Thank you so much for bringing up this teaching scenario because I believe this is one that we often find ourselves in. This could be because teachers are often pressed for time (this is what I have found working in international schools) or because this is a model of teaching teachers are used to from their experience with previous librarians.

For me I have learned to use this opportunity to teach the best lesson I can (so that my colleagues perhaps discover that I am a teacher). I also find ways to create future work for myself during and after the unit.

Some ways I do this include:

1. Discovering what AtL skill students will use to succeed at the criterion (I teach at an IB World school being pre-assessed or assessed during the unit, it could be that a different AtL skill will be assessed and it offers me knowledge for future collaboration with this teacher,

2. Having the students self-assess their skill level at this AtL skill after teaching my lesson. I have begun using this survey, where I’ve mapped the AtL skill I am teaching to the relevant skill from the FOSIL Framework of skills (at the moment I have only mapped three as I building it as I teach those skills during lessons with teachers). I began doing this last semester this year and I discovered that the student’s feedback on their skill level was useful knowledge for beginning conversations with other teachers about the skills students need to develop.

3. If I am available I offer to have the class back in the library during the next lesson after the lesson I taught or I offer to come to their class. Just because a lesson has been taught does not mean that all students are done practicing the skills I have taught during their inquiry. Students need to get used to me being in the classroom as they are using the skills I have taught them. That way I am available to help them if they need it.

4. Along the same lines as above, I offer a followup time closer to the end of the project where students can come see me if they are still having trouble. This works very well in the case of bibliographies as students are often finishing them at the same time that they are all working on the final aspects of their project. If a teacher can say during class, “if you are having trouble with any aspect of completing your bibliography, you can see Mr. Rose in the library during this period” then this is the right time for me to be teaching them.

5. Lastly, I use a single-shot lesson to advertise my online booking sheet where students can book 15 minute appointments with me (I also encourage students to just drop by the library to speak to me during breaks or lunch if they have questions that stem from the lesson I teach).

It is a real challenge when we see our role as supporting students to develop a continuum of skills as they move through multiple inquiries over subsequent semesters if we are only invited in for single-shot research lessons. I am finding that when I remain conscience of the teachers time and am flexible in how I engage with them over time I can move to higher levels of collaboration with a few of my teaching colleagues.