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The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, reminds us with his famous quote about change is that change is inevitable regardless of our innate desire for the security of routine.\u00a0 Personal change can sometimes be easy, but often encouraging change within others can be more challenging.\u00a0 Colleagues who are used to doing things \u201ctheir way\u201d or have doubts or misgivings about changing practices that have worked in the past, can often be resistant and require assistance to try something new.\u00a0 This is true in many professions and jobs and can be especially true in education.<\/p>\n
Collegial Change in Education and the Role of the Teacher-Librarian<\/strong><\/p>\n Teaching is a unique profession in that a school operates as a community and specific departments often work together as a team, however once the classroom door closes, the teacher will often work in isolation with his or her students.\u00a0 Almost by design, it favours independent, solitary planning and execution of instruction.\u00a0 Regardless, of how isolated teacher classrooms are, effective departments and schools encourage and help facilitate change amongst their colleagues.\u00a0 Like Heraclitus implies, change is inevitable and when one looks at the dramatic way in which curriculum outcomes can change or how new assessment practices can be dictated, learning how to facilitate collegial change for any teacher is an important skill to have.<\/p>\n The role of the teacher-librarian is an example of someone within a school who has an opportunity to bring about awareness of the need for change and is in the unique position to effectively facilitate change amongst all of the teachers within a particular school.\u00a0 This role is somewhat different from a Department Head or even an Administrator who may be concerned with school-wide changes, but then delegates those changes to departments or individuals.\u00a0 The Teacher-Librarian has the opportunity to assist in specific subject or project planning by not only providing at-hand resources, but also by introducing different perspectives, different forms of technology, and by guiding or helping to provide different access points of \u00a0information that a classroom teacher may not be aware of.\u00a0 The teacher-librarian also has the benefit of often being aware of or having experience in how other teachers approach instruction and inquiry just by being that central hub of information collection and distribution within a school.\u00a0 Providing information is only part of the solution to being a facilitator of change.\u00a0 Promoting collaboration and a willingness to try new resources or new methods can also fall to the teacher-librarian.<\/p>\n Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is one example of how one should go about addressing reservations regarding change. CBAM is an example as to how one should first recognize that change may be difficult and may in fact require a process if one is to effectively promotes and facilitate change \u00a0(Loucks-Horsley).\u00a0\u00a0 CBAM is a process that attempts to recognize that change can be difficult but must be individual.\u00a0 That change goes through a series of stages from \u201cAwareness\u201d to \u201cManagement\u201d to some form of reflection or \u201cRefocusing\u201d as outlined in the table below;<\/p>\n A Personal Reflection of Collaboration and Facilitating Change.<\/strong><\/p>\n In my current position at my school (of which I have been working at for 10 years), I am in charge of the Middle Years program within a larger grade 7-12 high school.\u00a0\u00a0 The grade 7 and 8 program is effectively responsible for one third of the school population and requires myself to be a constant conduit of change, a monitor of objectives and requirements and key facilitator of collaboration.\u00a0 The Middle Years program currently has six core academic teachers and four elective teachers.\u00a0 As a linear, team approach to working with an always active and excitable demographic, the success of the program depends upon the ability of the teachers to be open and willing to try new ideas, work on themes and collaborate on cross curricular studies.\u00a0 When the team is cohesive and can work together, then the program works effectively.\u00a0 When it doesn\u2019t the whole program can suffer.<\/p>\n Recently, I experienced a year in which I had a colleague who was resistant to change and collaboration.\u00a0 He would try to partition the team in an attempt to separate themselves into their own \u201cpod\u201d so that they could work in isolation.\u00a0 Difficulties would inevitably arise when trying to get the whole team to collaborate on a cross-curricular project.<\/p>\n An example of the challenges associated with change, especially with a resistant colleague was when I was trying to promote the access to technology within the program by accessing some new VR or Virtual Reality googles that were on a district loan to our Library.\u00a0 The teacher-librarian who had worked with me in the past, approached me with a question as to whether there was some way that I could use this new and exciting equipment within the Middle Years program.\u00a0\u00a0 Knowing the resistance I would face with this one particular team member, I had to use an approach similar to what is described in CBAM.<\/p>\n I was very aware that this particular colleague would be hesitant to try something new, collaborate as a team and would be resistant to my suggestions to try something new.\u00a0 They had been teaching a certain way, for a number of years and they had their planning in place, so in their mind, I am sure there was no question as to why they would need to change.\u00a0 Progressing through the \u201cAwareness\u201d stage was particularly important if I was to bring my colleague on side.\u00a0 In this instance, I resisted my first impulse to announce to the team my desire to incorporate the VR goggles using Google Expeditions in order to supplement our Socials 7 unit on the Ancient Egypt.\u00a0 The VR goggles would allow the students, some of which who never leave their small village in the interior of B.C., a chance to virtually visit the pyramids, but if I approached that suggestion as a top-down approach from the Department Head, I knew I would face resistance.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/libe467\/files\/2020\/03\/CBAM_expressions_of_concern_table-300x155.jpg\")
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