Intentionality in Practice

Follow me as I meander through the path that brought me to thinking about intentionality in education and specifically in library teaching practice…

First I read Buffy Hamilton’s post about weeding.  Go ahead and read it, it is worth your time, I’ll wait.

Her eloquence on the subject got me to thinking…do we always understand why we do the things we do?  Her post is long, so if you didn’t have time to read it, I will summarize.  She compares weeding to dendrochronology (the science of studying tree rings).  Just as looking at tree rings can tell you about the tree, the environment, history, etc., weeding can tell you many things about your collection and upon reflection, she and her co-librarian discovered how truly important it is to a librarian to really know her collection as a part of her larger goals in working with students and teachers.  One of my favorite passages is here: 

[Weeding] …reminds me how important it is to work hands-on with your collection both through weeding and inventory—tasks that are sometimes viewed as drudgery or as of late, written off as an insignificant practice not worthy of our efforts in some circles of school librarianship, a perspective I think is short-sighted.  The reality of trying to balance our roles as instructional designer and partner, information expert, instructional leader, and program administrator can definitely make people feel that weeding and inventory are not at the top of the priority list in the grander scheme of our work; however, these are responsibilities that are related to our larger scope of work and impact both physical [s]pace, collection development, and people’s perception of what libraries are about.  Carving out time to do this sort of work ultimately helps us contextualize the work of our other roles in our schools and the ways a library might function as a hub of learning.

I have personally been in conference sessions where librarians recommended not “wasting” your time doing inventory. I find Buffy’s reflection about the value of the exercise in the context of our broader mission refreshing. Sometimes, I think that we try too hard to be modern, or trendy, or some other non-frumpy adjective. Inventory, and I did one every year when I was in a building—with the library open at the same time—is one of the best ways to get to know your collection. You see/touch every item in the collection. You find the outdated books, the DVDs no one has used in three years, and you also find out which items were popular enough to walk off. When I was in a Junior High/Middle School, it was always the skateboarding books. I will never know why they didn’t want to just check them out, but every year, several of them would have disappeared from the shelves without benefit of a circulation record. I always hoped that they found homes with students who loved them and read them. I’ll never know.

I then came upon this New York Times article about screentime.  Students are spending a lot of time in front of screens.  And not all of it is educational—shocking, I know.  What this made me think about, though, is how much we use technology in teaching, and how much we are encouraged to use technology in teaching.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is a bad thing, but I have thought a lot lately about the best ways to use technology in teaching.  If we use technology as a babysitter, a test administrator, a pacifier, then we are missing the larger picture.  We need to use technology as a tool and we need to use it intentionally.  I am old enough to remember when the technology in education boom was just starting—it was at about the same time I began working as a librarian.  As with any new tool, at first all we cared about was using it.  I can remember going to workshops touting literally more websites and tools than any one person could possibly gain mastery over.  When Web 2.0 came along, the bandwagon became even larger.  There is nothing wrong with using these tools, I have used and promoted their use myself.  What I began to see is that the tools were taking over and the content and skill building was taking a back seat.  A class would come to the library to work on a “research” project.  They would spend 1 day actually doing research and the teacher would book 2 or 3 days to make a powerpoint, prezi, or some other presentation.  Here’s the thing. Next year, there will be some new fad and maybe no one will be using prezi anymore.  (I don’t believe this because I have been using prezi for low these many years and I still like it as a presentation platform, but take the philosophical journey with me here.)  The students spent 1 day learning how to do research and getting experience in the process that they will be using for the rest of their lives and 2 or 3 days learning a tool that will change in a year.  What is wrong with this picture?  I think we all know what it is.  I have taken the long way around to say that Buffy’s reflection on weeding made me think about intentionality in library practice.  The New York Times article made me think about intentional technology use.  Neither of these ideas is new, but they bear thinking about. 

Then I found this EETC presentation from 2012 aboutintentional technology use.  In this presentation is a quotation from Fred Rogers about why he got into television.  This is something I never knew. 

I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen.

Fred Rogers

 Most of us would agree that he succeeded beyond our wildest imagination in doing that.  Some librarians hate technology.  I don’t mean they literally hate it, like they want to go back to using card catalogs, but they resent that their jobs have become so enmeshed with technology.  Other embrace technology with an almost religious fervor—these are the people who are constantly promoting new technology as bling rather than substance.  (iPads for everyone!) I know that there are many librarians who are intentional with technology, but I want to look at the other two camps for a moment.  Whether you hate technology or love it, as a librarian, we can use this “fabulous instrument” to teach those who would use it.  And pretty much every student is using it. If we want to use technology as a teaching tool, we need to consider how we use it.  Does the tool we are using support the teaching we are doing and the learning we want students to do, or is it an afterthought, a window dressing, a box we check on our to do list—yes, we “integrated” technology.   

 The old saying—when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail—comes to mind.  If we are using a technology tool, we should know why we are using it, and more importantly, why this particular tool is the best one to use for the lesson we are teaching.  Technology should not be something we add to the lesson as bling or that we do if we have time, or as a reward for the students who make it through the lesson.  It should be a seamless part of a lesson that works together with the other parts to make a whole that works. In order to do this we will have to take time to really think about what we are teaching—what do we want students to learn and what is the best way or the multiple/differentiated ways we can teach these objectives.  We will need to bring some art to our teaching practice and reflection as well.  If you are one of those technology hating librarians, think about becoming the Fred Rogers of the library world.  Take the thing you don’t like and make it into something worthwhile, something valuable.  If we don’t who will?  Using mobile devices as worksheets and streaming video is not integrating technology.  Fred Rogers saw that television could be used for good or ill and he chose to use it for good.  Rather than use technology tools to do the same old things we have always done, we can use new tools to try new ways of learning.  I think it is also important to remember that we all need time away from technology as well.  There are many highly respected teachers, professors (and religious leaders) who recommend having some activities and parts of your day that are “disconnected.”  Some people have gone so far as to recommend technology fasting.  The important thing to remember is to use technology appropriately.  In the learning studio that Buffy wrote about here, there are spaces for reflection and writing and there is time set aside for that in classes.  It is all about what works best for learning and about balance.  Every problem isn’t a nail, remember?

This brings us back to intentionality.  Whatever we are teaching in the library, whether it is searching strategies, evaluation, note taking, or how to find a book to read for pleasure, we need to do it intentionally.  Whatever activities we undertake, whatever programming we plan, whatever services we offer should all support the school’s mission and the library’s mission.  All our library practices support student learning.  Perhaps weeding and inventory are not as glamorous as a poetry slam, but it is all important.  We have a responsibility to our students and teachers to do everything it takes to support them in their teaching and learning.  

Picture of Mr. Rogers from 
http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-4493

Hammer picture licensed for reuse