AASL CLASS research summit call for participants

CHICAGO – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) invites school library researchers to apply to attend Research Practitioner Partnerships (RPPs) in School Library Research: The Third CLASS Summit taking place Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Philadelphia prior to the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting. The deadline for applications is 11:00 a.m. Central on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019.

Dr. Anna-Ruth Allen will be featured as the keynote speaker for the Third CLASS Summit. Allen is a research associate at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Institute of Cognitive Science. Her research and teaching focus on sociocultural studies of how youth learn in and out of school. Allen also explores how adults in education systems work together in different kinds of research-practice partnerships (RPPs). RPPs are long-term collaborations between researchers and practitioners focused on important problems of practice. Allen will participate in a panel discussion at the conclusion of the summit, providing input into the CLASS report.

Early-, mid-, and late-career school library researchers are invited to apply. Applications should include a two-page CV along with a 500-word letter of intent. Applicants will be judged by a diverse team of researchers outside of the CLASS research teams on the following criteria:

• A clearly articulated research agenda related to school librarianship
• A record of published research or a strong potential for published research
• Experience in peer review
• Practical experience with K-12

A small stipend will be provided to participants to offset one night’s stay at a hotel. Participants will be notified of their application status by Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. 

The first CLASS Summit (LG-62-13-0212-13) was held in Chicago in April 2014 and resulted in the publication of a white paper. The paper proposed a research agenda to be implemented in a series of projects. The first of such projects, CLASS II (RE-00-15-0114-15), focused on surfacing causal linkages from education research regarding the school-based, malleable factors impacting student positive outcomes. At the Third CLASS Summit, a report of the CLASS II research conducted to date will be available for peer review. A second CLASS Summit was held in April 2016 in Washington, DC, and featured a discussion of causal research designs and participant submitted vexations/ventures. 

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.