Inna Levine

CO-Collaboration Strategies

Subramaniam, M., Ahn, J., Waugh, A., Taylor, N. G., Druin, A., Fleischmann, K. R., & Walsh, G. (2013). Crosswalk between the "framework for K-12 science education" and "standards for the 21st-century learner": School librarians as the crucial link.School Library Research, 16 Retrieved from http://dialog.proquest.com/professional/docview/1509082301?accountid=143640

Within the school library community, there have been persuasive calls for school librarians to contribute to science learning. The article presents a conceptual framework that links national standards of science education ("Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas,") to core elements embedded in "AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner", the standards that guide the teaching and learning of multiple literacies for which librarians are responsible in schools. Based on this conceptual framework, the authors of the article highlight how four middle school librarians in a large school district in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States enact and expand their five roles--information specialist, instructional partner, teacher, program administrator, and leader--while they participate in Sci-Dentity, a science-infused after-school program. They observed clear links between skills, dispositions, and responsibilities from the "Standards." taught and facilitated by these school librarians, to principles in the Framework. The authors contend that the learning of the Standards is crucial to creating and sustaining science-learning environments as envisioned in the "Framework" and argue that school librarians' role in science learning is more vital than it has ever been.

Great Video on Behaviorist Theory

Jeselyn Templin

CO

G., C. [Caitlin G.]. (2015, September 20). The breakdown: Behaviorist theory [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywfwHL18nFM

Summary:
Caitlin G’s video on Behaviorist theory effectively breaks down the finer points of both Behaviorism and Constructivism by explaining their relationship to one another and how they differ.

Evaluation:
The way she breaks down Behaviorism and Constructivism is very accessible to novices in the field. I appreciate the examples she uses, like Pavlov's dogs to explain response to stimuli, to make sure her viewers understand what she is talking about. By the end of the video I felt well-versed in the basics of Behaviorist theory and ready to research more in the form of scholarly articles.

Curriculum that Questions the Purpose of Knowledge

Litzinger, Vicki

ET-Standards-based education, CA-Written curriculum, IL-Questions

Heick, Terry. (2014, October 15). Curriculum that questions the purpose of knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/curriculum-questions-purpose-knowledge/.

Summary and Evaluation

Heick's main question is "...what is the purpose of knowledge?" (4) As educators, we tend to get lost creating and revising curriculum to the extent that we forget the purpose of knowledge. We need to remember that curriculum is a tool that tells us "what knowledge, but doesn't answer why knowledge." (5)

Overall, the article was not the best and was often confusing. However I chose this article because it is a discussion in which I've been trying to engage my middle school students. For them, the purpose of an education (re; knowledge) is to "get a good job." So, I found this article validating in that I'm not the only person posing this question. And, I think it's a question that we need to put front and center in our discussions of curriculum planning in our schools and to communicate with all stakeholders. Decades ago, we used to know the purpose of knowledge--to be well-rounded citizens who could think, read, problem-solve, share cultural meaning. In the move to national standards for the purpose of testing, college, and good jobs, we've lost sight of the purpose for knowledge. And sadly, we've created students who now only value learning for the purpose of getting a good job.