Blog #4—Explore

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 Hey, Readers! This is the third in a four-part series focusing on school librarians. Three years ago, the American Library Association published its shared foundations in the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (2018). The handbook focuses on six foundations that “dynamically combine to allow school librarians and learners to personalize their growth” (American Association of School Librarians (AASL, 2018, p. 16.) The six foundations are as follows (p. 16): 


  • Inquire

  • Include

  • Collaborate

  • Curate

  • Explore

  • Engage


I was privileged to sit down with two librarians who each discussed two of the foundations at length. Our conversations were enlightening and inspiring to me as a pre-service librarian. I know they will help others, too, in their quest to marry theory with practice.


This conversation is our final installment of the librarian shared domains. This is a continuation of a conversation that I had with Kim B., who is an amazing high school librarian in South Carolina. Kim is a former science teacher, so it is natural for her to implement the Explore foundation into her practices. As a teacher-librarian, she models the inquiry steps in her practice. Here are the highlights of our conversation.


  1. What are some examples of the ways in which you are implementing these competencies in your library program?


The shared foundation of Explore shows one of the competencies as “teaching problem solving through cycles of design, implementation, and reflection” (AASL, 2018, p. 104). Since this is much like the scientific investigation standards of her classroom roots, this is a strong point for Kim. Her planning is rooted in questions that students can go find the answers to, but the questions are nuanced enough that there is more investigation and deduction than surefire right and wrong. In this way, students understand learning to be more of a journey than a destination.


When I initially learned that Kim was a biology teacher before going to library school, I was a bit surprised. I had stereotyped bookish people as mainly English teachers, rather than people who loved science. However, this background has proven to be an asset in her practices. Not only does Kim love fiction, but her classroom experience is in nonfiction, which makes her very well-rounded. Also, understanding that learning comes through experimentation has served her well.


  1. What are some of the resources in your library program that you are using to implement these competencies?


One of the best ways for librarians to approach research is through an inquiry process, which is part of this shared foundation. Kim encourages students to explore nonfiction in print and through SC Discus as they research a problem. She also turns her library into a makerspace when classes come in to do projects. The library is the largest classroom in the building, so she pulls together instructional materials as well as physical ones to meet the needs of units of study. Her latest curriculum has been digital, since the library space has been largely quarantined, but in non-COVID times, she uses the tables in her library for student collaboration and creation.


Kim both finds and creates resources. She is big on creating questions to help students to think deeply about what they are learning. She also helps to guide students on a path to information but does not limit them to one right answer. This can look like writing, discussion, or creating models, but in the end, it is all about helping students create meaning.


  1. Do any of the competencies that you are implementing include collaboration with classroom teachers? If so, please provide examples.


When Kim saw the geometry standards, she immediately thought of a way to bring the curriculum to life. At Christmas time, she collaborated with our geometry teacher to create a makerspace unit on structures. Students had a blast creating trailer parks, farms, and single family homes out of gingerbread. It was a successful hands-on approach to understanding the measurements of these buildings.


Other collaborations that fit the Explore foundation involve inquiry research with English teachers, and Murder Mystery deduction activities in a math class. Students paired their unit of study with a novel, helping to make predictions and revise their assumptions as new information was presented. Kim knows that planning includes exploration, so she builds time and purpose for that in all of her collaborative units. Many of her units involve novels, where she uses the themes as a springboard for curiosity and further study.


I am amazed at the creative units Kim develops for our students. She is adept at the standards for all of the core curriculum and really does enhance the students’ learning through her questioning, technology, and research opportunities. Collaboration is what Kim loves best. She is a wonderful partner.


  1. What are some of the challenges that you face when trying to implement these competencies?


One of the challenges Kim mentioned was finding different ways to keep learners engaged. She knows that high school is such a busy time of growth for students, and that their attention spans are always something that must be considered. Engaging them in exploration helps with this, however. It sparks curiosity, which is a natural way to keep students interested and on task.


This year, student engagement has been a real problem, especially as students were at home more than they were in school. It will be better once they are all in the building, but distance learning is here to stay (at least in the short run). Knowing how to provide strategies for students to take charge of their own learning and understanding is a major benefit.

 

  1. Are there any other comments that you would like to make regarding the Shared Foundation / Competencies and Domains that we have discussed today?


A final point Kim made was that modeling persistence in helping teachers has been a key to her success. She actively pursues partnerships, works through challenges, and has proven to be a lifelong learner herself. She is curious and hardworking, and as she is doing her own exploration of topics, she is also sparked to share other resources with teachers. Having a role model who walks the walk in the library is of infinite benefit.


And…that’s it! Thank you all for reading through this 4-part series. I know I learned a great deal through these conversations, and I am in awe of the partnerships, projects, and knowledge both Leigh and Kim possess. The great part is their generosity of spirit in sharing it with all of us. We have much to learn as new people in the field. Walking in the pathways carved out by the ones who have gone before will be a good guide for the future.



References

ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association. (2018). National school 

library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. 

 

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