Tag Archives: school librarians

Why I do what I do…

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johndewey100748

 

TOM (Theme of the month)

Why do I do what I do? Why a teacher? Why a librarian?

When I asked myself these questions, I realized that learning has engaged my mind and my heart forever. Learning is about ideas and connections that help me understand or question the world around me. Learning is a never ending journey, a yellow brick road into the future. Learning is an adventure into known and unknown worlds and can be safe or risky. Learning can be solitary or social.   Learning happens through multiple experiences in many places, with many people, and many opportunities. Learning is personal and leads to self actualization and a life well lived. Learning is FUN!

These are my core beliefs and I believe that everyone, no matter age or circumstance is entitled to pursue his or her interests that lead to learning, and as teachers and teacher librarians, we are responsible for providing supportive environments, resources, and spaces to allow that to happen.  Even more so now for learners in today’s changing world.

We are at the proverbial tipping point between “school” as we have have known it in the past two centuries, and the “school” of the future.  The purpose of education is a hot topic in the ongoing debate about reform in America’s schools, and it is being played out on the national and local level. We have moved from the agricultural and industrial ages to the information age, and the future is still unclear.  Technological change is rapid, but educational change is reactive and slow. Innovation is applauded, but standards and accountability through high stakes testing are often counterproductive. As a society, we have multiple visions for the future of education.  The process will continue to unfold.

Meanwhile, educators focus on learning and learners-just doing the job, day to day.

In spite of the uncertainties, teachers and teacher librarians build their skills as professional educators. Advances in pedagogy and neuroscience provide new resources for rethinking the ways we teach and learn. There is an art and craft of teaching that is embedded in an understanding of how learners access, interpret, and act on information and ideas.  Each learner processes ideas according to prior knowledge, experiences, and personal interests and goals. Teachers develop a range of skills and tools to meet the learners where they are and to help move them along in their learning journey. It is an art to be able to create a community in a learning space, be it the classroom or the school library. It is a craft to be able to enable the individual learners to see themselves as capable learners following their passions, asking thoughtful questions, thinking critically, and sharing their ideas with a wider audience.

The art and craft of teaching develops over time, and is a process that is iterative and expansive.  It requires a commitment to continuous reassessment of teaching goals and practices. Collaborative planning, discussion, and teaching encourage educator and student success in a learning community.  Teachers can model the 4 C’s of 21st Century Skills, and this can have a lasting impact on how schools engage learners in classrooms and school libraries.

Throughout my career as a teacher librarian, and now as a library educator, I have been  committed to sharing my vision of learning with preservice and practicing teacher librarians and educators.  As we move to the future, we have to embrace change thoughtfully and with a critical stance, and to keep our focus on why we all are here-for those young people who come through the school doors each day-ready or not to learn.  How can we help them find their passions and pursue meaningful learning journeys?

 

Image:

“John Dewey.” BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2015. 22 February 2015. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johndewey100748.html

 

Setting the Bar: Reflections on Why I Teach

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kid_jump_cropI set the bar high for myself and for the graduate student candidates I teach because the stakes are so high for our preK-12 students and teachers. As educators we understand that all children deserve a first-class education—an opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve the most they can in order to live healthy, productive, and satisfying lives. Classroom teachers and specialists also deserve a coteacher with whom to navigate the ever-changing requirements for their work and ever-increasing needs of our shared students. The school librarian can be that educator—that coteacher.

Last week, I attended the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Conference. This year’s theme was: “Mirrors and Windows: Reflecting on Social Justice and Re-Imagining Library Science Education.” The term “social justice” is related to the fair distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges in a society. People who enact the principles of social justice work to ensure that all individuals have opportunities to contribute to society and receive the full benefits of societal membership.

Social justice is a thread that is woven into the professional values of librarians. Concepts such as “equal access,” “diversity,” and “inclusion” are central tenets of librarianship. School librarians have the opportunity and responsibility to help educate ALL young people, particularly those who are members of social, cultural, and racial subgroups.

Teaching for social justice reflects an essential purpose of teaching in a democratic society and involves advocacy for social change (Sleeter and Grant). With an ever-increasing number of children and youth living in poverty, without healthcare, and/or who are homeless, the need for activism to address inequities is also ever-increasing. Literacy education and access to information are pathways for underserved young people and families to improve their life circumstances.

I believe that all educators, and school librarians in particular, who understand the power of literacy and knowledge can become activists who have a calling to work toward removing societal barriers and inequities. That is why I set the bar high for myself and for the graduate students I teach. Together, with passion, compassion, knowledge, and understanding, we can advance equality and democracy and help our nation’s youth empower themselves through literacy.

Works Cited
DeduloPhotos. “DSC_0042.JPG.” Digital Image. Morguefile. Web. 02 February 2015. <http://mrg.bz/ziIMjB>.

Sleeter, Christine. E., and Carl A. Grant. Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender. 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.

Elevator Speech: Reflections on What I Teach

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ElevatorThis month the BACC co-bloggers will reflect on the “what” and the “why” of our roles as educators of future school librarians.

Any educator at any level can benefit from reflecting on what and why she or he teaches. Last Saturday, I participated in the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Leadership Meeting at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. One of the activities we engaged in during the meeting was writing elevator speeches. Over the years, I have written many of these speeches from the perspective of a practicing school librarian…

But before last weekend and although I have been teaching at the university level for two decades (!), I had not written an elevator speech from the perspective of a school librarian educator. Although it is a work-in-progress, I share it here as a starting point for a discussion of the purpose of library science graduate education.

I, Judi Moreillon, prepare future school librarians to be 21st-century literacy experts and leaders who coteach with classroom teachers to help children and youth from all backgrounds and with various abilities to become critical, creative thinkers and lifelong learners who contribute to and thrive in a global society.

In my role as a school librarian educator, I am grateful for the opportunity to learn alongside enthusiastic graduate students. These educators have chosen to expand their classroom teacher toolkits to add the knowledge and skills of school librarians to their repertoires—including the information-seeking process, reading comprehension strategies, and digital tools for motivating, learning, and creating new knowledge. School librarian candidates learn to design instruction and teach these skills and strategies as coteachers along with classroom teachers and specialists.

Over the course of their graduate program, these librarian candidates learn to embrace a global view of the school learning community and have the opportunity to consider their potential to serve as leaders in their schools. Using professional standards and guidelines I aspire to enculturate school librarians into a profession or community of practice (Wenger 1998). To that end, I also model professional practice to show candidates how to serve.

Works Cited

d3designs. “pb210160.jpg.” Digital Image. Morguefile. Web. 01 Feb. 2015. <http://mrg.bz/iqhhRc>.

Wenger, Etienne. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Print.

Looking Forward

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years-textClosing out the month of December and the year, most folks take an opportunity to make a few New Year’s resolutions.  For teachers and teacher librarians, it’s a time to recharge ideas and plans for 2015 that refocus on “The Heart of the Matter: Why I Teach.” (Alber, 2014)

This month, as the BACC bloggers offered ways to find partners and resources to stretch scarce financial funds, we have tried to highlight successful examples of mutually beneficial projects/ideas that go beyond school walls, and engage a wider community of learners. We know that there are amazing things happening in our schools across the country, and we would like to hear about them.  Perhaps you might leave us a reply, or a link to other creative and innovative programs or projects that could be shared.

As an educator, whether you are planning for your students, or pursuing a partnership with community members, you have to be able to articulate your vision for learning, and show that you are committed to the long haul.  Throwing the spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks is fine for cooking, but innovative ideas need to be nurtured to make them sustainable.  Collaboration with a partner, team, or co-teacher helps to clarify the purpose and process for transforming teaching and learning.  Trial and error are also part of the process for teachers and students in the quest for meaningful learning. Never give up!

When I read Rebecca Alber’s inspiring post (linked above) on Edutopia, I was reminded that teachers are creative, ingenious, and resilient problem solvers who enjoy a challenge, as well as their students. In addition to her list, I would summarize a few items as entry points for innovative planning that bridge traditional and transformative teaching and learning-and make it fun. These are not new ideas, but ones that seem to be trending in schools and beyond.

Options for innovative planning in the classroom and the future:

  • Flipping curriculum content through inquiry and technology integration. Using technology tools and applications for collaboration and personalized, self directed learning, not just another medium for pencil and paper tasks. Assessment for performance and knowledge, not recall.
  • Global thinking and awareness. Digital literacy is front and center to understanding differences in cultures and communities. Empathy is a habit of mind that comes from exposure to alternative points of view.
  • Social justice and personal responsibility through authentic learning opportunities. Communities thrive where all citizens, even the youngest have connections to the environment, the history, and the values shared by all.  Doing is learning and builds pride and a sense of worth.
  • Reflection and goal setting for students and educators. Mindfulness for empowering and engaging learners of all ages. Respecting individual differences and dreams. Multiple pathways for learning.

As you peck away at your New Year’s list, which ones will you choose to try out next year?


References:

Alber, Rebecca. “The Heart of the Matter: Why I Teach.”  Edutopia, December 25, 2014. Weblog. <http://www.edutopia.org//blog/heart-matter-why-i-teach-rebecca-alber>

Image: Morguefile http://mrg.bz/OoxaYL

Badging for School Librarians

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TEKS_AASL_Alignment_Badge_unitag_qrcode_1_sizedMy online learning from the Library Journal webcast entitled “Participatory, Continuous, Connected: Top Trends from Library 2.014” Continued…

Susan Hildreth, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), shared her excitement about “radical change” in library services. She emphasized the role of libraries in communities and meeting the 21st-century needs of library users and soon-to-be users alike. She began her talk referring to initiatives related to STEM, STEAM, and STREAM (various efforts to promote science, technology, reading engineering, the arts, and math learning and careers).

In addition to sharing some of the exciting projects IMLS is currently funding, Ms. Hildreth talked about her views on the role of libraries in makerspaces and badging. When thinking about virtual professional development for school librarians, I am most interested in badging, which Ms. Hildreth describes as making informal learning visible. Two challenges she cited in badging related to who decides the criteria for a particular badge and how are various levels of competency part of the process.

To share one school librarian example, the Texas Learning4Life Implementation Team crowdsourced the TEKS Alignment wiki that aligns the Texas Essential Skills (TEKS) English language arts and reading standards for K-12 learners with the American Association of School Librarians Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

After standards were aligned, we formed a Lesson Plan Peer Review Committee and began soliciting exemplary lesson plans for publication on the site. As of this date, thirty-nine lesson plans have gone through a peer review process and have been published. A number of the librarians coauthored their lesson plans with classroom teachers and specialists and ALL lesson plans are based on coteaching (a school librarian and classroom teacher working simultaneously with students). Each contributor earned a badge, which they can display on their library Web site and include in their monthly newsletters, annual reports, and on their résumé.

Making this kind of informal learning formal is one way for school librarians to show they are continuing to develop their lesson planning and collaboration skills while on the job. This badge carries meaning to those who have earned it, and hopefully to those with whom they share it–principals, district-level librarian supervisors, and classroom teacher colleagues.

Yes! to virtual professional development in all of its many manifestations. This is an innovation from which we can all benefit.

And I highly recommend following Ms. Hildreth on Twitter (@IMLSDirector), reading more about the IMLS focus especially if you are considering a grant proposal to fund an innovation, and following the IMLS blog.

Building a Culture of Collaboration blog readers: Check out the Library Journal webcasts and Library 2.014 archives for outstanding opportunities to explore —  from topics about which you are passionate to ones about which you are clueless! Taking full advantage of online professional development is an innovation that meets the needs of time-strapped librarians and educators who have a desire to engage in participatory, continuous, and connected professional development.

Image: Badge from the TEKS Alignment Wiki

Success Starts Here

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success_rock“To thine own self be true” (Hamlet, Act I, Scene III).

Shakespeare’s Polonius had it right. We should be “loyal” to our own best interests. In order to achieve that piece of advice, we must know ourselves and be able to clearly articulate our values and beliefs. For me this is not a “new age” interpretation of the Bard’s wisdom. Living a life aligned with our values and beliefs is in our own best interest.

This fall at Texas Woman’s University, our campus is trying out the “one book” or “common book” concept. All faculty received a copy of This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. All first-year students will be reading the book for class and all faculty are invited to use this text in their courses.

When I heard Mr. Gediman speak at our back-to-school faculty luncheon, I was reminded of an article I coauthored with co-guest editor Ann Ewbank for the “Advocacy: A Test of Character” issue of Knowledge Quest: “Is There a Teacher-Librarian Worldview? This We Believe…”

For me, our beliefs are as true today as they were seven years ago.

  • All schools should have a full-time state-certified school librarian (with graduate-level course work) on their faculty.
  • All school  librarians should be the champions in their schools for the First Amendment, intellectual freedom, and the right to read. (See the “Library Bill of Rights.”)
  • All school librarians should be advocates for all school library stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, and families) to have unfettered equitable physical access to ideas and information throughout the school day and beyond.
  • All school librarians should be dedicated to helping students achieve intellectual access to ideas and information so they can be knowledgeable participants in a democratic society.

These are just some of my beliefs, honed through my library science education, that have guided my work as a practicing librarian and my preK-20 teaching. For me, success starts here. Knowing what I believe and why I believe it. Being an advocate for school librarianship from my core beliefs and values helps me stay true to myself and to align my life work with my “best interests.” Working in concert with colleagues, such as Dr. Ewbank, who share my beliefs strengthens our advocacy work.

As you begin the new school year, what do you believe? Why do you believe it? How do your actions align with your beliefs?

Works Cited

Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: Holt, 2008. Print.

Ewbank, Ann Dutton, and Judi Moreillon. “Is There a Teacher-Librarian Worldview? This We Believe…” Knowledge Quest 36.1 (2007): 12-15. Print.

kseriphyn. Success Rock. Digital Image. Morguefile. Web. 1 Sept. 2014. <http://mrg.bz/vEb63X>.

Connecting for Advocacy

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I had prepared some thoughts for posting this week, but after listening to a presentation at the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) conference yesterday I changed my mind. Yesterday morning in the School Library Media research SIG session Elizabeth Burns, a PhD student at Old Dominion University, presented her dissertation research on advocacy: Practitioner Perceptions of School Library Advocacy: A Pilot Study. Burns questions school librarians’ perception of advocacy, their experiences with advocacy in a school setting, and their preparation relating to advocacy. I think Burns gets to the heart of the matter in that there is a lack of definition of advocacy and very little research in this area. It reminds me of many concepts and ideas (such as my own research into “be a leader in technology integration”) that we as school librarians as taught and constantly reminded by AASL and ALA that we are “supposed to do” but are only given a vague definition or idea of what that entails.

You may ask what does this have to do with collaboration, but it has everything to do with collaboration. Advocacy has to do with making connections and partnerships with your stakeholders. And indeed it was this disconnect from stakeholders that emerged in Burms research. This is just a small facet of her wonderful and very timely research!

Her presentation left me with two big questions. For myself as an educator I have really been thinking about how I educate my students, future school librarians, on advocacy and how can I do a better job defining, giving real world examples, and stressing the importance of evidence. Also how do we as school librarians PROACTIVELY work to create these meaningful partnerships with the various stakeholder groups? Because as well all know when the cuts come it is already too late.

Questions to Guide Practice in 2014

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ani_superteacherThe “T” stands for “Terrific Teacher-Librarian.”

The school librarian blogosphere is alive with questions rather than resolutions for the new year. In her January 3, 2014 Neverending Search blog post “Tackling the Questions in 2014,”  Joyce Valenza cited both The Adventures of Library Girl blogger Jennifer LaGuarde’s and Blue Skunk blogger Doug Johnson’s questions for the new year.

In the spirit of collaboration and since several concepts connected with our focus here at the Building a Culture of Collaboration blog were not mentioned by Jennifer or Doug, I would like to add a few questions of my own to their lists.

Judi’s Questions:

  1. How can I continue to serve as a leader alongside my principal in order to build a culture of collaboration in our school?
  2. How can I ensure that every member of our school community understands that our library is a shared learning and teaching space for all?
  3. How can I effectively communicate that I am a learner (as well as a teacher) as I coplan and coteach with classroom teachers and specialist colleagues?
  4. How can I further develop my interpersonal skills and improve my practice of instructional partnerships to achieve effective job-embedded professional development?
  5. How can I help maximize the impact of our collaborative teaching in order to make a difference in the learning outcomes for every student in our school?

Adding these five questions to those posted by Jennifer and Doug, terrific teacher-librarians can demonstrate to students, colleagues, administrators, families, and communities that ours is an essential role in 21st-century education.

Here’s to answering these questions in our daily practice throughout the new year!

Digital image by Mark Hicks for Discovery Education

Happy New Year!

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whichway

 

Here we are already to embark on the 15th year of the 21st Century-hard to believe as it is.  Here are some random thoughts:

 

 

  • Children born in 2000 will be entering high school this year.  Are we preparing them to be innovators and explorers of the future, or are we preparing them to take tests?
  • Wikipedia is 13 years old on January 15, 2014.
  • Facebook and Twitter have been around since 2004 and 2006, respectively.
  • NCLB had a target of 2014 for all students to be reading on level by third grade. What happened with that?
  • When do we stop talking about 21st Century skills?
  • Is collaboration a worn out word or just getting started?

Traditionally, the beginning of a new year gives us an opportunity to take stock and aspire to new goals, but with all these random thoughts bouncing around inside my head, I have found it a bit challenging to get a grip on goals for a profession (education/librarianship) that is undergoing a paradigm shift.  As a result, I choose to look at small steps we have to take to accommodate and embrace change. If we do not, we will be left in the proverbial dust.  School librarianship is poised to take off or crash and burn depending on our own leadership at the local, state, and national levels.  We all have to step up and lead by example, not just wait for the “RIGHT TIME.” The time is now.  Here are some baby steps we can all take:

  • Collaboration is multifaceted and layered, and not dead!  Find your level of comfort and make connections in your school or community-physically and virtually. Collaboration is a hot educational buzz word, and teacher librarians are resident experts in schools.  Just do it!
  • Show and tell about what you do.  Most people don’t understand all the hats you wear in your job.  Social media is a key to getting the word out.  Find a new audience. Don’t just preach to the choir. Create a brand for yourself and your school library.
  • Rewrite your job description based on AASL recommendations, and share it with your administrators.  Make sure that your evaluation system matches your job, too.
  • Believe in the collective capacity of groups of like-minded individuals.  Together we can.  Engage your colleagues, your students, your parents in projects that create change.  Build that culture of collaboration that supports an exchange of ideas and learning.
  • Continuously reflect on what’s working and what’s not. Find the “pockets of excellence.”  Be flexible and nimble, and ready to change course if need be. Remember, it’s about kids and learning.

In 2014, I challenge you to take just one of these small steps to guide your year as a teacher librarian.  I will be working on many of them, too, as I support pre-service teacher librarians and librarians in practice in my role as a library educator.  I’m excited about all the possibilities and the enthusiasm that I see every day in the field.  Together we can!  Have a great year!

 

 

 

Collaboration and Assessment

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fair use fairy school A rubric that includes a cartwheel, scented paper, and handout dances? How does that measure learning about hot topic issues in school librarianship?  Why can’t assessment have a sense of fun and play?  See it here!

The end of the semester is a busy time in higher ed, but exams, projects, and reflections in coursework give instructors a chance to assess and celebrate student learning. Best educational practice and strategies for teaching may vary according to the developmental age of the students and by content, but a major goal in any classroom is to engage and excite learners. The question is how do you as an instructor recognize and honor learning?

Assessing student learning has not been a focus for teacher librarians in the past, but when new standards and collaboration enter the picture, TLs have to step up and be part of that process.

Learning about assessment through authentic examples embedded within a graduate course demonstrates possible techniques for creating assessments that inform both students and instructors about knowledge and performance.

Recently, my co-instructor and I here at the University of Vermont met with students face to face for the final class this semester.  The course is offered in a blended format, two face to face classes at the beginning and end of the semester, five videoconferencing sessions at various times, and Blackboard modules that support online communication and work.  The course, Management of School Library Media Centers, is an overview of the various administrative and leadership roles of the teacher librarian in the school environment.  Sounds dry, doesn’t it?  There are many projects and ways that students are assessed and self assess during the course.  Reflection through personal blogs is a major expectation. Written reports, and evidence of leadership and collaboration are also part of assessment. Technology is infused throughout, and students are encouraged to stretch themselves out of their comfort zone. Feedback is ongoing between instructors and students.  It’s a huge amount of work for both!

So, here we are wrapping up our time together by sharing the fruits of a semester long project that requires students to choose a hot topic of interest, find a group of like minded folks, collaborate across time and space to identify resources and talking points for the pros and cons of the issue, and to create a skit that shows evidence of learning to be performed at the final class.  Why not make it fun, and a bit less serious?  One way to do that is to ask the students to collaborate to devise a rubric that gets to the heart of the matter, but also encourages creativity, humor, and playfulness. Setting the expectations for both serious and playful criteria generates groans, but opens lots of possibilities that unleash creative juices.  The results on Saturday delighted us all.

A sampling of skits:

  • Remix/Fair use:  The Fair Use Fairy School-three fairies popped a quiz, “What would you do?”  Winners in the audience got to wear a super star cape and fairy dust.  Serious topic-good examples, and resources provided-and lots of laughs. (Photo above)
  • Graphic novels:  A disgruntled Grandma, happy ELL teacher, and struggling reader who turns a cartwheel at finding engaging literature. All with lavender scented handouts!
  • Banned books: Three points of view-grumpy parent, clueless administrator, and eager students ready to teach friends about censorship. Humor and satire galore revealed serious issues.
  • Grants:  Teacher librarian makes herself indispensable to a principal by leading the way in finding grants.  The principal says, “ We are eliminating your budget. I hope it doesn’t impact you too much!”  Skit included a baby born to one of the students during the course, adding a new criteria to the rubric.
  • Open source platforms: Panel of crazy hat people arguing the pros and cons of open vs. paid Integrated Library systems.  Great handout dance.
  • CIPA:  A manic dialogue between an administrator, a congressman, and the personification of art and porn-filled with clever humor about the purpose and quixotic implementation of  internet safety rules for children.

Who says teacher librarians can’t have fun?

Photo: Judy Kaplan