Giving Back to Leap Forward

  

This topic deserves a whole living website, not just a little blog.  The idea of sharing new ideas to colleagues who are in all different spaces in their abilities, experience, and interests in order to better student learning is monumental.

Colossal.

So, this is just a taster of what we might be thinking about when looking into how we can give back to our colleagues and community in order to leap forward in teacher and student learning.

(Image created at imgflip.com by K. DuMont)

There is so much literature about collaboration.  I am leaning into two influential documents used here in British Columbia: From School Library to Library Learning Commons and Leading Learning Framework.

Working with teachers to improve student learning is the absolute best part of being a teacher-librarian.  However, that isn’t to say it’s easy.  A person can learn all there is to know about up and coming ideas, technology, and assessment and still not a soul is darkening their doorway.  As with most things in life, relationships are key to the process.  But there is so much more to making collaboration happen.  Teachers are some of the busiest people out there, and some of them guard their professional autonomy like Fort Knox.  Some are just happy doing what they’ve been doing for the last 30 years, and others want the world and more. So how can we possibly lead learning with such a diverse list of needs?

Leading teachers can be summed up in the 3c’s to From School Library to Library Learning Commons (2017) which are communication, coordination, and collaboration (p.21). 

 The concept of communication is two-fold: in person and online.  The idea is to communicate with others at every opportunity.  This means through staff meetings, in the hallway in passing, by publishing and marketing a memo from the LLC, having an online presence on social media accounts that your clientele follow such as Twitter or Instagram, and having an easy to navigate website.  If your colleagues do not know what you have to offer, they simply won’t be ready to work with you.

Next, according to the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association, one should “make yourself available to help coordinate facilities and events” (p.21) in order to better get involved with the school and individual staff members.  Plan activities for children and invite adults to come.  In this way, colleagues can enter without commitment in a safe place, and the teacher-librarian has an opportunity to showcase some services and open a conversation.

Finally, in regards to collaboration, be “open, non-judgemental, and good-humoured!” (BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association, 2017, p.21) as it is a big leap for many to open their practice up for collaboration.  Some great ideas are to find ways to reduce workloads for teachers in order to draw them in.  Also, find ways to give teachers opportunities to collaborate with each other, such as covering one class so they can meet on a prep.  

The Leading Learning Framework discusses collaborative learning in a growth continuum.

The goals to achieve according to this document are worth looking at as they give us a target to reach when sharing our learning with others.  

First, we strive to have the LLC as a driver of school wide collaborative teaching and learning and is active in modelling and celebrating collaborative learning.  This looks like both using the LLC space to have active lessons that others can join as well as having a space to celebrate what students have accomplished.  The latter is a bonus as it also doubles as marketing for programs and services that are offered.

Next, we strive to create partnerships in learning.  This, of course, includes partnering with teachers to empower student agency but is so much more than that.  And the other partnerships you build will further your opportunities to collaborate with teachers.  Here are some examples;

1. Partner with students: showcase their work, help set up peer supports, and use their interests to reach others who are less likely to want to partner with you.

2. Community partnerships matter.  Reach out to community members for events like Human Library. Such events bring teachers into your LLC and give you an opportunity to reach out to them.  Also, community members often have expertise we can lean on - see my last blog titled “Where to Turn to Keep Fresh”.

3. School administration partnerships help you lead school improvement.  Partnering with administration is key. They can support a huge change in your school and help you get into classrooms to support teachers.  “The administrator is key to the collaborative culture of a school” (BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association, 2017, p.7).

4. District administration partnerships with the goal in mind to work collaboratively with other teacher-librarians and experiment with new technologies and learning strategies in the LLC.  

Many learners, teachers included, are reluctant to open up to new ideas and collaborators for fear of change, fear or being judged, and due to personal time constraints.  Teacher-librarians can do a bunch of little things to showcase their services, open others’ minds to new ways of thinking and learning, and make a safe place for learners to explore.  It is in these details, along with the strong relationships built in the school building, that allow teacher-librarians to give of themselves in order to push learning forward in their school.

Works Cited:

BC Teacher Librarians’ Association. (2017). From School Library to Library Learning Commons: A Pro-Active Model for Educational Change. BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association. https://bctladotca.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/from-school-library-to-library-learning-commons.pdf

Leading Learning Framework – Leading Learning. (n.d.). Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. Retrieved June 4, 2022, from https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/leading-learning-framework/