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For more information about my Action Plan, and a final reflection on the C21 experience this year, please check out my Slides presentation.
This year I conceived my Action Plan by attempting to take the empathy stage in the design thinking process seriously. In a Google Doc that I always kept open in a tab, I recorded problems as I saw students encountering them in the library and attempted to formulate them as “How might we” questions. Reflecting on this process at the Second Face 2 Face I came to see that a number of the problems I was witnessing were interrelated, and could possibly be addressed in the way we teach key information literacy skills, especially citation. I chose to focus my Action Plan, an investigation into IL instruction, on Grade 9, with the idea that laying a strong foundation at the beginning of high school would help students throughout the rest of their time at SCS and into university.
In the library we rely on collaboration. Collaboration between one another, with teachers to include us in their assignments and class time, Curriculum & Department Leaders to set consistent expectations for instruction and assessment, and the Admin Team to help advocate for the importance of the library. A big part of my Action Plan this year was having some great conversations with these important stakeholders: the science teacher who wants to incorporate citation and bibliography into her new assignment, the CDL who wants to lay out clear expectations for his department, and our Principal, who encourages us to share about C21 at staff meetings.
In addition to these important avenues of investigation, I have been considering new ways to reach students: in new formats, such as a dedicated IL mini-course; using flipped classroom resources available on our library website; and by gathering data for formative feedback of both teaching and learning.
So the idea for my Action Plan was conceived this year and it’s gestating, growing and maturing as I think and talk and experiment with my fantastic peers at SCS. Much like the baby that’s on the way, and due September 2016, I’m looking forward to when the next phase of my Action Plan is born in September 2017. I can’t wait to return to the blog then with my next steps. Thanks for another amazing year to this inspiring group of educators!
Hi Laura,
Thanks to Justin’s heads up, I am fortunate to read your post. It is such a pleasure to read your reflections and to appreciate the reflection you do to make our girls’ experiences the best they can possibly be. I concur regarding the importance of collaboration and feel blessed to have staff members who do so willingly and with our girls at the center. Thanks for your evident hard work!
Hi Laura,
Congratulations!! Such exciting news!
What I like best about your action plan is that you didn’t have a problem in mind, instead you listened and observed and categorized common issues and you’re meeting the needs of the students at enriching their experience by teaming up with other teachers. Your role is so important, and makes me think about how I could use our library better for my courses.
Looking forward to Friday!
Congratulations!
I love the idea of keeping track of problems you see, I imagine that that data is really interesting to revisit and I am curious about patterns that may exist.
Also, I think the slide that states:
“Be open to unlikely allies: Getting the word out at school about your project will bring others with similar concerns out of the woodwork”
Reminded me that I need to be better about “getting the word out” I need to be more proactive about sharing more widely.
Thanks,
Melissa