As I have begun to settle into my new role as Teacher-Librarian, I have also begun to consider how I can support the staff at our school with professional development and technology. Currently, I am working on connecting with the staff and ensuring that they feel comfortable coming to me with questions. Whether it is helping find them a book in the library or helping them to introduce inquiry based learning into their classroom, I want the teachers to feel that I am a good resource for them to use. At each staff meeting I have been presenting to the staff. Two weeks ago, I brought a selection of teacher resources to the staff meeting from another school that I worked at that has an excellent teacher resource section. I showed them some examples and then together we compiled a list of resources that related to our school goals and would relate to professional development. I also led a discussion on adding to our learning resources in which we have a budget to spend by the end of this year. We now have all of the resources that we discussed and are working on cataloguing them this week. I think a main goal when working with staff and supporting them is to have a quick turn-around whenever possible. Teaching is a busy profession, and it is easy to forget and have things pushed to the side. We always have good intentions to use new tools and resources but we are working against the clock it seems! So ensuring that the resources are available to staff when they need them is important.

Our teacher-resource section is very bare, and one of my goals was to add to this throughout this year. As I consider what this resource section should look like, I also consider its circulation. Teachers at my school rarely access the teacher resource section because it was located in a locked room that was out of sight. I consulted with the staff and asked them where would be a better place and they gave me their feedback. Now the resources are located in a central area in the library where teachers can quickly find the books. One teacher librarian told me that being a Teacher Librarian is largely about servicing the client. The client is the teachers, students and parents in the school. We need to ensure that their needs are being met and that means checking in with them regularly. If something isn’t working, we need to come up with a way for it to work for all members. This may mean speaking with teachers individually for feedback or bringing it up for discussion at a staff or staff committee meeting. In our practice, we should constantly be checking circulation rates and ensuring that our clients are making the best possible use of the resources that are available to them. If not, perhaps highlighting certain resources at a staff meeting or displaying some in the staff room would be a good solution.

To ensure that the teacher resource section is relevant and up-to-date, I find that it is no longer relevant to keep a file cabinet full of articles. It simply does not get used. Therefore the District has an ERAC bundle in which teachers can search through a database of articles to support their professional development. This form of resource is available to teachers at any point, from home or work, and they can keep the article on file if needed. The TRC (Teacher Resource Centre) is available through EBSCOhost and is targeted towards teachers. A goal will be to introduce this to my colleagues and show them how this is a good resource to support their professional development.

When I considered what I could do to support staff in our school that I wasn’t doing already, the list seemed endless. I realized however that I do need to be realistic and do a few things very well, rather than many different things done poorly. My goals for the school year include:

1. Use collaboration time to promote technology tools by showing students and teachers how to use a tool to enhance learning (Prezi, Wideo, StoryBird are my goals for this year).

2. Have regular mini conferences with staff to find out what units they are working on or will be working on. This will allow me to provide suggestions for resources that they can access that are in our school or are online.

3. Present regularly at every staff meeting to address staff questions or to present new tech tools they can use in the classroom or new resources to the library.

4. Ensure an open door policy so teachers feel comfortable approaching me whenever they need support.
5. Work on an inquiry project with two teachers and present at the staff meeting to help with buy-in, so more teachers will be willing to try collaborative inquiry projects next year.

As a new Teacher Librarian, I know that I need to work towards becoming a learning and collaborator in my school. This is done by being supportive, open and willing to help others whenever needed. By taking this approach, I hope that I will be able to support staff with their technology needs and encourage them to take risks and try new programs and teaching strategies with their students.

Here is an interesting video about a training program that teaches teachers how to use technology in the classroom. It is a two year program called eMints. It is interesting to hear about how this collaboration works: