I have followed the advice of Dianne McKenzie in Hong Kong and tracked my working days. I used Dianne's activity chart that she so very nicely put on her blog. After gathering all the data for two weeks, I consulted my Tech Ninja (copyrighted term: Adrienne Johnson at Rainbow Bridge International School, Shanghai) who also happens to be my 14-year-old daughter, and created a pie chart of my work. A link to the charts is at the end of this post.
I was disappointed but not too surprised by some of the results. The worst piece of the pie, in my opinion, is that I spent only 1% of my time teaching during those two weeks. I used Dianne's definition of teaching which was that I was the lead teacher in a lesson. Otherwise, the teaching I did fell under the categories of Cover for GLCs (Grade Level Coordinators) or Working with Students.
I was pleased with the amount of collaboration, but really that has just been attending meetings and helping homeroom teachers to identify what resources are available. On the bright side, I am able to attend grade level planning meetings! I have heard from many TLs that this option is not built into their schedule, so I am pleased to have this entry into what is happening in the classrooms.
After creating the chart, I realized that the next step was to identify exactly what I wanted my job to look like. I made a new chart that shows my dream job. I have a feeling that will change with time, but for now, my dream chart reflects my understanding of what my role should be within a PYP school.
This was a very useful process for me, so I highly recommend it to others. Track what you do, and you might be surprised! Thanks Dianne!
Teacher Librarian Activity Chart
Great stuff Eileen, I loved how you did the dream pie chart as well.
ReplyDeleteIt has reminded me that I need to do this again this year with changes that have occurred within our school and position.
Some things do come back as a surprise don't they!
Thanks, Dianne. I've actually made some changes in the past few weeks that I think will reflect on my chart. I plan to redo it in February or March and see what impact the changes have. I've been able to spend more time leading classes, and that was the ultimate goal of the whole exercise. Let's see what sticks!
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed by the way you have tailor made the job to suit your needs! Great chart :)
ReplyDeleteNaini Singh
Thank, Naini. I'm really glad I went through this process. It has paid off in terms of clarity of my role. Just have to convince the admin now!
ReplyDeleteEileen