Module 7: Supporting ICT & Pedagogy - On-Going Pro-D

Ironically our topic this week is about Professional Development and we happen to have a Pro-D Day here in Vernon this Friday.  Unfortunately, it does not revolve around ICT, but pedagogy of another sort; the new BC Education Plan and updated curriculum changes for next year.  I suppose ICT will be a big part of it so they are related after all.  As our school's Librarian, I have some time at each staff meeting to share ideas or lessons and books I have been using with our students and to engage our staff with questions or ideas we can pursue to improve our student's experience at school.  That's one way to share with my colleagues what I am learning and doing to improve my practice.  Moreover, I am in the unique position of working with every teacher and every student in our school which should only encourage collaboration. 

That being said, some of our staff are more willing to collaborate than others who simply see their Library block as a "drive thru" where they drop off students for 30-40 minutes without caring a great deal about what I am doing with them in the Library.  So I need to continue building relationships with those teachers and go one step further by inviting them to stay to see what I am doing with their kids and involve them more in the process while communicating about where it fits into their curriculum.  I think if I can get some buy in from that perspective then I can lead them to incorporate the technology I am using in the Library into their classrooms.  That's another way to share my changing practice with a wider community.

Last year I had many teachers working with me in terms of what they wanted me to focus on in the Library to help their students improve academically, which in turn helps them in their own classes as well.  Unfortunately, we had a high turnover of staff with layoffs and I felt a bit of a hangover after the Strike in terms of teachers wanting to work with "ADMIN", so less of it has occurred this year.  So I've had a tougher time responding to the teaching needs of our staff, though I certainly work through many other issues with them and their students whom they send to me for discipline or when they are having a problem. 

I have found our staff to be a challenge in terms of Professional Development and their willingness to participate, even though we have staff professional book clubs, we more recently worked on finding Inquiry Questions whiach seemed to be more engaging.  I have supported our staff and their various questions with professional resources in our library and some favourite books I encountered while an administrator, or when I did my Masters, or even a few that friends recommended about parenting, or simply for a good laugh.  So that aspect of being the Librarian has been excellent.

 

I am also excited that our school will be hosting an upcoming parent night revolving around how we teach math and it will be a good chance for our staff to demonstrate their expertise and for our parents to "get on board" with vocabulary and strategies to help their child improve.  I also like how it connects the home to school as both play such an important role in a child's success, and for students to see how we can work together in a fun and non-threatening way I think will pay dividends for our entire school culture.  It really comes down to communication; with colleagues, with students and families, and about what everyone is doing in their classes that is successful as a way to stretch ourselves and our practice.  It is also about sharing what didn't work when we tried something new, so others might be able to guide us towards a way that will yield better results. 

 

I think the most important things I can do this year to support others is to open the lines of communication about our learnings in order to promote staff discussion about incorporating them into more classrooms.  It is also important share our successes and failures with colleagues in order to improve, and I need to continue personally inviting others, even the most reluctant staff members, to work collaboratively with me in the Library.

Photo #1 courtesy of: http://chriswejr.com/files/2012/01/BCs-Education-Plan-Graphic-r0a4xa.jpg
Photo #2 courtesty of: http://marysville.mykansaslibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mean-librarian.jpg
Photo #3 courtesy of: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2695/4340974776_6333297941.jpg
Photo #4 courtesy of: http://www.redstaplerchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/principal%20skinner.jpg
Photo #5 courtesy of: http://www.worldpgl.com/userfiles/images/inquiry%20handle%20call%20center(1).jpg
Photo #6 courtesy of: http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu//overcomingadversity/files/2013/11/Failure-Success-1.jpg