AASL Experiences #2: Lena

My second conversation about the implementation of the AASL Standards was with Lena. Lena is a school media specialist in an elementary school that serves students in 4K through 5th grade, and she served as my supervising librarian for my internship. I chose to center my conversation with Lena on the Inquire Shared Foundation of the AASL Standards. A library can naturally lend itself to aid in inquiry by providing a media-rich environment with print and online sources, as well as items and materials that students can use to create or build. These items and materials may also be provided through apps and websites so that students can create or build in a digital space.

Lena’s library schedule is fixed, which means that she sees multiple classes each day and all of the students in the school once a week. One competency for the Inquire Shared Foundation is to activate the prior knowledge of students as they gain new knowledge and make meaning. Lena aims to do this in every lesson, whether she is teaching about a reading skill or providing information about a topic in a read aloud. She is in communication with teachers often, and they will let Lena know what skills they are working on in class so that she can support classroom instruction. For example, she recently taught a rhyming lesson to a Kindergarten class that was having trouble understanding that concept. Lena says that she has shared the Big 6 research strategy with students and teachers, but that it is difficult to help implement it when she only sees a group of students once a week.

While reflecting on both my interview with Lena and my interview with Kay, the importance of communicating with teachers regularly and making yourself known as the media specialist has been emphasized. I can say from personal experience that sometimes, classroom teachers aren’t sure what to ask a media specialist for or do not know of ways that the media center even applies to their subject area. Availability and communication will be key when working to collaborate with teachers. The AASL standards can be applied across all curricular areas, and the school media center can be instrumental in helping students master content.