Re: [LM_NET] Target: AASL Standards & Curriculum Mapping

[Christopher Harris <christophergharris@GMAIL.COM>]

Nancy (and everyone),

I am writing back to everyone because I think this is a great topic that
deserves further discussion. As other posters have noted, we are all looking
for real ways to address the new standards and weave them into our local
curriculum documents. I can provide some ideas and information on the
process, but need help with the actualities of your curriculum work. Here
are some thoughts on getting started, I hope you will consider sharing final
products here, on the AASL blog, or through another avenue for sharing (your
local or state affiliate, a library blog, a librarian meeting, somewhere!).

Curriculum mapping is about showing in a tangible format exactly what is
being taught and when. For libraries, curriculum maps are probably best
built to reflect what is happening in other curriculum maps. Though part may
exist more independently for a library skills course, most of the mapping
should be a thread that weaves through the other subject maps. It makes no
sense to have a library skills map that calls for teaching research skills
in March when the teachers are doing a major project in November, for
example.

As far as working with the new standards, you might want to take some time
to pull together a rough outline of them. In their current format, they can
be a bit overwhelming to take in all at once - four dense pages of text!
While a scope and sequence is probably not part of the curriculum mapping
you are doing, I would suggest starting by looking at the sub-sections and
figuring out which skills need to be addressed at each grade in order to
meet the learning objectives for the classes you support. These will be
drawn from both the first skills pieces and the dispositions section. These
skills and dispositions (very similar ideas usually, different focus) then
need to be woven into the other subject maps. This is probably best done
either with the librarians working as consultants with each subject as they
map, or done after the other subjects complete their maps. If that isn't
possible, you still know about when people teach what units. So, what is the
seventh grade doing that would fit in with the skill of participating in a
social network of learners or conducting an inquiry-based research project?

The other major component of curriculum mapping is the identification of
essential and/or guiding questions. These, I think, can easily be drawn from
the responsibilities and self-assessment sections. For example "How can I
contribute to the exchange of ideas in this learning community?" could be an
essential question to guide a discussion about research, publication, and
other ideas like copyright and information ethics. Given an inquiry-based
model, these questions become one of the most important pieces of your
instructional planning. These questions have to intrigue and challenge
students while also providing a framework for a complex discussion about
learning and our interactions with information. "How private are my online
interactions?" is certainly a question that needs to be asked and explored
by and with students!

I hope that helps some. We have a huge task ahead of us that comes just many
of us were finally getting comfortable with using and aligning the
Information Power standards. Now we are faced with new processes like
curriculum mapping and new standards! I can't wait to see what you come up
with, though, and I hope you will share your expertise back out with the
rest of us so we can learn through this process together.

Christopher Harris - infomancy@gmail.com
Coordinator, School Library System
Genesee Valley BOCES - Le Roy, NY
Vote Chris! ALA Council Candidate 2008

On Jan 8, 2008 9:35 PM, Nancy O'Donnell <odonn247@roadrunner.com> wrote:

> Happy New Year Everyone,
> Next week my library dept will be having a staff dev. class. We plan on
> discussing the new AASL Standards and ways to put these standards into
> curriculum maps. With our past discussions, we just seem to be spinning our
> wheels. With the new AASL standards, our NYS curriculum standards and the
> expectations of our school district that every department will develop a
> curriculum map, we don't know where to begin our discussions. Has anyone had
> these discussions with your departments or done any curriculum mapping with
> the new standard? Please share your tips or advice. Thanks for the help.
>
> Nancy O'Donnell
> Library Media Specialist
> Hoover Middle School
> 247 Thorncliff Rd.
> Buffalo, New York 14223
> odonn247@roadrunner.com
>

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