More on the Pivotal Task of Reflection in the EE Process

Gathering my "sparkles" from the Extended Essay Workshop I have attended.  

Sparkle 1: Reflection on the RPPF: Takeaways from the Two Videos

As previously discussed and taken up in Modules 1 and 2, reflection and metacognition are highly cognitive tasks. The manner in which the skills are acquired can be derived in natural environments such as social interactions from home and family life, friends and peers and the larger community. Like language and literacy skills acquisition, it requires formal instruction, thus, the RRS and RPPF in the EE are set in place and marked following a criterion. Beyond the numbers, reflection and metacognition permeate the EE process which becomes a set of skills learned by students who explore and investigate topics they are passionate to know more about.

The supervisor's important role in the 3 phases of reflection in the EE is an opportunity to teach, guide and mentor. Each phase has a role in learning to write an academic paper for the first time: setting directions and clearing the path; being aware of roadblocks and finding out ways to overcome them; recognizing mistakes and victories, big and small that contribute to becoming a life long learner. Indeed, the part where reflection is concerned in the EE process is a growth for the individual student and the supervisor as well. This is core to being and becoming. This is beyond marks and grades received internally and externally.

In my interviews and guided sessions with students, and when I dialogue with them from the First Reflection; to the Interim and the Viva Voce, I will be more aware of the feelings that students articulate and the breakthroughs they made. I will value the check-in sessions since these act as bridges or ways of follow through in learning; connecting prior knowledge and making sure that the writing has integrity.

Sparkle 2: Reflection on Assessment

The most challenging part of working around the EE and supervising students to reach the finish line is the idea that of external examination. The idea alone is challenging, yes. A decade and counting in the IB, I have taken the external exams as a measure to check our quality of instruction ensuring that IB standards and requirements are met. This informs policy, practice and philosophy. It is a form of assessment and evaluation that removes complacency and pushes teachers and the school community to continuously grow. In an ever changing world, we cannot afford to not develop.

Keeping this in mind, I see the assessments in the EE as highly formative. It is a long haul though, therefore in between the three reflections, check-ins are just as important. It is in this little moments when strategies and techniques in thinking and learning are fortified, flowing into routines or habits. This in turn becomes culture.

As an EE Supervisor, I need to pay attention on my supervisee's process of choosing a topic, or how  she/he arrived in that decision; how the RQ presents an arguement that can be defended or proven with the intelligent and responsible use of sources. It is at this point when timelines and self management skills need to be observed. And for the next meeting, which is the check-in, I will look for report on progress. This period can be a long wait, so the Reflection Space can be utilized to monitor if the student is working or not. 

In the Interim, as the student reaches the writing of the EE, more reflections can be had and learning gains can be reaped. It is noteworthy to look at the metacognitive skills of students as this juncture. Again, as a matter of formative assessment that can be given as feedback, this is information that students will value. Thus, reaching the final draft of the EE and the Viva Voce, supervisor and student can look back at an experience that had been challenging but difficult.

Writing my final report based on my supervisee's RPPF would be a task I will look forward to.

Pilgrim's Pit Stop: Living in the Now

Of the many things I learned in my years of being active in Magis Deo, it is the acknowledgement that God is present in my life. Thanks to the teachings during Community Celebrations and the offerings of recollections and Ignatian Retreats by Magis Deo, what seemed to be an abstract and surreal is made real by praying the Examen every day, journaling, reflection and attendance to prayer workshops. These formation activities deepened my relationship with God. What gives me comfort and grace in prayer is always the discovery of living in the now with God beside me.

This recognition of God as my constant companion, caring and forgiving, humorous and kind eases my worries. I worried a lot back in the day. But with this newfound image and relationship with Him, I learned to worry less. I learned to pray on my worries.

And amazingly, God replies in more ways than one. A call or private message (PM) from dear friends who read one of my cryptic social media post. A good news from the eldest who lives away in college. The sun shining in the morning after days of heavy rain. The tree frog that rests languidly on a branch of our avocado tree. The butterflies that circle the white flowers growing in our front yard. Even the sun setting and spraying the sky colors of pink and indigo is God's way of saying, rest now Zarah, for tomorrow, we battle on together.

Once, my boss had the kindness and humility to make me an espresso during "hell" week in school. She knows coffee would calm me down. God was there at that moment when she handed me the cup of hot espresso. It was God telling me to chill and that the line dividing supervisor and subordinate is a man-made law. In the end of all the deadlines and deliverables, we are all hard working people who need a break. I see God in my daughter who takes candid pictures of me when I am in a pensive mood. I am assured. There is someone who will constantly keep an eye out for me. When BCGG prayer companions patiently listen to my reflections and recurring struggles, God is there listening too. Even in the spats and quarrels I have with my husband, petty or serious it may be, God is there shaking, disturbing and awakening us.

At times when I feel He is far away, too distant to be reached and felt, or missing in the little and simple events of daily life, I go back to this memory I have of God as a warm energy embracing me. This happened in a silent retreat I had with the help of a lay formator from the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at San Jose Seminary. That was a powerful experience!

This was five years ago and the feeling remains clear in my mind. This I know. God is here. God is in the now.

The Lighthouse Diary Entry 8: Taking a step backward

Around July last year, I was inspired to star a new blog entry about the work I do in the Beacon Academy. I had seven entries and here is a brief review of each.

Entry 1 - Collaboration and Collaborative Teaching Strategies - where I wrote about the challenges that collaboration entails plus, links to different teaching strategies.

Entry 2 - Desires, Passions and the World's Greatest Need - thoughts on the inspirational talk of Mr. Bobbit Suntay, one of our Board of Trustees and my response: to give a library orientation to our Griffins that deals about library issue I deeply care about. The importance of reading. The role of libraries in this day and age. The aspect of community in library development.

Entry 3 - The Theory of Knowledge Tree - how we responded and tried understanding the fruits of the Palawan Cherry tree that grows in the school campus.

Entry 4 - My Life as a Teacher Librarian - reflection on my roles as teacher librarians. I have been a part of the Beacon Academy community since it started out in the Binan campus (2011). Seven years! I was a different person back then and the roles I hold as teacher librarian has changed too.

Entry 5 - Research and High School Students - reflections on the reference work, readers services and on the counter instruction, direct and indirect.

Entry 6 - Student Made Zines in the Library - stretching the boundaries of school collection development, I am also responsible for the documentation and archiving purposes of students' works.

Entry 7 - Defining Research - more reflections on research. It never ends. Reflection. But it is the Action part that really makes reflection a worthy endeavour.

And now I begin another year of reflections on library work, teaching, research, working with teachers and students. Writing about them gives meaning to this little life I lead. I don't know what topics and issues I will be writing about. In cases like this, I trust my gut.

Life is a box of chocolates, said Forest Gump's mom. I will let life surprise me in all its flavours!

IB Online Workshop: Reflections on the Extended Essay

Sharing with you, dear readers, the reflections I have on the IB online workshop I am participating in for the past two weeks. This workshop is about the Role of the Supervisor in the Extended Essay (EE). I am not supervising a student's EE, but in Beacon Academy, I am part of the coordinating team helping and supporting teachers in the EE journey. 

 Something new that I learned about the extended essay: 
 * I am not the only one concerned with students' imbibing the values and codes of conduct that are essential in writing the EE. This gives me comfort. :-) To be in the company peers, colleagues and professionals in the IB and interacting with them is a big support for a learner like myself. There is more reason to teach and learn collaboratively.  

 * The EE is a process oriented task and therefore, reflecting on the process leads to learning beyond the subject and the topic of choice for investigation.  

 * Reflection happens or occurs in all phases of the EE, from the initial check-in sessions to the interim and final stage of the EE. That is why, reflection skills and strategies in teaching need to be planned and implemented in the context of the learner at the forefront of instruction.  

 * Formative assessments are the built-in structures that can firm up reflection and metacogntion. Some of the things I need to think about again are the current library services and programs we offer to our teachers and students that contribute to the development and strengthening of ATLs, also known as life skills. The value of reflection is for the development of skills in lifelong learning.

A Year After My Stroke of Luck

Finding inner peace can be a struggle.

When I was a still a school librarian in Xavier School, a classroom teacher became one of my assistants. She came from a long leave of absence after a minor stroke that rendered her insecure and fearful. While she tried her best to work alongside the healthier staff of the library, her moods and temperament swung from left to right. She couldn’t keep up with the entire demands and energy of the preschool community thus, the work assigned to her were few and light. Hoping this would give her the time and the pace to recoup, gather up her strength and go back to full time teaching for the next school year, she wallowed in self pity. It affected her work output and productivity. She became a burden to many on days when she was down.

It had not been easy for all of us, most especially for me as I was the librarian-in-charge of that library located in the early childhood education unit of the school. One day, she told me of her desire to go back to classroom teaching because, she utterly felt useless in the library. She believed she was meant to teach. Her health has stabilised somewhat according to her doctor. To go back in the classroom would renew her self confidence and vigor.

Who was I to prevent her? The next school year, she was moved back to the Grade School department to the relief of the staff and the teachers who endured her for one academic year.

I remember her now because today is the first year anniversary of my Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). How easy it had been for me to dismiss faith and belief to someone who survived a stroke. Indeed, putting one’s self in the shoes of another is very different from experiencing a life changing event. The emotional and psychological recovery takes time. I remember her now with the realization of how fragile our bodies are, more so, our feelings and state of mind.

Now I know how it is to be insecure and afraid. To lie in bed, begging for sleep to come but worry hovers and keeps me awake for hours; to cling and to seek friends who would patiently listen to my complaints. The irrepressible Zarah Gagatiga is no more but a vulnerable woman afraid to die at any moment. There are days when, after a productive day at work, fear would gnaw at my insides and it would leave me exhausted until either of my kids or my husband assures and pacifies me. Telling me and reminding me of my worth. That I am loved. That I am not alone. I doubted myself a lot since the stroke. My prayer to God had been a litany of endurance and survival. Nahihiya na nga na ako sa Dios because, there are instances when I have become blind to the graces, the mercy and the blessings that came my way since the TIA.

At Nuvali on Easter, 2017

Yet, God’s love is stronger than my fears. Walang hangan ang kanyang pasensya. Walang katapusan ang kanyang pagmamahal.

Everyday, He continues to give me the grace to see the kindness in people and to bask in the glory and the goodness of His creation.

Despite myself, I pray for humility and a forgiving heart.

I wish I had been kinder to that former colleague of mine. No one knows if I will see her again. But, I resolve to live life one day at a time; to be simply grateful for every breath and for every waking moment; to be kind and to do goodness for as long as I live.

Links to The Janus Project 2015: Year End Reflections

The writing assignment I committed to doing is finally complete! I posted my reflections in my other blog, The Coffee Goddess, since the themes of the reflections were all very personal. Besides, the blog has been dormant for a year or more. Posting my reflections there is a way to revive the blog. So, for personal stuff I make public, it all goes to the TCG blog.

I am cross posting the links here in School Librarian In Action, because this blog has a following.

Where I wrote about accomplishments and highlights of 2015.

Where I wrote about failures and mistakes made in 2015.

Where I wrote about growing old as a game changer .

Where I wrote about the three things I spent my energies on.

Where I wrote about things lost and found.

If you are inspired by any of the entries, don't stop yourself from writing one. The assignment involved a lot of thinking, a lot of time. The result is clarity of thought and an amplification of the values that we hold dear.

It was worth doing.

The Janus Project 2015 - 2016

Here is a writing project I mean to do in the coming days. Before January 1, I will be posting 10 highlights and disappointments of 2015. In the first week of January, I will be writing about the three 3s: game changers, things I focused on; and things I forgot. Whew.

This is going to be a lot of thinking. Like going on a retreat and filling up a journal. It can be stressful but, cathartic too. I call this the Janus Project as it will help me recollect my 2015 at the same time, push me on to 2016.

Thanks to Rica Bolipata Santos for this writing challenge!

Think Tank Project 2015: Revisiting Goals

Decluttering and decorating helps me think!

This year, I am applying a concept and a process that I have learned in one of our PD (professional development) sessions in school to actual library practice. I am calling this approach as the 2015 Think Tank Project where design thinking is the methodology I will use to plan programs and services for library patrons and users.

Design Thinking is espoused by David and Tom Kelly, authors of the book Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential With In Us All. It is a four cyclical process where participants go through periods of Inspiration, Ideation and Experimentation, Synthesis and Implementation. To strengthen the approach, I am applying Roger von Oech's Creative Whack Pack as strategies to see me through the entire process.

To start, I am looking at the services and programs the library staff has delivered for the first term. Picking out three "take aways" from an informal survey I conducted during in-service training, I will think through and reflect if the "take aways" and the library services and programs agree or adhere to each other. This way, I am able to analyze and explore current practices with insights from library patrons. The patrons I gathered insights from being the teachers.

From here, I write questions to ask myself and my staff. We will do this individually and as a group. These are the questions I have written:

a. How did the library support student research during the 1st term?
b. What helped teachers in facilitating research when they asked assistance from the teacher librarian?
c. What mechanism did the library staff use to inform the community of new resources?
d. How did the community respond to these mechanisms?

This is only the first part, which is Inspiration. Ideas and insight are generated from a context and/or a content. The questions I crafted help me Explore what is current and in front of me. This exploration is like a whack on the head (von Oeck) at seeing what is obvious. Sometimes, we can get answers to questions by looking at the resources we currently have.