Thing 50: New AASL Standards
I was really excited and hesitant to look at this "Thing" because this particular topic has the potential to be an overwhelming task. However, it is a relevant topic not only for all librarians but my department in particular because we were tasked with updating our current curriculum/framework. Prior to my own work on this lesson I asked for Polly's permission to share this with my colleagues to help all of us with our department goal of updating what we do to reflect the new standards.
Last week I shared a few of the articles included in this module so that we could get some ideas of how to approach/complete our district's task of updating our current framework/curriculum. I found that Paige Jaeger's article would give us a starting point because it focuses on looking at what we currently do, where we need to improve and where we are close. Together we did a similar activity in our session and we all found that we have already covered a lot of the standards in our current framework but the verbage needed to be updated to reflect the current standards. After we completed that part we went back to look at areas that we felt we needed to add to. Our next meeting will be comparing the two documents to make sure that we are including all areas in our lessons. We tried to keep it general due to buildings using CKLA domains as opposed to others using modules. Also, another area we had to keep in mind is that some buildings participate in more collaborative lessons with classroom teachers so we wanted to make sure that the standards are included in those lessons.
To backtrack to the first question in regards to which of the shared foundations resonates most with me I would have to say the collaboration piece. My new building is very supportive of collaborative work between the library and classroom teachers as well as getting the students to collaborate with their peers. On a personal level I have seen a change in attitude by all involved from administration to the students. Administration has been a key supporter of this initiative and is always open to new ideas/projects. The teachers have been wonderful in reaching out and working with me to grow this program and the students are growing in so many ways. My relationship with this is much stronger and I find changes in classroom behavior and just the general excitement of the kids about library. I feel very strongly that this is an area that needs to be addressed more in libraries and classrooms because of our global society and our advancements in technology. As we all know, working collaboratively is not easy for everyone and is a skill that must be taught starting at a very young age. We also need to develop strategies to enhance the group work dynamic so that all are participating.
I am by no means an expert on this but as I have been participating in more of these projects I have found that this type of work also gives a voice to so many of our students that are too shy or that struggle for whatever reason in classroom participation. With the groups that I have worked with individually I have really had to focus not only on the content/quality of work but on establishing the roles everyone needs to take. These types of projects also lend themselves into allowing the kids to dig deeper into a topic, gather new view points and create a spectacular end product. I am looking forward to spending more time over the summer reflecting on what I've done and how to improve it for next year. In a perfect world I would also like to reach more of the students but being on a fixed schedule with little open time creates some challenges in achieving this. I can dream!
I love the Tech Tools & Resources chart that Allison Mackley created. First of all it has so many things I have never heard of that I will definitely be exploring in more detail over the summer. In addition, this year we have now have a chromebook dedicated to every student so I feel that we will be able to use this guide to expand what we currently use. In looking at this chart it makes me think that some of this is geared to higher grades then I work with. I'm K-5 so I'm sure I would have to take some of the resources out to and add others. I'm also thinking that this would be a fun initiative to work with my classroom teachers to add to their knowledge base and just get the word out on what they can use in their lessons.
In looking at my current situation, I have a lot of databases, search engines, etc that would fit into the Think category but not a lot of resources for the other three: Create, Share and Grow. Due to us moving to the Google platform this year I have been having the older kids use Google Docs and slides with fifth graders also using Prezi. A lot of our teachers are using Google Classroom, Voki and a few other things that I can't quite remember. This is another area I want to explore for next year and am kicking around the idea of adding something like this to my library website to help my teachers and students stay on top of the various things they can use.
In conclusion it seems like I have a lot of things to do this summer and it hasn't even begun yet! I am still in the very preliminary stages of learning the new standards but so far I really like what I have seen. I appreciate the way it incorporates all learners and puts topics into a more practical framework. I know there has been some negative thoughts in regards to this but personally I think you can adapt these to create a framework that benefits all as well as strengthening our role in the school. In brief discussions I have had with my administrators about some of the new changes or pushes if you will, they have been very pleased and supportive of increasing my role. I really feel that these are helping to eliminate the idea that all librarians are just keepers of the books - these show that we are an integral part of the school and the students will ultimately benefit from our inclusion in the teaching process.
Last week I shared a few of the articles included in this module so that we could get some ideas of how to approach/complete our district's task of updating our current framework/curriculum. I found that Paige Jaeger's article would give us a starting point because it focuses on looking at what we currently do, where we need to improve and where we are close. Together we did a similar activity in our session and we all found that we have already covered a lot of the standards in our current framework but the verbage needed to be updated to reflect the current standards. After we completed that part we went back to look at areas that we felt we needed to add to. Our next meeting will be comparing the two documents to make sure that we are including all areas in our lessons. We tried to keep it general due to buildings using CKLA domains as opposed to others using modules. Also, another area we had to keep in mind is that some buildings participate in more collaborative lessons with classroom teachers so we wanted to make sure that the standards are included in those lessons.
To backtrack to the first question in regards to which of the shared foundations resonates most with me I would have to say the collaboration piece. My new building is very supportive of collaborative work between the library and classroom teachers as well as getting the students to collaborate with their peers. On a personal level I have seen a change in attitude by all involved from administration to the students. Administration has been a key supporter of this initiative and is always open to new ideas/projects. The teachers have been wonderful in reaching out and working with me to grow this program and the students are growing in so many ways. My relationship with this is much stronger and I find changes in classroom behavior and just the general excitement of the kids about library. I feel very strongly that this is an area that needs to be addressed more in libraries and classrooms because of our global society and our advancements in technology. As we all know, working collaboratively is not easy for everyone and is a skill that must be taught starting at a very young age. We also need to develop strategies to enhance the group work dynamic so that all are participating.
I am by no means an expert on this but as I have been participating in more of these projects I have found that this type of work also gives a voice to so many of our students that are too shy or that struggle for whatever reason in classroom participation. With the groups that I have worked with individually I have really had to focus not only on the content/quality of work but on establishing the roles everyone needs to take. These types of projects also lend themselves into allowing the kids to dig deeper into a topic, gather new view points and create a spectacular end product. I am looking forward to spending more time over the summer reflecting on what I've done and how to improve it for next year. In a perfect world I would also like to reach more of the students but being on a fixed schedule with little open time creates some challenges in achieving this. I can dream!
I love the Tech Tools & Resources chart that Allison Mackley created. First of all it has so many things I have never heard of that I will definitely be exploring in more detail over the summer. In addition, this year we have now have a chromebook dedicated to every student so I feel that we will be able to use this guide to expand what we currently use. In looking at this chart it makes me think that some of this is geared to higher grades then I work with. I'm K-5 so I'm sure I would have to take some of the resources out to and add others. I'm also thinking that this would be a fun initiative to work with my classroom teachers to add to their knowledge base and just get the word out on what they can use in their lessons.
In looking at my current situation, I have a lot of databases, search engines, etc that would fit into the Think category but not a lot of resources for the other three: Create, Share and Grow. Due to us moving to the Google platform this year I have been having the older kids use Google Docs and slides with fifth graders also using Prezi. A lot of our teachers are using Google Classroom, Voki and a few other things that I can't quite remember. This is another area I want to explore for next year and am kicking around the idea of adding something like this to my library website to help my teachers and students stay on top of the various things they can use.
In conclusion it seems like I have a lot of things to do this summer and it hasn't even begun yet! I am still in the very preliminary stages of learning the new standards but so far I really like what I have seen. I appreciate the way it incorporates all learners and puts topics into a more practical framework. I know there has been some negative thoughts in regards to this but personally I think you can adapt these to create a framework that benefits all as well as strengthening our role in the school. In brief discussions I have had with my administrators about some of the new changes or pushes if you will, they have been very pleased and supportive of increasing my role. I really feel that these are helping to eliminate the idea that all librarians are just keepers of the books - these show that we are an integral part of the school and the students will ultimately benefit from our inclusion in the teaching process.
Wonderful that you have such good support from admin and great colleagues to be collaborating with. Sounds like there's a very student centered culture in your school, hooray for that! Don't forget to enjoy the summer, don't schedule too much. :)
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