Singapore Sunshine Day 4: IBAP Librarians Workshop Academic Honesty

On my fourth day in Singapore and the last day of the IBAP Workshop, we had the opportunity to have a round table discussion with Extended Essay (EE) Supervisors attending the IBAP EE Role of the Supervisor Workshop.It became a session of sharing of best practises and teaching techniques that work. I shared how, as a librarian, I would help students identify the keywords in their research question and use them as strategies in searching, locating, accessing and understanding information and its sources. The teachers found this an interesting technique. Happy to help! That’s why librarians are placed at the core of the Diploma Program (DP).

Concerns on time, academic work loads of students and self-management in the DP surfaced too. There is just too much content to handle in such a short time. While structures and mechanisms are in place, teachers are left tired and spent as much as their students. I am not alone then. The challenge of teaching is always the pressure to keep up or to be abreast with the way students learn and live. Teachers grow old, but their students are always young.

Another interesting session on the last day of the workshop was the session on Academic Honesty. My workshop leader had us do practical activities to teach the skills. We also had a group presentation that simulated a 10 minute presentation to teachers about Academic Honesty. We ended the day with the  writing of our action plans.

Participants of the IBAP Librarians Workshop in Singapore

I appreciate attending this IBAP Librarians Workshop as it gave me a clearer direction to set new goals for the library. I went home with an action plan and with a readiness to face the changes necessary to update and upgrade our library services and programs.