I consider myself to be a lifelong learner – I have two Bachelor degrees, one Masters degree, one diploma, and now working on my teacher-librarian diploma. My bank account doesn’t know what’s happening! Each summer I strive to read professional development books to improve in specific areas in my teaching. It certainly helps reading teaching resources at the park or at the beach with a cool drink on hand. I also utilize additional professional development opportunities throughout the year. In the past I have attended conferences, joined book clubs, led a workshop about creating a love of reading in an intermediate classroom, and scoured the internet for inspiration and expertise.
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| (BCTF, 2023) |
Transitioning to a teacher-librarian position will allow for new avenues of professional development and connection. I began looking into different opportunities and woah! There are a lot! The BCTF’s professional development lens suggests that PD should be responsible, autonomous, and relevant and well as be diverse, collaborative, career-long, and funded and supported. I think all of the following fall under those categories and I am appreciative that funds are available to learn and grow.
Conferences and Webinars
- BCTLA conference - The BCTLA holds an annual conference on the provincial professional development day in October and has a social night afterwards to connect with other TL’s
- BCTLA offers webinars on a variety of topics including conducting a diversity audit, how to deal with book challenges, and more
- Follett has a host of upcoming webinars on weeding, budgeting, and genrefication (plus a whole archive of past webinars) and a dedicated section on tutorials for using FollettDestiny in your SLLC – an area that I'm sure I will frequent often when I become a TL!
Professional Development Books
I love me a good professional development book and will need some TL focused resources for next summer’s park read! Here are a handful that sparked my interest thanks to the suggestions from the blogs Mrs. J in the Library and Staying Cool in the Library:
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| Making Makers: Kids, Tools,and the Future of Innovation by AnnMarie Thomas |
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| Hacking School Libraries: 10 Ways to Incorporate Library Media Centers in your Learning Commons by Kristina A. Holzweiss and Stony Evans |
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| Fact vs. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News by Jennifer Lagarde and Darren Hudgins |
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| Mindful School Libraries: Creating and Sustaining Nurturing Spaces and Programs by Wendy Stephens |
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Create a Personal Learning Network
When I think about attempting to create another personal learning network, it gives me some stress (see my previous blog post), but I’m willing to try again with a focus on SLLC’s and teacher-librarians. The goal is to not get overwhelmed by the constant onslaught of content. A preliminary search found some quality suggestions:
- @bctla – BC Teacher Librarian Association
- @SchoolLibraryJournal
- @linda_librarian – she has such amazing displays!
- @shannonmmiller – great links to resources
- @cdnschoollibraries
Oh boy, just as I said I wasn’t going to get overwhelmed; I began going down a rabbit hole, with one TL’s X (Twitter) page linking to another and going to their page and then the cycle continued. I’ll leave it there for now.
Certification
Become an Apple Certified Teacher/Google Certified Educator by taking online Educator Training. As an information specialist, having these certifications would really help other educators utilize technology in a meaningful way. Our district doesn’t allow Google tools, so I will definitely begin with Apple.
Podcasts
My commute to and from work is a great place to listen to podcasts and make the stop/go traffic just a little more bearable. Mrs. J in the Library blog had some great suggestions:
- School Librarians United – podcast episodes include censorship, social media, research, IB librarian, ChatGPT, and Being AI ready. I will definitively be listening to the AI related episodes first!
- Leading from the Library – a podcast hosted by Shannon McClinktock Miller. Hey, I added her on X already and she cowrote our course textbook!
- The Yarn – Colby Sharp and Travis Jonker interview children’s book authors and illustrators
- Join the district teacher librarian email group to ask for advice from others. I hear about this email group from our school’s TL and I’m kind of jealous that I’m not already on it. Do you think they’ll take a TL in training?
- Join/Create a TL book club on a professional resource or a children’s novel. I would love to connect with other TL’s in the district to discuss a novel or professional book. We could have it at a different SLLC each time to see how each has set up the space. Plus, there would be snacks. There has to be snacks.
- Blog/X – As I would be learning from others, I would want to pay it forward and share it further, either via a blog or using a social media platform like X or Instagram.
References:
BCTF. (2023, September 19). Professional Development Lens. British Columbia Teachers Federation. https://www.bctf.ca/classroom-resources/details/professional-development-lens
Holladay, L. (2018). Genrefication 101: A school librarian’s quick guide on how to genrefy the library. HowExpert Press.
Holzweiss, K., & Evans, S. (2018). Hacking school libraries: 10 ways to incorporate library media centers into your learning community. Times 10.
Jakubowicz, C. (2023, May 19). Online professional development for teacher-Librarians & Library Staff. Mrs. J in the Library. https://mrsjinthelibrary.com/library-virtual-pd/
LaGarde, J., & Hudgins, D. (2018). Fact vs. fiction: Teaching critical thinking skills in the age of fake news. International Society for Technology in Education.
Stayingcoolinthelibrary. (2021, June 13). The 10 best professional development books for librarians. Staying Cool in the Library. https://www.stayingcoolinthelibrary.us/the-10-best-professional-development-books-for-librarians/
Stephens, W. (2021). Mindful School Libraries: Creating and sustaining nurturing spaces and programs. Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Thomas, A. (2014). Making makers. O’Reilly Media.
Hi Annette,
ReplyDeleteLooking over your post, I have learned a great deal of additional resources that I myself can use for my own professional development. Something that has occurred when reading this post; with the amount of podcasts and books you posted here in the blog, is there a situation where you think that it is easy to be 'consumed' by the work? To put it another way, is there a risk of being engulfed into a 'bus man's holiday' where the work is a part of everyday life? I am curious on what you think.
Regards,
Dylan Jensen.
I definitely see that this could occur! I find I have figured out a good work-life balance and don't take any of my work home. I think that is why I struggle so much with work related social media -- it doesn't allow me to shut off. In terms of books, I only read those during the summer or on professional development days. For podcasts, I only listen to them when I feel I have the capacity. If I've had a rough day at school, the last thing I want to do is listen to an education-related podcast. I did put a lot of ideas, but I think they would take a LONG time to actually complete, and many would be ongoing.
DeleteHi Annette,
ReplyDeleteGreat Ideas for professional development! I especially liked the Podcast suggestions and Professional Development Books! I really love how you emphasized that you are a life long learner! Your two bachelors and a master degree is amazing and I think that especially professional development it's crucial to continue to work on it and like you mention to take specific sections and continue to develop new skills.
-Michelle Lin
Hi Annette,
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas on how to get started on building a personal learning network. I want to add another idea to your list. You can try recruiting one or two student volunteers to run a technology troubleshooting team but also to teach you technology. I recently put out a call at my school for student library volunteers and I had an overwhelming amount of interest. There is so much technology knowledge within in our learning communities that TLs can benefit from if we are willing to humble ourselves and ask our students. I think TLs who are willing to consider students as in-house technology experts will discover a valuable wealth of support with a variety of problems. This can even alert TLs to technology that students want and use so that it can be brought into makerspaces and the learning commons at large. Furthermore, giving students the opportunity to give back to the school bolsters service as a part of school culture, which is a desirable quality to foster in everyone.
Great idea Haymen!
DeleteThanks for all you suggestions for books to read - I often forget to read for professional development - especially when in the middle of university courses! I've added your suggestions to my TBR list on GoodReads. I also find creating an online network overwhelming for a variety of reasons. I've started a professional instagram account - which I hope to use more - but I've got a lot of hesitation getting back into the world of Social Media and the way it eats up so much of my time! Learning to set boundaries and time limits is essential.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how some educators do it! They post so often so I wonder how their work/life balance is.
DeleteThanks for the book list - I tend to avoid professional learning books to be honest, but I do love a good "Hacking" book; I may just have to pick Hacking School Libraries, I am also very intrigued by Genrefication as I am going to do a diversity audit in my classroom, and then in the LC and I think this may be a nice book to add to my resource. list.
ReplyDeleteI have just started down the podcast road so your suggestions seem like a good place to find TL-focused podcasts. I'm going to start with The Yarn.
You leave your reader with many strong ideas and resources to explore. I appreciate the inclusion of the BCTF Professional Development Lens. I feel this is a strong way to share what is (and what is not) professional development. I relate to your comments about lifelong learning. I have followed a similar path and find myself drawn to professional reading during the summer as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Annette,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the depth of your list! The variation provides lots of options and opportunities to pursue professional development in different ways. I can empathize with your concerns and anxiety around digital learning communities. This is something I am also trying to motivate myself to embrace. I've similarly heard great things about a TL Team in my district and will have to look for a road in as well... Thanks for sharing your ideas.