Tag: PYP

The Role of the Librarian in the IB – Day Two

IB, Library, Teaching

TEDTalk – Dawn Wacek

Question

How might mindsets change if the library is seen as the centre of the school?

Statement from Ideal Libraries:
Libraries are combinations of people, places, collections and services etc.

Looking at People, Places & Spaces, Collections (Things), Services.

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Much discussion around how it all fits together.

Takeaway: White board with goals on it! Make intentions visible and measured.

8 Cultural forces that define our learning spaces

Time – How do you organise your time?
Opportunities
Expectations – yours v ‘others’
Routines & Structure
Language
Modeling
Interactions & relationships
Physical environment

Expanded version

Taken from Intellectual Character: What it is, why it matters, and how to get it, by Ron Ritchhart (2002), Jose-Bass Publisher.

The library as a system

How would/could you evaluate your library as a functioning system?
How do you prioritise between systems?
Is your system student/community focused?
How could this perspective change what you already do?

IFLA Guidelines for Schools (p.17)

  • Information environment
  • Instructional and Collaborative space
  • Inclusive Learning Centre
  • Literacy Centre
  • Technological space

Library Spaces, Environments & roles

compiled by Dianne McKenzie

Beacon technology, Meta app.

QUESTIONS

How does your library support learning? How do you want your library to serve you?

What is your context?

Context Map for school libraries – Dianne

Completed Context map

What Do You Value in the School Library?

Top 5

  • Big Picture thinker
  • Leader in Lifelong Learning
  • Upholder of democratic principles
  • Collaborator with Community
  • Literature lover/ Reading motivator
  • Respecter of persons

What is your perception of what your principal most values in a school library?

  • Big Picture thinker – point of intersection
  • Architect of creative thinking
  • Opportunist for outreach

What is your perception of what your Head of Curriculum values most in a school library?

  • Big Picture thinker
  • Curriculum integrator
  • Demonstrator of leadership
  • Collaborator with community
  • Advocate of library services

Individual reflection

Who? Do? Use?

Culminating Projects in the IB

What is the main role of the library in a Culminating Project?

  • Research skills – Just in time
  • On track
  • Reiteration
  • Bookable research appointments online – Scheduler

All about the MYP

  • Another whole subject load – mentor meetings must be in lieu of a cover. Students top three choices of mentor. Support person, not supervisor.
  • Process journal – Managebak, Atlas, OneNote
  • Pilot program – Mentor matching, List of topics (without student names) to teachers – they pick.
  • Project Criterion released bit by bit.
  • Moved MYP to Year 9 because of students dropping second language – and then they don’t get their IB cert.
  • Exhibition of Community Projects at the end of the year. Week 3 Term 3 is exhibition and Oral Presentation.
  • Personal Project – Supervisors are the assessors, Mentor is their helper. Librarian should be ‘redundant’ for students but useful to staff support.

All about the PYP

  • Inquiry started in kinder
  • Exhibition has a focus on PROCESS and OUTCOME – not just outcome.
  • Time allocation to Year 6 in Term 1 (Refresh) and Term 4 (Exhibition) – has a time cost.
  • All other classes have to be in Year 2 and 3
  • Class teachers are supervisors of their own class. ANYONE can be a mentor – usually teachers but could be another adult.
  • LibGuides is a great resource.

International Mindedness

How do we help facilitate this in Australian schools?

Flags, Folklore, Festival, Fashion, Faces, Food, Facts.

Culture – what is culture?

Empathy – beyond oneself. Stories from culture. Put aside the idea that my way is the only way. Have resources that originate from cultures other than ‘mine’. What is relevant to my community?

Skylar – WoW – Wonders of the World

Connection to Culture – embed exposure to language and culture. Who we are? (which is actually very broad once you start digging). Information skills in Prep/ Foundation!!!!

Pakistan story – The cost of a single story.

Think about the information that you given, and where it comes from

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“This is what the discovery of African writers did: It saved me from having a single story.”

“When we realise that there is never a single story then we regain a slice of paradise.”

Library ideas

  • Signage in home/taught languages
  • Games ditto
  • Support subjects in curiculum
  • Venn diagram – text to text, text to self, text to others
  • Multiple stories from one culture
  • National Day celebrations/ displays, NAIDOC
  • Staffing diversity
  • Guest speaker & Author diversity/ Human library
  • Databases – U.S. Google – U.S. Points of View database from EBSCO, JStor, Opposing Viewpoints, Sharing Our Stories series (we’ve got it), World Stories UK,
  • Stream video/tv on NITV
  • Newsbank – foreign language papers
  • Family stories
  • Home visits – families to buy age appropriate books
  • Student stories
  • Share a story/Book drive from international students

Two things I’ve been challenged by so far:

  • The paucity of our collections in reflecting the diverse cultures of our families
  • The possible perception of the library in the Exec.

The Role of the Librarian in the IB – Day One

IB

Today 18 school library staff began work on refining their skills supporting the delivery and resourcing of IB programs in the Middle Years (MYP) and Primary Years (PYP).

There were folks from all over Australia – I’ve spoken to people from Brisbane, Perth, Thiroul, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne – and there is one library leader from Wellington in New Zealand. That’s a long flight – kudos for the commitment!

Four sessions were presented by Dianne McKenzie – a name well know to folks in the library world. I’ve known Dianne for about 15 years but today was our first IRL meeting!

Session 1 – Who we are. What we do.

This first session was a chance to share our stories. Dianne gave the group an opportunity to discuss the room layout, and to suggest alternative configurations that might better facilitate learning. Desks and chairs were pushed aside (in direct violation of the bright red DO NOT MOVE THE FURNITURE! sign on the wall beside the white board) and a more inclusive setup was completed.

After 3 x 1 minute stand-up speed intros, Dianne worked through the results of the survey that all participants completed prior to attending. There was a good mix of school types, IB programs, experience and newbies. Men, as usual, were out-numbered 3 to 15 – gents! get into libraries!

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Camus, R. (2014). Le Jour ni l’Heure 8693. [image] Available at: https://flic.kr/p/oJsUCS [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
We are considering these two ideas in everything we do in the next three days:

  • What is the purpose of a school librarian?
  • What is the purpose of a school library?

It’s tricky to keep anything front of mind when you are learning so many great new things – but we should try! 😀

Just before the break, Dianne invited us to write a Challenge, something we were Comfortable with, and a Question on Post-It Notes. And here’s the serendipities that come when you get to spend time immersed in a common interest. I took a pic of my Post-Its for this reflection, which led to Dianne sharing a FANTASTIC app (which I wish that I’d had for the Year 7 IB intro unit at the end of last year, dammit!) called Post-It Plus. Short story – you take a photo of a group of post-its and the app groups them as single posts, so that you can rearrange and reshare them as needed. You can make electronic post-its too, and other stuff – I haven’t explored it properly yet.

board

Main take-aways:

Everyone has something to contribute regardless of where they are on the IB journey.

 

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Post-It Plus!!!!!

Session 2 – The library, librarian and the IB

The second session began with some art (well, a drawing of sorts). Working in groups, we had to create a visual representation of the library is having a central role in the school (from Principles into Practice).

Our group (Adam, (sorry I forgot!) and me) discussed how we saw the role of the library in the school. See the image for some of the visual ideas that we came up with – and our final idea.

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Understandings

  • Every school is different, every library is different.
  • We all work in different situations
  • We all have different qualifications
  • Sharing – here to learn from each other
  • Conversations!

Workshop Agreements

Open-minded, Listen, Share, Respect, Reflective, , Risk-taker, in fact all the aspects of the Learner Profile!

Main take-aways:

  1. Everyone has something to contribute regardless of where they are on the IB journey.
  2. Post-It Plus!!!!!

 

Session 2 – The library, librarian and the IB

The second session began with some art (well, a drawing of sorts). Working in groups, we had to create a visual representation of the library is having a central role in the school (from Principles into Practice).

Our group (Adam, (sorry I forgot!) and me) discussed how we saw the role of the library in the school. See the image for some of the visual ideas that we came up with – and our final idea.

Other groups came up with other ways to represent what the library does and how it central. Photos added tomorrow.

Standards & Practices

When asked what the Standards & Practices were, no-one had a response, but as Dianne continued I realised that I did know about the S&P – it was just that I had worked on B2 in isolation to the rest. Dianne’s advice is that libraries should be aware of and understand the S&P and be able to articulate which ones apply to the library service.

Library Mentions in the IP documents

Each participant was given a set of statements regarding the role of the library in the IB. Our job was to pick 5 things that we thought we were doing well, and three we could use as goals:

 

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Learnings

  • Authorisation comes first – less rigorous, less hoops
  • Evaluation is 5 years later – very vigorous
  • The IB has just released the CP – Career-Related Programme. Definitely something that Woodleigh could look at as a model for VETiS and VET studies.

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IB Philosophy (see photo) Purpose Learning Culture Environment

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Discussion was had around how the IB Philosophy also fits the library – and can be used to build Mission Statements.

Use the headings in the T-L Job Description to look at WHAT we do and don’t do. Dianne built JD to describe her job – holy cow! However, it does provide a terrific framework for librarians to interrogate what they do and don’t do – and to provide a starting point to develop goals for this year.

Dianne has graciously collected all mentions of libraries in the documents – saved to OneDrive.

Thoughts.

  • Team MUST be on board or get off. What do I do if they don’t get on?
  • Party wrist bans for overdues – write the book title on the wrist band.

Gamestorming https://gamestorming.com

  • Do? What do I want to do?
  • Who? Who can help me?
  • Actions? What strategies will I use to move it forward?

This was the last bit of information before lunch.

Session 3 & 4 – What is an IB Education, and, The Ideal Libraries document

These two sessions merged into one, as there is a lot of over-lap.

IB Education revolves around the Learner Profile. All IB documents begin with the Learner Profile – super, super important – front of mind.

10 aspects to the Learner Profile – Dianne’s brilliant cards below (copyrighted! Do not steal!). Useful in many learning situations! IB Learner profile Video

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Reflective Communicators Thinkers Inquirers Open-minded Balanced Caring Risk-taking Principled Knowledgeable

 

Finally, we discussed the Ideal Libraries document which was released in June 2018. There some limitations – it’s unclear who the audience is (some bits seemed to be aimed at library professionals, others at administrators), but there are lots of questions which can be useful when analysing library services. Dianne has collected the questions (all 80-something of them!) because they are not organised sensibly in the IL document. it’s a work in progress…