Identify a performance problem in your area of work.
I am a brand spanking new librarian on a brand new campus with new staff. I have been in education for 23 years. Now that I am on the other side of the circulation counter I am totally lost. In teaching your are first required to do your practicum under a seasoned teacher. Then graduate and apply to a school district for employment, where you are placed with a mentor to guide you for a full year. At this time I am not into my practicum until the spring I do not have a designated mentor form the district or the college. This situation is due to budget constraints for the school district, which cuts the money set aside to pay mentor librarians to assist the new librarians. I was blessed to acquire this position while working for the hours and certification. So, I blame the economy and politics for this performance issue that will in turn effect my performance which will affect my PDAS appraisal. The domino effect.
Identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem.
A solution to the problem could be a recruitment of seasoned librarians to volunteer their time to train and mentor the teacher with a physical compensation. The professional development should be monthly for new librarians only for those required to have mentors. Also a once a every other week mentor/mentee campus visit to support and assist with necessary paperwork.
2. Chapter 15 presents performance support systems.
Define performance support systems.
Providing performers with varying levels of access to support information and tools at the moment of need.
Explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.
The schools have everything in place to support the initial training of the new librarians but, the mentor program. The mentors are the( performance support) that the new librarians need when a new problem occurs in learning the new computerized system the( work interface) to issue books, remove electronic materials or ordering book and the book fair.The blend of the performance support (mentoring) with the training(individual professional development) is extremely crucial for success of not only the new librarian but the campus as well o the monetary and educational support.
3. Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions.
What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above?
The knowledge that would support the issue at hand would be Tacit knowledge. We need those nuggets of expertise but to specifically direct the new librarians as I know and have seen them used towards new teachers.
How would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?
Right now the seasoned librarians have created a volunteer list of those librarians who want to assist in that time of need. The list has been complied and sent out to all librarians via email with numbers to call. All the while even if we don't ask there are some sharing via website.
4. Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning.
What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization?
I am in the midst of the on-the-job training. My museum is the real life library that has a multitude of articles that I must
learn about to assist the instructors as well as the students.
Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others?
When it becomes my turn I would hope the system is better but, what is in place can be updated and links added for the librarians to seek assistance. I will be truly supportive of a new librarian as they have for me.
Mentoring free without the money.
Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed?
Yes these should and can be coded. This is how the books, videos and etc. begin with the how to situations.
Should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?
It should be managed so that everyone's experience of the required situations can be seen in more than one solution methods. I would like to see a booklet or website maybe a blog created to speak about the first year experience of a new librarian and how the experiences
Hello.
ReplyDeleteLet me first say congratulations on the new job. I know it is hard being the new person at a new school. I have been there before. Even when I teach summer school and I am assigned to new a different campus other than my home campus I feel out of place. The budget cuts have placed strain on everyone. There are so many things I would like to see happen at my school but we simply do not have the funding. What I will suggest is reaching out to some of the seasoned librarians in the district? Maybe you can visit a few of those school as a professional development opportunity to address your needs. It may even be helpful if a teacher from your campus who has that knowledge could provide some support to you. I have learned to reach out to everyone now especially with the budget cuts. I like your idea about the blog. Have you considered starting one and sending it out to librarians in your district or even sending it to different schools? You could definitely start a network of educators.
Congratulations Leisa,
ReplyDeleteAs a DISD employee I too know all too well of the budget cuts of our district. I am sorry to hear that it is now even effecting the mentor position to this extreme. When I came on eight years ago I heard they were cutting the stipend down then for mentors back then. I have a different opinion on the reason for the budget cuts though. I feel our budget cuts are a product of mismanagement of monies.
I think the blog or website for the fellow librarians is a great ideal. I remember when I was a Campus Base Technician and we started a email trail for all of our questions. Unfortunately, budget cuts of the program prevented us for taking all of our emails Q&As to a blog or website. Good Luck to you and let me know how it goes.
Congratulations on this new phase in your career. I truly believe that librarians are the unsung heroes of the school. I appreciate you bringing this professional development problem to light and your recommendations to solve it.
ReplyDeleteI find that Twitter is an excellent resource of professionals who are eager to collaborate and answer any questions that their colleagues may have. Try participating in the #TXEdChat. I highly recommend it.