From the SLiC Archives. This article was originally published in School Libraries in Canada Volume 33 Number 1, Winter 2015.
By Anita Brooks Kirkland
One might be forgiven for thinking that this title is slightly irreverent. Orientation is, after all, a staple of library instruction. An orientation is intended to be an introduction – a way to help students become familiar with the library, meet the teacher-librarian, and generally feel comfortable. Yet we all know the story. We often try to pack everything possible into that orientation, fearing that this might be the one and only opportunity we will have to teach basic library skills. This despite knowing that retention of learning under these circumstances is typically poor.
We know that teaching library skills in isolation is generally inauthentic and therefore ineffective, not being connected to an immediate learning need. And the poor student who was away on the day of the orientation has little to no chance at all of figuring things out.
This is not to say that the basic lessons we typically teach in orientation are not important: it’s more that teaching basic skills during a general orientation is an ineffective strategy.
Video by Anita Brooks Kirkland and Carlo Fusco for their Flipped Orientation workshop.
Time to Flip That Orientation
You have likely figured out by now that the title of the article is really about applying the flipped classroom model to the library. In the flipped classroom, the teacher makes basic but essential content available for students to view outside of class time, freeing up valuable face-to-face time for active and collaborative learning. This “flipped” content is most commonly presented through video and made available online. The flipped classroom model is particularly appropriate for the school library.
Face-to-face time is at a premium in the library. We rarely get to work with a group of students for an extended time. We constantly have to repeat basic lessons, like using the catalogue, finding and using databases, and basic search strategies. These kinds of lessons are ideal candidates for building your own body of flipped library video resources.
Flexible Learning, When and Where It’s Needed
Imagine now that you have successfully created a few short videos explaining and demonstrating basic library skills for students to access when and where then need them. Imagine a student struggling with a basic search, perhaps to find a favourite series of books. She remembers it being covered in the orientation, but really can’t remember the specifics. But now she can view the video right then and there, as she struggles with the search. Learning when and where it’s needed! After all, we are not testing memory – we want her to learn the skill. If she needs to revisit the video a few times she can, right there in the library, or anywhere else through the library website. And because her learning was purposeful and relevant to her specific need, chances are she will remember the skill and be able to apply it to other situations.
Flipped Learning and the Library Learning Commons: A Natural Fit
Now I can hear some of you exclaiming, “But if I put my lessons online nobody will need me anymore!” Nothing could be further from the truth. From a marketing point of view, putting yourself out there only increases awareness and whets the appetite. One only needs to look to home design shows on television to realize the truth of that statement. The more engaged and empowered viewers become by seeing and listening to the experts, the more they want to learn from these gurus.
Using the flipped model to address basic library skills has the very powerful collateral effect of freeing up face-to-face time for the deeper collaborative learning that we strive for in the library learning commons. Indeed the point of flipping your orientation is to make time to facilitate deeper learning.
The Flipped Learning Network emphasizes this capacity with their Four Pillars, which bear a striking resemblance to the philosophy underpinning the learning commons approach.
| Flipped Learning Network: The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P ™ | Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Libraries in Canada |
|---|---|
Flexible Environment: - Allows for a variety of learning modes - Students choose when and where they learn - Educators have flexible expectations of student timelines for learning | Designing Learning Environments A learning commons can provide both the physical and virtual learning environments as well as provide the supports necessary for the student to be an active participatory learner. |
| Learning Culture: Professional Educator: - Role of professional educator is more important in the flipped classroom - Educators are reflective in their practice and connect with each other to improve instruction - Less visible teacher role, but essential ingredient for learning | What is a Library Learning Commons? A learning commons is a whole school approach to building a participatory learning community. The library learning commons is the physical and virtual collaborative learning hub of the school. It is designed to engineer and drive future-oriented learning and teaching throughout the entire school. |
| Intentional Content: - Use flipped learning to help students develop conceptual understanding as well as procedural fluency | Instructional Design Knowledge-building, creativity and innovation, and honing of information management and literacy skills are key goals of the learning commons. |
| Professional Educator: - Role of professional educator is more important in the flipped classroom - Educators are reflective in their practice and connect with each other to improve instruction - Less visible teacher role, but essential ingredient for learning | Moving Forward Teacher-librarians have the specialized skills, knowledge and training to implement needed change. Volumes of research point to the positive influence excellent teacher-librarians have on teaching and learning. |
Creating Your Own Flipped Video Series
Creating and sharing video is much easier to do now than ever before. There are many online tools that are free and easy to use. I am an instructor in additional qualifications courses in librarianship for teachers, and have the immense pleasure of seeing them discover and use online tools to create instructional videos. You can see some of their efforts here.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Focus on short lessons that you find yourself repeating frequently.
- Repurpose and modify existing content: PowerPoint slides saved as images can be transformed into a video.
- Try different styles of video for different purposes: video tours, “talking head” videos, animations and screen capture tutorials are a few of the possibilities.
- Keep your videos short. Better to have three short and purposeful videos on different aspects of a skill than expect students to stick with a long and complex lesson.
- Be a learner yourself. Give yourself permission to tinker, experiment, fail and learn as you start your flipped library project.
- Collaborate within the community of teacher-librarians in your district to create videos for everyone, and share them out.
- Partner with teachers on procedural writing, and have students create videos to teach basic library tasks.
- Once you are more confident, start using a flipped approach for more specific topics and customized to meet the needs of a particular course or group of students.
Of course once you’ve put in all of this effort you want the videos used! Strategically that means being very intentional about the project. Explain what you are doing to other teachers in your school and how it will benefit their students. Promote these valuable resources, and make them very visible and easily accessible. Whenever possible, embed videos in your website rather than sending people away from your virtual library with a hyperlink. Most online tools provide embed code, so this is easy to do.
Now that we’ve considered the case for flipping your library orientation, here are some resources to transform that thinking into doing. It’s easier than you might think, and definitely worth the learning journey.
Resources to Learn More About Flipped Learning
Baylis, S. (2013). Flipping the Library. Tips from Three Pros. The Digital Shift 2013.
Great advice for using flipped learning for library instruction from Joyce Valenza, Brenda Boyer and Michelle Luhtala.
Brooks Kirkland, A. & Fusco, C. (2016). Flipped Orientation.
Workshop for GAFE Ontario Summit 2016 presentation. Comprehensive resources to put your plans into action.
Flipped Learning Network: http://flippedlearning.org/
This website is a great starting point for finding resources about and examples of flipped learning.
Raths, D. (2014). Nine Video Tips for a Better Flipped Classroom. Education Digest 79(6).
Raths offers excellent strategic and practical advice for implementing flipped learning, and making it a successful component of learning in the school.
Seneca Sandbox: https://senecasandbox.wordpress.com/
The Seneca College Library has vested heavily in using online videos to support learning. Check out the Create section of their Seneca Sandbox website for very practical advice and resources about creating effective instructional videos.
References
Brooks Kirkland, A. (2014). The Virtual Teacher-Librarian.
Accessed at: http://www.bythebrooks.ca/the-virtual-teacher-librarian/
Flipped Learning Network (2014). What is Flipped Learning? The Four Pillars of F.L.I.P.
Accessed at: http://flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/VA01923112/Centricity/Domain/46/FLIP_handout_FNL_Web.pdf
Canadian Library Association (2014) / Canadian School Libraries. Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.
Accessed at: http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/
Anita Brooks Kirkland is an independent consultant and the Chair of Canadian School Libraries. As a writer and presenter Anita specializes in the areas of digital literacy and the role of the school library learning commons. She draws on her extensive experience as a teacher educator, as an instructor in school librarianship for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and previously as Consultant for K-12 Libraries at the Waterloo Region District School Board. Anita shares an extensive collection of articles and presentations on her website and blog, www.bythebrooks.ca