Week 5: Instruction & Curriculum

This week's readings focused on how school libraries can be at the forefront of student learning, especially when they promote inquiry-based education. Through various perspectives, the readings show that a one-size-fits-all approach toward promoting learning/reading is not appropriate in all school libraries.

Readings from Coatney made me think about what a librarian means to his/her school. What sort of role should librarians play in the school dynamic? Are they supporting others? Or are they leading the pack? Realistically, it probably depends on the situation and most librarians probably do a little of each. Still, as this course is focused on school library management, I think it's worth considering how  I imagine that, to a large extent, the role a school librarian assumes is based on the academic environment in which they find themselves. So how can librarians adhere to standards while trying to accommodate the educational support/professional development needs of diverse faculty/staff?

One school attempted to equalize the academic outcomes for all of its students ("A District's Journey to Inquiry," Keeling). While the Keeling article was not the most exciting read of the week, it did offer some real insight into the triumphs and struggles of implementing some ambitious curriculum goals. The article's conclusions speak to the fact that not all educators immediately fall in love with new methods of teaching, even if these new practices are backed up research suggesting they lead to better learning. Dealing with inertia and long-standing practices is probably one of the greatest barriers to introducing more effective instruction in schools.

Not knowing a whole lot about information literacy/inquiry-based learning, I appreciated Harada and Yoshima's article about "learning that counts." Their #2 point ("Students help to negotiate the direction of the learning") makes a lot of sense (if students are invested and actually curious about what they are learning, it seems likely that they will understand more and be more motivated to learn) and also tied into the student-centered learning mentioned in last week's readings. Many of the points also seemed reminiscent of Hribar's experience implementing AASL standards (particularly about students being social and needing to ask questions of others to arrive at meaningful conclusions). While some of the eight key points seem common sense, it is clear that not all teaching and learning follow these guidelines. Thinking back on my own learning experiences in school, most of my assignments more closely resembled the rote, regurgitated type. Effective instruction, it seems, is a constant evolution of best practices. (Not sure about the other Harada piece--couldn't find it in the LMC issue).

My favorite article this week, though, was "How Does a Failing School Stop Failing?" In it, the author recounts her experience trying to promote a love of reading and learning in a middle school that had recently been labeled "failing" per No Child Left Behind standards. Rather than weakly accept the designation, Warren-Gross, a middle school librarian, developed new strategies to engage students while transforming the academic culture of her school. She writes: "I couldn't afford to be territorial, guarding all of the books in a single location. I knew that our kids, many of whom do not come from print-rich environments, had to be immersed in books." Therefore, she uses her budget (which is no small sum!) to surround her students in books by putting them in the classroom as opposed to the library. What I found especially powerful about her account was the support she received from her administration--certainly, in the debate over what role a librarian plays, Warren-Gross would be a leader!