Practicum Journal Staff Orientation

Monday, September 20, 2004 – 3 hours

This summer in the Reference Services course, I had to design an in-service.  I tried to think of something that I actually could use later within the high school.  I met with the building principal over the summer, and we discussed some ideas.  Due to the lack of a full-time media specialist at Mentor High School, (MHS), sophomores would no longer receive a library orientation presentation.  I designed my in-service for the sophomore English teachers, with the intent of giving them the resources to teach library orientation on their own.  I created the in-service materials for the Reference course, hoping that I could give the in-service as part of my practicum experience.

One of my practicum goals is to gain more experience in creating partnerships between a media specialist and the building teaching staff.   I copied all of the hand-outs and set up the necessary projection equipment.  A majority of the English department, not just sophomore teachers attended.   I was extremely nervous, even though a group of fifteen people is a lot less than a classroom full of students.  I think my nervous energy showed, as I sped through the material.  I also began to worry during my presentation because two of the teachers actually fell asleep. 

The in-service program was supposed to last two hours after the contract day.  Before I was finished with the first hour of the presentation, teachers began getting up and leaving before the first hour was complete.  I remember feeling frustrated at the end of the first hour of the presentation.  Two colleagues slept, and three others just walked out twenty minutes early!  At the time I was frustrated and upset with myself, thinking that these things were my fault.  Now that I’ve had more time to reflect I’ve realized that the other staff members got a lot out of the presentation, and those that didn’t were acting because of who they were and not because of what I was or wasn’t doing.

The second hour of the in-service was optional and ten teachers stayed.  Using some of the resources I had gone over in the presentation, teachers searched online to find materials to help with their teaching assignments.  Most people found great resources and left the second hour with some things they could use in the classroom this year.  Unfortunately, there were three tech-phobic teachers who got frustrated and complained every time a link didn’t work.  At the time, their loud complaints made me feel like somehow I was a failure.  I’ve reflected since then and realized that the other seven people had wonderful resources and were very thankful for the information and the time that we took to apply it to their teaching.

Monday, October 11, 2004 – 3 hours

This session was opened up to all staff members, but only five teachers attended.  I was a lot more relaxed while presenting and during the second hour, the teachers were less shy of using the computers.  This let them take setbacks like broken links in stride, without frustrating them.  Three of the teachers were from the special education department, and they left with a lot of resources that they could use.  Another teacher was a long-term substitute from the business department who was struggling to find lesson plans and resources.  He found some good lesson plans, and it felt good to help him.  A member of the social studies department found a lot of government websites that he wasn’t aware of previously.  I felt a lot more comfortable and successful after this presentation.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004 – 3 hours

By the third presentation, I finally felt completely comfortable teaching my colleagues.  Seven staff members attended.  The first hour went well.  Teachers were engaged, attentive, and asked good questions.  Most of them stayed for the second hour.  The special education and business teachers were the most enthusiastic about the materials they found online.  I experienced a similar problem with the second hour of this section as with the first in-service.  A few of the male teachers began to pack up and left fifteen minutes early.  Once they left, the rest finished up and followed shortly after.  But, I don’t think that my instruction is to blame for my colleagues’ behavior.  This experience left me curious about how to work with staff members who “work to rule.” 

Some teachers want to do the minimum amount of work, and in the case of the in-service time, (that they were required to attend by the district); there are some staff members who work less than the minimum.  I’m definitely going to need to read more about how to teach an in-service.  I’m sure there are areas I can improve on; I don’t think the problems here are mine, but as a media specialist I will need to work with hesitant staff members.  Perhaps, I can read up on how to reach out to fellow staff members.

Finally, I reviewed the feedback given in the staff surveys.  (Results are below).  I was hoping to get more constructive criticism, since these presentations are a learning experience for me.  The feedback was very positive and the majority of the teachers learned something new and useful in their classrooms.  After reflecting on these presentations, I feel that they were a success, but the most important thing is that I will need to learn more about how to reach out to hesitant teachers.  This may be one of the greatest challenges when I begin my career as a media specialist.

Library Orientation In-Service Survey Results

Please rate the in-service.  Circle your choice.  1 is the lowest score and 5 is the highest.

20 surveys returned out of 27 attendees

Written Feedback for the Library Orientation In-service

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Last Update: July 1, 2005

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