Some of my personal
takeaways from this process of exploring different topics in
teacher-librarianship have been being able to take a step back after the
exploration and discovering a greater sense of clarity in my own personal
motivations and teaching philosophy. For example, my interest in genrefying our
library is to promote accessibility and increase students’ sense of ownership
in the space. Understanding that motivation in a new way has and will inform my
choices about future projects and even space layout.
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Public Domain Pictures
A
new area of growth for me will be a greater focus on supporting my staff and
their professional development. I knew this was part of my role as a
teacher-librarian but was often at a loss about where to start. Through a few
other student’s blogs, I have a few first steps to take. J. Nagra suggests
focused surveys to gauge possible needs that can be met by the
teacher-librarian (http://mrnagrasclass.com/2019/02/20/supporting-the-staff/). I think this approach would appeal to my staff
because they might not have a spare lunch for a full meeting, but they would
appreciate something they can sit down to when convenient.
Student
engagement, especially for the upper intermediates, is something that has been
a focus in my explorations and some of my trials and errors in our library. I
was really interested in a post from R. McLean about Breakout EDU (https://toteachalibrarian.home.blog/2019/02/18/inquiry-project-blog-3/) and the possibilities it offers for collaboration,
digital integration, problem-solving, and just general fun. I hope to present
the idea to a few of our intermediate teachers as a possibility for
collaboration next year.
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Picpedia
The
topic that resonated most for me was the module on Developing World
Libraries and to a lesser degree the role mobile devices play. My school is
in an affluent neighbourhood and we live in an affluent province and nation. I
am interested in the idea of access, both physical and digital, and how that
can shape and change lives. I have seen my students get excited when they have
access to the exact book they want, or a topic they didn’t think existed in the
library, or a robotics tool they really want to try. Access changed their
perception, their mood, and their outlook. Looking at access to information in
a global sense is something I am more aware of after our explorations through
this class, and something I hope to help my students be more aware of as well.
Works cited:
McLean, Reanne. "Inquiry Project
Blog #3." To Teach a Librarian, 18 Feb. 2019,
Nagra, Jagroop. "Supporting the
Staff." Mr. Nagra's Class, 20 Feb. 2019,
Sanders, James. "Introducing
Breakout EDU." YouTube, 24 Sept. 2015,
This is a good post which reflects on some of your key takeaways from our learning thus far. I appreciate the connections you are making with your peers and their blog posts. I also appreciate your comments about world libraries, your new understandings, and your goals going forward.
ReplyDeleteI am also interested in generfying my school library, once I am in! I too feel like I really want to focus on supporting teachers professional development, especially when it comes to using digital technology in the classroom. I think that a lot of teachers can be intimidated by all the new tech and I feel that in our role as teacher librarians we can do a lot to support our colleagues.
ReplyDeleteMany Libraries in my district had been genryfied, it is a big plus. I really like the EDU box idea. And yes, we TL have a lot of support to provide. Cheers and thank for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Dominique! It's good to know that genrefying has been successful in your district. I know there are many that have gone that direction in mine, but it's not universal. The process seems a bit overwhelming but the end result really seems fantastic.
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