Reply To: Teachers and Librarians Working Collaboratively

[Matt Participant]

My plan for developing the FOSIL Framework within my divisional AtL Scope & Sequence

After completing my action plan for this project I would like to talk about my initial steps for supporting the development of our divisional AtL scope and sequence using the FOSIL Framework.

The goal of this project which I am contributing to is three-fold:

1. Outline specific AtL skills that are priorities for my division to teach

2. Create age-appropriate goals for these skills

3. Create a system for monitoring student progress and for supporting students who have not yet developed these skills.

Considering the FOSIL Framework I believe the first two goals are already accomplished since I know which five skill bands I am focused on and the age-appropriate skills are already articulated. So I have moved onto focus on the third goal.

On creating a system for monitoring student progress and for supporting students who have not yet developed these skills. 

This goal has changed my mindset around what I am trying to accomplish. I have thought up until now what I was attempting to do was define a set of “library oriented research units” where I would take the lead in collaborating with subject teachers to support students in developing specific skills. I have come to the realisation that perhaps this is possible in five years of collaborative efforts. At this point, however it is my goal to develop a system for tracking how students self-assess themselves at these five skill bands, compare there self-assessments to their actual performance during assessed work where these skills are assessed in the MYP criterion, and gather information about how these skills are assessed. Then I need to look for another unit where this same skill is being assessed collaborate with that subject team. In this second iteration I will have a list of students who I need to spend more time with focusing on developing this FOSIL skill. This iterative process is a change from my initial thoughts about collaboration which were based around finding the perfect unit to develop skills. Now I am happy to work with any teacher during any unit where a skill is being addressed.

I understand that my first step is to develop a sustainable system for collecting data about student’s self assessments, my comparison of this assessment to work they turn in, and information about how these skills are assessed in different classes and grade levels. I am therefore for now only focusing on collaborating with one grade level on two FOSIL skill bands as I try to develop this system. I imagine that over time I will branch out to more grades and skill bands as I feel more comfortable with my ability to collaborate in sustainable ways. I will post more about this strategy whether it is successful in accomplishing the goals of the AtL project we are working on this year.

I appreciate any and all thoughts on this subject whether you are trying the same strategy or others.