Students today have access to more information than ever, but learning how to evaluate and use it is essential. The AASL Shared Foundation of Curate guides students in selecting, organizing, and understanding information. My interview with Nicole Scott showed how this process works in a middle school library.
Mrs. Scott works as a librarian at Fairforest Middle School, serving about 1,100 students in grades 6-8. The school is a Title I school with a diverse student body. Her library program mainly supports English/Language Arts classes, which visit every three weeks. During these visits, she leads short lessons or activities, then gives students time to check out books. She also runs a morning makerspace, where students can explore and create before school starts.
To better understand how she implements the Curate Shared Foundation, I asked the following questions:
- How do you teach students to choose appropriate and reliable sources?
- How do you help students gather and organize information?
- How do students present the information they’ve curated?
- How do you help students reflect on the quality of information?
- Can you give an example of a lesson involving evaluating information?
A key theme from our conversation was the need to teach students directly how to evaluate sources. Mrs. Scott said she often uses SC Discus, which she called “our state-sponsored collection of databases,” and works with classroom teachers to help students learn how to choose reliable information. She also uses the CRAAP method, which helps students judge sources based on “Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.” This gives students a clear way to check if information is trustworthy.
I also noticed how much collaboration goes into curation at her school. Mrs. Scott mentioned that students “have gathered and organized information with their ELA teachers,” while she mainly helps students find and evaluate good resources. This shows that information literacy is a shared goal, not just something taught in the library. It made me realize how important it is for librarians and teachers to work together so students get a consistent experience.
One strong example of this was her lesson on the CRAAP method. Students worked in groups to review printed articles from different sources, looking at things like when they were published, who wrote them, and how credible they were. Each group had to decide if their source was reliable and explain why before sharing their results. This activity made students think carefully and talk more deeply about the material.
Mrs. Scott also stressed the importance of discussing information quality regularly. Instead of making source evaluation a single lesson, she regularly discusses “why some sources are not accurate or trustworthy, and why other sources are more reputable and reliable.” By repeating these conversations, she helps students feel more confident about handling information independently.
She also shared helpful advice for future librarians. She said it is important to “always be flexible” and to treat students with compassion, since librarians often see different sides of students than classroom teachers do. She also pointed out that setting boundaries and standing up for yourself in the school is important.
This interview challenged me to think more intentionally about how I will teach information literacy to my students. I learned that it is important to give students clear tools, like the CRAAP method, and to keep practicing those skills over time. I also realized how valuable it is for librarians and teachers to work together, not just for students to collaborate.
Looking ahead, I want my library program to give students chances to actively evaluate, talk about, and think about information, instead of just taking it in. This conversation showed me that curation is more than collecting resources; it is about helping students become thoughtful, critical users of information, which is a skill they will need long after school.
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