Global Connections and Growth

 My Global Evolution

Learning about global education was such an inspiring journey for me.  It will help me formalize some of what is already a passion for me, but it also helped me learn about things I hadn’t even considered could be an aspect of librarianship and teaching.  For example, I already work with several DEI initiatives and committees that help bring different perspectives, cultures and backgrounds into different parts of education, but I never considered actually connecting students via Zoom or other means to people around the world.  

In particular, I have begun to consider how the 4 C’s (or 6!) can be incorporated and why that’s important.  There is one institution in particular that I wish I could recreate as a library:

In particular, they have an entire Center for Civic Engagement lounge/classroom in the library.  There are library communities devoted to problem-solving global issues, civic issues, and more.  There are rooms for designing, telepresence rooms, and more.  At the beginning of the video, there’s an image on the large screen in the lobby that shows where people are from.

I think what I found most inspiring about global education is how much room it has for empathy and collaboration.  It’s a creative and worthy effort for our future populations.  I also liked that it isn’t just about people; it’s about the environment and the future and how we can support the world around us, not just ourselves.  

Global Connections

The Global Connections I found most valuable were the ones I made on a local level (to get started).  I found that while through my observations, teachers seemed very communicative through means such as Twitter, I was not having the same luck with librarians, and since I do not use some social media such as Facebook, I am probably missing out in some great online communities.  However, I am hopeful that my local connections will help me start branching out nationally and then globally, building my own little web of global librarians!

One of the books I have been reading on this topic has some tips regarding how I should present myself in order to join or create global networks, which I may need to work on:

• “Be respectful but do not be shy.

• Try to establish a cooperative connection and avoid being perceived as patronizing.

• Leaders of international library development initiatives need to question what they bring to developing countries as outsiders.

• Collective negotiation of timelines and schedules necessitates a calm approach, sensitivity, and flexibility (Constantinou et al., 2017).”

There were also a lot of resources I learned about this semester, such as the UN’s 17 sustainable global goals.  Knowing about these resources is a great place to get started in building my own toolkit.

My Plan

I am planning to continue learning to be a global educator (and global learner) through library programming and networking.  Through library school, conferences, webinars, and more, I have met and kept contact with librarians around the country (and even one currently practicing librarianship in China).  My hope is that I can leverage these connections to pick their brains for more ideas and collaborations.  Through my readings, I’m learning more about the technical and practical skills I will need to make the most of these connections, outlined in part above.  

In researching how libraries can support global education, one of my big takeaways is that it largely requires cross-institutional work, or “boundary crossing.”  One project in particular that drew on this used students and teachers to help the library form global library exhibits.  According to Hickling-Hudson and Hepple (2020), this is part of a new field called “public pedagogy.”  This is not the only way librarians can become involved, but it is a good place to start to bring multiple institutions together to help the public embrace global themes.

There are several instructors who work with their students on research for topics in different countries.  I will contact them this year to see if we can display the student work outside the library in line with public pedagogy.  Some of the research papers may not draw in attention, but one instructor in particular has a project regarding propaganda in different countries that I think could make an interesting and visually magnetic display.

Less concretely, I am looking into memberships that could assist the library in obtaining global resources.  Back in the 1990s when the internet was becoming the electronic universe it is today, experts were examining how to support the “global village” it was creating.  They found that education and library services might be at the core of this, especially in creating on- and off-ramps for all of the information available (Ballard, 1995).  One of my favorite quotes about this is “A GVS (global village school) is a community of learners, not a place.”  Ballard describes global education as preparing students to see connections between themselves and “their counterparts in other countries” and how that can lead to cooperation in the future.  

Ballard (1995) also suggests that library’s are core to global education as opening electronic doorways to information and providing electronic access to databases and other digital resources.  To that end, resources I already have access to that I will market to faculty through semesterly newsletters include our HeinOnline database which has a library of global constitutions, and Global Issues in Context which explores news and issues (both historical and current) around the world. 

In particular, I am interested in the Centre for Global Education (centered in Northern Ireland) which includes a library of books, research, videos, music, articles, and more.  This organization also has access to classroom support resources.  The current issue is that I believe many of these resources are available in print only so I need to find a corresponding organization with either a larger amount of digital resources or something more local.

References

Ballard, D. W. (1995). The role of libraries in the global village. Library Software Review, 14(3).

Canstantinou, C., Miller, M. J., & Schlesinger, K. (2017). International librarianship: Developing professional, intercultural, and educational leadership. Suny Press.

Hickling-Hudson, A., & Hepple, E. (2020). Crossing the boundaries of imagination: The role of a public library exhibition in global learning for student teachers and teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 90(102916). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102916

School Librarians and Professional Learning Networks

Professional Learning Network and Professional Development Defined

Professional learning networks (PLNs) are venues or tools that allow professionals or "colleagues" -- or in this case, educators and school librarians -- connect virtually with a community in a learning environment (Moreillon, 2015).  Examples of online PLNs include social media groups and tags, online forums through different sites or organizations, and other subscriptions such as Discovery Education.  Some PLNs allow for resources to be shared, while others may be more conversational to learn from each other. Sometimes referred to as Professional learning communities, PLNs have common purposes and a shared vision and encourage continuous growth through professional development (Trinkle, 2009).

Professional development (PD) is defined as learning opportunities for continuous learning or professional growth, frequently through conferences or workshops, or institutional meetings (Trust et al., 2018).  Online professional development is similar except, according to Trust, Carpenter, and Krutka, it can be delivered asynchronously and offers more personalization and engagement.  Examples of this might include webinars, online courses, virtual conferences, and more.  

Advantages of Online Professional Development and Networking

One of the advantages of being globally connected to other school librarians through PLNs is that while on-site workshops, meetings and training opportunities might be focused on teachers and faculty, online connections and opportunities allow school librarians to focus on library-specific needs (Moreillon, 2016).  Some of the benefits that school librarians have reported in one study included "instant family of acceptance and support for librarianship," access to others with more experience, staying current with trends and technology, as well as sharing library lessons and programming (Moreillon, 2015).

Disadvantages of Online Professional Development and Networking

One of the disadvantages of online PLNs for school librarians is that according to a study by Smith (2015), many librarians do not have online PLNs so the audience may be limited.  Furthermore, social media such as Twitter or Facebook are frequently used which may also exclude librarians who do not use social media.

Another disadvantage to online PLNs is getting more than you bargained for.  Jaeger (2010) mentions one situation wherein a teacher-librarian was covering two schools due to budget cuts; when the teacher-librarian reached out for help, it started a lengthy dialogue that started at the very beginning -- if the assignment was even designed correctly -- instead of answering the question.  While this might be helpful long-term and well-intentioned, it was probably not very beneficial to someone who works as a solo librarian for two institutions.

Benefits of Global Connection

Student Benefits

School librarians being connected globally helps students by providing the librarians with tools and knowledge to facilitate learning and resources that students will need to become future-ready (Moreillon, 2015).  Cordell, Rogers and Parker (2012) say that the collaboration allowed by these global connections are "vital to improving student achievement and impacting school learning."  

School Librarian and Teacher Benefits

One of the biggest benefits of being globally connected is that school librarians are frequently solo librarians which may be isolating.  Social media and national organizations are a good start for becoming connected, but there are international organizations that offer more ideas and experiences.  Two of the big ones are the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), which has members from over 150 countries, and the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), which is an international network specific for school librarians (Everhart, 2018).

References

Cordell, S., Rogers, R. R. H., & Parker, L. (2012). No more CPR: Resuscitate your professionalism through professional learning networks. Knowledge Quest, 41(2), 18-21.

Everhart, N. (2018). Going global: International professional organizations for school librarians. Knowledge Quest, 46(5), 1-5.

Jaeger, P. (2010). Virtual PLC's @ their best: A daily diatribe. Library Media Connection, 29(2), 14-15. 

Moreillon, J. (2015). #Schoollibrarians tweet for professional development: A netnographic case study of #txlchat. School Libraries Worldwide, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.14265.21.2.010

Moreillon, J. (2016). Building your personal learning network (PLN): 21st-Century school librarians seek self-regulated professional development online. Knowledge Quest, 44(3), 64-69.

Smith, D. (2018). Growing your library career with social media. Libraries and Social Media. Chandos Publishing.

Trinkle, C. (2009). Twitter as a professional learning community. School Library Monthly, XXVI(4), 22-23.

Trust, T., Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2018). Leading by learning: Exploring the professional learning networks of instructional leaders. Educational Media International, 55(2).

Professional Ethics Reflection

Getting Started

This summer, I signed up for a course (Moral Philosophy & Professional Ethics) through the education program I am in.  At first I thought it would be a simple question of knowing a few different philosophies, and perhaps more importantly, knowing to follow professional ethics while at work.  What I was not expecting was to really dive into the intersection of my own personal ethics and how these intersect with professional ethics -- or how important that would be to me.

My Experience and Thoughts

What I’ve learned in this last semester is that my own personal ethics do not always line up directly with professional codes of ethics from various companies and fields we examined in discussion posts.  For example, I chose to focus my inquiry project on collection development in libraries because I realized that I had a personal, ethical conflict with the ALA Code of Ethics insofar as shelving certain materials went -- in particular the seventh statement requiring fair representation (ALA, 2021) which in itself could create an environment of hate.  Prior to this, I had been uncomfortable with this conflict but had not been able to really put a finger on why.  Further analyzing this issue led me to find that there are many librarians with similar conflicts and there are many great discussions on this topic published in the field.

This realization came from an examination of the Code of Ethics from the perspective of several different ethical and moral philosophies, including deontological ethics, utilitarian ethics, virtue ethics, care ethics, and critical ethics.  Learning about the history and cultural aspects of each of these allowed me to see some issues with the ALA code and also led me to examine how I acted in regards to certain aspects of it.  It helped reading philosophical case studies to understand the framework for examining ethics, such as Christie, Groarke, and Sweet (2007) and their critique and examination of the different philosophical views of supervised injection sites and needle exchange programs.  Understanding how to apply multiple philosophies to a single issue opened my eyes to how something might both be "good" and not good at the same time. 

Critical ethics, in particular, really helped me see how system-based problems were causing moral conundrums in my own personal life.  Beyond my example above regarding the ALA Code of Ethics, I was brought back to when I worked at law firms and how I found sometimes that doing what was legal and playing everything by the book sometimes meant that people were not held accountable (or fully accountable) to their actions and choices.  Further more, the system could be exploited by those who knew how to use it which gave some individuals an unfair advantage.  Perhaps a little harder for me to examine, because I love my work team and have seen an unfortunate divide, was the idea of work systems not always being designed for interprofessional or interdepartmental work as described by Irvine, Kerridge, McPhee, and Freemen (2002).  

The most profound learning experience I had in this course was through the reading of The Path and the completion of the Personal Ethics Story.  As I was reading The Path, I found myself flagging every page it seemed for something else that I thought needed more examining or expressed ideas and practices so well that I needed to come back to them.  This book described a philosophy of small choices we can make each day in order to lead the “good life.”  It’s a book that helps break down becoming virtuous into manageable practices and describes how philosophers intended their philosophies to be acted upon with examples parallel to everyday experiences (Puett & Gross-Loh, 2016).  I expect I will be experiencing changes from this book for a long time.  In the short term, I’ve already been able to reexamine interactions and occurrences at work with more patience, and I’ve been carrying less negative weight from moments during the day.

In Conclusion: An Ethical Leader

All of this has led to me beginning to illustrate, to myself, what an ethical leader is so I can begin to plan for my own professional growth.  To me, an ethical leader is someone who wants to do what’s best for the majority of people (employees and library users, to use a more exact example), but also understands how to value the virtues of individuals and communities in order to provide the best service.  While I think libraries in general are in a constant state of evolution towards democratic and social good, it is important to me that an ethical leader also consider more immediate actions of “good.”

References

American Library Association. (2021, June 29). Professional ethics. https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics 

Christie, T., Groarke, L., Sweet, W. (2007). Virtue ethics as an alternative to deontological and consequential reasoning in the harm reduction debate. International Journal of Drug Policy, 19(2008), 52-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/.drugpo.2007.11.020 

Irvine, R., Kerridge, I., McPhee, J., & Freeman, S. (2002). Interprofessionalism and ethics: Consensus or clash of cultures?. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820220146649 

Puett, M., & Gross-Loh, C. (2016). The path: What Chinese philosophers can teach us about the good life. Simon & Schuster.

6 Word Stories & SELs

 This week we learned a lot about incorporating global awareness and global education into STEM courses.  One of our assignments was a presentation to administration, school board, parents, etc. regarding globalizing a classroom.  While I was preparing it, I was thinking about how much prep time that would take for educators individually which made choosing my "Professional Learning NOW" unit through Discovery Education easy.  I chose: Empowering Educators: Teaching Social Emotional Learning in Content Areas.

My three 6 word stories about this unit are from different perspectives across the school.

As a Librarian: Provide social awareness resources for all!

As a Teacher: Identify CASEL competency before planning lesson.

As any Educator: SELs are not separate learning opportunities.

The lesson as a whole was outlined in a way to help a teacher insert one of CASEL's five competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making) into lesson plans.  SELs (social and emotional learning) do not have to be separate from core competencies.  Instead, we can combine them to create fulfilling and enrichening lessons for students.

For each of my 6 word stories, I reviewed the unit again with that perspective in mind.  What I found was that it was, perhaps obviously, more geared towards teachers than for librarians.  However, as a librarian I did also find some helpful information because this is not an area I would have known needed support without reviewing this content.

When thinking about an SOS to help teachers with SELs, I think the "They Said What?" SOS provides an excellent framework.  Students can explore any event -- historical, present, or entirely fictional -- to role-play or create dialogues.  Acting as another not only helps students explore issues such as social awareness, but it also lets them learn about a different time or place and experience it creatively.

One way I would love to incorporate 6 word stories with students in an online class is through one of the English classes I am frequently embedded in.  Students have to choose a human rights issue from somewhere outside of the USA to research for their final paper.  It could help them empathize or become passionate about their chosen subject if before deciding they wrote 6 word stories for three or four different ones and then chose the one that spoke to them the most.  Perhaps that is something I can suggest incorporating this year, with the added bonus that by helping them with this I am helping them become globally aware citizens!