Reaching Out:

Welcome!

I'm Mark Ray and I'll be your instructor for TIE's Reaching Out: Leadership Conversations online course. Over the first 20 years of my career, I was an elementary, middle, and high school teacher librarian (at different times) and in 2012 was selected as Washington State Teacher of the Year. Later in 2012, I began a tour of duty as a district administrator leading in a variety of roles ranging from Manager of Instructional Technology to Chief Digital Officer. I've written for School Library Journal, Teacher Librarian, and Knowledge Quest, not to mention blogs and other publications. In 2016, I presented my TEDx Talk 'Changing the Conversation About Librarians,' introducing the idea of Future Ready Librarians. That same year, I helped launch Future Ready Librarians with the U.S. Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education, crafting the Future Ready Librarians Framework. Since that time, I've helped lead the FRL initiative including creating an ISTE-U course and Digital Promise micro-credential focused on Empowering Students as Creators. More recently, I helped develop and launch the FRL Self-Reflection and Conversation Starter professional learning tools. I'm currently working on a project in Washington State to empower librarians and other educators to support innovative remote learning in the New Abnormal. I live in the Portland, Oregon metro area.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns you may have about the course.

Email: mark.ray.vps@gmail.com Twitter: @_teacherx Text: 360/907-7561

Reaching Out: Leadership Conversations Course Syllabus

Course Timeline: Fall 2020

Reaching Out: Leadership Conversations is an asynchronous course and may be completed at your own pace. The course will be open from September 1, 2020 - December 1, 2020. Readings/viewings, activities and assignments are designed to equal a total of 15 hours of your time as required to earn one graduate college credit.

Course Description

Instructional partnerships between librarians and administrators are more important than ever. Using the Future Ready Librarians Conversation Starter protocol as a tool, participants will reflect, plan, research, and begin collaborative partnerships with school or district leaders in support of student and teacher needs. Reading and discussions will focus on professional reflection, understanding and building rapport with administrators, planning for effective collaboration, and aligning library goals with school and district strategic outcomes.

Course Objectives

• Reflect and self-assess professional practices and beliefs

• Research and align library practices to strategic school and system goals

• Build leadership capacity through facilitated partnerships with administrators

• Identify action plan to lead, teach, and support students and teachers based on locally-defined needs

Evaluation Criteria

• Complete assigned reading and activities

• Complete Future Ready Librarians Conversation Starter protocol and Future Ready Librarians Self-Reflection

• Plan and document facilitated conversations with building and/or district leaders

Course Evaluation

• Reflect and share artifacts of planning conversations with administrator

• Collaborate and share with classmates in online discussions

• Develop locally-defined plan for sustaining instructional partnerships

Assigned reading and activity completion: 40 pts

Online discussion participation: 20 pts

Leadership Conversation Portfolio and AAR: 20 pts

Course reflection: 20 pts

Course Navigation

Each unit of the course is linked in the headers below with individual pages. Activities and assignments are linked beneath each unit. You may also access units by clicking on their headers listed in the upper right of this Home page.

Course Introduction

Unit 1: Reflective Practice for Librarians

• Introduce tools and processes

• Complete FRL self-reflection

• Identify areas for professional growth and learning

Unit 2: Building Strategic Understanding and Capacity

• Research and examine school and district strategic planning

• Identify potential areas for partnership

• Examine interpersonal strategies for effective collaboration

Unit 3: Planning for Effective Partnerships and Conversations

• Plan and implement conversations with administrators

• Identify and prioritize areas of shared strategic leadership

• Develop initial plans for implementation

Unit 4: Implementing and Sustaining Strategic Partnerships

• Reflect on leadership conversations

• Identify areas for continued growth

• Create sustainability plan for leadership project

Course Reflection

Core Course Resources:

Course Activities and Assignments will require that you access the websites listed below, post to Facebook and/or Twitter, and submit some shared documents via Google Drive.

Future Ready Librarians Self-Reflection Tool

Future Ready Librarians Conversation Starter

This project was made possible in part by IMLS, grant RE-7018-0050-18.