Teacher Librarians supporting Teacher ICT ProD

    During my time as a T/L I have found that many teachers really don't understand the our role  and therefore do not make full use of our expertise. It is up to the T/L to advocate for ourselves by educating teachers on our role. This graphic from Chris Kennedy's article, My take on Librarians, could be used for this purpose.

http://cultureofyes.ca/2011/05/23/my-take-on-librarians/

Chris is a big supporter of T/Ls stating in his article that, "as we move forward “teacher

librarians are more important than ever,"  and that, "the teacher-librarian is often key in moving the learning agenda forward." There are many other articles and visuals we can use

 to advocate for TL. I liked how this YouTube video from the California School Librarians association sums up our role.

http://youtu.be/EyYKkh0n7Vg

      While reading the topic for this week, the following question seemed to be most important. "How can we best respond to the needs of our staff, in their wide spectrum of abilities and experiences, with the most appropriate and useful professional development?" In my opinion,the poster below clearly demonstrates what teachers want from their ProD. 

The question and the poster have shifted my perspective on the ways I can support teachers’ ICT curriculum and pedagogy ProD. This year instead of just making vague suggestions and quoting articles I read, I will take an active role in helping the staff integrate the technology available in the school with the content learning goals. .Benjamin Harold states, "... a mountain of evidence indicates that teachers have been painfully slow to transform the ways they teach, despite that massive influx of new technology into their classrooms. The student-centered, hands-on, personalized instruction envisioned by ed-tech proponents remains the exception to the rule." I fully agree with statement because I witness it everyday at school and I, too, “have been painfully slow to transform the way I teach. "  Harold continues to give the reasons for slow transformation. One reason being, " Many teachers lack an understanding of how educational technology works."

   This is how I plan to support to address this problem and to support my staff with their ICT ProD.

1. Know exactly what technology is available in our school.
2. Know how this technology, be it smart board, iPad, computer, document camera works. If I don’t, I will find out.
3. Be available to work along side teachers to develop lessons using the available technology as a tool to achieve student learning.
4. Offer an after school or lunchtime workshop on technology available in our school. Entice teachers to attend by having this opportunity count as the Professional ProD discretionary day each teacher is allowed. Provide dinner or lunch for them.
5. Our school is also beginning to use PLCs.  The focus of these communities this year will be math. Earlier this year I was wondering how I could support each committee. Obviously now I  can suggest and demonstrate ways the school’s technology can be used by students to  improve their learning in math. Some teachers are using IXL already but maybe some apps that support the higher taxonomies can be explored. Most of our school ProD time this year will be spent on this.

     There are always some teachers unwilling to use their own time for ProD. This has been a barrier in my district because elementary T/Ls provide almost all the prep coverage. However, this year I am lucky to be relieved of some of this prep coverage. This will allow me time to work with these teachers during the teacher’s prep time.  Of course, i will have to encourage the teacher to use their prep toward with me. It’s up to me to make it worth their while.

Works Cited

Duckworth, Sylvia. 10 Things Teachers Want for Professional Development. Digital image.N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

Https://plus.google.com/photos/photo/114228444007154433856/6155062951951599682. 

Harold, Benjamin. "Why Ed Tech Is Not Transforming How Teachers Teach." Education Week. Editorial Projects in Education, 15 June 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/06/11/why-ed-tech-is-not-transforming-how.html

Kennedy, Chris. "My Take on Librarians." Culture of Yes. N.p., 23 May 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. http://cultureofyes.ca/2011/05/23/my-take-on-librarians/

Teacher Librarians and Classroom Teachers: Collaborative Partners. California School Library Association, 15 Mar. 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. http://youtu.be/EyYKkh0n7Vg.