By Carol Koechlin & Anita Brooks Kirkland
What is your vision for the future of the school library learning commons? How has the pandemic crisis shifted that vision? We want to know. Contribute your ideas to our Create Vision 2020. Consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional practice, and how this crisis might inspire a new vision, reshaping learning for the future. Read on to find out how to participate.
In the winter issue of CSL Journal we invited school library professionals across Canada to update and share their library learning commons vision statements: Create Vision 2020. The global pandemic and school closures followed soon after and changed everything for everyone. We now know that the world as we knew it will never be quite the same again. This forecast is especially true for education. In this spring issue of the journal we have encouraged writers to share how their practice has changed during school shutdowns and the need to still reach students, staff and families.
Change brings opportunity for new vision so we encourage you to seize the moment and consider how you can use your experiences over the past couple of months to reshape learning for the future through your school LLC. What will the school library learning commons look like when schools open again? CSL has built a Knowledge Building Centre (KBC) called The Post-Pandemic LLC to help school library professionals consider the impacts of this devastating period on teaching and learning. The KBC is a participatory tool providing guiding questions, resources and action suggestions to address needed change. You are welcome to participate as much as you like and also to share your vision and plans for addressing student, staff and community needs during these uncertain times.
We are experiencing unprecedented changes in professional practice and things are changing at an incredible pace. Through our professional learning networks we are aware of innovation in the face of the challenges, and hearing many success stories. Your story can help inform a more universal approach as we emerge out of the crisis into a living vision for the future of the library learning commons. Please participate! Here are some resources to get you thinking:
Resources to Support Building Vision 2020:
- Participate in the Post-Pandemic LLC KBC
- Review Leading Learning / L’Apprentissage en tête for inspiration
- Explore CSL Professional Resources for fresh national and international vision.
- Access resources to support building virtual LLC environments. (Anita Brooks Kirkland & Dr. David Loertscher)
- Listen to a podcast on the Tipping Point for the VLC (Kirkland and Loertscher)
- Consider what others are saying and experiencing – What we’ve been reading during the pandemic, so far…
Resources to Guide Implementation of Vision 2020:
- The Supporting You section of the Leading Learning website provides advice and tools for using Leading Learning for measurement and growth, professional learning, action research, and as an implementation guide.
- Learn from the master: Research In Action: An Interview with Judith Sykes
- The CSL Research Toolkit offers the guidance you need to assess the changes you are making. Check out the Sharing and Learning component of the toolkit to consider the many ways to share growth and learning in the LLC. Make your presentations and reports even more powerful by sharing the LLC Vision 2020 you have crafted.
- In the spirit of helping each other CSL would like to collect and share some of your Vision 2020 statements for your school library learning commons. Please complete this very short survey when you have your new vision and mission statements ready.
Resources to Help Write a Vision Statement:
- Allen, K-A., & Kern, P. (June 18, 2018). School vision and mission statements should not be dismissed as empty words. The Conversation.
- Developing a Vision and a Mission. In John G. Gabriel and Paul C. Farmer (2009). How to Help Your School Thrive Without Breaking the Bank. ASCD.
- Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement. (2014). Shaping a Vision of Academic Success for All Students, Project Group 1
- Jackson, T. (ND). How To Write A Vision Statement (& Why That Isn’t Enough). ClearPoint Strategy.
- Peek, S. (May 7, 2020). What Is a Vision Statement? Business News Daily.
- Ray, S. (May 16, 2018). A Guide to Writing the Perfect Vision Statement (with Examples). Project Manager.
- Wright, T. (2019). How to Write a Good Vision Statement. Cascade Strategy.