Teaching Partnerships
Information on partnerships for all teaching staff
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What are partnerships?
What are partnerships?
Partnerships are...
Planning collaboratively with me to support student inquiry, STEAM, and project based research tasks and learning.
Partnerships provide the opportunity to integrate authentic experiences for students beyond the classroom walls.
Partnerships help embed awareness and use of multiple literacies such as media, digital, and cultural literacy into curriculum.
Adapted from: http://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/TDSB-Learning-Commons-Expected-Practice.pdf
Instructional partnerships are fundamental! They are mutually beneficial. Not only do they support a principal or school's initiatives for change and growth and support teacher colleagues, they also contribute to a teacher librarian's own professional development - it's a win win! Co-teaching and partnering with teacher colleagues is, in a sense, a reciprocal mentorship. It is an opportunity for teacher librarians and classroom teachers to learn alongside each other and plan, implement, and assess students or the effectiveness of a lesson or unit. The LLC is a natural site for PLCs (Professional Learning Communities). It is a hub to support the culture of learning for students and teachers alike!
Some ways to approach co-teaching are:
One-on-one support
Station or centre teaching
Parallel teaching
Alternative teaching
Team teaching
Source: Ontario School Library Association. Together for Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons. Ontario Library Association, 2010.
Partnerships involve working together to spark student interest and build on their global competencies such as: critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, creativity, inquiry, and entrepreneurship etc.
Teacher librarians and homeroom teachers:
Co-plan
Co-teach
Co-assess
Have fun and learn from each other (it's a win win!).
Partnerships are not:
Mandatory (although encouraged!)
Prep time for TL's or teachers
Free time in our makerspace/fablab with no curricular connections or structure/learning goals
What types of lessons/activities can we collaborate on during partnerships?
Whatever you wish! Do you want to co-plan and co-teach a social studies strand or science strand/unit? What about a lesson around digital citizenship? Perhaps you wish to familiarize yourself and students more with TDSB Virtual Library by exploring research tools, as well as help consolidate students' research skills for classroom projects? Perhaps you want to extend the inquiry based learning going on in your classroom by making some STEAM/curricular connections in our makerspace/fablab (e.g.: coding/robotics; crafting related to a read-aloud; building and making using recyclable materials etc.). Maybe you'd like to co-teach and plan a literacy project or have me help you and your class select books or suggest digital tools to support your literacy project. Maybe you'd like to work on literacy or makerpace activities to support our recreational reading programs (global read aloud and forest of reading)? The possibilities are endless and I am always open to suggestions. Whatever you'd like to explore or collaborate on, I am always here to support you and your students (as well as learn alongside you and your students)! That is the essence of partnerships, everyone is a learner!
What are the benefits of partnerships?
Mutually beneficial (we learn from each other)
Innovative/new ideas (great ideas come from brainstorming and exchanging with one another)
Learning about and trying out something new (e.g.: how to use a tech tool or research tool to support student learning)
Lessen your workload (not sure what to do for two out of the four science strands? Collaborate with me!)
Hands on learning (students can avail of the robotics and hands on materials that we will have set up in our makerspace/fablab)
Supports inquiry based teaching and learning
Having fun!
Where and how do I sign up?
Teachers, please fill out the Google Form or come see me in the library learning commons!
Partnerships blocks will span over a 3-4 month period so that we can work together with students regularly. I will do my best to accommodate everyone. Partnership blocks will run from September-December; January-March; and April to June. I look forward to working with you and your students!
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