For AASL president Preddy, one of the most important discussions school librarians are having these days is about how to consider the next generation of students and focus on what their needs are going to be in the future. We measure outputs – collection and circulation statistics, attendance, etc., but what do these data tell us? Click on the title below to view the PDF. “That means looking at how to develop autonomous, autodidactic learners. As explained on the Hour of Code website, people can host or take part anytime, but the goal of the grassroots campaign is to get millions of students to try one hour of coding during December 7–13, which is Computer Science Education Week. More broadly, integrating technologies and an emphasis on STEM are “changing the learning environment in the library,” according to AASL president Leslie Preddy. Mackin hopes that the site will become a resource that can help guide and support school librarians who are considering changes, or who are already in the process of implementing them, and a place where success stories can serve as templates for others. We then determine what will constitute the evidence for assessing learning, and only when we’ve reached that point do we make decisions about instructional strategies that will be most effective to help students reach their learning goals.
The makerspace and learning commons movements remain hot topics as more and more school librarians and their administrators embrace the idea of changing physical library spaces … That’s the observation of Heather Moorefield-Lang, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, who researches emerging technologies and libraries. Following Wiggins & McTighe’s Understanding by Design Framework, we first identify the desired results and what students should know and be able to do to demonstrate their learning. The journal will also emphasize research on instructional theory, teaching methods, and critical issues relevant to school libraries and school librarians. New research for Volume 23 is now available to view. The makerspace and learning commons movements remain hot topics as more and more school librarians and their administrators embrace the idea of changing physical library spaces (and sometimes even their names) to support and encourage evolving learning and teaching styles, as well as curricula. All material in SLR is subject to copyright by ALA and may be reproduced only for the noncommercial purpose of educational or scientific advancement.
SLR is indexed by The Education Full Text Database by EBSCO/Wilson and by the The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). A particular focus on using qualitative measures helps us to support our success stories with solid data. Applying the same kind of framework to exploring and assessing our own practices IS research – we just need to do it! There are many other ways to gather evidence of program success, as explored in this toolkit. Preddy, who is the library media specialist at Perry Meridian Middle School in Indianapolis, Ind., stresses that although a broad spectrum of technologies may be more prevalent in school libraries, “reading is still a key factor” in librarians’ work with students.
Research Paper Topics … But how do we go about measuring outcomes and impacts? Teachers and librarians are already data masters.
Once educators and students explore the basics of coding, Moorefield-Lang says an increasing number of them promptly put their new computer science skills into practice.
Assessment is at the core of teaching practice. “Yes, they play with technology right away,” she says, “but they don’t necessarily know how to create with it or use it in a forceful manner.” She also notes that school librarians are staying abreast of research and other efforts to “figure out if, or how much, screen time is harmful” to children. During one such presentation, “Your ‘Principal’ Partnership: Communicating Library Program Success Is Key to Your Success,” Mary Kay Biagini, associate professor and director of the School Library Certification Program, at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, and Debra Kachel, instructor and scholarship director for Antioch University Seattle’s Library Media Endorsement program, offered school librarians tips on how to prepare information that helps a school principal easily and fully understand the scope of the librarians’ collaborative work with teachers and students, and which clearly communicates the value of the library program. Depending on a school’s funding and available space, a makerspace can be as simple as a small table or corner spot stocked with donated jigsaw puzzles, Legos, and K’Nex blocks, or as complex as a 3-D printer and robotics lab. As their names suggest, makerspaces and learning commons provide opportunities for students to work with materials and technologies to be creative and solve problems, in a more collaborative and communal environment than a traditional library or classroom.