LIBE 477 Inquiry Project Blog Post #4– A Tale of Two Cities

emadsen3 Comments

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Wait- someone already said that. Let’s try that again.

I have taught in two BC school districts, and despite sharing a curriculum, guided by the same provincial government body and functioning under the same funding system, they’re worlds apart.

I love teaching history and one of my favourite things to teach is the Enlightenment. I tell my students that my job is to turn them into intellectual giants. Some seem interested at this prospect. Some genuinely wonder if I’m up to that kind of challenge. Some just role their eyes as only a disinterested teenager can. For me, the Enlightenment is that pivotal shift in history where human beings embraced the power of reason. I have a degree in French literature (really!), so I’ll whip out a Victor Hugo quote here (translated, of course):

“The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge.”

In 2022 Canada, we like to think of ourselves as enlightened. Canadians are nice, fair people. We value equality. We value education. We want our citizens to “live in light.” But does our reality line up with our aspirations?

The BC Ministry of Education proudly states on their website that they have a “clear mandate, to enable every learner to maximize their potential.” Furthermore, they declare that this commitment is “regardless of their background or where they live in B.C. … enabling equity of access to quality education for every student.” But even they do acknowledge that they are not yet reaching this goal: “significant differences exist between schools across the province.” 

The ministry identifies five principles to direct us to the goal of graduating “educated citizens.” Under the heading of “future orientation,” they state they “encourage the use of technology.” Notice the wording. It is not required. Because to require it would put the ministry in a potentially difficult situation: they’d have to ensure proper infrastructure. While the official line is to “encourage” technology, the curriculum clearly requires it- beyond the obvious Applied Design Skills and Technology. Literary Studies 10: “Access information for diverse purposes and from a variety of sources.” Obviously in 2022 this requires the internet. English Language Arts 12, a course mandatory for graduation: “Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful texts for a variety of purposes and audiences.” Again, in 2022, this surely must include digital texts. 

In the world of inquiry, we start with a hunch. This was my hunch: There is tremendous inequity in terms of access to technology in British Columbia. I spent 16 years teaching in North Vancouver, then moved to Grand Forks for eight, and am now back in North Van. So I have experienced both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum.

However, after digging a little deeper— “new learning” in inquiry parlance— I find my hunch is only kinda accurate. This is why we dig deeper.😊

There is disparity across communities in BC. However, my hunch was predicated on disparities in spending by districts. But in reality, this disparity exists because of parents’ varying abilities to subsidize their children’s education. 

It turns out sucky access to meaningful technology use is widespread, because, as we said, the ministry only encourages use of technology. If you were to ask a ministry representative, they would tell you that they disperse funds to BC’s 60 locally elected Boards of Education who make allocation decisions based on “local spending priorities.”  Sounds like passing the buck. (Pun not intended.)

To move my research beyond my own two school districts, I decided to drill down on the 2021/2022 budget for Coquitlam (SD43). School districts can pay for technology either out of their general operating budget or from their capital fund budget. SD43 received $303,743,095 in block grant funding, and through other sources (international students, facility rentals, etc.) brought their operating budget up to $324,201,551. (This includes the regular per student funding as well as additional funds to support special needs, Indigenous students and adult education. There is also funding for “geographical factors.” For example, it costs more to heat and cool a school in the Interior. Rural districts also need to provide bussing to school.) However, salaries and benefits— the biggest expense in a school district— ate up $296,797,438, over 90% of the budget. (This was on the high side due to COVID-19 absences). That leaves around $27 000 000 to provide all remaining services and make all remaining purchases for the students of Coquitlam. That year they had around 31,147 students. This really doesn’t give school districts much wiggle room, or room to chase those “local spending priorities.” Beyond the block budget, the Capital Fund Budget specifically covers “land, buildings, computer hardware and software, vehicles and equipment,” but at just under $17 000 000, does not provide enough revenue to even meet projected expenses. The bottom line is that school districts do not have a lot of money, already have almost 90% of it committed to salaries, and have a lot of needs to meet with that limited money.

I also looked at Vernon’s (SD22) Technology Plan. It is a 50 page document and looks very much like the documents from my own district: a lot of committee work, planning, and recommendations (including a recommendation for an annual dollar amount of $845000). It all sounds good. We’re doing the work. We’re making a plan. It’s a three year plan. We want to align technology with our goals. We have bulleted points summarizing our practice. Ditto innovation. Blah, blah, blah…  I have been involved in this process too many times and have been in the BC education system for too long to think that this fancy report means the students in Vernon get enough technology from their school district.

The bottom line is, according to a look at school technology funding in The Vancouver Sun, “there is no equity across the province, both in terms of access to technology and teachers’ ability and willingness to embrace it.” Because the government does not “directly fund technology in schools,” a BC student’s access depends on where they go to school. Is it a school where the parents have the time and expertise to fundraise? Are the parents comfortable fundraising? Is it a community that has the financial capacity to raise adequate funds? Do they have a teacher who will even use the iPad cart once it’s purchased? Because there is “no baseline level for technology in classrooms mandated by the provincial government,” teachers classrooms vary widely, from no tech to some tech to lotsa tech. Some teachers don’t have access. Some teachers simply opt not to use it because they  don’t know how to use it or choose not to. As I predicted, the official government response is that they “provide operating grants each year to school districts, and they have the autonomy to decide whether to spend it on new technology” (Sherlock, 2015).

But is it a choice?!

When I lived in Grand Forks, I wanted better, regular access to technology than I could get with the shared resources, so I applied for and received three grants: two each from SET-BC for 10 iPads, and then $10 000 from Best Buy to purchase additional iPads and a set of Chromebooks. So kids in my classes got daily, meaningful (I hope) access to and experience with technology. But what about the rest of the students in that school? Access wasn’t even equitable within a school: it depended on who their teacher was. Grand Forks is a community with considerable poverty and therefore limited fundraising capacity. (Of course I’m sure this helped with my success in receiving grant money.) Many kids don’t have access to devices at home, or have limited access because multiple people are sharing one device, as we learned when COVID hit. The district loaned out every laptop and Chromebook it had, but there were still kids without. Some didn’t even have wifi. I had one student who had to get in his truck and drive into town to a friend’s to access their wifi— and because of isolation protocols had to remain in his truck, learning on his phone.

Then there’s West Vancouver, “the richest place in Canada.” West Vancouver schools use the Google Suite for Education and therefore require students to have access to a Chromebook or laptop. In a community with “an average household net worth of $4.5 million” (Naraghi, 2019), this isn’t a very big ask. But for those rare West Vancouver families who cannot afford to purchase a device for their children, there is a process to borrow a device from the district. I attended a PSA day conference in West Vancouver a number of years ago where Superintendent Chris Kennedy was the keynote speaker. In a Q&A session afterwards, I asked him how many West Vancouver students needed to borrow a device. His answer was “one or two per school.” At that rate, it is obviously feasible for West Van to make this offer. Grand Forks, clearly, cannot. 

I’m old enough that I was teaching on 9/11, a school day seared into my memory. On that day I was lucky enough to have already scheduled my students to be using the iBooks (remember those bricks?!) and my students were able to watch history unfold live on the internet. We had school laptops in 2001, not because the school district had purchased them, but because the PAC had. Every year our family of schools PAC held a fundraising auction that raised around $100 000. So we had laptops. (And vans for our PE program.) When I arrived in Grand Forks in 2014, they still didn’t have laptops. 

I teach in a 1-to-1 program in North Vancouver where a personal iPad is required for every class. However, a family’s inability to purchase a device will not keep a student from being able to join the program; the district will loan one to a family in need. We currently have approximately 175 students in the program, and two require a device loan from the school. Again, Seycove can make this offer because, like West Vancouver, the clear majority of families have means. Innovative programs like ours can exist in communities with means because the schools themselves will not have to provide 1-to-1 device access. In a community like Grand Forks, a program like this simply could not run. Kind of makes the ministry’s proclamation of equitable access “regardless of [students’] background or where they live in B.C” ring hollow. 

Last year the professional focus of my school (GFSS) was on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), looking to focus on learning design and environments to plan for the success of all students. Technology makes this all the easier as it offers adaptive learning (such as voice to text), different ways of learning (audio and video to complement traditional text), and a wider variety of resources. However, many of my colleagues were really frustrated at this initiative because they did not have regular access to technology in the classes. I remember one colleague sarcastically saying something like, “Well, I’ll plan for the success of all students on Tuesday because that’s when the Chromebooks are available. Not sure what I can do on Wednesday and Thursday.” We can explore great pedagogy like UDL that seeks to offer equity in education to all students, but we need the means of implementing it. 

Anecdotally, I reached out to teacher friends in four districts (Burnaby, Kelowna, other North Vancouver schools, and Vancouver). Unsurprisingly, no one feels there is adequate access to technology in their local schools. Unfortunately, I am left largely relying on anecdotal evidence because it is virtually impossible to find hard numbers on access to technology in schools. It’s not published. No where does it say: this school with x number of students has x number of devices. It seems to me, if districts thought their technology was adequate for 21st century student needs, they’d be shouting it from the rooftops.  I would also love to know how much schools rely on kids using their own devices and how many students get left out because their families can’t afford devices. But that’s not published.

But you know what information kept popping up as I tried to find concrete information on tech in schools? Organizations that are trying to help subsidize our schools with donations of technology. Very telling that they exist:

If you were to investigate official policy in BC, you might get the impression that we were on track. The ministry website would have you believe every student has equal opportunity to become and “educated citizen.” I have always believed education has the potential to be the great equalizer, but we’re not realizing that potential in BC. We have all seen some version of this meme:

 

The reality in BC is, the tall kid is from West Van and he’s the one who has the boxes to stand on. The short kid is from Grand Forks and he is the one standing on the ground.

 

References:

AZ Quotes. (n.d.). Victor Hugo quote. AZ Quotes. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/613172 

CAST. (2022, September 2). The UDL guidelines. UDL. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/?utm_source=castsite&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=none&utm_content=footer

Coquitlam School District. (2022). Learning for a Lifetime- Budget and Fiscal Plan 2022/23-2024/25. Budget 2022-2023 – School District no. 43 (Coquitlam). Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.sd43.bc.ca/budget/Pages/Budget-2022-2023.aspx 

Gill, A. (2019, October 30). An answer to that viral equality meme. AIER. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.aier.org/article/an-answer-to-that-viral-equality-meme/ 

Naraghi, A. (2019,  August 8). Canada’s richest communities 2019. Macleans.ca. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.macleans.ca/economy/money-economy/canadas-richest-communities-2019/ 

Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education. (2022). Spiral of inquiry. Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://noiie.ca/spiral-of-inquiry/ 

Province of British Columbia. (2022, May 5). Ministry of Education and Child Care. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/organizational-structure/ministries-organizations/ministries/education 

Sherlock, T. (2015, October 2). Standards lacking in public schools’ use of technology. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://vancouversun.com/news/education/standards-lacking-in-public-schools-use-of-technology 

Vernon School District. (2020, April). SD22 technology plan – update 2020 revised – school district 22 Vernon. School District No. 22. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://sd22.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/SD22-Technology-Plan-Update-2020.pdf 

West Vancouver School District. (2022). Digital Resources for Students. West Vancouver Schools. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://westvancouverschools.ca/digital-resources 

LIBE 477 Inquiry Project Blog Post #3— The Life of Bryan

emadsen3 Comments

 

 

Meet Bryan.

 

 

 

This is a photo of Bryan at the circulation desk in his North Vancouver high school library. If you know Bryan, you know this is obviously a staged picture. You see, he doesn’t spend very much time sitting behind a circulation desk because he has so much else to do!

Bryan is a very good teacher librarian. What is it that makes him so good at what he does?

I have a vivid picture in my head of my elementary-aged self hanging out in the library (I was a cool kid, obviously) and it was the home turf of a the quintessential 1970s librarian: bespectacled, of course, middle-aged mousy woman with a soft “ssshhh” voice. She was the gatekeeper of books. And I think that’s about it. Seven year old me thought she lived in the library with the books. It didn’t even dawn on me at the time that the woman might actually be a certified teacher. If you wanted a book, she could help you. Other than that, she made sure that the library was a silent hub of inactivity.

Unlike Bryan’s library, where there is so much going on! While it would be fascinating to get a student’s perspective on the library, I’m going to focus on the teacher perspective, something that is for a lot of people “behind the scenes,” so we can see what it is that the the modern TL really does (and should do).

So you’re a teacher. You know ICT is one of those buzzy educational phrases. You know you should be “doing inquiry.” You want to amp up your pedagogical prowess. Why is Bryan potentially so valuable to a hard-working, curious teacher like you?

I think the modern day teacher librarian basically has to do three things well:

  1. Be likeable and approachable
  2. Know their 💩
  3. Be helpful: show what they can offer (and advertise if they have to)

So let’s analyze our friend Bryan.

First of all, he is always good for a travel tip (from Portland, Oregon to Pyongyang, North Korea) or advice for a good place to eat anywhere. (Thank you, Bryan, for recommending Burgers in Paradise in Maui.) That information might not seem pertinent, but it actually is. You see, what Bryan understands is that in order for all his many skills to be put to good use in the school, he needs to first and foremost be approachable and likeable. After all, who wants to seek help from someone who’s grouchy, judgemental and unfriendly?! So it definitely helps that Bryan is funny, friendly and approachable. “Humour…serves to break the tension and provides momentary relief from the hard work” of being a teacher. And have food on hand. Teachers like treats: “Advertise food when you want teachers to join you…” because the offerings help “sustain a community of practice” (Kimmel, 2013) .

 

 

 

Collaboration time is better with ice cream sandwiches!

 

 

Next, now that people like their TL and are happy in his company, Bryan needs to give them a reason to want to spend time in his company. The key to being able to help other teachers develop their professional skill set is to first sharpen his own. As Dr. Kristen Mattson writes, it’s important to be “equipped” because the modern TL needs to;

  • curate content– both physical and digital
  • be the inquiry guru
  • coach people on information literacy– there’s a lot of unreliable garbage out there!
  • be the master of digital literacy and help people navigate both web searches and academic databases because “most of our information has moved into digital formats”
  • be an advocate for the ethical use of information– so darned easy to just copy and paste!

A good TL knows the digital world; they stay “up to date with social media and technological trends” and model and encourage their use “where they are relevant to learning” (Herring, 2017). Your awesome TL maintains a quality library website- his “digital learning commons.” You can follow him on Twitter (@bryanhughes), Instagram (@bryanhughes) and Tik Tok (hint hint, Bryan). A good TL is always learning, playing with new things, attending conferences and workshops and keeping on top of what’s new and relevant.

That’s a lot. But if a TL’s teaching colleagues realize just how many skills they have and in how many ways they can help, then they have the potential for “rockstar collaborative relationships” (Mattson, 2017). We’ve already established that Bryan is the kind of person people want to be around. He knows his 💩.  So how do people discover how helpful he can really be?

He needs to drum up some business! 🥁

A good teacher librarian will seem to be everywhere (except at the circulation desk). They insert themselves into as many contexts in the school as possible. I used to be a little bit judgemental of TLs who left the library at lunch to eat with their colleagues in the staff room. I thought, shouldn’t they be in the library when there’s kids there who need them?! However, now what I see is that the teacher librarian needs to be “where the teachers are” and needs to be part of the conversation and needs to be listening to them and hearing them talk about their day so he knows what their needs are and he needs to be in the conversation so that they can see that he might be able to help them with what they’re doing and they can get a sense of everything he knows and…and…and.  “The teacher librarian does not make instructional partnerships by… waiting to be approached.” They need to “get out [of the library], make friends, and be willing to jump in when a need arises!” (Mattson, 2017).

A good TL is on a constant recon mission 🕵️‍♂️ to know the needs of the school and to find opportunities to engage in discussion to communicate their value. A good TL serves on as many committees as possible. A good TL attends as many department meetings as possible. A good TL invites themselves into any scenario where they might be useful. A colleague and I planned a “lunch and learn” last week so she could give me some help with a new tool. Bryan just showed up too– because he’d heard there was ICT learning going on. I was impressed that he had his ear to the ground and even knew we were meeting. And his presence enhanced the quality of the learning. (Though not the lunching. He didn’t bring food. Bad Bryan!)

 

 

Bryan leading the collaborative learning of the PLP team, demonstrating a new tool and driving the conversation on team teaching. A good TL knows who is doing good stuff and joins in to amplify the awesome!

 

The TL’s true secret weapon is TIME. Teachers never have enough of it. If a TL can add an extra set of hands to the work we do, they will be welcome in any scenario. If a TL is “willing and able to contribute,” (Mattson, 2017) who would turn that down?! “I don’t need any help. I can do everything awesomely all on my own!” said NO. TEACHER. EVER.

If you’re a TL (or a fledgling one like me), be Bryan. If you are a classroom teacher wanting to partner with an awesome TL, sorry, but he’s taken!

References:

Herring, J. (2017). The future role of the teacher librarian. http://www.scisdata.com. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-100/the-future-role-of-the-teacher-librarian/

Kimmel, Sue C. “Pass the Chocolate: Planning with Teachers.” Knowledge Quest, vol. 42, no. 1, 2013, pp. 48–51., https://go.exlibris.link/Wn9kHJCs. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.

Mattson, K. (2018, September 27). The librarian as an instructional partner. Medium. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://medium.com/inspired-ideas-prek-12/the-librarian-as-an-instructional-partner-38b2d374bbec

 

 

LIBE 477 Inquiry Blog Post #2: I get by with a little help from my friends

emadsen7 Comments

This is dedicated to the “Awesome Squad.” We worked together for 4 years in Grand Forks and did some great professional learning together! And we had a lot of fun.

Some days I swear I’d do this job for nothing. Reality, of course, is that not all days are brilliant. Some days are rough. Some days are exhausting. And some days are tear-filled, hair-pulling, sleep-deprived messes. So glad we’re not in it alone.

Like in any aspect of life, a strong support system is essential. You need people who understand your challenges. You need people who celebrate your successes (and who listen when things go south). You need people to laugh with. You need people to vent with. You need people to walk you around the block at lunch when the stress demons are plaguing you. You just need people. So glad we’re not in it alone.

I’ve been a teacher for 24 years, and somehow this job never gets easier. The needs of the kids are still complex. The scope of the challenge is still enormous. And the weight of the importance is still crushing. So glad we’re not in it alone.

But aside from the emotional support, your squad also helps you grow professionally. They give you feedback to improve. They inspire you with their own work. They explore new ideas and approaches with you. They sit and talk teaching and talk learning and talk assessing and talk reading and talk writing and talk counselling and talk coaching… and talk every “ing” you’re responsible for in this profession. They make you better. SO GLAD WE’RE NOT IN IT ALONE!!!

Sometimes the tendency with stuff that challenges us and stuff that isn’t going well is to keep it private. It’s hard to admit it’s hard. Having a squad that you trust and that you know values you, allows you to share. And that is clearly important in terms of moving forward. How do you work out that stuff that isn’t going well if you are insular? That stuff needs to air out. So glad we’re not in it alone.

Collectively we know more and can accomplish more than we can individually. And if we fulfill our potential, then our students are more likely to fulfill their potential. Characteristics of community– trust, shared values, acceptance, communication, commitment, reciprocity, accountability, equity, openness, cohesion, respect, participation—are precisely what drive learning in a classroom. And they’re precisely what drive learning among professionals. So glad we’re not in it alone.

 I am actually quite proud of how I have managed my own personal growth and development as a teacher. In fact, my decision to enrol in this diploma program was spurred on by my principal telling me that I already engaged in the kind of learning that exists in graduate programs, so I might as well be getting paid for it! Obviously I agreed. 💰

What he meant was I read things. I ask questions. I talk teaching. I go to every workshop offered. I join committees. I self-assess and look for resources or advice to help me with what I want to improve. I think my own personality helps. I am a perfectionist; the one thing I value above all else is competence. Seriously. The biggest compliment you could pay me is to tell me that I’m competent. Not nice, not generous, not pretty, not kind. Competent. Consequently, I have always been driven to seek out learning opportunities and networks throughout my career. I also find that I am drawn in this way to like-minded teachers, other people who also wanna learn stuff. When you find your squad, you will find that the conversations just naturally happen, whether at lunch or after school or somewhere else if you are friends outside of school. And these casual conversations can be some of the best professional exploration you do. Furthermore, chances are pretty good that they do all the things you do, like follow great people on Twitter, seek out good articles and quality blogs, and look for pro d opportunities, and then they will share those ideas with you.

My professional squad-ships led me to the opportunity to travel for what were two of the greatest professional learning experiences of my career. First of all I was blessed to do a three day residency at High Tech High in San Diego. Secondly, I was invited to go to the ISTE Conference in the summer of 2015. The best thing about the ISTE experience (and CUEBC locally) was that I learned about some great tools that I could put in my back pedagogical pocket. Later, when I had an idea for something I wanted to do, and was asking myself, “How do I make this happen?” I had these tools and strategies to draw on.  So cast a wider net, if you can. 

In the near future, I think the greatest opportunity I have two develop and explore exist right within my own current role. As the newest member of an Apple Distinguished School project-based learning program, I have a LOT to learn. 😂 But the best part is, I have the right people beside me. A new squad. This is a tremendous group who really strive to develop the best program we can for our learners. We meet together every Wednesday after school, we are constantly talking during the school day, particularly in the 45 minute tutorial block where we all work in the same room, we have a group chat on iMessage, we collaborate and build our curriculum on a shared platform (Craft), and when one of us has questions or wants to explore something new, the others are more than willing to get together at lunch and co-learn and co-explore.

My new squad

I know there is also a lot of great stuff going on in cyberspace. For example, last year I was invited to attend a Saturday virtual unconference with a grassroots group exploring assessment. (As usual, someone in my squad told me about it.) In my own school district, I joined the mentorship team and worked virtually with other mentors exploring strategies for how we could help newer teachers. I joined a virtual book club exploring the impact of trauma through The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog. And, of course, our schools brought us virtual pro D events. My favourite was Katie White. I learned a lot in these experiences, and I am grateful for them. But it just wasn’t the same as a real conference. After two years of the Covid Zoom universe, I am really excited to be back and doing my professional learning in person with real people.

Tweeted by @NVSD44

So glad we’re not in it alone.

Find your squad!

 

 

 

LIBE 477 Inquiry Project Part One: If you build it…

emadsen2 Comments

Baseball and books are two of my favourite things, so I am STOKED at the opportunity to bring them together in this post.

One of the fundamental questions for the Teacher Librarian (TL) and the English teacher is “How do you foster a reading culture?”

I am  a “start with why” thinker. It seems obvious, but it’s worth stating that we want kids to read because literacy is the gateway to all learning. If we foster reading, we increase academic success.

So now we know our mission 🚀; how do we get there?

I am going to tell you about one of the greatest resource videos I ever came across: The Power of Reading, a lecture by Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus at USC. You know how you feel when you find something that you really love, and you feel like you have discovered some amazing, world-changing secret, and you just have to tell everyone? And then you find out everyone already knows about it? Such was my Stephen Krashen experience. Turns out I had “discovered” someone everyone else already knew about; the man is an oft-quoted expert and educational and linguistic legend. Yet he had somehow escaped my detection until a few years ago. If you are in the same boat, you’re welcome! If you are shaking your head in horror (How can you be an English teacher and not know who Stephen Krashen is?!)…

For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on one aspect of the Krashen video. It is simple, but it is brilliant: “When you give kids interesting things to read, they will read them” (UGACOE 2012). Quite simply, reading for pleasure improves reading.

Now for the baseball part! 🤗🤗🤗 Krashen talks about the concept of “the home run book.” Like a person learning to play baseball who falls in love with the game after experiencing the rush of their first home run, Krashen says one strong, positive reading experience can turn you into a reader. This rings true for me; I remember a student years ago who struggled to read. I gave him a high interest book called Suspicion Island. He loved it and came back asking for “more books like that one.” The next day I saw him in the library. He’d found his “homerun book” and he now knew he could read for pleasure.

So if reading leads to reading, how do we increase reading? Some ideas that I (or people smarter than I) have tried:

  • As a TL, establish a collection that is diverse in every way—subject matter, ability level, fiction versus non-fiction, representation, genres, and text only versus text with visuals—so there are truly options for every student. As an English teacher, I suffered from the “this is what students should be reading” mindset. I now get that we need to focus instead on “this is what students want to be reading.”  Field of Dreams famously taught us, ” If you build it they will come.” If you build a collection, they will read. (Baseball analogy #2, for those keeping score. Is that #3?)
  • If you have a great collection with something for everyone, you need to get that message out. In my previous school, I was gifted prime bulletin board territory across from the office. I used it to make colourful displays to catch people’s eyes and let them know what they could find in the library. Sometimes I had a theme (scary books for October), or sometimes I simply built a display of new titles. Other times my bulletin board had a message so students knew they could find voices that spoke to them (or for them!), like the time I made a display of LGBTQ titles. It’s important, if your collection represents and includes all students, to tell them that. Of course some schools are blessed with display cases at their library. Use those too! And change them regularly so all kids can see the diversity in your library. And this is so important: include those high interest books and graphic novels so kids feel that they are valued and not just the lesser cousins of “the real books.” Krashen gives the example of Bishop Desmond Tutu who professed that his love of reading came from comic books. He also recommends Captain Underpants and Garfield to encourage reading. Personally, I have found that the most popular books in the library are the yearly Guinness Book of World Records, which feature spectacular visuals along with printed text. Bottom line: all books are cool! 😎
  • A library should, of course, have a good digital presence. Not only is it a source of useful tools (databases, citation help), but it’s a great way to advertise the books. And Tweet. And post on the school website and Facebook page. Meet kids where they are.
  • Now that you have your awesome inclusive collection and you’ve told people about it, you want to help them get their hands on the books they’re going to love reading. The best thing I’ve seen is genre-based filing. Books are sorted according to categories (and then filed alphabetically by author within that section) and colour-coded. If a kid knows they want to read about history, they know where to find books about history. If a kid wants to read comics or graphic novels, they know where to find comics and graphic novels. If a kid knows they like science fiction, but the science fiction is lost in a larger sea of fiction, it’s harder for that kid to connect with their “home run books.” The easier it is to find something they want to read, the more likely they are to read.

  • I take a similar approach as an English teacher, such as with a recent challenging Literary Studies 11 class. Because I had control of the library budget, I had the luxury of ordering books that would eventually go to the library but could start in my classroom. I purchased $1000 worth of a wide assortment of graphic novels, covering hopefully every interest (superheroes, LGBTQ, history, technology, sports, family drama, high level literary fiction– don’t forget about the kids who already love to read!) and let my students select what they would read, without judgment. The kids who struggled with reading loved that there were high interest, accessible options. I remember one boy in particular who enthusiastically approached the selection of graphic novels and couldn’t help but say, “Cool!” when he saw Batman Returns was an option in English class. I didn’t need to prod, bribe, or threaten them to read, and to a kid, they all expressed how much they liked their books. I even had kids ask for another book! Grand slam! 
  • Of course building the collection isn’t the only infrastructure you need to create. You need to think about the space too. You want it to be inviting. You want it to be comfortable. You want people to want to come there. And like your collection, you want it to meet diverse needs. Some people want to curl up in a beanbag chair in the corner. Some want to chill on a couch. Some want to sit with their friends at a table. I love my current school library for this reason, and it is very much the heart of the school precisely because it offers something for everyone. Take a tour:

https://animoto.com/play/BLDc1aXxK6ptiCsvtOK12Q

  • The most effective English teachers and TLs embrace technology as a partner in literacy. Last year in my classroom, my pedagogical focus was on UDL. If I want all students to succeed, I need to build my practice in a way that allows them to succeed. For literacy, this included embracing technology. Again, the traditional English teacher voice in my head was shouting at me about what reading looked like (a kid with a book in their hand). But all that mindset does is throw up a barrier for so many kids. Remember that kid whose face lit up when he saw Batman Returns? I’d seen that face before: for the first assigned reading in the course, I told them I had shared a YouTube link with them of an audio version of the story we were reading. Relief and joy. He put on his headphones and  listened as he followed along with his book. At the end of the course, he thank me for “always letting him use the computer.” (Later I fumed that this was even worth mentioning for him; who wasn’t letting him use his computer?!) This kid was successful in my Literary Studies 11 class when he very well might not have been elsewhere. Likewise, I am now teaching with 1-to-1 iPad use, and kids are given access to eBooks, allowing use of a suite of handy tools: kids are encouraged to interact with the texts by highlighting key passages and making notes, they can instantly look up words they don’t understand, and they offer the read aloud feature. Interestingly enough, the 1-to-1 environment has meant that my UDL self was offering traditional paper books to the kids that wanted them. 🤪 The iPad tools may allow them to do more, but the most important thing for me is for them to be comfortable reading. And if they’re more comfortable with a “dead tree” (as my TL calls them), then give them a “dead tree.”
  • Finally, when talking about “a culture of reading,” don’t forget about the culture part, the customs and habits of a group of people. You want reading to be a shared custom or habit. One great way is to leverage the technology. I have a colleague who gave me the great suggestion of using the app Goodreads with my students. This puts them right into a community of readers and allows them to interact with people who share their tastes and interests as well as to get recommendations for other “home run books.” There is also a book club in my school. They have a presence in the school via posters, school announcements, a table at “club day, and meetings with food (peanuts and cracker jacks?) to attract new members.  Their interests are just as valued as athletics and the green club.

As baseball legend Willie Stargell once said, “When you start the game, they don’t say ‘Work ball!’ They say, ‘Play ball!’” (Bailey, 2022). If we want kids to read, there needs to be joy in it. Even I (with a degree in literature) feel like it’s work when I have to read something I don’t want to. But let me pick my book and I’ll get lost in it.

References

 

LIBE 477 Reading Review Part C: Navigating the Rabbit Hole

emadsen1 Comment

I sense a theme emerging in my observations: despite my age, being a learner is transporting me back decades… too bad it didn’t also cure my arthritis. 🤪 (Or advise me to buy Moderna stock.)

 Even though I’m old and learned how to learn the old fashioned way- from lectures and books- my brain has been co-opted by the Google, and exactly like my adolescent charges, I just want to find the answer!!! I want to type in the search and copy and paste whatever Google spits out from its convoluted algorithm. Alas, that is not effective, discerning research, so I was forced to actually think and try to make sense of all the digital goodies waiting for me down the rabbit hole.

As far as my ability to find articles goes, I found it started quite slow but then got more efficient and effective after I’d learned a few things:

  • Primary observation: I needed to get more specific with my search terms, otherwise my searches were yielding far too many potential candidates for me to consider in a reasonable amount of time, and I was having to sift through things that were not necessarily pertinent to my inquiry. For example when I was searching the UBC library database, I needed to specify secondary teaching because I was encountering a lot of articles specific to college and university teaching. And there were THOUSANDS of them, so even reading the overview was futile.
Bonus points if you get the reference!!!
Source: startrek.com

 

  • Another obstacle I had was that I was very specifically looking for information that was going to help me in my current professional context. What that meant was that I wasn’t learning about the topic in general like I traditionally do when I’m learning something new, where I do the learning and then ultimately down the road apply it to a given context. In this case, I really very much wanted to find resources that were immediately applicable to what I am doing, so that made the search process more complicated. (I guess this is more evidence of my Google-addled brain: I crave instant gratification!) Consequently, as I was painstakingly conducting my research through the lens of my own inquiry, I found resources that I think are quite relevant indeed.
Source: medium.com

 

  • I was also reminded that we often have resources available to us in human form that can help us with research and recommendations. It wasn’t until I was nearing the end of my research that I remembered that my teacher librarian colleague had already curated a number of resources that were very specific to my pedagogical context and therefore relevant to my inquiry. How much time could have been saved if I’d turned to the information master of my universe sooner…
Source: thegeeksdaily.com

 

  • Another observation is that when you know exactly what you are looking for, obviously it is easier to find it. For example, I was looking for videos on YouTube about High Tech High in San Diego. Obviously I quickly and easily had a successful search. And obviously that doesn’t happen much in the world of online research…
I googled “Worf I protest I am not a merry man” and got EXACTLY what I was looking for!
Source: tvtropes.org

 

  • I found it quite easy to locate current information on my topics in my broad, general Internet searches as opposed to the UBC database where I was encountering information that was outdated. When, learning from my mistakes, I included dates in the parameters of my search, I came up with very little. Obviously when you are looking for resources on the integration of technology into learning, something that is over 10 years old is no longer going to be that valuable a resource. Therefore, I would say that I was more challenged trying to find scholarly literature on my topics as opposed to still very valuable (and I would argue “scholarly” given those involved in their creation) resource websites such as Edutopia or ASCD.
When science borrows from science fiction
Source: cbc.ca

 

To conclude, my key “big picture” observation: Becoming a learner again gives me empathy for my students. One of the challenges is managing distractions. That includes environmental, like things around me that take my attention away, such as cats that want to be played with. There is also the temptation of the wider Internet and notifications coming in. (Extra difficult when searching on YouTube, the ultimate rabbit hole!)  And lastly- and who knows if this is a challenge that any of my students have- 🤪 is the need to stay focussed on the task at hand and not get lost reading stuff that is interesting, yet not directly relevant to the assignment you’re working on. I can only hope my students have that level of intellectual curiosity! 

Literally hovering on my shoulder because she’s being ignored.

 

Click here for APA formatted References for Inquiry Resources

LIBE 477 Reading Review, Part B: Middle Aged, Fledgling Learner

emadsen2 Comments

 I am a 49 year old woman with greying hair, bags under my eyes, and arthritis. I have been a teacher longer than some of my coworkers have been alive. I have finally reached the point where I am starting to do the math to figure out when I can realistically retire without it seeming like a pipe dream. So why the heck do I feel like a first year teacher?! I’m at the point in my career, after 24 years, where I should know what I’m doing. Nope. My teaching life at the moment seems to be a matter of triage because I am juggling so many things that are new and challenging and just trying to keep afloat one day to the next. But while I am exhausted, it is truly exhilarating.

 

 

“Can I take a silly photo of you, Ms. Madsen?” -Gwen L., grade 10

As long as you accentuate the bags under my eyes…

 

My thoughts and key words last time were spurred by my desire to use this inquiry project for practical purposes. The goal of the course is “[e]xploration of emerging technologies, strategies and resources that will enhance and extend school libraries into interactive, service-oriented, community building entities that support the development of personal learning networks.” By sheer luck, I have managed to land myself in just such a reality. However, I am a brand new cog in this inquiry machine, and I have a LOT of learning to do. Serendipitously, I have been assigned an independent inquiry project on “the pedagogical uses of digital technologies and media for learning” and “life in the knowledge age” ((McNee, 2022)– beautifully related to what I’m actually doing professionally. What a brilliant opportunity to “get inside it” and learn more about the components of PLP!

    No pressure, noob!

My instructions were to spend an hour or two researching a variety of resources that will hopefully be useful for my inquiry. Hahahahahaha… and hour or two… In my experience, nothing on the internet ever gets done in an hour or two– too many rabbit holes! Nonetheless, I have persevered and settled on some good stuff. 🎉

Among the MANY new things to me this fall is working on a true team (as opposed to the general staff that the principal labelled a team for propaganda purposes). This approach is appealing and exciting, but brand new territory, so I’m looking for insight. My initial perception is there’s lots of upside (support, sharing ideas, collective intelligence), but potential challenges (personalities, consistency for students, time management), so I’m curious what the research says. I selected this article because a lot of my questioning centres on the students and how they respond to being team taught. I also think this is at the heart of what good pedagogy is: community. And if there is strength in personal learning networks, it’s great to have one as part of your everyday teaching life. So I really want to understand this dynamic to maximize its potential.

While I have been exposed to project-based learning, I can honestly say I have only “dabbled” in it. I am finding unit design challenging– there is a huge learning curve. But I think it can be awesome, so it is definitely worth understanding. What I like about this resource is it includes “Facilitating factors in the implementation of project-based learning” and “How teachers can support project-based learning in the classroom – what the evidence shows,” practical topics for me at this stage.

PLP was largely inspired by High Tech High in San Diego, so I thought a useful resource would be to learn about the source: What is the pedagogical reasoning? How does technology improve student learning? What are the secrets to their success? Learning by example is always one of the strongest learning tools!

After hours down the rabbit hole, it dawned on me that I had forgotten about one of the best resources at my disposal: my own Teacher Librarian (and team leader) extraordinaire! Our team shares a platform (the app Craft), where we do our curriculum and unit designs, communicate, and share, and this includes some fabulous books and other professional resources that have been curated for our use. So I checked that out to see what might be useful for me here and found this treasure trove:

I am familiar with the ASCD Quick Guides— I own several myself, having been introduced to them than none other than my TL friend. 😁 They are fabulous in that they are rich in content yet economical in length– perfect learning tools for busy teachers. The titles most relevant to me right now are:

  1. “Getting Started with Project Based Learning”
  2. “Giving Students Effective Feedback”
  3. “Co-teaching Essentials”
  4. “Media Literacy in Every Classroom”
  5. “Communication Strategies for Successful Co-teaching”

Gotta ❤️ a librarian!

I found this gem while checking out more ASCD guides… rabbit hole… 🤦‍♀️ But I love this because for all the advantages technology affords us as educators, it’s still all about the human connection. So while the iPad may be front and centre in our advertising, it is the interactions of students and teachers and engagement and socio-emotional, kinaesthetic, hands on good stuff that really matters!

Someone thinks I’ve been at the computer long enough…

McNee, D. (2022). Course Outline. LIBE 477: Special topics in teacher librarianship [Online course]. Canvas. https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/103489/pages/course-outline?module_item_id=4814899

LIBE 477 Reading Review, Part A: Whatcha gonna do?!

emadsenLeave a comment

I am really fortunate in that I do not need to anticipate a new opportunity arising in my teaching in the near future because I am living that new opportunity.  After a number of years feeling like I was very much trying to push my practice on my own, I have been welcomed onto a team that is doing wonderful things pedagogically and I am so excited to be exploring new technology-rich frontiers with like-minded educators.

When people look at our program probably the first thing that they see that sets it apart is the fact that each student uses an iPad. However, the innovation of this program goes far beyond the obvious. But the one on one use of a device is an enticing prospect for me. As somebody who has worked as a teacher librarian and humanities teacher, I am excited by the expanded opportunities afforded my students by the use of the iPad: It is versatile and allows for tremendous creativity. While it is capable of traditional tools like word processing and Internet searches, there is so much more possibility, including communication beyond the walls of the school, creative work such as movies, animation, podcasts, and blogs, as well as adaptive options such as voice to text and text reader, promoting more opportunity for success among more students. Furthermore, becoming comfortable using the iPad helps develop problem-solving skills in students as well as encouraging collaboration as they both help each other and work together on their projects. And the iPad is gloriously portable, meaning learning can occur anywhere– as it so often does in real life.

Beyond just the use of technology, the program is also project-based learning which is new to me and very exciting. While I am feeling a definite learning curve in my planning process, I realize the opportunity for more real world, meaningful work by my students. I am also encouraged by my teammates to include real, authentic resources in the planning. So we will not just be learning within the walls of our school but are encouraged to move beyond and seek opportunity and expertise elsewhere. Hopefully this real-world exposure brings authenticity their work that in turn increases engagement in the learning.

Finally the third aspect of my new role that excites me the most is the fact that I am working as part of a team. In my experience as a teacher, the most powerful things I have done have come out of collaborative experiences. By its very nature, our program is designed for us to function as a team. For example, students don’t have one teacher for humanities for a year or even for a semester, but will have several teachers working with them throughout the year. This shifting not only exposes students to more educators and teaching styles, but allows us to work together as we get to know all of our learners and discus ways to support them as a team. Furthermore, as teachers we know the value of good feedback to our students, and so we follow this mindset ourselves, and work at developing projects, openly seeking feedback from the team as we go. This helps make us all better as well as exposes us to what the other team members are doing and allows us to build off of this to benefit of our students. And this is invaluable to me as the noob on the team!

As we strive to educate independent learners, one of the things that I am most focussed on is helping my students be smart and curious seekers of information. Information is ubiquitous nowadays; however, what our students need from us is the capacity to determine how to find information that is relevant, reliable, and useful. I also hope to build students’ capacities to synthesize information from different sources and increase their ability to connect things and ultimately engage in “big picture” thinking. In helping students become more discerning consumers of media, it is exciting to know that I am working in an environment that encourages engagement with these media and that allows students the opportunity to do so on a regular basis and not just intermittently as is so often the case in schools. A text book does not represent an authentic flow of information. Information comes from websites, blogs, social media, films, TV shows and conversations with other human beings. If that’s how people really learn, that’s how students ought to learn. The more we give students opportunities for learning that mirrors how people function outside the school, the better positioned they are for taking on challenges after graduation.

Areas of interest:

  • Digital workflow
  • Information literacy: database searches, media literacy
  • Collaborative teaching
  • Curation of information
  • Real-world learning
  • Technology in PBL

Click here to read about my awesome program!