Is change possible?
Today’s students will enter a job market that values skills and abilities far different from the traditional workplace talents that so ably served their parents and grandparents. They must be able to crisply collect, synthesize, and analyze information, then conduct targeted research and work with others to employ that newfound knowledge. In essence, students must learn how to learn, while responding to endlessly changing technologies and social, economic, and global conditions.
The quote above comes from an article in the October 2008 issue of Edutopia magazine and is exactly the sam
e thing that Mike Eisenberg was saying the first time I heard him back in 1994.
The article goes on to say that there is now research to back up the claims that inquiry-based teaching helps students develop those highly sought-after critical thinking skills and I know that I should be jumping for joy.
My reaction though is somewhat different. I wonder: Is change even possible?
We’ve known for years that kids learn better when they are engaged and involved in activities that relate in some way to the read world. Educational gurus have been advocating for this type of teaching for at least 15 years.
So why is it still a struggle to get some educators to understand the value of a teacher working with a librarian to provide these types of experiences for our kids?
Is change possible?
Image citation: Change, we fear it… uploaded to Flickr on December 29, 2007 by apresara and used under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I have found that elementary teachers are much more receptive to having librarians teach thinking skills and applying technology skills to objectives. The last five years I have been in a high school library and found the opposite to be true. Most (not all) high school teachers are more possessive of their classes and don’t want me to be do anything but show students how to access and locate information on databases and pull books for them. They do not want me to teach ANY search strategies which involved higher-level thinking.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I agree in part with Robin about elementary teachers. I teach four blocks of research skills that involve thinking skills and also add in technology. But I have to fight for computer lab time and I am having a difficult time getting the staff to realize that I have open library times that they can sign up for and bring their classes in for projects that I am willing to “collaborate” on. I work in an absolutely wonderful school with a terrific staff. Maybe the problem is I am new and they are just adjusting to me.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:03 am
I guess the next question is: How do we get those middle school and high school teachers into the library?
November 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
Thanks for reading and commenting!
@Robin and blogjunkie – You’re right – secondary teachers are very different from elementary teachers. They are the content specialist and are used to doing everything on their own. My best advice is to work with those who will work with you and continue doing what you can to bring the others along.
@Dana – In our district, we have recently implemented a “paced” curriculum, which seems to leave even less time for library instruction. I am attempting to work with the curriculum coordinators to add library research projects into the curriculum. This has increased the use of the library for instruction at the elementary level. Maybe it will do the same for secondary.