As an educator, I have always believed that the best type of training is peer observation. We can read and study all about the profession, but watching an expert in action is priceless. When I first started teaching middle school English at Roland Park Country School, I had the pleasure and privilege to share a classroom with a seasoned teacher who was proficient at her craft. As I watched her conduct her classes, I knew how fortunate I was to be learning from one of the most well-loved and well-respected faculty members in our school community. She was the ultimate role model.
It would follow that the assignment I looked forward to the most in my Instructional Collaboration course was the observation of two librarians teaching collaborative lessons. I knew that I would glean valuable ideas for my own library when I visited them. I was fortunate to find two colleagues in nearby private schools who willingly agreed to let me spend time in their libraries and observe them teaching a collaborative lesson.
I had two very different experiences when observing these colleagues. One had a perfect collaborative lesson about the identification of keywords in research questions, and the other had abandoned his original plan for the day to do something spontaneous and fun. The first teacher’s lesson just happened to come from a book called Destination Collaboration, which was written by the two instructors of my class, Lori M. Carter and Danielle N. Du Puis. I was not aware that they had even written this book, and I ordered it right away. It was great for me to see firsthand the “Identification of Keywords in Research Questions” lesson that my teachers had developed.
Even though the second observation did not meet the criteria for the assignment, I was delighted that I had the opportunity to watch a talented storyteller at work. He had decided to celebrate “National Pirate Day” by dressing as a pirate, reading two pirate books in an “ahoy, matey” kind of accent and having the students come up with pirate names based on a list he had found. The children loved it, and I was entertained as well. Even though his lesson was not collaborative, I was inspired by his idea.
In my discussions after the lessons, I found that both librarians used collaboration often in their curriculum. I was able to talk to them at length about how they scheduled classes and worked cooperatively with the technology and classroom teachers to make the collaboration happen. Another benefit from these visits was the chance to explore different physical spaces and note new ways to organize materials. I left both schools feeling energized by these two gifted professionals. I was eager to implement some of the new ideas immediately. After visiting these two libraries, I realized that their collections were significantly larger than mine, even though our populations were relatively the same size. I took back this information to my department head to make a case for more money in my budget. Since then, I have had a small increase for spending on materials each year—not much, but every little bit counts.
The benefits of observing colleagues are immeasurable. In my end-of-year reflection this year, I mentioned that one of my main goals is to visit two librarians every year. It is also useful to network with other librarians. In my area, we have started a “Birds of a Feather” group with librarians from nearby independent schools, and we try to meet twice a year to sit down and just share thoughts and ideas. I find these gatherings to be very beneficial. Good things are bound to happen when librarians “flock together.”
It would follow that the assignment I looked forward to the most in my Instructional Collaboration course was the observation of two librarians teaching collaborative lessons. I knew that I would glean valuable ideas for my own library when I visited them. I was fortunate to find two colleagues in nearby private schools who willingly agreed to let me spend time in their libraries and observe them teaching a collaborative lesson.
I had two very different experiences when observing these colleagues. One had a perfect collaborative lesson about the identification of keywords in research questions, and the other had abandoned his original plan for the day to do something spontaneous and fun. The first teacher’s lesson just happened to come from a book called Destination Collaboration, which was written by the two instructors of my class, Lori M. Carter and Danielle N. Du Puis. I was not aware that they had even written this book, and I ordered it right away. It was great for me to see firsthand the “Identification of Keywords in Research Questions” lesson that my teachers had developed.
Even though the second observation did not meet the criteria for the assignment, I was delighted that I had the opportunity to watch a talented storyteller at work. He had decided to celebrate “National Pirate Day” by dressing as a pirate, reading two pirate books in an “ahoy, matey” kind of accent and having the students come up with pirate names based on a list he had found. The children loved it, and I was entertained as well. Even though his lesson was not collaborative, I was inspired by his idea.
In my discussions after the lessons, I found that both librarians used collaboration often in their curriculum. I was able to talk to them at length about how they scheduled classes and worked cooperatively with the technology and classroom teachers to make the collaboration happen. Another benefit from these visits was the chance to explore different physical spaces and note new ways to organize materials. I left both schools feeling energized by these two gifted professionals. I was eager to implement some of the new ideas immediately. After visiting these two libraries, I realized that their collections were significantly larger than mine, even though our populations were relatively the same size. I took back this information to my department head to make a case for more money in my budget. Since then, I have had a small increase for spending on materials each year—not much, but every little bit counts.
The benefits of observing colleagues are immeasurable. In my end-of-year reflection this year, I mentioned that one of my main goals is to visit two librarians every year. It is also useful to network with other librarians. In my area, we have started a “Birds of a Feather” group with librarians from nearby independent schools, and we try to meet twice a year to sit down and just share thoughts and ideas. I find these gatherings to be very beneficial. Good things are bound to happen when librarians “flock together.”