#growthmindset and Independent Reading

One of the cornerstones of a school library is actively supporting the independent reading or wider reading programs. Every school has their blend of strategies in this area, ranging from structured lessons, assessment tasks, challenges to wider reading afternoons.

Recently, I was listening to the TER Podcast and interview with Carol Dweck about Growth Mindset and the role of schools. Having a growth mindset means that it is "ok" to give up on something.

I wondered at how this related to our wider reading strategies in our schools.

Over the years I have heard many school librarians pressure students to finish a book. "You can't give up", they say and then students just "pretend read" or slowly read rather than get engaged with the book. Strategies of three chapters or 100 pages might work for some students, but most will give up if the topic of the book isn't speaking to them.

They don't define themselves as readers ... yet.

Carol Dweck "The Power of Yet"

The growth comes from the realisation that it is ok to say "this book isn't really working for me" and students should be able to change course.  The student should be encouraged to confidently articulate why the book isn't working for them. It is then that a Teacher Librarian with an in depth knowledge of both the collection and the curriculum can assist them in finding a book that will work for them.

Students come into the school library or Learning Commons with distinct views about reading. They either define themselves as "a reader" or not. Those students that sit on the fence normally justify their answer with a "it depends on the book" and the reality is that this is true for most of us.

The strength of a teacher librarian is being able to guide the student to a book that they might be interested in reading. Using careful questioning to ensure that reading is a positive experience even though they don't see themselves as a reader  ... yet.

Downloadable Spring Bookmarks for your Library

Here are some spring bookmarks for your School Library or Learning Commons!

Download, print onto card voila!

Let me know if you use them, upload a picture to instagram and tag it with @konstantkaos

Makerspace @ Mater Christi College

It has been a while in between posts. 

Today in the mail I got my copy of FYI with an article that co-wrote with my colleague. FYI is the journal of the School Library Association of Victoria.

Our article is about the formation of our Makerspace at Mater Christi College and what works for us.

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I have added the article to my "publications" page with a link to a PDF version on my google drive.

enjoy!

Margaret

3 things to encourage Structured thinking in the Learning Commons

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This article on Structured Thinking popped up in my feed and although it was published last year I wanted to reflect a bit on what we are doing in our Learning Commons to structure the thinking of our students.

1. Maintaining an up-to-date curated Libguide collection which supports both content and skill-based learning.
   For example, when we create a libguide for Tim Winton's Cloudstreet, we also include Skills based pages to encourage students to Annotating their text or draft a comparatie analysis essay.
   
2. Creating Research Scaffolds to support the curriculum and structure the research process and encourage deep inquiry learning.
   These research scaffolds are used from Year 7 to Year 12, both in a generic format but also a customised form. As an A3 sheet, they can be used to show evidence of the research process and development of thinking on a topic.
   
3. Being available for students as a sounding board. We can proof read essays, listen to oral presentations or help students get their head arond a topic. Our Learning Commons is a "yes" environment, we will do anything (within reason) to assist students to further their learning.

I am sure that there us much more that we can do to help students structure their thinking, but this is where we are at the moment!

References:

Schwartz, K. (2017). When Kids Have Structure for Thinking, Better Learning Emerges. MindShift. Retrieved 26 February 2017, from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/31/when-kids-have-structure-for-thinking-better-learning-emerges/

For the love of words

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Due to the volume of students wanting to borrow dictionaries from the Learning Commons, during every exam period, we have been discussing the validity of why we include a paper dictionary on the booklist for all our Year 7 students. There is an assumption that if something is put on the booklist then it is used and valued by both teachers and students to enhance learning. But the students wanting to borrow these dictionaries have gone months, if not years without using them. How useful are dictionaries in a 21st Century classroom?

Most of our secondary students use computing devices all the way through their high school years with access to online dictionaries, grammar checkers and thesaurus, and yet we force them to purchase a dictionary in Year 7 that often ends up in the bin or lost. What is the educational value in a physical copy of this resource? Is the paper dictionary dying? Do students still use dictionaries or has Grammarly replaced the role of the dictionary?

The argument for keeping the dictionary on the booklist was made by one teacher, justifying that "we teach students how to read paper maps, therefore we should teach them how to use paper dictionaries". But further investigation with the Geography teachers reveals that paper map reading skills are slowly slipping away and being replaced by GPS coordinates and Google Maps. Online dictionaries are instantaneous, we can hear the words and there are many avenues for exploration once we have finished reading the word that we have looked up. But is this multi-focus environment beneficial when we are trying to increase our vocabulary or understanding? Barbara Ann Kipfer gives us 9 reasons why print dictionaries are better than the electronic ones in the classroom.

Using dictionaries as a regular tool in the classroom as part of a structured learning activity has the capacity to increase vocabulary range, build word acquisition skills by providing guidelines on pronunciation and use, engage students in linguistic understanding by showing the origin of the word and synonyms. But are these skills valued by teachers and what skills do we implicitly teach vocabulary and grammar into our classes to increase the range and understanding of our student's understanding?

Here are five ideas on how to build a love of vocabulary and understanding of words into your classes, regardless of whether it is a paper or electronic dictionary.

1. Test your vocabulary
   Merriam-Webster has some great online games to increase your knowledge of words and expose you to new words. Of course, students can be exposed to new vocabulary by regularly engaging in recreational reading.
2. Word of the day
   Lots of "word of the day" websites on the internet, this one shows you citations using the word of the day so that you can build contextual understanding.
3. Grammar Girl
   Podcasts and other tools to improve your grammar.
4. Lexipedia
   Shows synonyms in a visual brainstorm to increase your vocabulary.
5. Doing it differently: Tips for teaching Vocabulary.
   A discussion about new ways to teach vocabulary. Look for online tools such as Vocabgrabber.

Further Reading:

• Words are dying right now. Are you helping to kill them?
• Evaluating L2 readers’ vocabulary strategies and dictionary use
• Paper Dictionary or Electronic One?