commented that they didn't understand what the "big words" said. Thankfully, Learning Targets are written now in more student-friendly language.  

Is it the wording of the standards or the expectation that she meets them while also fulfilling her other duties that make her state that preparing for this interview makes her feel like she doesn't do enough? I have worked as this librarian's clerk for 3 years, and she is a thoughtful, resourceful, and dedicated librarian committed to serving the school community.  

Littlejohn chose to reflect on the Shared Foundation, Curate for this interview. Littlejohn states that curation is an area of librarianship that she feels is one of her strengths. In addition to acquiring and managing printed materials in the library collection, Littlejohn enjoys teaching students to use the Destiny catalog to locate, favorite, and place holds on the library materials that interest them. She promotes the importance of using reliable resources for academic and casual research to teachers and students. In addition to the state-funded SC Discus virtual library, Littlejohn dedicates a portion of her yearly budget to adding additional resources to the school's digital library collection. 

Littlejohn noted that the current 5th graders have conducted less hands-on research than previous students. For example, due to COVID restrictions in third and fourth grade, these same students had fewer experiences using the Dewey Decimal system while browsing nonfiction and using print reference materials, like atlases and encyclopedia sets. 

When reflecting on collaboration, Littlejohn emphasizes that her flexible schedule allows her to attend grade-level planning meetings and plan lessons that align with the curriculum and needs of students and teachers. Although she may change the books she shares from year to year, she notes that some constants will always be a part of her lessons: fiction vs. nonfiction, sequencing, nonfiction text features, genre characteristics, and book talks.