Helping teachers to adapt to change through collaboration has been an ongoing focus in my library. People adapt at different rates and have different levels of comfort with trying new innovations in their classrooms. For me, the task of evolving a teacher's practice has been a challenging one as I am working on a staff of mature teachers that are often adverse to change. The new curriculum has been a hard sell and the teachers are not entirely convinced about the changes that are mandated to occur in their classrooms with minimal time, resources and guidance.
As the Professional Development Representative in my school, I recently helped to organize a school-based Professional Development day around Google Classroom and the use of technology in the classroom. Before planning the day, I sent out a survey to ask teachers what they would most like to work on during the ProD and made sure there was enough flexibility that it would be relevant for most of the staff. This ProD day was an impetus for change regarding the use of G Suite in the school.
To facilitate change within a few individual teachers with regards to the effective use of reference resources, I would take a similar path. Initially, I would start with whole staff information sessions at staff meetings that highlight key resources and ways I can collaborate with teachers to use the resource in their classroom. As a follow-up, I would think of ways to apply the use of key resources when designing lessons or projects in particular subject areas.
The component is based on a key understanding—for a new program to succeed, it is critical to address the concerns of the people charged with implementing it. Staff may respond to change in many ways, from stress and anxiety to cynicism and burnout. Through the Stages of Concern process, leaders can identify staff concerns and provide targeted support to help individuals cope and focus on the task at hand.5
I have chosen two teachers on my staff that I would like to collaborate with in order to evolve their use of reference resources.
Teacher 1: Ms. R.
Ms. R is an excellent science and Biology teacher. At 39, Ms. R has been teaching at my school for fifteen years, and is well respected and liked by staff, students and parents. Ms. R is cautious with change and implements new technology into her classes slowly and deliberately. When she takes on a new course or makes changes due to a new curriculum, she stays up late creating the course to be well done the first time around. Although Ms. R has had a Learning Resource teacher in her classroom for certain blocks, she has not been willing to collaborate with the other teacher to teach the lessons - Ms. R is clearly the lead teacher in the class and the Learning Resource teacher (LRT) is there to help.
Use of the School Library Services
Ms. R very rarely visits the school library to use computers or to do research. She has very strong beliefs about the importance of teaching the content in the curriculum and is very careful about the number of labs or projects she does with her classes in order to cover the curriculum. Through a pilot project with SET-BC, Ms. R has obtained 10 iPads for use in her classroom and has become comfortable using Apps such as Padlet and Explain Everything in her classes. The LRT who assists in Ms. R's class helped her to obtain the iPads and to learn how to use the Apps.
Ms. R teaches her students basic information literacy skills such as note taking and how to find information using headings, key ideas, a glossary, index and a table of contents. She has students do simple research for homework or to augment a topic and will borrow the laptops or go to the computer lab when she wants to do this. I would suggest that Ms. R’s Stage of Concern around the use of reference resources would be Management which asks the questions: “How do I do it?” and “How do I use these materials efficiently?" She is also at the Consequence stage in that she would question whether the change was actually a positive one: “How will his affect my students?” and “What impact will this have on their learning?”
I would describe Ms. R’s Level of Use as Orientation in that Ms. R knows that she needs to start doing more Project Based Learning with her classes and is starting to venture more into the library to see how that may look. Last week, she came to the library to observe a pull out session on Core Competencies and myBlueprint that my colleague and I did with her Grade 8 Science class. Afterword, she came to me to ask how she could implement the use of the technology with her class.
Suggestions for Collaboration
Although the LRT has been trying to collaborate with Ms. R for years with no success, Ms. R is aware that we all need to make changes to our practice in order to implement the new curriculum. Although she has had her name added to inquiry groups around differentiating instruction and using technology to create core competency portfolios, Ms. R has rarely contributed to the project or attended the meetings.
To encourage Ms. R to collaborate and to come into the library to make effective use of the library references, I would do the following:
- Drop into her class to have conversations around what she is doing.
- Suggest having her Grade 8 class into the library to do a curriculum appropriate activity using the databases
- Do a short presentation with the class on the Deep Web vs Surface Web
- Provide the assignment for Ms. R to look over ahead of time
- Show Ms. R where to find the library resources and how to use them
- Make sure she knows why we want students to learn how to use the references
- Give Ms. R opportunity to ask questions but be aware of her need to be efficient with her time (meet her at the photocopier!).
- Suggest ways we can co-teach so she can still feel involved in the introduction of new material to her class
Teacher 2: Ms. Q
Ms. Q has been a Foods and Nutrition teacher for 8 years and is in her second year at our school. She is extremely extroverted, helpful and willing to try new things. At 32 years of age, Ms. Q is very comfortable with technology and uses it with her class whenever she has the opportunity. When cooking with her classes, Ms. Q encourages her students to adapt their recipes in appropriate ways and to be creative with the use of spices.
Use of the Library Services
Ms. Q has brought her students to the library to do research projects. She has also booked her more challenging classes into the library when she has a TOC. Although Ms. Q provides her students with the opportunity to use technology and to do research, the projects are often cookie-cutter projects she has found on a Facebook page for Food’s teachers. Ms. Q usually provides her students with the websites and the presentation style they are to use.
Ms. Q is at the Collaboration stage of concern which asks: “How can I relate what I am doing to what others are doing?” She likes to work with others and actively looks for the opportunity to include the library in her lessons. Ms. Q sends students to the library to work and will ask for help in showing students how to use the technology. By giving students more opportunity to explore websites and references, Ms. Q could give the students a more rich learning opportunity in the library. I believe that Ms. Q would only need a little nudge to get to the Refocusing stage in the Concerns-Based Adoption Model.
As for the level of use, Ms. Q is in the Routine/Refinement stage in that she has established a routine with how she uses the references but would be willing to collaborate in order “to make changes to increase outcomes”3.
To use research assignments to teach information literacy skills, students need to be given more time to explore websites and online databases and to have specific skills demonstrated to them. The SAMR Model for integrating technology in education describes the four stages of technology integration as Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. This model describes the stages of Substitution and Augmentation as using technology to enhance lessons whereas Modification and Redefinition would entail the use of technology in ways that transform student learning. Giving the Teacher Librarian prior notice to the class visit would give them time to prepare appropriate lessons that transform rather than enhance the lesson - so that teachers can teach “above the line”4 and use the higher order thinking skills from Bloom’s taxonomy: analyzing, evaluating and creating.4
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| Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything |
Suggestions for Collaboration
Ms. Q does not need much encouragement to bring students into the library. Ms. Q likes to drop by for a chat and she is very willing to try new things. As an efficient person, she may need encouragement to revamp a project that is pre-made and ready to go (including websites). In order to help Ms. Q to evolve her practice, I would do the following:
- Discuss the “Deep” Web vs “Surface” Web and how most people are unaware that they can only access a small portion of the information on the internet. Show her YouTube videos on the topic.
- Send her videos on why we use databases (YouTube).
- Find online databases with information useful for a Foods and Nutrition class and introduce Ms. Q to the resource
- Ask to redesign one of Ms. Q’s existing projects to incorporate information literacy skills such as strategic searching
- Invite to Ms. Q to join the committee for future professional development planning days
- Overtly discuss with Ms. Q the goals of the library in helping students to develop their information literacy skills
What is your readiness for change?
Conclusion
When facilitating change in a school, it is important for teachers to have the support of their colleagues and to feel that they have the necessary resources to adapt their pedagogical practices. By addressing the Stages of Concern, the Teacher Librarian can more effectively collaborate with teachers and meet them where they are at in the change continuum. Building positive relationships with staff and promoting professional development make the Teacher Librarian a resourceful advocate for change.
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