This is Part 2 of a three-part summary of selected articles from the journals of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) over a period of thirty-five years from 1972 to 2007. This three-part series in the April, May, and June (2009) issues of "School Library Media Activities Monthly" ("SLMAM") will illustrate the evolution in…

Examines creative thinking in relation to modern instructional programs and information literacy and compares creative and critical thinking. Discusses teaching for thinking, techniques for sparking creativity, activities for creating a mental museum, synectics (a group creative process to create new insights), and creating meaning through story…

Two challenging criteria for judging information involve bias and authority. In both cases, judgments may not be clearly possible. In both cases, there may be degrees or levels of acceptability. For students to gain experience and to demonstrate skills in making judgments, they need opportunities to consider a wide spectrum of resources under 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 the meaning of knowledge management and the increasing need for school library media instructional specialists. Topics include electronic learning collaborations; global relations and critical thinking in information literacy; and implications for library collections. (LRW)

Discusses search strategy, strategies for understanding information, and instructional strategies as they relate to information literacy. Topics include orientation to sources and services; awareness of key literature; critical thinking and problem solving; inquiry; reading comprehension to enhance understanding; and strategies used by proficient…

Distinguishes between critical and creative thinking and discusses critical-thinking in relation to modern instructional programs and information literacy. Outlines goals in critical-thinking curriculum, critical thinking skills (student disposition, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, presenting argument, and reflection), and…

Discusses thinking skills as they relate to library information skills, especially information inquiry, information literacy, and information use. Topics include ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) standards of student performance and bibliographic instruction; college level critical thinking skills; and authentic tasks for…

Discusses the importance of students learning and practicing effective questions in a manner that leads to organizing how information is to be searched, retrieved and sorted. Outlines ways school library media specialists should engage students in question-generating and in learning to research answers to questions. (AEF)

Discusses inquiry in light of new emphases on student centered learning and electronic information technology. Topics include controlled inquiry, guided inquiry, modeled inquiry, and free inquiry; relationships among inquiry, media literacy, information literacy, creative thinking, and critical thinking; standards for language arts; and science…

Discussion of the evolving role of the school library media specialist focuses on a model of the teaching role in the development of a critical thinking curriculum. Topics addressed include literacy redefined; restructuring media programs; collection development and information access; staffing changes; and intervention and evaluation strategies.…