Invitation for public comment: AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action

[Kathy Lowe]

The AASL Learning Standards Indicators and Assessment Task Force invites you to review and critique the first draft of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action at http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/standardsinaction/standar...

After releasing Standards for the 21st Century Learner in October 2007, AASL charged the task force "to develop a document to expand and support the new learning standards" with "indicators, benchmarks, model examples, and assessments." Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action provides support for school library media specialists and other educators in teaching the essential learning
skills defined in Standards for the 21st Century Learner. It presents Action Examples for putting Standard 1: Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge, into practice in Benchmark Grades 2, 5, 8, 10 and 12+.

This is the first draft of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action. It will be revised based on input from AASL members. A second draft, expected to be posted for comment in September 2008, will include Benchmarks and Action Examples for Standards 2, 3 and 4. You are encouraged to thoroughly examine and critique the contents of this document. Please email your comments to [e-mail] with "Comments" in the subject line, before June 6, 2008.

If you are attending the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, plan to attend the Open Forum on Saturday, June 28 at 9am at the Crown Plaza Resort to provide your input to the task force members in person.

You are also invited to contribute to Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action by completing the blank template included in the draft with your own sample tasks and assessments. Examples you provide will be considered for inclusion in the final publication of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action. Please email your completed template(s) to [e-mail], with "Sample Tasks" in the
subject line.

We encourage you to forward this invitation to your school library colleagues and to distribute it widely through your state and local school library listservs and blogs.

We look forward to reading your comments!

AASL Learning Standards Indicators & Assessment Task Force:
Katherine Lowe, Chair, Massachusetts School Library Association
Cassandra G. Barnett, Fayetteville High School Library, AR
Melissa P. Johnston, Silver City Elementary, Cumming, GA
Barbara K. Stripling, New York City Department of Education
Dr. Violet H. Harada, University of Hawaii
Frances Glick, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD