Assignment 2

Libraries as Spaces of Learning

Introduction

The new British Columbia curriculum anticipates that teachers will adopt new teaching methods and there is a strong expectation that those methods will incorporate educational technology of some kind. The new curriculum emphasizes personalized learning delivered in

  • Flexible learning environments which give students ‘choice and voice’
  • ICT-enabled learning environments which foster multiple literacy skills (digital, media, information, critical, creative)
  • Inquiry and question based approaches
  • Collaboration with the wider community (school, businesses, community organizations)
  • Inclusion of aboriginal perspectives wherever possible
  • Attention to diversity (in terms of customized program considerations)

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/curriculum_intro.pdf

Collaborating with Teacher Librarians

Given that this combined mandate is a complex task, it will be difficult (if not impossible) for any one person to master all of it, and thus a teacher-librarian will be an invaluable resource for other teachers in finding their way through it. It seems to me that one of the best ways TLs can support teachers will be with assistance in the area of instructional design. This question relates to the roles of the TL as outlined in the Canadian Library Association document ‘Leading Learning’ in regard to ‘cultivating effective instructional design to co-plan, teach and assess learning, ‘facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners,’ and ‘fostering literacies to empower life-long learners,’

Canadian Library Association. (2014) Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Ottawa:ON

Inquiry Based Learning

One of the instructional approaches recommended by the curriculum is inquiry based learning. Inquiry based learning is a valuable tool for creating learner-centered learning environments. It’s a constructivist strategy that empowers students to pick their own areas and interest and construct their own body of knowledge around it. A typical inquiry-based learning project would take place over five steps:

  1. Asking
  2. Investigating
  3. Constructing
  4. Expressing
  5. Reflecting

http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/Points%20of%20Inquiry/PointsofInquiry.pdf

The following resource is intended as a demonstration of how the teacher librarian can collaborate with a classroom teacher to develop and implement an inquiry based project.

Each of these steps requires the classroom teacher to take on different roles and bring different instructional strategies to the table, just as the teacher-librarian adjusts the approach and the support to suit the stage of the inquiry. To give you an idea of what that looks like and how you might work with the teacher-librarian to develop your own inquiry-based learning project, what we’re going to do now is walk through each of these 5 steps to show how the theory could work in practice.

Welcome

Welcome. And thank you for taking the time to learn about one of the many ways in which the teacher-librarian at your school is here to assist you.

This presentation focuses on how you can make use of your school librarian when developing an inquiry-based learning project.

You can always find it on the school library page on the website under ‘staff resources’

What Can a Teacher-Librarian Do For You

Teacher-librarians usually have practical teaching experience, combined with knowledge of:

  • Project planning
  • Research methods and materials
  • Instructional strategies
  • Assessment strategies
  • Technology tools

Basically, we’re here to collaborate with you in planning your project from introduction to conclusion, to support you with materials and instructional and assessment strategies appropriate to what you’re teaching, and to help you deliver some of that instruction in the form of assistance with technology.

One thing that you’ll notice is a common theme throughout this presentation is the idea that we support you so that you can support your students. Think of the Teacher-Librarian as a sounding board for ideas and a human database of potential strategies and technologies

So, that’s us. Now onto what we’ll be talking about in this resource – inquiry based learning.

Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry based learning projects usually have up to five stages, which I have taken from the BCTLA document, but modified slightly here

  1. Asking the (right) question
  2. Investigating the answers
  3. Constructing the knowledge
  4. Expressing the findings
  5. Reflecting on and assessing the process

http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/Points%20of%20Inquiry/PointsofInquiry.pdf:

But these are the stages the learners go through. In order for the project to be successful all the planning needs to be in place first.

In each of the following sections after outlining the roles of teacher and librarian at each stage of the inquiry process, you will find an example of a selected resource which could be used for this stage. Many of these examples could be used at any stage, or at multiple stages. Also, as new applications and programs become available, I expect to add more examples to each stage.

References for Inquiry groups

ReadWriteThink http://www.readwritethink.org/search/index.html?page=1&sort_order=relevance&q=inquiry+based+learning&srchgo.x=0&srchgo.y=0&old_q=

Step 0: Planning

This is the ‘secret’ step—Step 0 you might call it. It doesn’t always get mentioned in project designs, but it’s essential to their success.

In this step, we want to plan the overall learning program in keeping with the Ministry of Education standards regarding curriculum guidelines and core competencies  (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum-info ; https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies)

It’s important to remember when planning an inquiry based project that it can start with a very general outline. The details can get added as the project progresses and you have a clearer idea about what’s needed.

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
•      Big Idea’

•      Knowledge of curriculum content

•      Knowledge of students

•      Knowledge of context

o   Affordances—resources, support staff etc.

o   Limitations—time, budget

 ·      Research materials and techniques

·      Instructional strategies

·      Assessment strategies

·      On-going collaboration with classroom teacher

·      Core Competencies: Teacher and Librarian

Example of planning technology

Google Docs: planning for each stage

BC Curriculum

BC Ministry of Education  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/curriculum_intro.pdf

BC Core Competencies

BC Ministry of Education  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

Diversity

SLJ. (2014, May 1). Program diversity: Do libraries serve kid with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/program-diversity-do-libraries-serve-kids-with-disabilities/

Barack, L. (2014, May 1). LGBTQ & you. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/lgbtq-you-how-to-support-your-students

Universal Design for Learning, Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.WCz-r_krKUl

In this step we want to help students generate good research questions, in keeping with providing personalized learning environments to the greatest extent possible. According to Ministry guidelines, this means:

  • Flexible learning environments which give students ‘choice and voice’
  • ICT-enabled learning environments which foster multiple literacy skills (digital, media, information, critical, creative)
  • Inquiry and question based approaches
  • Collaboration with the wider community (school, businesses, community organizations)
  • Inclusion of aboriginal perspectives wherever possible
  • Attention to diversity (in terms of customized program considerations)

(https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/curriculum_intro.pdf)

The best questions come from the learners themselves.

It’s important to remember that a good question/topic is key for gaining the best benefit from student-led learning. The role of both teacher and librarian is to help guide students to productive questions/topics, and gently steer them away from ‘garden path’ questions—the kinds of questions and projects that seem interesting but are either too large or not large enough, and which inexperienced inquirers are apt to ask if not given good guidance. (see James Paul Gee Learning by Design: Good Video Games as Learning Machines http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Game%20Paper.pdf pp 12-13)

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
•      Introduce topic

•      Create parameters for questions

•       Give guidelines and suggestions

•       Assist with developing research questions

•      Supply relevant materials

•       Approve projects

 •      Research materials and techniques: Bloom’s Taxonomy; relevant library materials

•      Instructional strategies: logs, small group discussions, whole-class discussions

•      Assessment strategies: learning logs

•      Technological tools: Search engines; databases

At this point, students need support to generate good questions. Everyone knows the library is a good source of research materials, but librarians can also assist with helping students develop good questions. One example would be by introducing and explaining Bloom’s Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Skills, and helping teacher and students assess the level of their questions by measuring them against that.

inquiry-learning-graphic

Information & media literacy:
Davis, H. (2010, February 3). Critical Literacy? Information! [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2010/critical-literacy-information/

Critical literacy:
BCGovernment: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/CriticalThinkingCompetencyProfiles.pdf

Teach thought. (2014, August 17). 4 principles of student-centered learning. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/learning/4-principles-student-centered-learning/

Image source: from: http://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/blooms-taxonomy/a-simplified-blooms-taxonomy-poster-for-students/

In this step the students will focus on doing the research and gathering all the materials they’ll need to pursue their inquiry. This is the stage where they will make the most use of the actual library and its resources

It’s important to guide students through the processes of finding information (how to do the research); assessing it for quality; and organizing/limiting the amount by constantly adjusting the focus of the inquiry—more fine-grained if too much information is generated; more general if not enough.

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
•       Provide supplementary instructional information

•       Organize field trips, interviews, as needed

•       Assist with student research questions

 •      Research materials and techniques: relevant library materials

•      Instructional Strategies: assists with evaluation of resources; organizing resources; graphic organizers (i-chart)

•      Assessment Strategies: journals, interviews, small group discussions

•      Technological Tools: Google Docs, Google Search, library books; Diigo, Symbaloo

There are numerous technological tools available to assist researchers. These include search engines, bookmarking tools like Diigo and Symbaloo for information management, Google Docs to collaborate with the teacher and group members by maintaining up to date information on the project.

Most students are familiar with using search engines, so the tool I’m focusing on here is one for organizing research on the fly—a digital bookmarking tool available for free, called Symbaloo. Symbaloo offers several short, clear video tutorials on YouTube. If you are not familiar with it, the one below will show you the basic features:

Digital literacy

Information literacy

In this step we want to start consolidating, interpreting and applying the information that has been gathered. Now is also a good time to get students thinking in terms of the eventual audience(s) for the material they’ve collected, because that will determine what information is included, and whether additional material is needed (e.g. more documentation for clearer explanations).

It’s important to remember that this is the most time-consuming stage in the process, and to allow enough time for students to document and think their way through the material. On the other hand, it is important to be watchful for those who are not well-focused and off-task, and to think of extension activities for those who might be done early.

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
•       Ensure that students are on task through task assignment and timeline development

•       Ensure that students understand what they need to do

•       Ensure that necessary materials remain available

•       Remind students to document their activities in photographs, videos and the class blog—they need to plan on a weekly basis how they will do this.

 •       Instructional Strategies: journals, idea diagrams, story heuristics, storyboards, monitoring the planning and outlining process; assistance with multimedia and/or traditional formats for presentation; assistance with digital photography techniques, downloading and formatting photos.

•       Assessment Strategies: anecdotal observations, conferences, checklists, exemplars, journals

•       Technological Tools: digital tools to capture, enter, save, retrieve, revise, display, and present information, like digital cameras; the class blog (Edublogs); word processing; spreadsheets

It is important to remind students that in addition to their role as creators, they are also responsible for any ongoing photo and video documentation that will be included in their weekly blog posts and in their final presentations of their work. This is one of the most beneficial aspects of inquiry based learning—students document their process as they go. But It is also time-consuming, and represents an additional layer of effort on their part. It requires planning and constant reminders.

One way to ensure this documentation is happening is through regular journal-keeping via a class blog. It enables the teacher to ensure all students are doing the needed work.

The librarian can provide assistance with creating and maintaining a class blog, and with managing and incorporating multimedia objects like photos and videos, into student reports. There are several organizations that offer free blogging for education environments. The following video is for Edublogs.

Loertscher, D. V. (2014). Makers, self-directed learners, and the library learning commons. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 35-35,38,71.

In this step we want to get students to think about their audiences. This is also a valuable stage is the inquiry process—as students consider how to address various audiences, they develop their theories of mind, their awareness of others, and of the need to project themselves imaginatively into the world of another.

It’s important to remember that students need help to think about audiences and what would be an appropriate delivery mode for a given audience.

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
Encourage students to

•       envision their audiences

•       think about presentation format and technique

•       take time for planning and practicing

 •       Instructional Strategies: principles of design, media formats; guidelines for presentation, peer- and self-assessment, audience response; group discussion

•       Assessment Strategies: group-developed rubric; exemplars; portfolios; checklists; peer- and self-assessment

•       Technological Tools: class blog, Glogster, Prezi, Powerpoint, Animoto, PowToons, Voicethread, H5P, digital storytelling

At this stage the teacher-librarian can assist with information on principles of design, media formats, and presentation guidelines.

In terms of assessment, the librarian can provide the teacher with the tools to develop a rubric (possibly with student participation), and offer examplars for reference. The librarian is also able to advise on the creation of group portfolios, checklists, and the use of peer and self-assessment for the presentations and overall projects.

To enable the students to present confidently and with style, the librarian can also offer tools like Glogster, Prezi, PowerPoint, Animoto, Powtoon, and VoiceThread, so that, students can select the technologies that best suit them in the creation of their digital stories. The tool featured here,H5P, allows students to create interactive presentations. Click the link to find the tutorial.

https://h5p.org/tutorial-interactive-video

Multi-modality

Digital literacy

Information literacy

Media literacy

In this step we want to encourage students to begin a practice of self-assessment that can stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives—fair, honest and balanced. Neither heedlessly indifferent nor overly critical of their own efforts.

It’s important to remember that students need practice, clear examples, role playing. Many students tend to be overly critical—they need to be encouraged to honour their efforts. Others tend to be careless (or to affect carelessness at any rate)—they need to be encouraged to look more closely.

Classroom Teacher Teacher Librarian
•        Give lots of time for students to think

•       Encourage them to be honest

•       Use small and whole-group discussion

•       Interview students

•       Encourage them to look for ways to carry their knowledge into the wider community; to take action when called for; to find other audiences for their work

 •  Instructional Strategies: journaling, learning log

•  Assessment Strategies: small-group and whole-class feedback; interviews (formative and summative); exit slip

•  Technological Tools: blogs; other media platforms including school newsletters

Self assessment is an important aspect of self awareness and self regulation; any opportunity to encourage this in this population is valuable. The teacher’s role is crucial in assisting students to develop healthy constructive self-assessment practices. Assessment goes beyond one’s own performance to examine other aspects of the project. The teacher and the librarian can encourage students to critically assess their findings and to find ways to publish them in the larger community.

There are a number of rubrics which encourage self-assessment. Some of them require students to reflect and assess throughout the project. If this mode of assessment is desired by the teacher, it is important to include that in the planning process from the beginning.

Critical thinking

BC Ministry of Education  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/CriticalThinkingCompetencyProfiles.pdf