A common theme weaving
throughout the articles in the May/June 2019 issue of Knowledge Quest is the
theme of collaboration. The spirit of collaboration is particularly strong, in
the article, Implementing the National School Library Standards at the
District Level (Searles, 2019). Searles (2019) describes a
process by which her school district began implementing their goal of
systematically infusing the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) standards
starting in 2018. Recognizing the value of collaboration during the
process, Searles (2019) noted that, “All of our PD offerings are heavily
discussion-based, so that participants have ample opportunities to learn from
their peers” (p. 55). She also speaks about the need for flexibility within the
standards due to geographically induced diversity throughout her
district. Searles (2019) adds that her district has “… urban, rural, and
suburban settings; school sizes range from tiny walkable neighborhood schools
to huge behemoths; school demographics range from nearly all kids on free and
reduced lunch to nearly none, and from ethnically quite homogenous (both mostly
white and mostly black) to textbook-worthy examples of 21st century
global diversity” (p. 52).
When comparing the AASL and International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE) standards (AASL, 2018) with
Searles’s article in mind, one notices that both sets frequently mention
diversity and collaboration throughout their shared foundations. This makes
sense because it is diversity within schools that elevates collaboration to
paramount importance in the world of education. Without
collaboration, diversity cannot be adequately understood, and learning is
impeded.
Focusing on Shared
Foundation III, Collaborate, there are more similarities than differences
between the sets of standards. Occasionally a concept is addressed within
differing competencies but still within the same domain. For example, under the
domain, Think, partnering with other educators is noted as a school library
competency in the AASL standards but in its counterpart, the ISTE Standards,
collaborate with colleagues, is considered a librarian
competency. These differences are inconsequential and, overall, the
two sets of standards complement, each other well with one set sometimes
expanding upon the other. For example, within the domain, Think, AASL standards
say that libraries should partner “with other educators to scaffold learning
and organize learner groups to broaden and deepen understanding” (AASL, 2018). The ISTE counterpart says that libraries
should, connect “virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and
globally” (AASL, 2018). The specification of global collaboration denotes a
similar goal with a broader perspective.
Perusing and comparing
the remaining standards reveals a similar trend of more similarities than
differences between domains. Together, the two sets of standards provide
a comprehensive guide to librarians and educational stake holders as they
strive to create a well-rounded curriculum that will adequately prepare
students for our technology rich world.
References
Searles, S. C., (2019).
Implementing the national school library standards at the district level. Journal
of the American Association of School Libraries, 47(5), 50-55.
American Association
of School Libraries, (2018). National school library standards crosswalk
with ISTE standards for students and educators. AASL. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180828-aasl-standards-crosswalk-iste.pdf
