“When we design support that honors teacher variability, we make implementation more likely, burnout less likely, and impact more sustainable.” (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 10)
The role of Teacher Librarian is a unique one. As Godfree and Oddone say, teacher librarians “lead from the middle” (2023, p. 49).
Leading from the middle gives us interesting perspectives on school culture and what individual teachers need. While teacher librarians can certainly run traditional professional development such as presentations, we can also drive professional learning through conversations, modelling, and co-teaching, tailored to individual teachers and classrooms.
Personalized Learning
Lewis and McNamara highlight the importance of personalizing learning to staff members’ needs. They note that collaboration is key and that in their experience, “it was particularly helpful for teachers to be learning from a colleague with whom they had an ongoing relationship and daily access” (Lewis & McNamara, 2021, p. 54). Godfree and Oddone agree, pointing out that “teacher librarians can mentor teachers in many ways, including through the co-design of creative and innovative curriculum and assessment”(Godfree & Oddone, 2023, p. 48).
I’ve seen opportunities for this in my own work this past school year. For example, one teacher moved to Canada recently. She has a lot of experience teaching in a country with a very different school system and different access to technology. Some of the models and pedagogies that teachers in my school division have been learning for years are completely new to her. She is very open to learning new tools and has initiated co-teaching with me several times this year.
In contrast, another teacher is very experienced in our school system. She is has participated in professional development from our school division for years is comfortable with her current teaching methods. This year, however, many students in her class have significant academic needs, and she has found herself looking for new tools to support them, which has meant stepping out of her comfort zone when it comes to technology.
These are two excellent teachers with very different professional learning needs. It would be challenging to support both teachers during a staff meeting presentation. But with a co-teaching model, we are able to work toward two very different goals.
Agency and Relationships
My research this week emphasized that professional learning through collaboration requires a relationship between the teacher librarian and other educators. The TL needs to honour the teacher’s professional knowledge and experience, while the teacher needs to trust the TL’s knowledge of curriculum, school wide priorities, best practices, and resources (Baker, 2016, p. 152). This also brings us back to the TPACK model, combining a TL’s technological and pedagogical knowledge with the classroom teacher’s pedagogical and content knowledge.
A co-teaching approach to professional learning gives teachers agency in their own growth. Goals can be co-constructed by the TL and classroom teacher (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 11) to focus on the needs of the students in the class rather than focusing on a specific teaching strategy (Knight, 2026, p. 16). “Co-creation [of goals] removes the perceived status of the coach as the “expert,” promotes shared ownership of outcomes, and acknowledges the educator’s expertise” (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 11).
Collaboration designed around the educator’s context and needs, when done well, results in educators building new skills which they can put into practice immediately (Lewis & McNamara, 2021). And as Holloway et all put it, this makes “implementation more likely, burnout less likely, and impact more sustainable” (2026, p. 10)
Both modeling and teamwork are strong themes in this video on educational leadership from ISTE + ASCD:
Other Professional Development Formats
When it is time to lead other types of professional development, the work we’ve done collaborating with teachers can inform our decisions in terms of format and content. Jennifer Gonzales has an excellent list of professional development ideas that promote educator agency in her blog post/podcast episode “OMG Becky. PD is Getting SO MUCH BETTER!” In my context, I could create a choice board that includes technology tools for language learners and an overview of the pedagogies and frameworks used on a regular basis in our school division, or work with teachers who could then share their learning in a lab classroom. This would allow for differentiated professional development that supports a variety of teachers, who can then go on to better support the students in their classrooms.
References:
ASCD. (2016, June 15). ASCD Emerging Leaders: How to Be a Change Agent [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXUATBAi1cw
Baker, S. (2016). From Teacher to School Librarian Leader and Instructional Partner: A Proposed Transformation Framework for Educators of Preservice School Librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, (Journal Article), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.29173/slw6911
Godfree, H., & Oddone, K. (2023). Teacher librarian as mentor: A vision for improving school outcomes. Australian Educational Leader, 45(1), 48–51. (163441383).
Gonzalez, J. (2018, March 4). OMG Becky. PD is Getting So Much Better!! Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pd-better/
Holloway, J., Church, N., McKee, K., & Musiowsky, T. (2026). From Professional Development to Professional Learning: Intentionally designed support structures shift professional learning from one-off events to sustainable daily practice. Educational Leadership, 83(8), 8–13. (193675256).
Knight, J. (2026). How to Coach When Time Is Short. Educational Leadership, 83(8), 14–20. (193675257).
Lewis, M. A., & McNamara, K. (2021). A certified school librarian is a professional learning powerhouse. The Learning Professional, 42(4), 52–55.
