Supporting Pro D Sprees for Our Colleagues

 How can we, as educators and Teacher-Librarians share what we’ve learned with our wider communities of practices? How can we best respond to the needs of our staff, in their wide spectrum of abilities and experiences, with the most appropriate and useful professional development? What tools and strategies are best implemented to meet the professional development of staff?

Talk to the Teachers

One of the most effective ways a teacher-librarian can respond to the needs of our staff is to know the staff. Building positive and effective professional relationships with the classroom teachers, the resources team, and the Educational Assistants is key to knowing what tools and skills a colleague needs or can use. Although I haven’t worked with many TLs on a professional basis, those who I have worked with frequently check in with the staff, especially those with whom they are collaborating.  The TLs have asked questions about goals for a unit, desired resources, plans for keeping learning student-centred, etc. but they also listen to the classroom teacher.  These rich discussions have provided me (a classroom teacher) with tools, skills, and resources that have encouraged my professional development, especially in the area of effective inquiry learning. The TLs also follow up with me and other teachers, as well as with students- checking in on what’s working/not working, suggesting next steps, providing learning support where there is a gap in knowledge.  This relationship building enforces the idea that TLs are partners in both students’ and teachers’ learning.

I’m not the only educator who has had this type of experience either.  As described in this article by fellow classroom teacher Trevor MacKenzie, TLs are the ‘secret weapons’ especially for inquiry projects. 

Image from MacKenzie, T. (2019)

Be Officially Involved in the Official Pro. D.

The teacher-librarian at our school has been on the Professional Development Committee for as long as I have been at the school. This committee is defined in our collective agreement with the school district, and is responsible for the planning, organisation, and implementation of any school-based professional development days over the course of the school year.  

From the perspective of a classroom-teacher, I usually find the sessions planned by our school-based committee to be far more effective and valuable to my teaching and students’ needs than anything the district provides. I believe this is because the TL makes a point to ask teachers what their professional development goals are for the year.  Our current TL conducts a survey at the beginning of the school year to gather this information, and to provide suggestions for colleagues who are uncertain of their needs that year.  The data gathered from these surveys helps the TL and the Pro.D. Committee shape the year’s school-based professional development workshops.  However, I would like to see a check-in later on in the school year.  I frequently find that the skills I thought would be best to develop when asked in September, are not what I actually need once I have gotten to know my students better.  I think another survey conducted in January would help pinpoint these school-based workshops even further.

Image from Hayes, K. (2015)

Develop a Culture of Professional Development

The best teacher-librarians are inherently life-long learners. Modelling and sharing what we do for our own self-motivated professional development will inspire our colleagues to do the same. 

Book clubs are an excellent place to start.  A gathering of educators discussing a book that is applicable to their needs is a great opportunity to develop our learning and explore our questions with a community.  

TLs can actively seek out professional development opportunities for their school staff.  Our school district has extensive professional development opportunities, not only on district-wide Pro.D. days, but also at other times as well. However, that extensive list is also overwhelming.  TLs can advertise specific upcoming workshops to their colleagues, piquing their interest and hopefully encouraging involvement.

Finally, TLs can make it routine to share their professional development journey.  Our staff meetings always have a share-out time at the beginning, but I have hardly ever heard anyone sharing something they’ve learned and are applying into their teaching.  This sharing time can be redirected into meaningful dialogue about what TLs, classroom teachers, resource teachers are learning and implementing.

Works Referenced

Hayes, K. (2015, July 28). Professional development 2.0. Ms. Hayes' English Class. Retrieved June 8, 2022, from https://kellysnotebook.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/professional-development-2-0/ 

MacKenzie, T. (2019, March 18). Classroom Inquiry's Secret Weapon: The teacher-librarian. Canadian School Libraries Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2022, from http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/classroom-inquirys-secret-weapon-the-teacher-librarian/