Facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners

In response to her Principal asking to write a summary for a parent newsletter, Teacher Librarian Jody Wilson at Douglas Elementary, crafted the following that is one example of how Surrey TLs focus their work through the LLC to facilitate collaborative engagement and cultivate and empower a community of learners.

The Learning Commons

Over the last decade, school libraries have transformed from quiet book hubs to dynamic spaces where students and teachers collaborate, create, problem solve and learn together. With these changes came a new name: The Learning Commons.

The Learning Commons program uses literature as a stepping stone to introduce ideas, present discussion points or provide ADST challenges. Our primary students receive 50 minutes of learning commons programming a week while our older students have the opportunity to exchange books, volunteer or join clubs in the Learning Commons. Every lesson in the Learning Commons provides students with the opportunities to move, share, create and collaborate.

There are four elements of the program that are woven into the program and lessons the students receive.

Literature Appreciation

Reading for pleasure is integral to reading skill development. It also teaches students to see the world from others’ perspectives and introduces them to new ideas and thinking. Our collection is stocked with high-interest, popular titles of varying genres and reading levels to keep students excited about reading.

The students participate in district-wide reading programs such as the Surrey Schools Picture Book of the Year, the Surrey Schools Narrative Non-Fiction book of the Year and the Surrey Schools Book of the Year programs. All students can take home three books at a time and are provided at least one opportunity a week to exchange their books.

Information Literacy

Our students are exposed to technology all around them, both at home and at school, and it is imperative that they understand that the digital world can be an unsafe place. The Learning Commons program teaches students how to stay safe online, how to find places that are just right for them and what to do if they find themselves feeling unsafe online. We also discuss appropriate communication, how communication on the internet “can be forever” and the dangers of sharing personal information or talking to strangers online.

Technology/ADST

Integrating technology and the Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) curriculum is central to the Learning Commons program. Students are provided opportunities to understand design problems and use critical thinking to create solutions and test ideas. Various technologies and building materials are used, from non-tech items such as LEGO to robotics such as Ozobots.

Citizenship

The Learning Commons is a shared space. The entire student population accesses it each and every week, as do many staff. It is a welcome place for students to be at lunch and recess, whether it be to quietly read on a rainy day or to join a student club. Student ownership of the space is encouraged so that they feel invested in caring for our shared space. There are over 40 library monitors from Grade 6 and 7 that volunteer their lunches and recesses to help tidy the library, make displays, shelve books, etc. Students are taught to shelve their own books so that they become more familiar with the way the library collection operates and learn to be positive Learning Commons citizens.

Ms Jody Wilson

A committee composed of Surrey Schools Teachers Librarians, our Indigenous Helping Teachers and myself, have spent the last year developing a classification system through a local lens that honours and elevates Indigenous People and their literary work. Through a multitude of conversations, considerations and consultations, our committee developed the Indigenous Peoples Classification System that will organize our newly created Indigenous Peoples Collections (IPC). Teacher Librarians will be working collaboratively this year to evaluate all resources with Indigenous content to select materials for this collection. Simple call numbers will support each titles location within the IPC as well as sticker labels icons indicating People groups and the topics selected. The goals of this initiative are to 1. decolonize Indigenous non-fiction 2. increase access to all Indigenous resources.

Andrea LaPointe - Surrey Schools Teacher Librarian Helping Teacher

One powerful example of how our TLs led our learning community was responding to the needs for digital resources during the Covid-19 pandemic. Within less than a week all 150 Surrey Teacher Librarians mobilized a process to curate digital resources and create a one place for easy access, Surrey Schools One, that served our teachers, students and parents to find quality digital resources during in home learning. This site has since been adopted by the Surrey School District and remains the virtual hub for our approved learning and professional resources.

Andrea LaPointe - Surrey Schools Teacher Librarian Helping Teacher