My school recently administered the Keystone Exams (new end of course exams in algebra, literature and biology). My role was to offer a coffee/bathroom break to test proctors, a very important job that also allowed me to visit classrooms I hadn't been in before. In the first class I visited I noticed something brilliant - blue painters tape on the whiteboard! It was so easy and clearly designated areas of the board for specific classes. I thought that it was genius because it stood out more so than drawing lines, couldn't get erased and didn't damage the board. Later I saw it in a special education room where the teacher had used it to make a chart with a box for each student and his/her assignments. I was starting to see a trend and wasn't sure who did it first, but it was such a simple, effective idea.
What tricks do you use in your classroom/library?
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Curriculum you can't teach
I've been working on a new 9-12 curriculum for the last few months. It's hard. Really hard. Not the actual writing part, but the bit where I try to conceptualize a great curriculum I don't know that I'll even be able to teach. I feel like it is more of a wish list for my seniors than a guarantee of the information literacy skills I will teach them before they graduate. That is very frustrating to me. I don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep. So I have decided to do the only thing I can think of - conceptualize a great curriculum and make a plan for implementation.
I know what skills my students should have before graduating. I have written curriculum before, read the articles, attended the workshops and see the skills my college students lack. The problem lies in the fact that I am writing a curriculum without a guarantee that I can teach it. At my former district I had a quarterly freshman class. We also had two librarians and never taught at the same time so it worked - introductory skills taught and other classes could be attended to. But I can't do that alone. It feels rewarding when my colleagues ask for help with research projects, but I want to scream when they don't tell me about other projects or assume the students know what to do because they are honors or seniors. Don't they understand that the information literacy skills are a constant work in progress with these young adults? In these moments I wonder why I'm wasting my time making curricular promises to the students that I can't keep.
I know what others will say - "you have to collaborate", "don't let the teachers do research without you", "attend department meetings", etc. I understand all that very well and say the same things to others in my situation. After all, it is easy to blame the others for not collaborating with me. How can I do my job if no one else will play nice?
But then I had to be honest with myself. The simple truth is that I have expected too much in the last two years. I can see the library program and role in my school that I want. And I wanted it from Day 1. Over the last year and a half I have alternated between proud at the impact I have made some areas and frustrated at the slow change that has come in others, as well as going through the process of being the "new kid". I've come to realize that the key is patience and understanding that it won't happen overnight.
Ugh, I'm not good at thinking like that. But I have to.
You see, when you have a curriculum you aren't guaranteed to be able to teach, you have to think positively and creatively. And have a plan.
I know what skills my students should have before graduating. I have written curriculum before, read the articles, attended the workshops and see the skills my college students lack. The problem lies in the fact that I am writing a curriculum without a guarantee that I can teach it. At my former district I had a quarterly freshman class. We also had two librarians and never taught at the same time so it worked - introductory skills taught and other classes could be attended to. But I can't do that alone. It feels rewarding when my colleagues ask for help with research projects, but I want to scream when they don't tell me about other projects or assume the students know what to do because they are honors or seniors. Don't they understand that the information literacy skills are a constant work in progress with these young adults? In these moments I wonder why I'm wasting my time making curricular promises to the students that I can't keep.
I know what others will say - "you have to collaborate", "don't let the teachers do research without you", "attend department meetings", etc. I understand all that very well and say the same things to others in my situation. After all, it is easy to blame the others for not collaborating with me. How can I do my job if no one else will play nice?
But then I had to be honest with myself. The simple truth is that I have expected too much in the last two years. I can see the library program and role in my school that I want. And I wanted it from Day 1. Over the last year and a half I have alternated between proud at the impact I have made some areas and frustrated at the slow change that has come in others, as well as going through the process of being the "new kid". I've come to realize that the key is patience and understanding that it won't happen overnight.
Ugh, I'm not good at thinking like that. But I have to.
You see, when you have a curriculum you aren't guaranteed to be able to teach, you have to think positively and creatively. And have a plan.
- Write the dream curriculum - include everything my students should know to prepare them for college and life in general beyond high school
- Hmmm...now I have to teach it. Zero in on those that have already been working with me for more collaboration in the planning stages of the lesson. (Hear that English and social studies? We need to talk...No, we aren't breaking up. We have been together for awhile now and it is time to take our relationship to another level.)
- Spread the word about information literacy and tech integration and meet more of the faculty. Host tech workshops regularly for flex hours. An hour here and there should draw them in. (Snacks will probably help, too...)
- Begin inquiring when other departments are rewriting their curriculum and attempt Phase One of Information Literacy Cross-Curricular Integration
Friday, December 21, 2012
Unintentional Techie
It cracks me up whenever someone else or myself thinks of me as a "techie". It doesn't seem like that long ago when the elementary computer class seemed so intimidating, even if we were just playing Oregon Trail and doing basic skills. I learned to type on a typewriter (ok, it was electric) as a freshman and we got our first computer around that same time. I learned programs in Mac Applications senior year (1998) that I don't think even exist anymore. Coding seemed so intimidating, although now I wish I had taken the computer science classes. Email in college was basic and journal article research was a mix of new material available online and rolling apart shelves to get to the bound volumes. By the end of grad school (2003), IM was still all the rage, distance education courses were picking up and you still had to be in college to get on Facebook.
I realized one key thing that took me from "tech is ok" to "I can do this" - realizing I can't break it. Oh, you can very easily lose whatever you are working on, but unless you physically drop the computer or device it is very hard to break it. Understanding this simple notion can be quite liberating. I learned how to use computers because I had to. It was part of the curriculum and I just picked it up along the way.
People assume that certain age groups are genetically predisposed to using technology and others are too far over the hill to get it. That couldn't be further from the truth. I teach high schoolers and university students and have seen these lines blurred many times. Some teens are resistant to technology and some AARP members are some of the most creative technology users I know.
I constantly tell my university students, many of whom are distance ed, that I make them use technology to try something new. I grade on content, not the scary program they were forced to use. I'm constantly reminding them that it is great that their teen helped them import the pictures, but they must learn how to do it for themselves because junior won't be at work with them. It is a tough job market out there and being afraid of technology just isn't an option anymore. My ultimate goal with my courses is not to just impart wit and wisdom - it's to prepare them for their dream job. Social media is critical for outreach to patrons and e-readers are taking a large portion of the market. Web 2.0 tools can take a library program from good to fantastic - often for free.
Technology isn't replacing libraries - it is making them evolve. Yes, it can be overwhelming at times, but it isn't impossible. Dismissing technology as something for the young or computer geeks isn't cute, funny, or professional. It is now a mandatory part of our job. You don't have to be Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. You just have to remember you can't break it - so what's the worst that could happen?
I realized one key thing that took me from "tech is ok" to "I can do this" - realizing I can't break it. Oh, you can very easily lose whatever you are working on, but unless you physically drop the computer or device it is very hard to break it. Understanding this simple notion can be quite liberating. I learned how to use computers because I had to. It was part of the curriculum and I just picked it up along the way.
People assume that certain age groups are genetically predisposed to using technology and others are too far over the hill to get it. That couldn't be further from the truth. I teach high schoolers and university students and have seen these lines blurred many times. Some teens are resistant to technology and some AARP members are some of the most creative technology users I know.
I constantly tell my university students, many of whom are distance ed, that I make them use technology to try something new. I grade on content, not the scary program they were forced to use. I'm constantly reminding them that it is great that their teen helped them import the pictures, but they must learn how to do it for themselves because junior won't be at work with them. It is a tough job market out there and being afraid of technology just isn't an option anymore. My ultimate goal with my courses is not to just impart wit and wisdom - it's to prepare them for their dream job. Social media is critical for outreach to patrons and e-readers are taking a large portion of the market. Web 2.0 tools can take a library program from good to fantastic - often for free.
Technology isn't replacing libraries - it is making them evolve. Yes, it can be overwhelming at times, but it isn't impossible. Dismissing technology as something for the young or computer geeks isn't cute, funny, or professional. It is now a mandatory part of our job. You don't have to be Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. You just have to remember you can't break it - so what's the worst that could happen?
Monday, February 6, 2012
Professional Development
I’m a HUGE advocate of professional development (PD). I’m not sure if it is my fear of not having the resume to get the job I want or the fact that I can get bored easily and am always on the lookout for new things. Either way, I sometimes wonder if it is possible to fall into PD overload.
I realized not long ago that except for an 18 month period during my first year and half of teaching, I have been in some type of formal education program. I went straight to graduate school from undergrad. After a brief break, I started working on an associate’s in accounting. I thought this would be a good idea since understanding finances would be helpful if I ever ran a large library and I could pick up a business education certification. I abandoned that program when I began to question how much I would remember down the line. I also decided that a doctorate would be more beneficial in the long run and I wanted to get it done while I was still young, carefree, and single. I’m currently developing the research prospectus for my dissertatation and am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In between all this I also worked part-time at Huntington Learning Center, coached three seasons each of junior high girls basketball and junior varsity softball, and began teaching as an adjunct instructor.
I also try to attend any workshop or conference that I believe will be beneficial. I have served in a leadership capacity for several local and state organizations and have found such involvement to be a great way to make connections with other library professionals. This can be difficult for librarians who are isolated in their buildings. I have been to the state conference (PSLA) almost every year since I started college and was able to attend PETE&C once. I hope to get to AASL (why is this during the school year??) and ALA sometime in the near future.
Social networking tools are also helpful to stay connected and learn new things. I have a separate email account for all of the list servs I belong to. Last week was crazy in the library (in a good way) and I hadn’t had a chance to go through all of the emails. The inbox had almost 1500 unread emails this morning. As I sort through them, deleting most and saving information from others, I began to wonder if there is too much out there to keep up with. I tend to save a lot of links and information “just in case”. A good thing or time waster? Twitter is a great tool, but how many people can you truly follow? I have many lists that I break my “following” list into, but it is still overwhelming at times. (And frustrating when an abbreviated link is blocked by the school filter and I know I either won’t remember to check at home or won’t be able to find it.)
The thing about quality professional development is that you have to initiate it yourself. I suppose that is part of being a professional, too. I don’t understand those who say they are too busy to do it-any of it. We are all busy, but we have to do what we can, not drive ourselves crazy by trying to do too much or belittling ourselves for doing too little. You can’t read every Tweet, article and email, but something is better than nothing. It is critical now for librarians to stay on the cutting edge through PD opportunities, large or small, formal or informal.
I realized not long ago that except for an 18 month period during my first year and half of teaching, I have been in some type of formal education program. I went straight to graduate school from undergrad. After a brief break, I started working on an associate’s in accounting. I thought this would be a good idea since understanding finances would be helpful if I ever ran a large library and I could pick up a business education certification. I abandoned that program when I began to question how much I would remember down the line. I also decided that a doctorate would be more beneficial in the long run and I wanted to get it done while I was still young, carefree, and single. I’m currently developing the research prospectus for my dissertatation and am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In between all this I also worked part-time at Huntington Learning Center, coached three seasons each of junior high girls basketball and junior varsity softball, and began teaching as an adjunct instructor.
I also try to attend any workshop or conference that I believe will be beneficial. I have served in a leadership capacity for several local and state organizations and have found such involvement to be a great way to make connections with other library professionals. This can be difficult for librarians who are isolated in their buildings. I have been to the state conference (PSLA) almost every year since I started college and was able to attend PETE&C once. I hope to get to AASL (why is this during the school year??) and ALA sometime in the near future.
Social networking tools are also helpful to stay connected and learn new things. I have a separate email account for all of the list servs I belong to. Last week was crazy in the library (in a good way) and I hadn’t had a chance to go through all of the emails. The inbox had almost 1500 unread emails this morning. As I sort through them, deleting most and saving information from others, I began to wonder if there is too much out there to keep up with. I tend to save a lot of links and information “just in case”. A good thing or time waster? Twitter is a great tool, but how many people can you truly follow? I have many lists that I break my “following” list into, but it is still overwhelming at times. (And frustrating when an abbreviated link is blocked by the school filter and I know I either won’t remember to check at home or won’t be able to find it.)
The thing about quality professional development is that you have to initiate it yourself. I suppose that is part of being a professional, too. I don’t understand those who say they are too busy to do it-any of it. We are all busy, but we have to do what we can, not drive ourselves crazy by trying to do too much or belittling ourselves for doing too little. You can’t read every Tweet, article and email, but something is better than nothing. It is critical now for librarians to stay on the cutting edge through PD opportunities, large or small, formal or informal.
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