Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Think you're not a researcher? Think again!

Teacher-Librarian and Action
Researcher Diana Maliszewski.
The TMC2016 Call for Papers was issued recently, and chances are there are quite a few people wondering how they, as practising teacher-librarians, could possibly write a research paper worthy of submission. Toronto teacher-librarian extraordinaire Diana Maliszewski may be just the person to reassure you, and give you confidence to share your own action research.

Diana is no stranger to research, and understands how it is closely linked to her life as a teacher-librarian. We are so very fortunate that Diana reflects on her practice through her wonderful blog, Monday Molly Musings, and initiates conversations with her wider professional learning network through Twitter as MzMollyTL.

The reality is that teacher-librarians integrate research into practice every day. The whole process of teaching is research in action: using feedback and assessment data to evaluate the efficacy of a particular approach and adjusting practice accordingly.

If you are contemplating writing a paper for TMC2016 but are unsure of how to proceed, then Diana's Monday musing from October 12, 2015 is a must-read. Please check it out!

Monday Molly Musing (October 12, 2015): Treasure Mountain Canada 4 - Return to Small Scale Researching


Monday, October 5, 2015

Leading Learning at Library 2.015 Online Conference


Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada will be featured in a session of the Library 2.015 Worldwide Virtual Conference, coming up on October 20, 2015. This is latest in a number of times that Leading Learning has been the topic of presentations and conversations beyond Canada's borders.

The presentation is based on a paper that Carol Koechlin and Anita Brooks Kirkland wrote for the International Association for School Librarianship's (IASL) 2015 conference, and is the latest is a growing list of international articles and presentations about Canada's new standards document for school library learning commons.

Library 2.015 Worldwide Virtual Conference

A Catalyst for Igniting Change: Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada 
Carol Koechlin & Anita Brooks Kirkland 
Tuesday October 20, 8:00 pm EDT


Exploring standards to transform learning in school libraries. Standards can indeed help measure Leading Learning does much more. By focusing on the needs of the learner, Leading Learning provides a framework for growth. Every school, no matter the status of its library program, can find itself in this framework and decide on tangible steps for improvement. As a catalyst for igniting the design of futures oriented learning the document positions the school library learning commons as critical to innovative pedagogical approaches for the new century. Participants will explore the potential of the new Canadian standards to drive school improvement and consider approaches to apply to their own transformations.

 Check out the free Teacher-Librarian Day pre-conference, Monday October 19, 4pm-9pm EDT.

This video introduces key concepts about Leading Learning, and is based on Carol and Anita's IASL paper.

TMC Blog List

Have a look at the right sidebar of this blog. You will see a heading called TMC Blog List. This is a list of blogs by Canadian teacher-librarians and/or others whose blogs are of particular interest to the community of school library practitioners and scholars in Canada. The list links you to each blog, and shows the most recent item posted.

Help Us Build Our List!

This is just the beginning of our list. Are you aware of other Canadian blogs that should be on our list? We would like to connect our own followers to the conversations relevant to current school library learning commons practice in Canada. We would also like to encourage more in our community to blog!

If you know of a blog that should be on our list, please let us know, either by commenting on this post, or emailing Anita Brooks Kirkland at: anitabk@bythebrooks.ca. Please include TMC Blog List in the subject line of your email.

Looking forward to hearing from you!