In 2003 Paula Montgomery, founding editor of School Library Media Activities Monthly and former branch chief of school media services for the Maryland State Department of Education, published a guide to teaching information inquiry. Her staff also illustrated the elements of information inquiry as a recursive cycle with interaction among the…

This is Part 1 of a three part series of articles summarizing selected articles from the journals of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) over a period of thirty-five years from 1972 to 2007. Part 1 traces the evolution of the library media specialist to emphasize a greater student-centered approach to teaching and learning.…

Discusses basic facts about the brain and new research findings concerning growth and development that may help reconsider how information literacy skills are taught. Explains Kovalik's Integrated Thematic Instruction Model that recommends taking into account brain research and tying into relevant activities for the entire school year. (LRW)

Information literacy standards for student learning, indicators for student performance, and hundreds of collaborative lesson plans around the country give some indication of the skills students are expected to master as effective and efficient users of information. Hopefully the goal is that all involved in information literacy education become…

Students use the Internet for schoolwork in ways that reach far beyond what schools require or support, and they conceive of information literacy in paradigms different from those of adults. Recent surveys by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (Levin and Arafeh 2002) on the role of the Internet in schools suggest that there is a…

Discusses the importance of critical literacy education, and highlights its history in development of education settings. Outlines the steps in critical debate, and describes the three styles of formal debate. Notes that jurisprudential inquiry is a key instructional method for learning to think about social policy, and describes three competency…

Discusses idea strategies that can help the learner comprehend and communicate, and composition strategies that can be applied to writing for communication. Highlights include thought starters; information evaluation phases, including analyzing the audience; strategies in writing management; drafts and revisions; and introductions and conclusions.…

Too often school library media specialists shy away from program assessments and fail to seek out the opportunity to participate in the review of their school or district for accreditation purposes. On a smaller scale, but just as critical, is the school library media specialist's reluctance to be judged professionally as his or her fellow…

Focuses on synthesis in research--the combination of thesis and antithesis in the dialectical process, producing a new and higher form of being. Discusses kinds of synthesis (unique communication, plan of operation, abstract relations); synthesizing information pieces; summary practice leading to synthesis; and questions of analysis and synthesis.…

Focuses on "organizers," tools or techniques that provide identification and classification along with possible relationships or connections among ideas, concepts, and issues. Discusses David Ausubel's research and ideas concerning advance organizers; the implications of Ausubel's theory to curriculum and teaching; "webbing," a…

Focuses on defining constructivism, which includes learning as an active process of knowledge construction and instruction as a process of supporting that construction. Discusses 10 constructivist assumptions about learning. Describes 11 actions that define the constructivist teacher. (AEF)

Discusses the textbook as instructional technology; research providing insight on the impact textbooks have on curriculum, teaching approaches, and student learning; the award-winning book "Lies My Teacher Told Me"; research indicating how the textbook can be more dominant in influencing learning than primary sources; advantages and disadvantages;…

Focuses on using effective instructional analogies, or explicit, nonliteral comparisons between two objectives, or sets of objects, that describes their structural, functional, and causal similarities. Describes the structure of analogies; common analogies to help younger learners become excited about searching for information in the library; and…

Advocates of critical literacy emphasize the empowering role that literacy can and should play in reshaping the environment in which one lives and works. Through mastering the skills of critical literacy, students apply the inquiry process and knowledge gained as a means for political or social action. By gathering appropriate information,…

Discusses the use of storytelling by teachers and librarians to promote reading. Topics include folktales; communication through story; oral traditions; learning through story; impact on reading, comprehension, and composition skills; telling/listening interaction; storytelling as a leadership skill; and story and inquiry or discovery learning.…