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By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 02/18/2009
For those of you wondering how the American Association of School Librarians’(AASL) new learning standards are being incorporated into school library programs, the wait is over. AASL has just released Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, which takes an in-depth look at Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and examines how the skills in it relate to each other.
Accompanied by colorful pages and graphics, the publication provides benchmarks along with examples that show how to put the learning standards into action at different grade levels. A glossary is also provided to define key concepts found throughout the book.
After releasing Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in October 2007, AASL charged a task force “to develop a document to expand and support the new learning standards” with "indicators, benchmarks, model examples, and assessments."
The task force came up with Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, which provides support for media specialists and other educators who are teaching the essential 21st-century learning skills.
The task force that developed the document was chaired by Kathy Lowe, executive director of the Massachusetts School Library Association, who was assisted by six other AASL members, including Cassandra Barnett, AASL President-elect.
“All the members of the Learning Standards Indicators and Assessment Task Force generously shared their expertise, devoting countless hours and much collaborative energy to this project,” says Lowe of the experience. “Their collective contributions, enhanced by input from practitioners in the field, have resulted in a rich resource for the school library community.”
AASL President Ann Martin was enthusiastic about the new publication. “This is exactly the document that school library media specialists need to lead their school library media program’s instructional program forward,” she says.
AASL Past President, Sara Kelly Johns, a librarian at Lake Placid Middle/Senior High School in New York, sees the practicality in her day-to-day work outlined in the new publication.
“The new AASL Standards are now practical and possible to implement into our work as school library media specialists. The book is a launchpad for lesson plans and units that will take my students' learning through the library to a new level,” she says.
The book is available for purchase through ALA for $39.
