The Learning Commons is...

As Treasure Mountain 3 drew to a close, it was very evident that the connections between participants from across the country had deepened in a common purpose - the care and nurturing of the school library learning commons.

In this video, participants use everyday objects to build metaphors for our collective actions. That's Dr. David Loertscher leading the activity, and across the table from him is our very special guest Dr. Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association and a great champion of school libraries.

Leading Learning Photos 2014

The Official Launch of Leading Learning at the CLA Conference 2014 in Victoria, BC

The Crowd Gathers...

ALA President and special guest Barbara Stripling with Dr. David Loertscher

Steering Committee members Linda Schantz-Keresztes and Judith Sykes present Leading Learning to CLA Executive Council, represented by Jane Schmidt.

Thank you for your support, Canadian Library Association!

Table Talk Photos

Collective Knowledge Building During Table Talks at TMC3, Victoria BC

Creative Problem-Solving and the Big Think

As we all go forth and try to implement Leading Learning in our schools and districts, there are going to be obstacles. It's easy to become discouraged. But how can we turn our challenges around and create solutions?

Dr. David Loertscher has challenged participants at this third Treasure Mountain Canada to use maker thinking to create an approach to dealing with the challenges. He created scenarios and people are busy creating artefacts.

The Big Think!

Now we're wrapping up with the "big think". Participants are completing this sentence.

A big idea I got today was:

• Thank goodness there is still a vibrant, enthusiastic group of professionals leading school libraries in Canada
• I know very, very little about school library education in other provinces
• How we should be bringing teacher-librarians and pre-service teachers together 
• We need a touchstone for learning in our area in between TMCs (Look out Ontario!)
• When we get together that we realize that we have more in common than differences within our diversities
• New ideas for informal assessment in the Learning Commons
• Teacher-librarians are givers and they don't self-promote. Encourage and praise your colleagues: RETWEET!
• We can make an impact beyond this room. People across the country are engaged in today's event through our blog and Twitter feed, and they are excited!

Go forth and implement!