ABCs for a Librarian: ALA-AASL Standards
Standard 1: Teaching for Learning
When I started my coursework study, I was not aware of the expectations of the library association. I quickly learned that the standards are what all librarians are expected to know to be effective teachers. I have always known that the learning environment is best when it is student-centered. For a librarian, a student-centered learning environment is essential to the learners and their interests. What is also equally important is that as a librarian, I am expected to collaborate with all the stakeholders of the library including the community. Artifact #4, hybrid and virtual lesson plans, were designed with different teaching methods, assessments, resources, and strategies used to reach different learning styles, support this standard. The instructional design method Direct Instruction(di) was used in the plans because it is written with the learners in mind. It supports teachers’ efforts to “engage students’ interests and develop their ability to inquire, think critically, gain and share knowledge.“ This teaching method can be effectively used in the library as shown in the plans. This is important to me as a key source of help to the teachers and being able to supplement lessons that we collaborate on. Librarians are collaborative partners with the classroom teachers in guiding students on how to critically think and in guiding them in the thinking process and formulating questions. The Guided Inquiry Design method is very beneficial to me as a future librarian in supporting the students’ ability in formulating questions on topics that will lead to more reading and research.
Standard 2: Literacy and Reading
I remember my first day of school as a teacher so clearly. I had a panic attack before the students came into my well-prepared classroom. I panicked because for a brief moment I felt I didn’t know how to teach reading. I went to my mentor’s classroom for help. As she began talking, the reading teacher training came back to my memory. That was 30 years ago and I have loved teaching the importance of reading ever since. In 2019, “Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, highlight a consistent drop in the performance on the state’s [Virginia] own reading tests and reveal that by eighth grade, two-thirds of Virginia students aren’t proficient readers” (Mattingly, J. 2019). Two years later, the world is facing a pandemic, schools are impacted and so is our literacy rate. Literacy and reading have always been an essential part of my teaching. I have stressed the importance to my students in every subject I taught, and I will continue to do so as a school librarian. Important parts of this standard require that as a librarian I promote reading so that students enjoy it and become lifelong learners. In Artifact 7 and Artifact 8, students are given the opportunity to choose from a variety of resources to expand their knowledge of STEM. They will be able to choose topics that are of interest to them, read, and do research as they become more aware of the importance of reading in the STEM field.
Standard 3: Information and Knowledge
In the Summer of 2020, I started my studies in library information studies where I was introduced to different types of digital tools and platforms. I was glad that I was using some of the tools in my classroom, but others I was learning to use for the first time. It was an experience that I found to be rewarding, especially being able to share them with my coworkers and students. I am proud to share some of my favorite assignments that were created with digital tools and platforms as artifacts and others will be introduced here. An infographic of my school, Westhaven Elementary, Artifact 1 was created as a part of a collection analysis assignment. To complete this assignment I had to research the school’s background, history, and community resources. As I worked on this project, it made me more aware of how important it is to know my school and the community’s needs in order to provide the best educational experience possible. I used the information that I acquired to begin networking with individuals in the community on how we can partner to help the students in the community become more successful readers. Another infographic I created that is relevant to educators is the number of graduates from high school. This is information that I can share with my students when they enter my library, and as a focus in teacher lesson collaboration. Finally, Morgan’s Media Website was created using the Weebly platform. My website design was created, as a future tool to be used in sharing information with my patrons. As the educational arena is becoming more technologically savvy, how I present information as a librarian will change. The digital tools and platforms will allow me to continue to provide the many needed resources that are essential to all of my library’s stakeholders.
Standard 4: Advocacy and Leadership
As the world evolves, it is moving towards a more digital and scientific way of functioning. However, “According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 16 percent of high school students are interested in a STEM career…nearly 28 percent of high school freshmen declare an interest in a STEM-related field, a department website says, but 57 percent of these students will lose interest by the time they graduate from high school” (Hom, E. J., 2014). Keeping this in mind, I have made STEM a focus for my future-ready library. As previously stated, we must prepare the students for the future and STEM is one avenue to being better prepared for a digital and technological world. Artifact 2, facilities design, focuses on changing the library’s office space into a STEM lab. I strongly believe that collaboration with all teachers to make this innovative change would be highly beneficial to our overall academic performance on the district and state assessments. In addition to staying on top of the changing library world and continually striving to improve my skills as a librarian, I have become a member of the American Library Association and American Association of School Librarians as well as a member of Kappa Delta Pi International Society. These organizations provide professional networking opportunities, professional development, and resources. Finally, to provide a positive learning environment and work towards improved literacy of all students, I have contacted the director of Portsmouth Public Libraries to work with his staff to collaborate school visits to present literary information to my students.
Standard 5: Program Management and Administration
Throughout my studies I have come to understand how important it is for a librarian to be able to collaborate, “plan, develop, implement and evaluate the school library program”(AASL, 2018). The many projects and readings as well as collaboration with classmates have provided insight into what is in store for me as a librarian. One of my final projects was preparing a budget for my STEM lab proposal and presenting the idea to a hypothetical stakeholder group. The facility redesign budget is found on Artifact 2. To support and present the STEM lab budget, a PowerPoint presentation Artifact 3 and an executive summary was created.
Sources:
American Association of School Librarians. (2018). The national school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago, IL: ALA
Element5 Digital. (2017, August 25). Red apple fruit on four pile books [Photo].
https://unsplash.com/photos/OyCl7Y4y0Bk
Guided Inquiry Design. (2021). Guided Inquiry Design Framework. https://guidedinquirydesign.com/gid/
Hom, E. J. (2014, February 11). Live Science. What is STEM education? https://www.livescience.com/43296-what-is-stem-education.html
Mattingly, J. (2019, November 3). Richmond Times-Dispatch. ‘We should all be concerned’: Virginia’s literacy rates fall to record low levels, federal data show. https://richmond.com/news/virginia/we-should-all-be-concerned-virginias-literacy-rates-fall-to-record-low-levels-federal-data/article_fcd2c8a6-0986-5e7f-b8e7-e0152e52995c.html