I would like to start by saying, I am very glad we broke this chapter into two parts! Wow...where to begin.
Part 1. The quote on page 23 really resonated with me, and got me questioning,
"A central part of the discipline of improvement is the belief that if the
teaching is good and powerful, if the conditions of work enable and support
that practice, then we should be able to see immediate evidence that students
are learning. If we can't then we should ask whether the teaching was really
as good as we thought it was."
Coming from a school in need of improvement, with many students on an ineligible list, I ask myself what could I be doing differently? How do we teach the students that don't want to learn? And they are out there...those that don't do homework, don't bother taking notes, don't do the research papers...what do we do differently? Is the onus on us completely? I wanted to know how to "teach them better!" I am not sure I agree with this premise. What do you think? Definitely food for discussion.
I appreciated the pages devoted to defining what, exactly, a learning specialist is. We banter around that phrase, not quite sure what it means. I appreciated the definition and description on pages 24 and 25. I was pleased to see that librarians are listed as examples of learning specialists. And, according to Table 2.1,there is much overlap in our job descriptions. But I have to ask, where do we fit in, in the scheme of our district?
Part 2: Challenges
What struck me in this section of the chapter were the statistics that demonstrate how principals learn about school libraries. I know we tried working on this, but it feels like a never ending battle...only 7% learn about school libraries through undergraduate or graduate course work. Talk about the need for advocacy.
Once again I was given pause when the authors state that, "...the degree of busyness, the number of collaborations, and the strength of interpersonal connections, none of which are inextricably linked to improved performance of students or increased expertise of staff" (27). It keeps coming back to this...as much as we collect this other data, it comes back to achievement! What are your thoughts as to how we can move beyond this typical data?
I think one of the most significant sections of the chapter was the section titled, "School-Level Factors that Impact Effectiveness." (And as an aside, I loved the Teacher/Librarian Job Discription on pg 28!) This first factor, collective accountabilty, was especially significant to me. I liked the concept that we are NOT a "loose confederation of independent learning environments..."
The bottom line on page 31 was very powerfully stated, once again, bringing the focus back to student achievement, "The goal is not to increase collaboration but to improve student performance. The goal is not to force staff to attend professional development; the goal is for them to improve their practice in order to improve student performance...." Anxious to see what everyone thought.
We were reacting to the same passages, Kathy. That quote from Elmore's School Reform From the Inside Out hit me, too.
ReplyDeleteDo our teachers understand assessment immediately following a lesson? Is it something younger teachers are getting in current training or is it something we can model for them? ["Back in the day" assessment came at the end of a chapter or even unit.]
Assessment is something Ross Todd's work has heightened for me. Are our teachers across the district aware of this element?
What stood out for me in that first section was the encouragement for collegiality with the other learning specialists. Too often, I have felt adversarial... that the district has usurped "our" territory and given it away to the tech coordinator & curr specialists; has provided them with advanced training at district expense [ASCD nat. conf, IRA, and the national tech conf (can't think of the name)] and has given them open schedules & authority within the system.
My mindset NEEDS to change to "What is my role on the team?" Doesn't the whole team need to have a huddle [Librarians, Vincy, Lisa M, Kristen P, and admin.] We need to confirm our role and see how we can be working together to accomplish the support for education by design?
Because of the timing in the district (without contract) I wondered if our teachers in our BTA leadership have done any reading on the topic? The discussion on pp29-30 "Collective Accountability" & "Collegiality Among Staff" would be HUGE for them to understand as they come to any discussion with admin. about the quality of our work as professionals.
I know that many Brockport teachers are feeling the accountability factor, but they need to see hope for how to change things.
This is truly an exercise for me to strengthen my writing skills. As you know, I'm a talker, a verbal responder, not a writer. So, bear with me as I try to transform my "talk" into written word. That being said, I want to first address the issue of collective accountability and collegiality. I think the promotion of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in our district is tackling this very topic. This is at the heart of what Doug Reeves states on p30, "the difference between malaise and effectiveness is the collective will of the faculty to focus on their strengths, to ask one another questions, and to take responsibility for their professional growth and the achievement of their students." We are at different levels in our various buildings but with the same goal in mind. I found the idea of the "development of a learning specialist community within the school" pg 24 interesting. Marcia, this fits in with your thinking right now, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteBack to Part 1: Kathy, I thought a lot about that quote on pg 23. At first I harrumphed and thought "This is what I was taught years ago. Old thought presented as new idea. Why does academia insist on reinventing the wheel?" It's not foolproof. Something else to quote is "You can lead a horse to water but not make him drink." This leads me to the second part of your thought - does good teaching necessarily equal learning? There is always that little free will factor. But then again, that's why it can't just fall to one teacher but the collective group of teachers. Every teacher then asks themselves the questions you were asking yourself and there are so many more possible answers/solutions.
"The administrator's job is to construct a meaningful role for this position [learning specialist] in the architecture of the school leadership team." I concentrate on working with teachers and getting permission from my principal and letting him know what I'm doing. I'm retinking the relationship. What do you think?
I agree with both Cathy and Marcia's thought processes, and am also rethinking our relationships. I too found the idea of the "development of a learning specialist community within the school" interesting. Perhaps the time has come to sit down with administration, Vincy, literacy coaches etc...for that huddle Marcia mentioned?
ReplyDeleteAnd Marcia, I agree with you about the section on "Collective Accountability" & "Collegiality Among Staff"...what will our accountability be since we have no formal assessments? This would be the ideal time to focus on becoming a stronger community of learning specialists.
Ditto. We're all picking the same things to discuss. I have an exclamation point next to the paragraph on page 24 "library media specialist(s) should have a great deal to collaborate on with the reading and technology specialist as they work to engage students in relevant rigorous tasks". This quote struck me as being very timely. I'm trying to meet with one of our reading teachers. She has a small group of kids she's working with to get their test taking strategies up to speed. The major hurdle is trying to find the time to meet. The reading teachers already meet with their family groups-there are 3 reading teachers and only one moi?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the huddle. Is this something we need to discuss with Rob on how to make it happen?
Think I'll reread some of these sections.
Technology!!! I thought that I posted a comment a week ago but nothing. I tried again tonight so you may see my comments twice. They are getting shorting with each attempt. I did have chance to read all of your thoughts tonight as attempted again and agree with the repeated suggestion of a conversation to better define our roles within our buildings.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated the discussion and definition of a learning specialist in the text and agree with Kathy's questioning of our role within the Brockport scheme. I was not surprised to read that many principals base their expectations of the building librarian on past experiences rather than a clear understanding of job outline.
Data issue - I would be interested in learning how other librarians are tackling this perhaps through help from BOCES or LM-NET.
I apologize for late and brief posting but am going to try this again.
I read through comments again and keep going back to Zmuda and Harada's discussion of a "learning specialist community". We certainly work within our department as a community with a clear sense or mission. Back in my individual building, I have a less clear vision of my role. Am I a "special area teacher" or a learning specialist? Certainly a discussion of how we can work with the staff members that Marcia listed would be a good step to take. That discussion or another might also include a review of job descriptions - could this help us with discussion of how can work together?
ReplyDeleteShould we add discussion of any action we might take as result of this reading to our "in person" discussion of next sections?
I agree with Ellen- she hit the nail on the head. I feel confident and clear when we are work together in our dept. It's when I am in my building I have doubts. I like the idea of compiling a list of actions we can take as a result of this chapter. Lists work for me!
ReplyDelete