Need is the Mother of Collaboration
This post is week 2 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators.
Describe your peer collaboration this year.
Ask any library media specialist and I bet she will say that collaborating with teachers is a priority for her. However, it is typically a challenge for classroom teachers to find the time to meet/discuss all the resources and support we librarians have to offer.
Literally! Our jobs often entails trying to convince classroom teachers who have been taught to be independent in their classroom and who are overwhelmed with no time in the day-to-day school day that we librarians:
- are teachers,
- are helpful,
- are available,
- are flexible, and last but not least
- are motivated to collaborate with fellow educators.
After 6 years as a LMS, I would say the 2020-2021 year has been my most most productive peer collaboration year of all time! Why?
Teachers needed tech.
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- With media in our title you know library media specials know how to do that tech thing! We can rock the zoom, eBooks, finding online resources, and sharing Googley ideas to engage learners.
Teachers needed to talk.
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- At our school, we met face-to-face with students, but classroom teachers were semi-trapped in their rooms for the majority of the day – student lunch in room to recess monitor to specialists coming to room to teach – that meant even bathroom breaks became a strategic issue. Sure, media time was only 30 minutes with students, but I’m big on choice board and free discovery so I always had a few minutes where I was just monitoring the buzz of activity of students in the classroom. This is when the teachers would start talking to me. I had much more contact with teachers than in years past where classroom teacher would just drop off students in library and then leave quickly.
Teachers needed PD support.
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- My supervisor asked me to run a book study on “What Great Teachers Do Differently”. This monthly gathering really strengthened educator relationships and my connections to classroom teachers.
Teachers needed student engagement.
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- I love to make learning fun. From digital Breakout.edu to Quiver app to Jamboard to Flipgrid Live presentations – I’m ready to problem solve and liven up any lesson. With social distancing and no group work, teachers were eager to try new digital engagement tools and strategies.
Teachers needed students reading.
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- Coordinating Global Read Aloud, collaborating to provide a 4-6th grade Battle of the Books Competition (using Kahoot, of course), and bringing in virtual author visits. My classroom teachers and I became partners working together to grow reading culture at our school.
Summation: my peer collaboration this year was excellent because as the title says: “Need is the Mother of Collaboration.”
Teachers at my school had a need to teach differently and I had the tech skills and hunger for collaboration. It was a winning combination. I’m sure that teachers at Shell Lake Elementary now have a larger vision of what a well prepared Future Ready Librarian can do to support their classrooms. However, my mission now is how to sustain the peer collaborations with Elementary School educators and grow this teacher collaboration into the Middle School & High School faculty. Sounds like a learning opportunity to me!