First Thoughts on Schedules and Structure

[Beth Friese]

Hi everyone.

I'm thrilled that over 25 people have responded to our new book group! I hope all of you have ordered the book and are getting ready to read, engage, and learn together.

I've been looking through the book and thinking about a reasonable schedule for the group, keeping in mind that people will have personal commitments over the winter break and our members are also scattered all over the globe. Meeting everyone's needs will be an exciting challenge.

Before I share my thoughts, I want to say that this is new to me. I've watched book discussions on the English Companion Ning and have been inspired by what happens there. I am definitely taking inspiration from what happens on the EC Ning, but I think we will also add our own flair as we go along. So, I'm going to share what I'm thinking right now, but only as a start to the discussion. Making this work will require everyone's input. I hope everyone will add their ideas and concerns to the mix. That will make our discussion all the more rich, I think.

The book is organized into 4 main parts. The first part appears to be the research background for the inquiry circles approach. I suggest we read/discuss this first main part (Chapters 1-4, about 75 pages) over two weeks, from about 12/20 - 1/3/10.

Then, we can read and discuss the following three parts (Parts 2-4) over the following 6 weeks, at two week intervals. Parts 2-4 are more directed toward application of the principles of inquiry circles in classrooms. These discussions will coincide with many of us going back into libraries after winter holidays. I hope that some of the book examples might be implemented or discussed by our members during this time.

This seems a bit drawn out, but of course you are welcome to read ahead and participate as you are able. We can speed up or slow down as we progress.

As for communication, I think that both synchronous and asynchronous communication would be good - so perhaps a discussion board here where people can post and respond at their convenience, as well as some more formal online chats every couple of weeks. Later in the book, we might open up some discussions for specific grade levels, so, for example, elementary librarians can speak specifically to other elementary level librarians. I think it would also be great for members to pull in and create outside resources such as articles, wikis, Voicethreads, and so on. As long as we link it back here, I am all for seeing the discussion expand in all kinds of interesting ways.

I am probably missing some important elements here, and I hope you will bring them up before the group. (For example, I'm sure the school schedules are different in other countries, and I apologize for my lack of knowledge in that regard!) I think we will all benefit from active participation from everyone.

So, those are my initial ideas. I'm going to get a hold of everyone tonight so you all can join in. Thanks for being flexible and enthusiastic as we forge ahead in this great experiment in learning. I hope it can be the first of many here on the TL Ning.

Beth

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Or ... should we try to start after the 25th and try to finish by either New Year's or Midwinter? That might give some of us the chance to replicate the club with our own staffs before we get too late into second semester?

[Raya Samet]

The synchronous/asynchronous communication aspect makes me wonder if it is possible to embed a Google Wave into the Ning?? It might be a good tool for extended group conversations and threaded commenting, since it allows for simultaneous synchronous and asynchronous messages. Just a thought.

[Ernie Cox]

What form of discussion should we use? Do we want to have some guiding questions to provide a common reading purpose?

For example: Where is the teacher-librarian in this book? How does the teaching environment of our own schools/institutions compare to the environment described/implied by the author? What skills do I possess that are required to facilitate inquiry circles? What do I need to know?

I have several teachers who are planning to read the book during this time. We have been "nudging" our way toward inquiry. My plan is to contribute application of the books ideas in our classes here in Raleigh.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Loving your "nudging," Ernie!

[Leslie Maniotes]

With this I would suggest looking at Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century and comparing how I lay out inquiry circles within the inquiry process and...(see reason why I joined this wiki convo for more) might be a way into the conversation about where is the TL in this process....

I am liking these questions! This is going to be GREAT!

[Ingrid Hopson]

My book arrived to UK really quickly and already I wish I could buy one for all the teachers at my school! So one of my big questions is what do I need to do to change staff from setting Non inquiry projects or Bird units to working in this way?
I think I am going to share stuff with afew staff I already work well with
On the Heinemann site it suggests having some starter questions for each chapter
Another thought would be could we/you set up a elluminate session, I think you can do three for free, or alternatively ask Classroom live2.0 to set one up on the book. That would give us a chance to have a live voice discussion, maybe you could even get one of the authors to join in?
We do not have teacher librarians in UK so often teachers ignore us in terms of learning and think of us just as resource managers.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hi, Ingrid -- I am very interested in your first question as well. Here in the US, we've started a monthly column in School Library Monthly that asks folks to submit their strategies for how they'd take a boring old project (that the teacher is proud of - because the human aspect is so important!) and gently suggest strategies for moving it forward. It has made for some fascinating conversations, and I love the crowd-sourcing approach to solving instructional design. Here's my presentation from the AASL conference last month on the topic: http://www.vimeo.com/7715376

[Elfin]

Yes, there are loads of tools for us to choose .. I would suggest 'GoogleWave' as its function is more inclusive, like reply to certain idea, trace the history on same page... if you want to share your practice, you can put the video or pics on.. multi-functional.. and GoogleWave is designed for collaboration.. perhaps it's a good try for us to use this new 'toy'/ tool

Although in UK, school librarians were deemded as the extra at school (sorry I really feel that compared with my experience as TL in HK), I do hope that we can make a difference at school - to 'breakthrough' the current perceptions hold by the teaching staff. Lots of staff think that I bring something difference to the library and reading, Eng Head also like the idea of Animoto Book Review activity, and so I hope we, UK school librarians, can make a different chapter in the 21st Century school environment. Be positive and keep trying !! Yes!!

[Andrea Walker]

HI Elfin, remember you from HK. Are you missing it. TL in UK is not as high profile, right?? Also facing that struggle in HK working within an English Schools system, though change is coming, sometimes not soon enough.

[Stephanie Light]

As a current graduate student, my application will be theoretical. However, I look forward to drawing comparisons to all of the other recently published professional texts that I have been reading for my courses. I love the idea of learning to use Wave as we create our discussion.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hi, Stephanie -- I would love to know what other texts you have been reading. Beth gave me her extra copy of Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies, which she is using at UGA (http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9026&idc...) and I am savoring every word. I am also finding that what librarians might call "inquiry," some authors (such as the authors of LADYBUGS or Debbie Miller in TEACHING WITH INTENTION) are calling "non-fiction writing." Student choice of research topics features prominently in those books, which is interesting because we traditionally say that we want library research to echo content in classrooms in order to appear "relevant." Maybe we need to rethink that if we're really going to capture students' imaginations, discovery, and curiosity.

[Stephanie Light]

I apologize for my delayed response; I just finished finals week yesterday and I am taking two NYSTCEs tomorrow! The two texts that come to mind immediately are Daniel's Literature Circles, which I skimmed through on my own, and Callison & Preddy's The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction, and Literacy, which I have used in a few courses. I am sure there are others that will compare well to Comprehension & Collaboration, but right now my brain is overworked and will probably take a few days to process normally again. Ladybugs sounds like a great read, so I might pick that up if I have any additional time over the winter break. While relevancy to the classroom is important, relevancy to the individual student (a source of motivation) is an even greater benefit to inquiry.