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During a conversation with the MYP Individuals and Societies teacher, the librarian finds out that grade 6 students are struggling with finding enough resources for an "Ancient Egypt" project they are currently working on. The students’ main source of information is textbooks/teachers’ notes with occasional search on the internet. The teacher complains that most of the information collected so far was promotional material. When checking with the teacher regarding criteria for assessing reliable resources, the answer was that students had no idea as to how to do that. Nor could they cite their sources, organize their work  How do you think the librarian will help with that?

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The librarian will:

1. meet with the teacher to have an insight as to the project expectations and assessment criteria

2. check if the same topic is being taught in other classes (e.g. world languages) for cross disciplinary cooperation

3. organise a very short workshop for students (in the presence of the teacher(s) involved in this project) focused on key Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills, including Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Media Literacy, and acknowledging the IB Learner Profile Trait of being inquirers, thinkers, reflectives, knowledgeable, and principled

4. Make sure the workshop  cover the basic research skills, including finding, assessing, and selecting resources, citing their sources (including images), and paraphrasing the given material

5. help students put the research prompt in an inquiry based question to shift it from being a traditional assignment to an inquiry one

6. provide the teacher with some resources with different formats (books, ebooks, audiobooks, articles, charts, videos etc.), to meet all students’ needs

7. make sure the teacher is familiar with the provided tools, giving them a short training if needed

8. encourage the teacher to share the list with the students AFTER they find their own resources, to make an inventory of these ones, and use what they feel would support their research

9. help students explore and brainstorm different media for presentation to best share their findings with the team

10. follow up with the teacher during the research process and schedule times for library help, in whatever way would seem convenient to the teacher

11. meet with the teacher to reflect on the project result (check some of the projects or attend the presentation, if the teacher allows for that), to celebrate success and check for points to be improved

12. coordinate with the teacher regarding the next concept to be taught, and brainstorm ideas on how help could be given to the students.

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The librarian will talk with the principal to plan a similar workshop for all the middle school classes for consistency among  grade levels.

Relevant posters, infographics, videos, slides etc. to be shared with the teachers, posted on the library website, as well as in the classes and library, if possible.

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The librarian visits grade 7 science class to introduce AI to the students, and notices that they are giving their passwords to other classmates, and oversharing private information. They are also accepting cookies whenever the message pops up. Also, the teacher leaves the class with her screen unlocked.

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The librarian will:

1. talk to the teacher to make sure he is familiar with the school privacy policy, if available, or go over the basic privacy expectations while using their computer

2. arrange with the teacher for an interactive digital citizenship workshop for the students, to cover the online safety, cyberbullying, privacy risks, and responsible AI usage, making sure to highlight the fact that AI is a helping tool, not one to do the work for students. It is there to help brainstorm ideas, not to jeopardise students’ imagination, genuine work and safety

3. collaborates with the teacher to have students come up with an infographic/poster on the topics being covered.

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Next Steps:

The librarian will collaborate with IT, the middle school language arts teacher, and World language teachers, to provide similar training to all middle school staff and students. Also, to encourage the grade 7 class to share its poster/infographic with the rest of the classes and have a discussion as to what needs to be changed/added, so a final version of the poster would be put in all the middle school classes. This should be done under the supervision of the above teachers and the librarian.

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Fake News and AI Generated Misinformation

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Fake News and AI Generated Misinformation

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The global issues teacher notices that students are relying heavily on fake news, biased blogs/articles, conspiracy theories, or even AI-generated misinformation. What do you think happens next?

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The teacher approaches the librarian, who in turn will:

1. design an interactive digital citizenship workshop, to address the topics of:

detecting misinformation and fake news, by using real-world examples of fake news, and clickbait articles, and how to verify them, using the  5 Ws strategy::

Who wrote this?

What is the source?

When was it published?

Where is it from?

Why was it created?

copyright and plagiarism

addressing the drawbacks of AI content with regards to bias, hallucinations, privacy breach, misinformation etc. and learning how to spot these

managing online privacy: by helping students understand data tracking, digital footprints, and responsible social media use.

2. work closely with the teacher to make sure students have a sound understanding of this topic

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Next Steps:

The librarian will:

coordinate with the high school principal to allocate a time to teach the above workshop to all high school classes for consistency

meet with the rest of the high school team, to make sure that research skills and digital citizenship are incorporated into all assignments, where teachers have to set these as clear expectations with every assignment.

start a high school mini challenge, where each class would come up with their own version of presentation to cover the above topics. The best presentation to be shared with the whole community, posted on the library website and in all the high school classes.

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Curation of Resources (IB Connection with Learner Profile Attributes)

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Curation of Resources (IB Connection with Learner Profile Attributes)

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The librarian meets the school counselor over lunch. The latter seems really worried. On investigating the matter, the librarian finds out that the Head of School needs to present a report on how the school supports all students. To complete her report, the HoS needs a list of assistive tools, open educational resources, and an example of how we support all students with different backgrounds, capabilities, and challenges.

The curated list has to reflect the diverse theme of the meeting, and should show an extensive collection of resources in different formats. The librarian is very surprised to hear that. Why do you think so?

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It is the librarian’s job to curate all such material.

The librarian will:

1. meet with the school counselor, to get a better insight as to what topics need to be covered, and what resources could be added

2. categorize each requirement in a different section and discuss the tools and databases which the school is subscribed to, and that are relevant to each of these categories

3. work with the counselor to select the tools they see would best suit the purpose

4. run a quick check on each of the selected, to make sure there are no broken links or problems with logging in

5. curates a final list of resources for each of the categories (ATL Skill: Information Literacy | Learner Profile: Knowledgeable), through an interactive curation tool (e.g. padlet) to allow for adding comments, votes, feedback etc. (ATL Skill: Research & Organization | Learner Profile: Communicators

6. generate a usage report for each of these tools and records that on the list

7. look for more reliable resources online, and check their safety measures with IT, before adding them to the list

8. make sure the list includes different formats of resources (books, ebooks, articles, videos, magazines, different languages and reading levels etc.)

9. creates a poster on the importance of “Varied Texts” in learning to support inquiry and open mindedness

10. add the poster to the list

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allowing students to read the same book one more time, or read below assigned reading level

sharing ideas with parents on how to reinforce reading at home

introducing other formats for reading (magazines, graphic novels, articles, ebooks etc.).

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Highlighting Checkout Patterns That Affect Students’ Reading Progress 

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Highlighting Checkout Patterns That Affect Students’ Reading Progress 

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Students checking the same book over and over again, or sticking to one genre/controversial topic all the time.

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Giving Trainings on Online Tools Usage, and Book Selections

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Giving Trainings on Online Tools Usage, and Book Selections

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reading challenge

Drop Everything and Read

Mother Language Celeration to support the language profile in the school

Day of Unplugging

Tech Day

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Attending Reading Assessments and Data Dialogues

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Attending Reading Assessments and Data Dialogues

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to get an insight as to what tools and resources could be added to the library collection, and what services could be provided to help teachers.

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guest speakers

author visits

writing workshops

bookfairs

academic challenges

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Hosting Student/Parent/Teacher Led Workshops in Different Topics

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Hosting Student/Parent/Teacher Led Workshops in Different Topics

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For example, fostering experiential curriculum, student led workshop on how privacy on the internet should be taken seriously.

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Initiating Partnerships with Local Libraries, Bookstores, Cultural Centers, and Other Schools

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Initiating Partnerships with Local Libraries, Bookstores, Cultural Centers, and Other Schools

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The school will be hosting an innovative showcase night, where high school students will share their projects with the school community. How can the librarian help with that?

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The school will be hosting an innovative showcase night, where high school students will share their projects with the school community. How can the librarian help with that?

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for example posters, videos, tutorials, curated list of books, “If You Liked …, Then You Would Like…” etc.

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for example spotting fake news contest, Book Tasting, Blind Date with a Book

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Coordinating Same Theme Taught in More Than One Class 

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Coordinating Same Theme Taught in More Than One Class 

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different languages and formats = different perspectives

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Creating a Collaboration Planner and Pathfinder for Research Project

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Creating a Collaboration Planner and Pathfinder for Research Project

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Supporting the Areas of Inquiry Enhanced by IB 

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Supporting the Areas of Inquiry Enhanced by IB 

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(curriculum, social and emotional learning, service learning, experiential learning, and play)

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Supporting various approaches to curriculum and concepts across the school and become a factor in the “curriculum articulation” (Donham & Sims, 2020, p. 28)

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organize a home language celebration week to support the language profiles of the school

just in time help, e.g. posters, videos, tutorials, curated list of books, “If You Liked …, Then You Would Like…” etc.

activities relevant to student life: spotting fake news contest, Book Tasting, Blind Date with a Book

theme taught in more than one class (different languages and formats = different perspectives)

create a collaboration planner and pathfinder for research project

supports the areas of inquiry enhanced by IB ( curriculum, social and emotional learning, service learning, experiential learning, and play)

attend data dialogues

support various approaches to curriculum and concepts across the school and become a factor in the “curriculum articulation” (Donham & Sims, 2020, p. 28)

# data[].attributes.body
organize a home language celebration week to support the language profiles of the school

just in time help, e.g. posters, videos, tutorials, curated list of books, “If You Liked …, Then You Would Like…” etc.

activities relevant to student life: spotting fake news contest, Book Tasting, Blind Date with a Book

theme taught in more than one class (different languages and formats = different perspectives)

create a collaboration planner and pathfinder for research project

supports the areas of inquiry enhanced by IB ( curriculum, social and emotional learning, service learning, experiential learning, and play)

attend data dialogues

support various approaches to curriculum and concepts across the school and become a factor in the “curriculum articulation” (Donham & Sims, 2020, p. 28)

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Caretaking

Catalysing

Connecting

Co-creating

Challenging

+ 1 catering

“I don’t teach just what I think is important to students, but plan content in context with what is happening in a teacher’s classroom. The right lesson has to occur at the right time” (Sekinger, 2022).

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“ the library is a mirror, a place of reflection and self-affirmation for students, allowing our community comfort and sanctuary in the space. The library is a window, a place of imagination that allows someone to see far outside of their circumstances into a thrilling world beyond. And this window, in the library, can become a gateway for students to learn and discover something new, or even better, to imagine themselves as something new. This is the sliding glass door that a library can become, transporting our students into smarter, more thoughtful and kinder versions of themselves. That is the magic of a successful school library and it begins with a school librarian”(Sekinger, 2022).

The librarian is “a multitasker, playing the role of a media specialist, student support teacher, designer, curriculum leader, and of course, a librarian” (Definition of an Effective, 2018).

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seating

display

genrefication

students’/staff work

posters on research, academic integrity (consistency with the classrooms)

multilingualism + multimodality (Varied Texts) = multiliteracies

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Ideal libraries: A guide for schools (2nd ed.). (2022). International Baccalaureate Organization.

Definition of an effective school library. (2018, November 11). American Association of School Librarians. Retrieved July 15, 2021, from https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/advocacy/statements/docs/AASL_Position_Statement_Effective_SLP_2018.pdf

Donham, J., & Sims, C. (2020). Enhancing teaching and learning: A leadership guide for school librarians (4th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Sekinger, N. (2022, November 16). The truth about school libraries. besmirched by some these days, here's what libraries in schools are really up to. Virginia Education Association. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.veanea.org/the-truth-about-school-libraries-besmirched-by-some-these-days-heres-what-libraries-in-schools-are-really-up-to/