Collaboration is Key
LIBE 467 Assignment 2 - Collaborate with a Teacher and Evolve Their Practice
The importance of teacher collaboration is in no way a new idea. But it is an idea that is essential in every way. Sharing, discussing, and working with others is one of the most beneficial ways teachers can continue to grow and change. When teachers work together they each bring different strengths to help further student learning. A teacher librarian is the perfect person to help provide that collaboration and planning support that can take a project and student learning to the next level.
The video below highlights the benefits of teaching collaboration in an interesting way. The teachers at this school have teacher labs, where they focus in on a specific topic, observe a teacher in practice and then come together to celebrate success and brainstorm ways to take their teaching further. “Because we do teacher labs, we are constantly being driven by the desire to grow together, to collaborate, to communicate and to be self-reflective.”
The idea of a learning lab with the teacher librarian would be incredible. This collaboration time could take place with the teacher librarian and a grade level team where they are all focusing on and planning one particular topic or unit. The more creative we can get with how we collaborate the better.
There are many different ways teachers can go about furthering their skills and receiving support in professional development. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model (SAMR) are two models that will be referenced here in order to develop ideas about how fellow educators could continue to grow and change. The CBAM is a model for more general change in individuals and aims to show change in the kind of questions a person asks themselves in order to move forward. SAMR focuses more on the use of technology and how this might impact teaching and learning.
It is helpful to use both models as a way to gage where teachers are so that we can not only help them with reference resources but also to bring them up to the transformation levels in the SAMR model. Teacher librarians can support by providing excellent reference resources for the research stage AND by helping students share their learning with the wider community which are 21st century skills. There has been a shift in the needs and requests of teachers reference services support in that using technology to access reference services is much more common.
There are many different ways teachers can go about furthering their skills and receiving support in professional development. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model (SAMR) are two models that will be referenced here in order to develop ideas about how fellow educators could continue to grow and change. The CBAM is a model for more general change in individuals and aims to show change in the kind of questions a person asks themselves in order to move forward. SAMR focuses more on the use of technology and how this might impact teaching and learning.
It is helpful to use both models as a way to gage where teachers are so that we can not only help them with reference resources but also to bring them up to the transformation levels in the SAMR model. Teacher librarians can support by providing excellent reference resources for the research stage AND by helping students share their learning with the wider community which are 21st century skills. There has been a shift in the needs and requests of teachers reference services support in that using technology to access reference services is much more common.
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| CBAM visual from from http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm |
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| SAMR graphic by Sylvia Duckworth
The video below gives a strong explanation of the SAMR with examples that you could show teachers to explain where we want to help them get to.
For some great elementary primary examples of change across levels from this model click on the PREZI by Anita Faltesek on this website.
Teacher A
Teacher A is a high school trained and experienced teacher who is currently teaching a grade 2/3 split class for the first time. She developed a very strong and positive relationship with her students while initially covering a teacher who was ill. This short term coverage has turned into a year long temporary contract which is excellent as the students in this class require a strong relationship with their teacher in order to engage in learning. Teacher A has no experience in planning at the elementary level and has requested help in finding resources to support a science exploration into animal biodiversity and life cycles. She has never done a research style project or inquiry with younger students before and is open to any new ideas that could support both her and her students. There are many students in her class that are well below grade level in terms of reading and writing skills so support in how to reach those students is also welcomed by her. Currently Teacher A seems to be at the Informational level of concern and somewhere between the Orientation and Preparation levels of use, when looking at the CBAM model. She appears to be between the No Technology and Substitution stage of the SAMR model, in that she uses technology very rarely and when she does it is being used as a substitution. My plan is to take her through multiple levels of these models with a rich inquiry plan that we work on together.
The first way I would support Teacher A is to provide her with a curated list of resources based on her science topic which would include some items that could inspire her planning and some to spark student interest in the topic. I would also offer my services to co-plan a science inquiry unit with her that involves students learning and discovering using reference resources and sharing their knowledge with the wider community.
The first step in supporting her science unit would be to introduce Teacher A to lesser known resources like the museum inquiry kits from the Royal BC Museum. These kits can travel to your school and include resources for unique hands-on activities that will engage learners. I would order the ‘Species At Risk Mini-Museums’ which includes four kits, each one based on a different species that is at risk in our area. These kits include specimens, information about a species, its habitat and the risks it faces. These inquiry kits could be used to spark student interest in animals that are at risk and start a meaningful inquiry research project.
 Once students have completed the research stage of their inquiry I would introduce Teacher A to a resource like Flipgrid as a potential way for students to share their learning with a larger audience. Here is a Flipgrid teacher guide that explains the ins and outs of this incredible resource. They could record videos to explain which animal they chose and what they learned. Teacher A could then try and connect with another teacher/class in a different school who was also learning about biodiversity. This would help take her from the enhancement levels of the SAMR model to the transformation stages as connecting and sharing with others would result in incredible learning. “The higher up you move throughout the SAMR model, the more transformative the technology task becomes. Both in terms of multimedia content creation and in terms of communication with the rest of the world.” (Spencer, 2015)
Teacher B
Teacher B is an experienced Kindergarten teacher who has taught for twenty years. She is very comfortable with delivering the kindergarten curriculum as she has taught this grade for more than five years, and has been tentative in adapting her teaching style to become more current. Teacher B now wants to try and infuse technology into research projects at an age friendly level. She is unsure how you could have Kindergartens using technology without a teacher standing next to them supporting. Teacher B is not currently using much technology in her classroom, and thus seems to be currently in the Substitution stage of the SAMR Model. Looking at the CBAM model, she appears to be at the Informational Level of Concern, and in the Orientation Level of Use.
Let’s look at the Kindergarten BC Science Curriculum and the big idea of ‘Daily and seasonal changes affect all living things’. I would support Teacher B by first meeting with her to find out how she normally approaches this particular topic. From there I can suggest ways to infuse newer resources and more technology into her plan and weave both of our ideas together. I imagine that it may be difficult for some experienced teachers to move out of their comfort zone so I think making sure that you are truly collaborating and not just telling the experienced teacher to change everything about her science unit is the appropriate approach. If Teacher B finds success in adding these changes into her teaching she will be more inclined to use the Teacher Librarian reference services again in the future to continue trying new things.
I would suggest using a center approach to introduce the Kindergarten students to basic exploration of different online reference resources. We could incorporate using QR codes and iPads to explore different topics within the science unit. QR codes allow students to access different resources quickly and without having to type or search the internet which is perfect for Kindergarten students. Teacher B can be supported in learning how to easily make QR codes for online resources using the Quick QR Code Generator google chrome extension so that she could use this strategy again in the future.
Each center can focus on a different aspect of the topic and be linked to a different research experience for the Kindergarten students to participate in. At each station there would be an Ipad the students use to read a printed QR code. For example one particular center might be based on the seasons and the sun. As seen below, they could scan this QR code which would take them to watch a video like ‘Seasons and the Sun: Crash Course Kids’.
At another center they could choose between 4 different animals and learn how seasonal change affects these living things. Here you might have a picture of each animal from this site (Monarch Butterfly, Gray Whale, Robin and Bald Eagles) and a QR code alongside it. They would choose one of the four to learn about. National Geographic Kids would also be a great resource for students to explore more about specific animals of interest.
After visiting the different centers the student could use the ‘Explain Everything’ app to record themselves sharing their learning. This could be done in small groups and with support from the Teacher Librarian when using this app for the first time. Using this app right after learning about the QR codes may be a lot to process and incorporate for Teacher B at this point but this could be an extension if she is finding that incorporation of technology was easy this time around. Or she could use the Explain Everything app for the next inquiry and again enlist the help of the Teacher Librarian to do so. One additional recommendation would be to incorporate the use of older buddies to help with the introduction of this new technology. The older students could support at any stage of the exploration as we know an extra set of hands is always beneficial when trying something new.
Effective teachers are constantly changing and evolving their practice over time. Teacher Librarians are in a unique position to help teachers with the process of this evolution. It is important to remember that every teacher may be at a different stage and change may take some time before it becomes the new normal. As long as we can support growth and change in even the smallest way we have made a difference. References: “Animals”. National Geopgraphic Kids. 2018, https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Crash Course Kids. Seasons and the Sun: Crash Course Kids 11.1. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b25g4nZTHvM. Accessed 23 Feb 2019 Edutopia. Teacher Labs: Making Professional Development Collaborative. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf5KcyHGhRA&t=233s. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Explain Everything. Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard. 2013, https://vimeo.com/59845203. Accessed 23 Feb 2019 Fahey, Sean, and Karly Moura. The Educators Guide To Flipgrid. 2018, https://drive.google.com/file/d/17e4zQLAPYWzqHNjFZVIO-ubZINvOaPxZ/view. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. "Flipgrid. Ignite Classroom Discussion." Flipgrid., 2019, https://flipgrid.com/. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Lesh, Christina. "Implementing Change: Supporting Teachers With The Concerns-Based Adoption Model". EL Education Blog,. 2015, https://eleducation.org/news/implementing-change-supporting-teachers-concerns-based-adoption-model. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. "Quick QR Code Generator" Chrome.Google.Com, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/quick-qr-code-generator/afpbjjgbdimpioenaedcjgkaigggcdpp/related?hl=en. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Ricco, Tracey. "SAMR Model Of Technology Integration". Technology Resources For South Brunswick K5 Teachers, https://sbtechpd.weebly.com/samr.html. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. "Species at Risk - Mini Museums." Royal BC Museum, 2019, https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/learn/outreach/outreach-kits/species-risk-mini-museums . Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Spencer, John. What Is The SAMR Model And What Does It Look Like In Schools?. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC5ARwUkVQg. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. "The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model Forchange In Individuals". Nationalacademies.Org, 2005, http://www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm. “Tracking Seasonal Change with Journey North.” Journey North for Kids. 2018, https://journeynorth.org/KidsJourneyNorth.html/ Accessed 23 Feb 2019. Zapato, L. “Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus”. Zapatopi.net, 2018, https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/. Accessed 23 Feb 2019. |
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some great ideas on how to move your teachers further. I really like your comment about honouring where every teacher is currently at in their learning process. Sometimes it is easy to forget and we want to move them faster than they are ready. You shared some great apps which I also find very useful in the Learning Commons as well as in the classroom. Our students love QR codes and the Explain Everything app. We have also found great success with having our older students act as mentors to our younger students.
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in some of the apps you have mentioned in this post, such as flip chart, QR codes, and Explain Everything App. Did you have to get approval to use these apps with students? In our district teachers are being asked to not use any apps which have not been given board approval. The main issue is the worry about having student information pass out of Canada, and many of the apps available end up with information going to location in the US. Anything that collects information about students and requires a login is off limits unless first investigated and approved by the district.
It is also really fun to read about the types of collaborations which would happen at the elementary level.
I appreciate, as Theresa has also pointed out, your observation that it is important to work with teachers in their practice in a truly collaborative way, rather than trying to change everything about what they have been doing and feel comfortable with. I am constantly amazed at the unique talents teachers each bring to their classrooms based on their own personalities and interest. There is always so much to learn from each other.
Hi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. Your first scenario, is one I hadn't thought much about and very unique. having someone jump from high school, all the way to a 2/3 split is a daunting task! Offering some tools, and co-teaching is an excellent way to bring her along in the process. I fully agree that collaboration and working together, is an important of being a TL.
I am definitely going to try and incorporate the QR codes into my teaching. Unfortunately, we lack the resources in terms of iPads, but we are currently discussing this option. I think it would be easy and fun for our primary students. I think the ideas of having stations, and a culminating activity to share their learning, is amazing!
Thank you for sharing your scenarios, an enjoyable and informative read!
Darryl