Student Voice in the Library
Course
Training [9:00]
If you're getting ready to start a student leadership program through the library or a group of volunteers, you need to think about how you're going to train them to meet the expectations that you have set.
That's the perfect world, and then the reality tells us a little different. So, what we need to do as the leaders of this program or facilitators of this program, we need to be ready for that. If you've decided to add this program into your library, and congratulations for doing so, you need to have a plan because students are going to come to you excited and you may initially have a very clear expectation of what they're going to do and they may follow those expectations, but then they get comfortable and maybe you've added other students to the team. So, you need to create a program or a system that is going to be sustainable as students move through being part of this team.
There are lots of ways for students to get connected with what they need to do. Number one is you facilitating it, you guiding them, you modeling, you teaching, you taking the lead and making sure that students know what it is that they need to do.
That same process might happen if you have staff support in the library, maybe you have a support person who is willing to do that, who is going to train students, support students and so on. Don't assume that's the case. If you're lucky enough to have a support person, make sure you evaluate that relationship, the style of that person, the schedule of that person, so that you're not putting expectations on them that are really in a different direction than what they're used to.
So, make an assessment there if you think that's going to work or not. Either way, whether it's you or a support person or another adult, all of those adults, they have other things to do. So, we have to keep in mind that if the adult is telling the students what to do all the time, that's pulling the adult away from their other expectations.
There needs to be another model that's going to kick in after you've provided kind of a framework for these students. Assuming the students have been hired, or added to the team because of their willingness to be self-directed or try new things or learn new things, there needs to be a system in place to provide some on the job training. That might come in the form of turnkey training by other students.
I know in my program, what I do is I add a few students on a revolving schedule. So, I start with students who are more self-directed, and then each week I add a couple of students who will be trained by those students.
Again, it's not a perfect science. I still need to be involved. I still need to provide this framework and facilitate some of that training and expectations, but I do turn a lot over to other students. The on the job training might come in the form of a digital tutorial, maybe you post a tutorial that shows students how to complete a task, to start something, to try something new, to learn something new.
Depending on what your goal of their next job is, the tutorials might be a great way to do that. You could record that and expect all students to watch that. I've even seen people do the tutorials and have students take an assessment or a quiz or a response that demonstrates their understanding of what they're supposed to be doing.
Signage certainly helps, but if your students are like most of the students I've ever worked with, sometimes they don't read the signs. Sometimes they don't read the directions. Assuming that might happen, (yes, that's sarcasm), so assuming that might happen you need to have a plan B. So, if students who come into volunteer aren't really clear on what they're supposed to do, the signage may help. But, it might not be the only way to go.
Again, if you're using Google Classroom or a website or some digital presence, maybe the expectations are outlined there and students have to sign in or watch these tutorials or participate in some training. There are lots of models that you can do, but again, providing that support so students who are willing and able don't ever feel like they weren't even sure what they were supposed to do. We want students to feel positively empowered, not like we got them or we left them out of the instructions.
The team approach has been very successful for me; a student-team approach, peer to peer. So, I might throw out a problem that needs to solved and say I need four students to help get this task done or this project done or start working on this concept, and let students decide how are they going to work it, because a lot of the leadership training I'm trying to provide is to get students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
Sometimes, I purposely don't give them specific guidelines so that they can start to figure things out. Show exemplars, let kids see what other kids have done, or what you've done so that they can say, I'd like a banner that looks like this; notice the color, notice the clarity of the letters, notice the spelling is correct. Show them what you're looking for and then they can align their task to what you want or what needs to be done, maybe get them started and then let them finish it, maybe have a conversation.
There's lots of ways where you can keep kids equipped with what they need and the skills and the information without feeling like you need to be with them every minute of every shift that they come in. Volunteers can help depending on your school setup. Sometimes, there's middle school kids who are near elementary school kids, or you have volunteer community members.
So, depending on the setup of your school, there might be other adults who could provide that guidance and support. But again, make sure that you're in conversation with those folks ahead of time so you both have a clear vision on how the student leadership program is going to work.
Let them figure it out. I mean kids of all ages, especially kids who are pursuing a new opportunity, sometimes really want to be left alone to figure things out. Let them become self-directed problem solvers. There will always be some diverging paths along the way where students have lost focus of the task at hand, but as long as they're not counterproductive and there's conversation and work being attempted to accomplish a bigger task, maybe let them go a little bit and take that off your need to be involved in every step of the way.
Be realistic, too. You may expect something that you could get done in a half hour. It may take a group of students three or four work times together to actually resolve a problem. Be okay with letting some tasks go. For example, I have a newsletter project that I've been working on since September and by, I've been working on, I gave it to a group of students and it's February, and we still have not made that come to life.
I've decided that that's something they can figure out. They can work through it and it wasn't a high priority, it was an add-on. I just stepped away a little bit and decided that, "You know what? They're plugging away. They forget to save things. They forget to share things. There's been a lot of learning curves along the way, but the end result may be successful, may not.' If I felt like it was a 100% priority, I would certainly jump in and redirect them.
But when those extra projects surface that you can give them the opportunity to succeed or maybe fail or a little combination, I think that's a great way to provide some real-life training. Think like, you are an adult, think about how you learn best and what do you do when you get frustrated. If somebody just turns you loose on a task, how would you want to be supported to complete that task? Would you be frustrated? Would you get bored? How do you get the resources you need to move forward?
We've got a lot of kids who are resilient and are very willing to jump in and solve a problem. Also, let them be part of the deciding what they are going to do. Sometimes, when they're giving very restricted list, they will do the minimal; when they're given some options of bigger concepts and bigger problems that need to be solved, sometimes, the energy and the willingness to create things will amaze you.
So, if you're getting ready to start a student leadership program through the library or a group of volunteers, you need to think about how you're going to train them to meet the expectations that you have set.
Although student leadership is a tenet of Sue Kowalski's library helpers program, its success depends on clear and supportive guiding, modeling, teaching, and leading from the school librarian. This lesson offers ways to bring students into the program through librarian-led and student-led training, including frameworks, tutorials, guidelines, and signage. Again, student voice is a focus, with projects, schedules, and assignments developed and executed according to student interest and motivation. Another element of the program introduced in this lesson is the importance of being realistic and flexible.
This lesson exhibits the flexibility and trust in students that drive Kowalski's student library helper program. As you review samples of library help materials (as provided in Lesson 3), you'll notice a range of systems, from very loose and flexible to strict and tightly managed. Depending on your library, teaching and management style, and student needs, your system will likely be unique to you. For this activity, reflect on your comfort level with the types of training and activities described in this lesson. Here are some questions to consider:
- What level of supervision will your helpers require?
- How might you handle training—class session, tutorials, students teaching peers?
- What day-to-day preparation for students might be needed, and how much time do you have to spend on this prep?
- What behavior will you expect during helper visits?
- What level of accountability will you expect from helpers? What jobs "must" be done versus jobs that would be "nice" to have done?
- What level of independence are you comfortable with for student-led projects and activities?
- What other help programs are currently in place in the school (art, guidance, gym/sports) that might serve as examples for how teachers and students work together at your school?
MLA Citation
Morris, Rebecca J. "Student Voice in the Library: Helping the Helpers Succeed." School Library Connection, October 2024, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078599?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405.
Entry ID: 2142765
Additional Resources
About the Author
MLA Citation
Kowalski, Susan. "Student Voice in the Library. Training [9:00]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, December 2017, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078599?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078599?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405
Entry ID: 2078599