Piloting the Learning Commons

Whitney Fischer

CO

Reference:

Murray, E. (2015). Piloting the Learning Commons. Teacher Librarian, 43(1), 18-24.

Summary:

The author questions how to best serve the information literacy needs of students while adhering to the standards set forth by Common Core.  All too often, teachers feel frustrated that they are unable to teach students the current and relevant information literacy skills that students will require later in their academic careers due to benchmarks that have put in place by the government.  This creates a gap between what students need to learn and what they are being taught in schools.  The author recommends that librarians collaborate with teachers to take a more active role in creating curriculum that ensures that students are learning the skills they need to succeed.

Evaluation:
It is not uncommon to hear of the frustrations teachers experience due to the restrictions of Common Core, and I appreciate the author's solution of teachers and teacher librarians working together to formulate a curriculum that both satisfies the government and provides students with valuable information literacy skills that they will draw upon for many years to come.