Building Relationships

Strategies for Connecting with Students and Staff

Cindy Matthews, Teacher-Librarian, TDSB

Building Relationships

Establishing/Running a ‘Partners in Action’ School Library Information Centre:

pragmatic foundationsLearning-focused relationships with students and staff: seeing the ‘big picture’Practical Strategies for Collaboration:

designing learning activities for critical thinking and professional dialogue

Pragmatic Foundations

Flexible Scheduling: communicationBook Exchange: building independenceCollection and ICT Management: accessing student leadership Staffing Advocacy: using Research, Annual Reports, Action Research, Staffing Committees, Board leadership

Flexible Scheduling‘Just Like Me!’:

“I work at an elementary school.”

“I am a half-time Teacher-Librarian.”

“I have some flexible scheduling with ‘open’ Partners time.”

“I collaboratively plan and teach with teacher colleagues.”

“I share and update my schedule with colleagues using newsletters or e-mail.”

Book Exchange

C H E C K I N G O U T A B O O K

1 ) C l i c k o n t h e b u t t o n a t t h e t o p o f t h e s c r e e n , o f a H A N D H O L D I N G A B O O K . 2 ) S c a n t h e b a r c o d e o n y o u r l i b r a r y c a r d . 3 ) S c a n t h e b a r c o d e o n t h e b o o k t h a t y o u w a n t t o t a k e

o u t . L o o k a t t h e D U E D A T E . H O W D O I R E N E W A B O O K ?

S c a n t h e b a r c o d e o f t h e b o o k y o u w a n t t o R E N E W . A n s w e r t h e q u e s t i o n s o n t h e s c r e e n , b y c l i c k i n g o n t h e b u t t o n s .

H O W M A N Y B O O K S D O I H A V E O U T ? C l i c k o n t h e b u t t o n a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e C h e c k o u t w i n d o w t h a t s a y s A L L I T E M S O U T 4 ) C L O S E t h e C h e c k o u t w i n d o w .

Collection and ICT Management

Appreciative Inquiry: accessing internal resources to scaffold student leadership

Turn to your ‘elbow partner’ and take a moment to tell a story. How have you used student Library Monitors to keep your Library collection and lab tidy? Switch.

Join another pair. In a quad, introduce a paraphrase of your partner’s anecdote.

Staffing Advocacy

Paired Verbal Fluency or’30-60-90’: How do you use research-based data, annual reports and action research to advocate for your library?

‘Here’s What! So What? Now What?’: (data) (interpretations) (implications)In what ways can Staffing Committees and

Board leaders support our relationships?

Learning-focused Relationships

seeing the ‘big picture’: collaborative learning throughout the school

working with Students: selection and design of instructional practices

working with Colleagues: promoting professional dialogue based on student learning and skill development

The ‘Big Picture’

Asking Questions

“Is it possible to teach students

to be critical thinkers and effective

users of information and

information technologies and

at the same time improve their

overall achievement levels?”

“Herein lie important foundations for thebuilding of an information literate school. …

We must develop a collaborative culture in the school so teachers and

library media specialists have opportunities to work together

as partners to design excellent learning experiences.”

(Carol Koechlin & Sandi Zwaan)

Selection and Design of Instructional Practices

Intentionalizing Student Learning: Metacognition

“Effective learners engage the processand the content simultaneously. …Thetrick is to anticipate which strategiessupport content learning and whichcontent knowledge makes strategylearning memorable.”

(Lipton & Wellman, Pathways to Understanding)

Teaching and Promoting the Inquiry and Research Process

“As cross-grade, cross-curricular information coordinators,

teacher-librarians can assist teachers

to plan and implement

interdisciplinary curriculum

and help students see

the connections among subjects”(OLA Information Studies K-12)

Promoting Professional Dialogue

Learning-Focused Verbal Tools

Paraphrasing

‘Focused Reading’: Paraphrase Passport

Got it. I know and or understand this.

! This is really important or interesting.

? I don’t understand this or this does not

make sense.

‘5-3-1’ Individually jot down 5 words that come to mind regarding

professional dialogue. Each share your 5 words with your table group, round-robin

style. Choose 3 words to represent everyone’s list. As a group, choose 1 word which captures your thinking.

Practical Strategies

Intersecting pedagogy and

student engagement:

The Inquiry and Research Process

The Pathways Learning Model

Building Community: Tribes

Relating so as to support life-long learning:

Cognitive Coaching

The Pathways Learning Model

Pathways to Understanding: Patterns and Practices in the Learning-Focused Classroom

Laura Lipton, Bruce Wellman (www.miravia.com)

‘Just Like Me’ ‘Paired Verbal Fluency’ ‘Here’s what! So what? Now what?’ ‘Focused Reading’ ‘5-3-1’

Tribes

Tribes: A New Way of Learning and Being Together Jeanne Gibbs (www.tribes.com)

Community Agreements

Attentive Listening

Appreciation /

No Put Downs

Right to Pass

Mutual Respect

Cognitive Coaching

Cognitive Coaching: Foundation Seminar Learning Guide Arthur Costa, Robert Garmston (www.cognitivecoaching.com)

The mission of Cognitive Coaching is to produce self-directed persons with the cognitive capacity for high performance both independently and as members of a community.

A Continuum of Interaction

Support Stances

“Know your intentions and

choose congruent behaviours.”

“All staff are leaders at different times and in different circumstances.” (TDSB Staff Development Frameworl

Learning-Focused Verbal Tools

Attending Fully: pauses and wait time

Paraphrasing: “Listen to hear, not to speak.”

Mediational QuestionsPlural Forms: “are”, “some”, “a few”

Exploratory Language: “might”, “hunches”

Positive Presuppositions: “As you consider, …”, “Thinking back, …”, “As you examine the data, …”

Holonomyacting independently and as a

member of a community(Cognitive Coaching Foundation Seminar: A. Koestler)

In the open seas of life’s learning there is an ebb and flow, between ourselves and others.

We share questions and observations; we listen and reflect. These moments, big and small,

develop new understandings and new waves of learning.

Shape Reflection

Some thoughts going around in my mind are …

An idea that struck me was …

Three practical strategies upon which I can ‘base’some Next Steps in my Library are…

Thank you!Cindy

Matthews