Curation for Kids

 

Photo: AASL, 2018

Curation for Kids

AASL Shared Foundation IV. Curate

Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance (AASL, 2018). 

        Konya models reading by having a monthly reading competition against the students at her small Title I elementary school. The school serves students pre-K through fifth grade. The students have been trained how to access, and are encouraged to read as much as they can using the TumbleBooks e-book app and print books. The goal is for the students to earn more points than the librarian (Konya, personal communication, November 18, 2020.

       To encourage independency, Konya has installed icons on the library desktops so that the students can easily access Discus, Accelerated Reader, and TumbleBooks. Guiding learners during research lessons on Discus and providing them with an opportunity for independent practice falls under the Think AASL Domain and competency of:

IV.A.1. Modeling the response to a need to gather and organize information (AASL, 2018).

 

IV.A.3. Guiding learners to make critical choices about information sources to use (AASL, 2018).

        As part of her collaborative efforts with the teachers, Konya has mapped the curriculum and pacing guides to plan for read alouds and library lesson activities that support content standards. During the lessons, she is able to demonstrate and encourage students to discuss and reflect on the resources that support learning in the classroom.

IV.D.2. Engaging learners in ongoing analysis of and reflection on the quality, usefulness, and accuracy of curated resources.

        A challenge that Konya witnesses regularly is that the students do not spend much time at home reading for leisure, nor are they allotted much time for independent reading in class.

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. 

American Association of School Librarians (2018), AASL standards framework for learners: Include. Chicago: ALA https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SharedFoundations_Curate_2017.pdf 

Collaboration and Communication

  

Photo: AASL, 2018

Collaboration and Communication

AASL Shared Foundation III. Collaborate 

Work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work 

toward common goals (AASL, 2018).

     I chose to interview Patsy, a librarian at a public middle school with only sixth grade students that live within the city limits. We discussed the Shared Foundation, III. Collaborate, which is part of the AASL National Standards for School Librarians. The student population of the school is not very diverse, with most students being of African-American descent (Patsy, personal communication, November 17, 2020).  

Some resources that Patsy uses to advocate diversity include having a diverse school library collection of materials where students can see themselves, but also learn about people who different from them. SC Discus database is used frequently by the students for information seeking.  

Patsy continually changes library displays to promote interest in books by different authors, viewpoints, and genres. A book club for boys is one that is much needed in her school, along with diverse guest speakers. She has book clubs that foster collaboration which meets AASL competencies:  

III.A.1. Challenging learners to work with others to broaden and deepen understandings. 

III.B.1. Modeling the use of a variety of communication tools and resources. 

III.D.1. Stimulating learners to actively contribute to group discussions (AASL, 2018). 

Patsy has approached a Social Studies teacher about collaborating with her to plan a unit on Medieval times, which would include book talks, inquiry-based learning stations, research, and other activities. She is currently waiting on a response from the teacher. 

Some of her collaborative efforts have been cancelled or revised due to schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges to her collaborative effort is that teachers are laser focused on covering the content standards, keeping up with pacing guides, and frequent standardized testing throughout the year, that they don’t have time to devote to collaborate lessons.  

Patsy has carefully mapped the curriculum and curated some great resources in the media center to support the teachers and students, but those resources are not being utilized as often as she would like. 

 

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. 

American Association of School Librarians (2018), AASL standards framework for learners: Include. Chicago: ALA  https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SharedFoundations_Collaborate_2017.pdf 

Respect, Inclusion and Diversity

 

Photo: AASL, 2018

Respect, Inclusion and Diversity 

AASL Shared Foundation II. Include   

Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community. 

In speaking with Kelly, genrefying the fiction section of her rural high school library has increased circulation this year. Students have gained confidence in knowing how and where to look for fiction books that interest them. Browsing the shelves by genre has helped broaden their horizon by introducing them to other choices they might not have ever considered.  (Kelly, personal communication, November 16, 2020).  

One of Kelly’s goals is to start a genre-based book club where the students are reading a book of their choice and take part in regular discussions which would meet AASL Domain of Think and competency: 

II.A.3. Differentiating instruction to support learners’ understanding of cultural relevancy and placement within the global learning community (AASL, 2018). 

The book club discussions would revolve around empathy and equity. Student choice would also permit for differentiation. This is something she has successfully done at a previous school.  

Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea, especially since it’s hard to coordinate and hold the typical cozy book club sessions due to social distancing. Kelly has set up a book club on Schoology, but she has not received any interest from students. An alternative solution could be to have the book club make quick, individual posts and remarks using the apps Flipgrid or Marco Polo. Since both of our schools are in a rural area with a shortage of access to broadband internet services or unreliable internet signals, a conference call might even be the best option due to the COVID-19 remote learning issue.  

Collaboration has been more impromptu than planned. Kelly does ask the teachers who book the library or computers about their lesson objective. Some of the teachers are surprised that the library has reference material to support their unit of study.  

One particular Science teacher will approach Kelly and request assistance with resources. The tech savvy teacher recently collaborated with Kelly on a research project about diseases. The summative assessment is an infographic and class presentation. The final presentations fall under the Create domain and would apply when students present their projects and are expected to answer questions about the disease they studied. 

II.C.1.  School librarians facilitate experiences in which learners exhibit empathy and tolerance for diverse ideas by giving learners opportunities to engage in informed conversation and active debate (AASL, 2018). 

Although, Kelly works well with the teachers, full collaborations are still lacking. Like three other librarians that I spoke with, she informs the staff that she is able and willing to collaborate. She reaches out in person when school starts and typically by e-mail throughout the school year. Kelly even takes the time to send exploratory teachers a collaborative lesson ideas and invitations. One major concern of hers is that librarians must collaborate as part of their evaluation process in South Carolina, but the teachers are not required to do so. She also noted that if co-teaching/collaboration is not evident during a school librarian’s observation that can negatively affect their overall ADEPT evaluation. 

 

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. 

American Association of School Librarians (2018), AASL standards framework for learners: Include. Chicago: ALA  https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SharedFoundations_Include_2017.pdf