Standard: Cultivating Effective Instructional Design to Co-plan, Teach and Assess Learning.
Theme: Differentiated Learning
Growth Phase: Leading
Growth Indicator: Learning experiences support the personalization of learning for all learners.
Learn about the innovative way that teacher-librarian Jen Brown “opens” the learning commons up during the last school period of the day to facilitate independent student exploration, inquiry, and creation.
Brown, J. (2017). Open learning in the library learning commons. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/pdsb.net/open-learning-in-the-library-learning-commons/home
Learn from this professional learning website that illustrates makerspaces and pedagogical documentation in the learning commons.
Mulcaster, M. (2017). Visible Learning: Pedagogical documentation in the learning commons. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/visiblepedagogymakerspace/
Choice Boards have become very popular with educators as of late. They are graphic organizers with a certain number of options for students to choose from in order to learn a concept or develop a skill. They allow for student voice and choice. The Ontario Ministry of Education differentiated instruction guide Reach Every Student Through Differentiated Instruction says “all choices must address the same learning goal and … is assessed or evaluated against the same assessment criteria”. Below is an example of a primary grade choice board prepared by a teacher-librarian in the Toronto District School Board.
Campbell, M. (n.d.). Choice Board Knuffle Bunny. Retrieved fromhttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQXrSVqAgII3hyYp96lT3T-JVtS1zWyhunG2YNPhgBUwHvXPdkGKB98zy7jjMAcNmBjJ2V9g6LLvOgJ/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.g84bb583062_0_14
Follow this Ontario teacher-librarian as she describes and reflects upon the pedagogical and practical challenges and successes of co-planning and designing maker learning with students, leading to the creation of “Genius Carts”. Links to illustrate practice are shared throughout the paper.
Lyons, B. (2020). Maker. Space. Inquiry. Place. What might be the connection? Paper presented at the Treasure Mountain Canada 6 Symposium, Toronto, Canada. Retrieved from https://researcharchive.canadianschoollibraries.ca/2020/08/10/maker-space-inquiry-place-what-might-be-the-connection/
This inspiring and personable secondary school teacher-librarian in Ontario presents a podcast entitled “Things I Learned in Retail That I Use as a Teacher-Librarian”, comparing skills such as customer service, marketing, and “sales”used in retail to keep students coming back and to encourage and entice new students to come.
St. Aubyn, J. (2022, March 1). Marketing the School Library. Canadian School Libraries Journal 6 (1). Retrieved from https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/marketing-the-school-library/