Science instruction and pre-service librarian and teacher instruction examined in School Library Research

CHICAGO — Two new research articles are now available as part of the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research (SLR). "School Library Research offers research studies featuring aspects of library programming for distinctive populations," said Jean Donham, SLR co-editor. "One new study examines how important school librarians are in science instruction. The second study examines how educators of school librarians and teachers view teaching their students about collaboration and 21st century skills. SLR aims to disseminate original research to expand our professional knowledge and improve our practice."

The research team of Mega Subramaniam, June Ahn, Amanda Waugh, Natalie Greene Taylor, Allison Druin, Kenneth R. Fleischmann and Greg Walsh contend that the school librarians’ role in science learning is more vital than it has ever been in their article “Crosswalk between the Framework for K–12 Science Education and Standards for the 21st-Century Learner: School Librarians as the Crucial Link.” The team created a crosswalk between the “Framework for K–12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas” and the AASL “Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.” They then used that crosswalk to highlight how four middle school librarians in a large school district in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States expanded their five roles—information specialist, instructional partner, teacher, program administrator and leader—while they participated in Sci-Dentity, a science-infused after-school program.

In “Preparing Teachers and Librarians to Collaborate to Teach 21st Century Skills: Views of LIS and Education Faculty,” Don Latham, Melissa Gross and Shelbie Witte discuss their project exploring the views of library and information studies (LIS) and education faculty regarding instruction of 21st-century skills and librarian-teacher collaboration to pre-service school librarians and teachers. The team interviewed and compared the views and experiences of LIS faculty and education faculty to discover their sense of which skills were taught in each discipline. In addition, they described their own experiences in collaborating with teachers and/or librarians, as well as their views on where collaboration was taught in their respective curricula, where it could be taught and how it might be taught most effectively.

School Library Research (ISSN: 2165-1019) is the successor to School Library Media Research (ISSN: 1523-4320) and School Library Media Quarterly Online. The journal is peer-reviewed, indexed by H. W. Wilson's Library Literature and by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology and continues to welcome manuscripts that focus on high-quality original research concerning the management, implementation and evaluation of school library programs.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.