Looks at the similarities and differences between learning principles and learning standards, and considers the role of the school librarian.

1. 1
LEARNING
Principles and Standards
Librarians as Learning Specialists
2014

2. 2
Learning Principles?
• What are principles anyway?
Sorry—that’s a
PRINCIPAL!!!

3. 3
Define Principle, then?
• principle, n.
3. a. A fundamental truth or proposition on
which others depend; a general statement or
tenet forming the (or a) basis of a system of
belief, etc.; a primary assumption forming the
basis of a chain of reasoning.
4. a. A general law or rule adopted or professed
as a guide to action; a settled ground or basis of
conduct or practice; a fundamental motive or
reason for action, esp. one consciously
recognized and followed.
Often partly coinciding with sense 3a.

4. 4
What does that mean
in practice?
• We need to be aware of the
principles that guide our teaching
– Teachers’ assumptions regarding why and how
students learn and what makes effective instruction
ultimately determine what takes place in
classrooms. Therefore, it is critical for the faculty of
a school to articulate together the educational
principles that will guide their practice.
•
http://murraylib601.org/3Ps.pdf

5. 5
What are standards, though??
• standard, n.
9. a. The authorized exemplar of a unit of measure or
weight; e.g. a measuring rod of unit length; a vessel of
unit capacity, or a mass of metal of unit weight,
preserved in the custody of public officers as a
permanent evidence of the legally prescribed magnitude
of the unit.
original standard: the standard of which the others are
copies, and to which the ultimate appeal must be made.
10. a. (Originally fig. from 9.) An authoritative or
recognized exemplar of correctness, perfection, or some
definite degree of any quality.

6. 6
How about learning standards?
• What are Learning Standards?
– Learning standards are written statements of
what students should know and be able to do
as a result of their education at every grade
level. They are also called “Content
Standards.” Learning standards describe
what teachers are supposed to teach and what
students are supposed to learn.

7. 7
Link between learning principles
and learning standards?
• Standards for the 21st-Century
Learner (AASL, 2007)
– Download the Standards.
– What are the learning principles behind
these 4 Standards?
– Are they the same as the nine
“Common Beliefs” outlined in
the document?

8. 8
Librarians as Learning
Specialists
• Are librarians learning specialists?

9. 9
What is a learning specialist?
http://certifiedlearningspecialists.com/id28.html

10. 10
A non-librarian solution
•
– The focus of this position is to help core subject teachers
utilize web 2.0 technologies in the classroom, to create a
global and collaborative approach to learning. The design
of authentic and engaging international projects which
incorporate social networking, blogs, wikis, and podcasts,
and whatever comes next, is paramount to the success of
this position. The 21st Century Literacy Specialist works
in collaboration with the Media Specialist and Technology
and Learning Coordinator to ensure a seamless transition
between traditional and digital literacy skills.
• 21st Century Literacy Specialist Job Description
International School Bangkok 21st Century Literacy wiki

11. 11
Meet a 21st century literacy
specialist!
• Kim Cofino
– I see this role as a bridge between
the library and technology, and
therefore, a key aspect of this position, which
makes it different than a traditional
technology facilitation position, is the strength
of collaboration between all three teams
• Defining the Role of a 21st Century Literacy Specialist
• Ms. Cofino is now Technology and Learning Coach at
Yokohama International School. See her current blog

12. 12
Another term
• 21st Century Learning Specialist (21stCLS)
– The 21stCLS models and helps (in planned and
unplanned moments) all stakeholders involved
understand how learning is changing and the way
technology is changing society. He/She is making her own
learning transparent in order to teach. He/She creates,
maintains and facilitates a learning environment for
independent-self directed learners.
• Moving On... 21st Century Learning by Silvia Rosenthal
Tolisano
• Read Tolisano’s blog at http://www.langwitches.org/blog

13. 13
Comment to 21stCLS
• Posted by: Jackie Pierson
– find it rather interesting that someone feels the need to create a
new educational professional for the 21st century! All the
specialists you refer to in your article ALREADY EXIST and
serve students of the 21st century!
You state “Her/his primary goal is helping others become self
directed learners.” That is EXACTLY the role of the
“traditional” school library media specialist! School librarians
have ALWAYS been the first professionals in a school to
utilize the newest technologies and to teach the process of
finding and evaluating information. They promote
collaboration between classroom teachers and the technology
facilitator.
• Comment to Moving On... 21st Century Learning (comment no longer
available online)

14. 14
So, are librarians learning
specialists?
• Certainly!
– . . . library media specialists as learning specialists are
uniquely situated to collaborate in [helping individual
students improve learning] through their development
and dissemination of resources, curriculum leadership,
and participation in professional learning communities.
They also possess valuable skills in designing and
analyzing instructional activities and assessments tasks,
modeling of processes and “best practices,” and
coaching of improved staff and student performance.
• Reframing the Library Media Specialist as a Learning
Specialist by Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada. School
Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXIV, Number
8/April 2008

15. 15
The Development of the Instructional Role of
the Media Specialist
• Has it changed much?
– It is evident from an analysis of two data sources that
an evolution in the instructional role of the library
media specialist did occur from 1950 to 1984. A clear
pattern of progressive development of the
instructional role has persisted in the standards and
the literature. The changes in the library media
specialist’s role from study hall monitor to curriculum
designer can certainly be termed substantive.
• Craver, K. (1986, Summer). The Changing instructional role of the high
school library media specialist, 1950–84: A survey of professional
literature, standards, and research studies. School Library Media
Quarterly, 14, 4: 183-91. Also available in print in The emerging school
library media program. Libraries Unlimited, 1988

16. 16
1945 Benchmark
• First set of national standards for school
libraries K-12
– School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow
published by the American Library Association
– These standards linked the quality of school
libraries to the size of book collections and the
frequency of classroom teacher use of the library.
Further, the school librarian was beginning to be
seen as an instructional leader for the “mental,
emotional and social growth of young people.”
• Underwood, L. J. (2003). A case study of four school library
media specialists’ leadership in Louisiana ,” EDD dissertation,
W. VA University, p. 23.

17. 17
Tracing the evolution
• The Fifties
– The decade between the close of World War II and
the mid-fifties was termed by many educators as a
decade of American complacency. Americans had
emerged victorious from a world war and were
exulting in their acknowledged super-power
status. School librarians floundered in a wave of
anti-intellectualism and the conformity that was
precipitated by technological democracy and the
Cold War.
– Teaching, despite the noticeable increase in
audiovisual services offered by school libraries,
was still dominated by the textbook.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Media
Specialist

18. 18
The advent of the
space age
• 1957
– The launching of Sputnik in 1957 was the catalyst
that halted America’s complacency and expedited
the educational process.
– At this point, federal funds were made available
for the purchase of the school library as a
resource center, and not merely a depository. By
the late 1950s, schools began to focus on learning
rather than teaching, and on curriculum methods
that permitted a broader instructional role for the
school librarian.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Media
Specialist

19. 19
The decade of ferment
• The Sixties
– In school library development and education in
general, the 1960s can be described as a decade
of ferment. “rhetoric and ideas abounded as to
what education would do to solve a number of
pressing social issues—from integrating the
schools racially to promoting a love of reading
among the disadvantaged or disinterested.”
– The school’s new emphasis on “diversified
learning materials—both printed and
nonprinted—for all subjects and levels of
ability” finally brought to school librarians the
opportunity for [a] greater instructional role.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Media
Specialist

20. 20
A new benchmark for the Sixties
• Standards for School Library Programs
(American Association for School Librarians, 1960)
– Published in collaboration with the
Department of Audiovisual Instruction
(DAVI) of National Education Association
• School Libraries, Education Encyclopedia
– Specified the collaborative leadership
responsibilities of the school librarian with
teachers regarding curriculum development
and textbook selection.
• Underwood, “A Case Study of Four School Library
Media Specialists’ Leadership in Louisiana”

21. 21
A major project
• Knapp School Libraries Project (1963-1974)
– The Knapp Foundation supported
curricular innovations that included
collaborative teaching with the school
librarian. For the first time, the role of the
school librarian changed from a keeper of
materials to an active participant in the
academic process. Thus, the Knapp
Foundation recognized the importance of
the school librarian as an active
participant in schools that embraced the
new reforms.
• Underwood, “A Case Study of Four School Library
Media Specialists’ Leadership in Louisiana”
Peggy Sullivan
As director of the Knapp School
Libraries Project, she helped play
an important role in convincing the
public of the need for high quality
school library media programs.
Newberry.org

22. 22
New standards and new title
• Standards for School Media Programs (ALA,
1969)
– ALA and the DAVI of NEA publishes Standards
for School Media Programs, national guidelines
that unify the roles of librarians and audiovisual
personnel under the terminology of library media
program and library media specialist.
• School Libraries, Education Encyclopedia
– School library media specialists were now
responsible for non-print materials such as tape
recorders, records, filmstrips, and film loops,
which required expertise in technology.
• Underwood, Case Study

23. 23
A time of action
• The Seventies
– This period witnessed an actual, rather than
merely a proposed, change from passive
learning on the part of students to an
environment in which students and teachers
actively participated together in projects and
activities that served to convey information
previously provided by a textbook or a teacher.
– Within this environment of change, the school
library finally receives assurance that its
educational goals and objectives, which in
many cases were ahead of the times, were now
appropriate.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Media
Specialist

24. 24
New standards again in 1975
• Media Programs: District and School
(AASL and Association for Educational
Communications and Technology [DAVI of NEA
became AECT in 1971])
– The 1975 standards . . . gave more
attention to systematic planning providing
guiding principles for both site-level and
district-level decision-making. By this
point, the school library specialist was seen
as an integral part of the total instructional
program.
• Program Standards School Library Media Specialist
Preparation (AASL and NCATE, 2003), p. 5.

25. 25
A mercurial environment
• The Eighties
– While the instructional role of the school
library media specialist from 1980 to 1984
could be characterized as a period of
adjustment concerning the implementation of
instructional design activities, the introduction
of computers presented library media
specialists with a new set of problems.
– There is evidence that more systematic
approaches were being followed for instruction
and that library media specialists were being
urged to consider their educational role within
the framework of the total program.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Media
Specialist

26. 26
Response to
A Nation at Risk (1983)
• Alliance for Excellence: Librarians Respond
to a Nation at Risk (1984)
– Four basic concepts presented:
• Learning begins before schooling.
• Good schools require good school libraries.
• People in a learning society need libraries throughout
their lives.
• Public support of libraries is an investment in people
and communities.
– Shirley Fitzgibbons, School and Public Library
Relationships: Essential Ingredients in Implementing
Educational Reforms and Improving Student Learning
School Library Media Research Volume 3 (2000)

27. 27
The Information Power Era
• A major policy document
– The major development in 1988 in terms of
standards was the publication of the new
school library media guidelines,
INFORMATION POWER (AASL & AECT,
1988). This document presents an active,
forward-looking role for library media
programs based on the library media specialist
functioning as information specialist, teacher,
and instructional consultant. Discussions of the
guidelines are just [in 1989] beginning to
appear in the literature; however, the
document has already been presented to
educators at all levels.
• Trends in Library and Information Science: 1989. ERIC Digest

28. 28
Another major project
• Library Power (1988-98)
– Inspired by the vision of Information Power (1988)
– Library Power programs established in 700 schools
in 19 communities nationwide
– “Faithful adoption of Library Powers core practices,
along with widespread acceptance of these practices,
can lead to permanent change; similarly, as similar
policies are implemented elsewhere
institutionalization of these practices is more likely.”
• “What Works”: Research You Can Use: The National
Library Power Project
Teacher Librarian, 27 (2) (1999, Nov-Dec).
• See also Library Power Executive Summary: Findings from
the National Evaluation of the
National Library Power Program
and the Full report

29. 29
Information Power 2nd ed., 1998
• Affirmed that
“Student
Achievement IS
the Bottom
Line”

30. 30
Information Standards 1998
http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/education/media/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf

31. 31
New standards, 2007
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/
learning-standards

32. 32
Defines 9 foundational beliefs
• Reading is a window to the
world.
• Inquiry provides a framework
for learning.
• Ethical behavior in the use of
information must be taught.
• Technology skills are crucial
for future employment needs.
• Equitable access is a key
component for education.
• The definition of information
literacy has become more
complex as resources and
technologies have changed.
• The continuing expansion of
information demands that all
individuals acquire the thinking
skills that will enable them to
learn on their own.
• Learning has a social
context.
• School libraries are
essential to the
development
of learning
skills.
32

33. 33
Four Standards for 2007
• The Standards describe how learners
use skills, resources, and tools to
1. inquire, think critically, and gain
knowledge;
2. draw conclusions, make informed
decisions, apply knowledge to new
situations, and create new knowledge;
3. share knowledge and participate
ethically and productively as
members of our democratic society;
4. pursue personal and aesthetic
growth.

34. 34
A blueprint for progression

35. 35
Applying the standards
• Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in
Action
– This publication from AASL takes an
in-depth look at the strands of the Standards
for the 21st-Century Learner and the indicators
within those strands. It also answers such critical questions
as How do the strands—the skills, dispositions in action,
responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies—relate to one
another?
– Benchmarks are provided along with examples that show
how to put the learning standards into action. This is a
practical book with examples of how to maximize the
application of the learning standards at different grade
levels.

36. 36
New Guidelines, 2008
• Empowering Learners: Guidelines for
School Library Programs
– Empowering Learners advances school
library programs to meet the needs of
the changing school library environment and is
guided by the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
and Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action.
It builds on a strong history of guidelines published
to ensure that school library program planners go
beyond the basics to provide goals, priorities, criteria,
and general principles for establishing effective
library programs.

37. 37
An online resource
• A Planning Guide for
Empowering Learners
– With School Library Assessment Rubric
– A Planning Guide for Empowering Learners
is a program evaluation, planning,
implementation and advocacy tool that will
ensure school library program planners go
beyond the basics to provide goals, priorities,
criteria, and general principles for
establishing effective library programs.

38. 38
A video for the Planning Guide

39. 39

40. 40
LEARNING