Thank goodness I've just finished part one of assignment 3. I finished it the other day but it's taken me all morning to reference it! I'm about to delve into part 2. I've previously read the 12 standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians and given some thought as to the most crucial 3. I've got it down to 4 so will have another look in a minute. At first glance it is striking me as a tad dull and tedious but other than that I've no idea what part 2 is really about, how to approach it and what references will be needed. I'm really digging Kuhlthau's ISP as it really helps me to know my thoughts and feelings, especially the ones of uncertainty ,feeling overwhelmed and confusion are quite normal steps in information processing.
I wanted to blog about all the reading I did on collaboration. I spent a fab day at a local outdoor cafe reading about 5 readings on this. I found the literature illuminating, especially the dawning that a school is much like any other business organisation and has very similar management issues. I should posted that night when all the ideas were fresh, because now they're not!!!
The concept of the school having the same functions as a corporation is quite a new idea for me. I have limited experience working in schools. I retrained and spent the majority of my teaching career teaching teenagers ESL in private colleges. A private college operates very much like a corporation, and lots of the issues that came up in the literature i could relate to my time teaching there. In this field of education, peer observation,review and sharing of ideas was a built in part of the system. Since my college also ran teacher training courses, my lessons were constantly being observed by trainee teachers as well as observations by the head teacher, my co-teachers and by members of the foreign organistaion to whom we were aligned. As a result I am very comfortable with being observed and evaluated and see this a a very necessary and valuable part of my own development as a teacher. It was seen as a natural part of our professional development, and was handled in a very positive way.
In contrast, in my experience the primary classroom often seems a very closed space. There is often the, untenable situation where the principal is not even doing in class observations of the teachers occasionally, let alone regularly. By only being observed when a problem arises, and not in the normal course of the running of the school, teachers naturally come to view observations and assessments as a negative process, and one they want to avoid. Maybe collaboration is also viewed as an infringement on the teacher's ownership of their space. I think the T/L can work in collaboration with the principal in developing a more collaborative, open door/wall space, one where teachers feel supported to try new things and feel valued by being encouraged to share their strengths with the faculty. Especially in this new environment where skills around information retrieval, storage, sharing, evaluation and use are so dynamic, i think a school environment where there is less "ownership" of ideas, and more a sense of the collective knowledge of the school, is necessary. Such an environment can be fostered by a gradual change to the way teachers view the sharing of information and lesson ideas, styles and approaches, facilitated by an increase in both peer observation and teaching as well as a focus on in-class evaluations by the administration.
Lesson observations are invaluable professional development and the T/L should collaboratively teach lessons with teachers as well as have teachers sitting in on their lessons as a natural part of the school timetable.
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