If you would like to know what my life as a librarian is like this school year then it begins with four letters-STEAM. Our elementary school of over 800 students will be going through STEAM accreditation this year as the first elementary school in our district to proceed with this big overwhelming task. Over the past four to six months, I along with a team of teachers have been looking at ISTE standards along with state standards and AASL standards. During this time I have felt very overwhelmed in what is what and how to accommodate all of these together as a librarian, media specialist and a teacher for six library classes a day.
In my day, I see six classes with a forty minute lunch/break a day. I am also the chrome book manager and technology fixer of all things. So to understand where I am at on my journey, this information for pertinent for all of you to know. With that being sad, I am amazed at the information I have found through my journey of both set of standards.
Both standards guide the learner to set personal goals and both encourage end results. ISTE standards I have found creates learning opportunities that challenges the students to solve problems which are mostly self directed. AASL standards provides experiences and access to information which helps learners find possible answers with the investigative approach of questioning.
As we grow as librarians, our focus should be on the learners and what our students need. Freedman and Robinson talk about how the key commitment should be how to discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection (AASL,2018, 38). When thinking about this and reflecting on the similarities of both set of standards, I feel that I need to challenge students more to reflect and discover on their own instead of creating the questions for them and having them answer them. In the article School Librarians Level Up by Jennifer Freedman and Alice Robinson, it specifically talks about many of these topics but one that sticks out in my mind is the structuring of activities to learners to collaborate and find a solution to a problem. With ISTE standards, I have found that they seem to be more geared toward students taking an active role in what they get out of their lessons and learning time. As we use maker spaces and blocks in the library, students using reading directions instead of waiting for directions.
Throughout this whole process of learning through gearing up for our STEAM accreditation, I have felt that at times I struggle with knowing the difference at times and forgetting but I also know that both have similarities through reading information in any format and encouraging questioning through peers and self led discovery.
Dana, I feel your struggle with wearing many hats, including the technology fixer of all things, and going through STEAM accreditation. I remember when our school was the first school in the district to go through STEM accreditation. We had an awesome media specialist who knew and applied the AASL, ITSE, and content area state standards and collaborated very well with every teacher to infuse STEM in our classroom instruction. We are up for renewal next year and I am now trying to fill the previous librarian's shoes! You will do well as you shift your focus to be more of a facilitator. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kennita. I feel that we all have to learn how to adjust and keep moving to give our best to our students.
DeleteI am also the keeper of technology in our 1:1 school for 1600 students. This is in addition to my other responsibilities. I believe that the implementation of these standards are so important to our schools in order to have a deep understanding of what they mean for the librarian. We see that the standards do focus more on the learner and their actions, but the standards also place the librarian in many facets throughout the school. The key is to make sure that as we add value to the role of librarian, that value is used for the better good of the school and not as a catch all for initiatives. As districts seek ways to control budgets, it is possible that a rollout of standards with out driven purpose may do just that.
ReplyDelete* Let me try this again under my other account* I am also the keeper of technology in our 1:1 school for 1600 students. This is in addition to my other responsibilities. I believe that the implementation of these standards are so important to our schools in order to have a deep understanding of what they mean for the librarian. We see that the standards do focus more on the learner and their actions, but the standards also place the librarian in many facets throughout the school. The key is to make sure that as we add value to the role of librarian, that value is used for the better good of the school and not as a catch all for initiatives. As districts seek ways to control budgets, it is possible that a rollout of standards with out driven purpose may do just that.
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