NOUN
·
The action of working
with someone to produce something:
1. Something produced in collaboration with someone:
·
2.
Traitorous cooperation with an
enemy.
When we voted as a community of practice upon this book option, I’m quite certain that all of us held the first definition in mind: teacher-librarians engaged in action-research with colleagues or perhaps more
informally planning a lesson over coffee and chocolate (most definitely at Vic
High Library!) – with the goal of producing a strategy to improve the learning of our students.As inapplicable as the second definition is to our
intentions, it does cast a shadow over the concept of collaboration. After all, since
teaching can be such an individual and autonomous journey -- shaped by one’s
personality, philosophy, background, knowledge base and skill set and passions,
among other variables -- it’s not always a given that teachers wish to
collaborate, have the time to do so (thinking of the four-block high school
schedule with no semester prep.), or perhaps understand what full-on collaboration
entails.
The Collaboration Handbook examines collaboration from a more detailed perspective than a standard dictionary definition like the one above. Buzzeo defines it as a “continuum of instructional partnership” (4) with cooperation and coordination on the left, and collaboration and data-driven collaboration on the right. The introductory chapter asserts that “none of these levels is inherently less important than any other level” and acknowledges that collaboration is “both organic and dynamic as work with different teachers and groups of students evolves and changes, moving fluidly between levels” (4).Nevertheless, Buzzeo challenges educators – particularly teacher-librarians – to consider their instructional programs in relation to The Library Media Specialist’s Taxonomy (Loertscher, 2000), a ten-level process that represents collaboration from the levels of none (the library is bypassed entirely) to the level of far-reaching, meeting the need of every student and teacher and shaping the planning and organization of curriculum. The higher the number on the taxonomy, the closer the library program is to the optimum levels of collaboration at the right-hand levels of the continuum.As we approach this book individually and as a group of professionals, we will be self-assessing our library programs and questioning the possibilities in our own teaching contexts. What are some of our best strategies for inviting teacher collaboration at elementary, middle, and high school levels? What are some of the challenges we face in our individual teaching contexts? How can we best collaborate with our colleagues to support the challenges of the new curriculum in British Columbia?
From this vantage point, talking about the iterations of collaboration casts light – rather than shadow – upon our teaching practice, and our discussions of The Collaboration Handbook will help to illuminate exciting possibilities. We invite comments and discussions from colleagues in our school district and beyond.
Contributors: Nicole Aerts, Claire Atkinson, Wendy Burleson, Ben Koning, Metthea Maddern, Geoff Orme, Colleen Pommelet, Darinka Popovic, Jane Spies, Rebecca Steele
Written by: Wendy Burleson
The Collaboration Handbook examines collaboration from a more detailed perspective than a standard dictionary definition like the one above. Buzzeo defines it as a “continuum of instructional partnership” (4) with cooperation and coordination on the left, and collaboration and data-driven collaboration on the right. The introductory chapter asserts that “none of these levels is inherently less important than any other level” and acknowledges that collaboration is “both organic and dynamic as work with different teachers and groups of students evolves and changes, moving fluidly between levels” (4).Nevertheless, Buzzeo challenges educators – particularly teacher-librarians – to consider their instructional programs in relation to The Library Media Specialist’s Taxonomy (Loertscher, 2000), a ten-level process that represents collaboration from the levels of none (the library is bypassed entirely) to the level of far-reaching, meeting the need of every student and teacher and shaping the planning and organization of curriculum. The higher the number on the taxonomy, the closer the library program is to the optimum levels of collaboration at the right-hand levels of the continuum.As we approach this book individually and as a group of professionals, we will be self-assessing our library programs and questioning the possibilities in our own teaching contexts. What are some of our best strategies for inviting teacher collaboration at elementary, middle, and high school levels? What are some of the challenges we face in our individual teaching contexts? How can we best collaborate with our colleagues to support the challenges of the new curriculum in British Columbia?
From this vantage point, talking about the iterations of collaboration casts light – rather than shadow – upon our teaching practice, and our discussions of The Collaboration Handbook will help to illuminate exciting possibilities. We invite comments and discussions from colleagues in our school district and beyond.
Contributors: Nicole Aerts, Claire Atkinson, Wendy Burleson, Ben Koning, Metthea Maddern, Geoff Orme, Colleen Pommelet, Darinka Popovic, Jane Spies, Rebecca Steele
Written by: Wendy Burleson
