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David's challenge: Draw the new standards!
March 6, 2008

David Loertscher, Professor at the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State, and co-editor of Teacher-Librarian, presents us with a request and a challenge in his recent AASL Forum post.

First, the request:
If you have not already responded to the AASL Research Committee's national survey, please take some time and respond. This data will be critical in telling our story to the outside world, especially to government and political officials. (Note: I recommend printing the pdf of the survey even if you choose to take the survey online. You will need to gather a few statistics relating to hours, staffing, collection, usage, and expenditures.  I used my annual report to guide me.)

Second, the challenge, a drawing contest, rather a visioning contest:
We've all had a few months to study the new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.  How would you share the new document in a way that would allow colleagues to more quickly get their arms around it?  How would you represent the standards visually?  Can you envision and build a model?

David's official 411 on the challenge:

The AASL Learning Standards (2007) Professional Development Challenge and Model Building Contest

With the issuance of the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner that can be found at, the challenge goes forth to understand the difference between these standards and those of Information Power.
Admittedly, the new set of standards is more complex and multi-dimensional than their predecessors. As teacher librarians, we all need to spend time reading and thinking deeply about the direction suggested for students and teachers and the changes we need to make to implement the ideas that push our programs forward.

The Teacher-Librarian challenge:
Either as an individual or as a group of teacher-librarians, spend time studying the new standards. Then as one way to internalize the main ideas of the document, create a visual representation of the ideas either as an individual or in a group. Such a project will in itself, cause comparison, contrast, and help you internalize the standards. We recommend this be done in teacher librarian meetings, dinner conversations, or as a study group at any time.

Rewards:
Five $100 prizes for the best visual representations of the new AASL Learning Standards. The award-winners will be published in the October 2008 issue of TL.

Deadline: June 15, 2008

Who Can Submit Entries: Any teacher-librarian or any group of teacher-librarians, or any student or group of K-12 students. Library school students may also participate. For example, suppose you have taught information literacy a number of times over the last school year to a group of students? As the culminating activity with them for the year, and as a reflection about projects they have done in the library, give them copies of the standards and challenge them to produce a visual model of those standards giving their own interpretation of them. This could be accomplished using a wide variety of graphical drawing software including Inspiration, Microsoft Word, or other drawing software the students are familiar with.

What to Submit:
Submit a PDF of your interpretation of the content/intent of the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner from the adult's point of view or from a student's point of view. TL includes two examples following in this issue. The first is by Douglas Achterman, teacher-librarian at San Beniot High School, Hollister, CA and is from the adult's point of view. The other is by David V. Loertscher, co-editor of Teacher Librarian magazine and is from the student's point of view. If your drawing has been done as a group, describe the group and the activity that produced the drawing.

Submission Instructions:
By June 15, 2008, submit a PDF version of the drawing attached to an email and send it to David Loertscher at: reader.davi@gmail.com with a copy to editor@teacherlibrarian.com.  Every submission will be acknowledged. Winning entries will be selected soon thereafter and winners notified by July 1, 2008. All entries will be forwarded to the current AASL committee working on a revision of Information Power for use in their work. Who knows, they may contact you for permission to reprint.

Posted by Joyce Valenza on March 6, 2008 | Comments (0)