Journey to a Flexible Schedule: Part 1 (Kelly Hincks) Also see Parts 2 & 3 A year ago I shared a post called Momentum in a Fixed World. In this post, I shared the goal to move to a flexible schedule. Just as planned we transitioned to this type of schedule with the first- and second-grade students this year. The library works with 261 students that are enrolled in preschool to second grade. Setting the Stage: Presenting to My Colleagyes: My school director has been very supportive of this transition from the start. Starting the Year: Team Meetings: In August, before school began, I got myself invited to the team meetings. Digital Planning Form: I shared a collaborative planning form that was created in Google Forms with all teachers from preschool to second grade. One Month In: During the month of September, I was able to work with first- and second-grade students on thirty-six collaborative lessons. What We Are Still Working On: Keeping My Mojo: For me, the most challenging thing so far is trusting myself and my direction. Author: Kelly Hincks
Collaboration and reflection Proactivity and Reflection: Tools to Improve Collaborative ExperiencesMinnesota Media, 2004 Collaboration is the Holy Grail of librarianship. It’s how we become indispensable to others, but it is arguably the most challenging part of our jobs. Library media specialists can and should add genuine value to the educational process through collaborative planning and teaching. A book worth reading is Reflective Practice to Improve Schools. Below are a few suggestions drawn from professional reading (see appended bibliography), from watching really good library media specialists at work, and from reflecting on my own successful collaborative efforts. Please don’t just read the suggestions. Read each suggestion about initiating or improving collaborative experiences.Think of an example of this suggestion from your personal experience.Jot down notes about the factors that may have contributed to the success or failure of the experience. That’s it. I. II. III. IV. V.
How School Leaders Can Attend to the Emotional Side of Change “It’s a conservator’s occupation,” Evans said. “Tons of what we do in school are about values that don’t, we hope, change. It’s not just about things that do change.” These tensions inherent to the system mean that what educators most need is not constant change, which can be off-putting and stressful if sustained for too long, but creativity. There is value in much of what schools currently teach, but there’s also plenty of room for creative teaching strategies to reach all students. One of the most difficult things about leading change in schools, according to Evans, is that there often aren’t clear structures to deal with conflict or disagreement. “In school, everything is personal, which is how we want it,” Evans said. Evans draws on the work of Roland Barth, who describes the difference between congeniality and collegiality. “If you take the congenial out of the school, you strip it of all the connective tissue that makes it a decent place to be,” Evans said.
7 Tips For Successful Collaboration Who We Are and What We Do We are National Board Certified Teachers who have been collaborative partners for almost a decade at Oceanside High School in New York. Our collaboration works because we’re working together towards a common goal: helping our students reach their fullest potential. We teach two integrated sections of ninth grade Honors English and Social Studies, where our students move as a cohort between our classes, giving them an experience that illustrates how English and Social Studies are related by providing them with the opportunity to read text deeply, and link themes occurring across both classrooms. In addition, we team teach a Conference class where students delve deeper into the humanities, exploring concepts that link us all in the human experience. Every year we have the opportunity to teach grades other than the ninth grade integrated program, and we choose to stay together. Carve Out Common Planning Time Use Your School Schedule To Your Advantage Maintain Hope
the prep-time hat (Barbara Braxton) Collaborative planning and teaching is the ideal in the teacher librarian’s world – that wonderful state when you can plan the aspects of an investigation that will be your responsibility and then team teach them in the library with the classroom teacher assisting (and learning.) This approach is so successful because all the investigations into how the brain functions and how people learn suggest that learning in context is most likely to be retained and this is considerably heightened when there is curiosity about, a need and desire for learning, a connection to it and the expectation of success. Adapted from “The Whole Story: natural learning and the acquisition of literacy in the classroom” Cambourne, B. (1988) When the brain is confronted with new information, the data goes through a series of ‘filters’ to determine where it fits in with what it already known. So if this is your situation, how can you make the most of it so the students can maximise what is on offer? Walking the walk
Co-Teaching Without Boxes or Boundaries A MiddleWeb Blog The metaphor “thinking outside of the box” has recently been brought to my attention in a number of situations as people have reached out to say, “We need your ‘out of the box’ thinking on this…” After hearing this statement a number of times over the last few weeks, it made me think about what we are actually saying when we use this fairly clichéd expression. Of course thinking and learning are contextual – and there are times when thinking inside the box may be appropriate. But overall, thinking out of the box has gained momentum as a valued way of creating solutions. OK, so you guessed it: I am going in the direction of co-teaching and the need for co-teachers to allow their thinking to be stretched and empowered! Before you read on, take a moment and guide yourself to think about finding solutions through a fresh perspective. Out of the Box Co-Thinking In fact I’m thinking when two teachers are in the room and in-synch, there’s no need for in-box or out-of-box thinking.
Seven Tips to Make Teacher Collaboration Time Productive Become a Teacher >> Browse Articles >> Hot Topics Featured Author: Mrs. Laura Owen Mrs. Add Mrs. The opinions and statements made in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the opinions or representations of the University of Phoenix. About University of Phoenix At the largest private university in North America, you can attend classes at one of our more than 190 convenient locations. Earn your degree sooner than you think. While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. University of Phoenix University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association (ncahlc.org). Walk into a school today and you will rarely see teachers independently planning for instruction. Common planning time is most effective when team members establish ground rules at the beginning of the school year. 1. 2. For each meeting, a clear purpose must be identified. 3.
Scheduling – priorities and dissonance – Informative Flights New year, new chances, old problems. The perennial one of scheduling library time. I kind of started commenting on people’s posts and questions on FaceBook and then decided it merited a blog post on its own. There is also a whole discussion on libraries and librarians going at the IBO level where priorities, recognition, roles, responsibilities etc. are also being hashed out. But coming from a corporate background and not an educational one, I sometimes can’t help seeing things a bit differently. One of the most useful courses I followed during my librarian studies was “Designing spaces for learning”. So I’ll begin this post by giving a shout-out to my principal who gives me the autonomy necessary to both think all this out and then to discuss it with her and implement it. Priorities The first part of the process is to decide what your priorities are. My personal priority statement is “I am about literacy“. Then comes the fixed part, which fulfils my literacy priority. Like this:
Deep Learning Experiences within a Fixed Schedule – School Library Connection Blog Fixed schedule got you feeling trapped? This week, we’re featuring a few favorites from our archive, after Sue Kowalski put in a request from #ALAAC16 for some resources to support our many colleagues on fixed schedules. Today’s article from Julie Green and Laurie Olmsted focuses on creating deep learning experiences for second graders within a fixed schedule. Two and a half years ago, elementary school librarians in the Birmingham Public School district had to change to a fixed schedule for half the day with kindergarten through second grade students. As a result of this change, school librarians at the lower elementary level typically saw one kindergarten, one first grade, and one second grade class each day. A Jump-Start Last year, elementary school librarians identified an inquiry and research focus for second graders. Further Research School librarians in the district used their research skills to try to find answers. Implementation References: Aston, Dianna H. Collins, Kathy.
S.O.S. for Information Literacy Collaboration is an evolving process that does not happen overnight. Here are some of our tips for developing successful collaborative relationships. Develop a "collaborative mentality." You might also find the brief ERIC Digest "Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships" to be helpful as a background on collaborative relationships.
Nikki Robertson's schedule Volunteers needed. Please use THIS LINK to sign up as a Winkley Elementary School Library VOLUNTEER. 1. Click on the day(s) that you would like to volunteer. 2. Replace the text in the "WHAT" block with your FIRST & LAST NAME. 3. Please email Mrs. Please contact Ms. How to Create Fruitful Co-Teaching Partnerships A MiddleWeb Bog By now co-teachers around the nation have had a chance to get off on the right foot. I hope you had a flying start! Maybe even hit the ground running! The first goal for co-teachers is to pave the way for a successful year by establishing a learning environment that nurtures a sense of community. Some of you are skipping along a self-generated, smooth partnership pathway — while others may find themselves on shaky ground. If you are working together by choice, it’s likely you are well into a good groove by now! A forced pairing can flourish This is the reality: most co-teachers find themselves together in the same classroom because somebody says they have to be. Some “forced pairings” rise to the occasion and decide to just make it work. My quest to elevate co-teaching has always been to find an antidote for the feelings of resignation that frequently emerge when co-teachers are forced into a relationship. Jim Knight’s partnership approach Jim Knight 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.