AASL Assessment Forum
Reflections from Karen Appleton - Instructional Media/Technology Consultant -
Zones 1-2-3, Prairie Lakes AEA - on the AASL Assessment Forum
One of the haunting questions that causes teacher-librarians to awake with a start in the wee hours of the night is, “how can I measure what students have learned from me, from my articulated and sequenced library program”? The American Association of School Librarians is aware of this dilemma, and as a result, hosted a Fall Forum in Rhode Island , October 13 - 15, 2006.
“Assessing Student Learning in the School Library Media Center ” drew over 500 teacher librarians from 43 states, representing local schools, regional service centers, and state Departments of Education.
Speakers Violet Harada , Marjorie Pappas and Barbara Stripling focused on definitions of assessment, and why teacher librarians should seek to be involved in it; what types of assessment may be employed to measure learning and growth in information ‘fluency' (a change in terminology Barbara Stripling is proposing that deserves some pondering and discussing); what tools might we consider using to take our measures of achievement; and just where to do we get the authority to do all this?
Violet Harada is co-author of the book, Assessing Learning: Librarians and Teachers as Partners, 2004 and the article "Building Evidence Folders for Learning through Library Media Centers", School Library Media Activities Monthly, November 2006. Her articles (some co-authored with Ken Haycock) have also appeared in Teacher Librarian and LMC. Do an EBSCO search to find them!
- The true purpose of assessment is to assist learners in determining what more they should/want/need to learn
- Additionally, assessment assists instructors in determining what they need to teach/re-teach/teach differently. That self-examination of what should be done differently is pivotal in making us more effective in our teaching, and in demonstrating how well we are getting our real job done: creating life-long learners and users of information.
Barbara Stripling - Director of Library Services for the Department of Education of New York City.
- Introduced her language edit - from information literacy to information fluency. (Stripling believes that “fluency” is a term more comprehensible to those outside of our professional circle of librarianship. Yet, when the reading experts with whom I interact hear ‘fluency”, they link this to reading strategy. I wonder too, about our connections with visual literacy, digital literacy, technology literacy, computational literacy, media literacy…)
- Use a variety of assessments - diagnostic, formative, and summative.
- The key is to identify what are the learning outcomes, and then devise your assessment to measure the degree of achievement for those outcomes.
Essential guides for developing assessments of information fluency -
- Establish clear information fluency (literacy) learning goals
- Define clear criteria of application of skills
- Align goals and criteria with assignments
- Move to student self-assessment
- Make the assessments a natural part of teaching and learning.
Especially informative were the examples from the New York City School Library System located at this Web site below. Click on "Information Fluency Continuum"
http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/TeachLearn/OfficeCurriculumProfessionalDevelopment/SchoolLibrarySystem/default.htm
One of the last sessions looked at standardized testing and how it measures information literacy skills. I found myself trying, yet again, to balance between teaching to the test and delivering instruction that would provide students with the skills to accurately respond to questions on high-stakes tests. It is important for us to stay on our toes, to stay close to this edge, for the good of our students.
The wrap-up session for the AASL Fall Forum delivered a wonderful punch for all in attendance. Allison Zmuda is not a teacher librarian, and had far fewer grey hairs than many of us, but she brought a refreshing and challenging perspective for all to carry home. Who gives us the authority to assess and measure student performance? This brings us right back to the root of our dilemma as teachers and librarians: how can we assess if we are not certain that we will be accepted as teachers and assessors. Zmuda asked us: “Where does your authority come from?” Our authority comes from achievement gaps. If we know that students are not learning, if we know that they are not performing well on the tests, if we know they are notably ill-prepared for post-high school endeavors, we have and should take the authority to close the gap and make a difference. That should be our reasoning with administrators and fellow teachers: it is for the good of the students. Find out more in her article: “Where Does Your Authority Come From? Empowering the Library Media Specialist as a True Partner in Student Achievement”. School Library Media Activities Monthly 22:1 (September 2006).
Allison Zmuda - Educational Consultant with Education Connection in Litchefield, CT- is the co-author of Transforming Schools: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement, ASCD, 2004.
Assessment is an opportunity for all of Iowa 's teacher librarians who want to make a difference in student achievement and who recognize we have a direct and vital role to play in preparing our students to be life-long learners and users of information.
Snapshots from the last year!
Julie Larson and Sarah Latcham present new MC/GF Resources for K-6 Students
