It’s time to begin considering how we will prepare our staff for the change that is set to come in September.  After meeting with my principal, and looking at our plans, we decided that I should gather a focus group of colleagues from our school.  Five staff members were invited to join me for a short meeting to look at the idea of a Learning Commons and our vision for that change here at Trudeau. The focus group includes teachers from  gr.1, 2, 5, 8 and  one of our LSTs.  Each of these colleagues was chosen for various reasons – experience with technology, current use of inquiry/collaborative practices in their classroom, and most importantly perhaps is that they are all voices valued by their colleagues and can be a communication piece for this process, bringing me questions from their colleagues and sharing information back with them as well

The focus group members received some information in advance of our meeting.  Links to this blog and a copy of our school board’s recent announcement on the support of the Learning Commons were available to clarify some big ideas before beginning.

During our meeting, there was an overall feeling of support. This is certainly a group that embraces change and moving forward, especially when the focus is on what’s best for our students.  Not surprisingly, mixed in with the nods and excited smiles were questions and potential roadblocks.  Here are some of the issues we will need to consider as we move forward:

1. Scheduling – huge! How will we make this work?  Right now, each class has a scheduled time in the library, many have scheduled lab time with a Media teacher and there are also open times available through our Google signout.  We are all curious as to how we can open up the schedule to allow for the flexibility needed, but also ensure that everyone has access.  What happens when only a couple of students wish to come and use the space vs a teacher who wishes to bring their whole class?  I will be contacting other schools in our board who have already moved into the Learning Commons model to see what they do.  I’m also hoping that my PLN on Twitter will be able to provide some insight.

2. Mindset shift for teachers – collaborative work vs individual, planning around use of technology as part of what they do, not an event.  This was certainly the next biggest concern of the focus group.  Inquiry and collaborative inquiry have been buzz words for the last year or so. Some teachers are beginning to experiment with what this looks like in their classrooms.  Many are not there yet.  What can we do to further their understanding?  Well, we certainly hope to provide PD opportunities if needed but also hope to engage our phenomenal Instructional Coach to help.  My role as Teacher-Librarian will be integral in collaborating with staff and students to create opportunities for learning.  I think it will be important to remember baby steps vs jumping in too quickly.

3. Training for teachers – It was noted that some teachers may still be uncomfortable with some technology tools.  Modelling through collaborative projects in the Learning Commons will be one way to make this happen.  Our staff are also open to before and after school mini-PD sessions.  We hope to continue this in the fall with various staff taking the lead depending on their area of expertise.

4. Maker space – need more direction. The idea of a “Maker Space” was met with much excitement.  Once the buzz wore off, members of the group began to ask questions. Where will be get our supplies? Storage? Work in progress? What types of projects can we do? How do we ensure one class’ projects are not bothered by another class?  Something we will definitely do is create a set of “Maker Space Norms” (Merci M. Thwaits). We also hope to enlist our IT Learning Coordinators as we learn more and share with our staff.

5. Prep teacher desks – Our current redesign plan allows for five prep teachers desks to have their home in the Learning Commons.  Our school is very crowded and there is no extra space, however, we are hoping that some creative solutions might be found for moving these desks and allowing the Maker Space area to expand.

What a pleasure it was to experience the excitement of this group. I was certain they would be supportive but hadn’t anticipated such overt enthusiasm, especially mid-week, after school.  There was even an offer to physically assist with the change.  Pizza and moving shelves and desks? Sounds good to me. The group has received a copy of proposed design and will be sharing with their colleagues to gather feedback and questions to bring to our next gathering.

 

My next steps – I am going to do some more research in scheduling and how other schools in our board are making their new spaces work. Purchasing of some items we need is going to happen now and we will be creating a wish list for later.  Some physical changes are going to take place now – moving some of the library shelving, removing excess furniture and equipment from the lab, relocating and lowering whiteboards to allow for ease of use by students, moving prep teacher desks to new location within the lab. We plan to roll out the design to our staff at our June staff meeing. I’m looking foward to enlisting the members of the focus group in this process instead of it all coming from me.

So readers…

Any suggestions? What has been your experience? Are we missing anything?