Book club week! And boy, was it not only a good learning experience, but it was fun! After breaking up into our separate book club rooms, we had to find someone to kick off the class session. No one was speaking up, per se, and Kara and I had brought candy and had an activity planned to go with our Hansel and Gretel story, so I volunteered us to go first. While our reflection will go into more detail, I felt we did a great job in our book club (this sentiment was also found in our evaluations). The candy and drawing activity went over well, and it felt like those two things energized the group - good for the first book club of the night. We had no issues with getting people to talk, and in fact one of our criticisms on our evaluations was that we cut people off. This was partially intentional - the time for our club went incredibly fast and we wanted to make sure we had discussed enough topics. All in all, the book club was enjoyable and fun. One thing we did differently than every other group was split our discussion up; half was us discussing the story and the other half was discussing how we would use this in a youth book club as YA librarians. It was a unique twist on the book club and one which I thought worked well.
The other book clubs, those of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, The Landlady by Roald Dahl, The Four Habits of Highly Effective Librarians by Todd Gilman, and the Nightingale and The Rose by Oscar Wilde, all went really well. It was interesting to see how others approached their story or article, and interesting that only one group chose to discuss an academic article as opposed to a children's story. The largest challenge I saw for all groups was the issue of time (wanting to get questions in and going over, or having to modify plans as we did while going along). Each book club was unique, however and I felt we delved into all of the topics thoroughly.
Overall, it was a great activity and I definitely learned what to do differently next time - especially on issues of timing and bringing out more voices in the discussion. It went well!
Showing posts with label book clubs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book clubs. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Reflection of February 21, 2011 Class
Ah yes, it seems so long ago, the month of February and our wonderful guest speaker Vicki Brown, and our discussion of book clubs and socratic seminars. But, what a great class. Vicki was a tremendous asset to our topic and brought such practical knowledge it is hard to imagine what just reading about library book clubs in a book would be like. I learned a lot of valuable information from her and her handouts. The book club kits were a new idea to me and I found myself thinking of lots of ways that communities could engage via this type of book club format (across disciplines, workplaces, schools, community centers, etc.).
One thing I'm particularly focused on right now is engaging teens with libraries which is why Susan's question was interesting to me. I am a HUGE believer that we need to empower youth however we can, and was slightly disappointed to hear that the teen book club program was primarily run by librarians instead of teens. I understand why at least it would need to start that way but see the book club as a way for teens to bring one another into the library instead of librarians leading all the time. Of course the librarians can still promote and monitor the sessions, but I think teens can do anything and should have the opportunity to. Other than that (which wasn't even part of Vicki's presentation) I loved it and learned a lot!
Our discussion about book clubs and socratic seminars was also very interesting. It was helpful to learn about the types of questions, and then employ this while developing our own book club questions. It was also pretty awesome to hear the socratic seminar modeled in class... it was a great way to see the possibilities involved in this method in a real way. I did not ever really participate in such an activity in my schooling so it was helpful to both read about and see this in action! Now, I'm excited to run our book club!
One thing I'm particularly focused on right now is engaging teens with libraries which is why Susan's question was interesting to me. I am a HUGE believer that we need to empower youth however we can, and was slightly disappointed to hear that the teen book club program was primarily run by librarians instead of teens. I understand why at least it would need to start that way but see the book club as a way for teens to bring one another into the library instead of librarians leading all the time. Of course the librarians can still promote and monitor the sessions, but I think teens can do anything and should have the opportunity to. Other than that (which wasn't even part of Vicki's presentation) I loved it and learned a lot!
Our discussion about book clubs and socratic seminars was also very interesting. It was helpful to learn about the types of questions, and then employ this while developing our own book club questions. It was also pretty awesome to hear the socratic seminar modeled in class... it was a great way to see the possibilities involved in this method in a real way. I did not ever really participate in such an activity in my schooling so it was helpful to both read about and see this in action! Now, I'm excited to run our book club!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Book Clubs and Socratic Seminars: Hoffert, Tredway, Metzger and Dalton - In That Order
I decided to read the articles in order this week, something I rarely do but realized I probably should. It was a valuable strategy for this week's topic: Book Clubs and Socratic Seminars.
So, I started with Hoffert's "The Book Club Exploded." Funny, because I just joined a book club about a year ago. It was an informal way for me to make friends with some women after I moved back into Ann Arbor. Our reason for gathering was that all of our significant others played rugby and we always found ourselves at the same gatherings but wanted a way to get to know one another better. This is just a side note, but it was how I connected this weeks' topic to my own prior knowledge. The idea of book clubs in libraries (oddly enough) hadn't really occurred to me, so Hoffert's piece about the diversity of Book Clubs was really fascinating to me.
I had also never considered a book club where not everyone actually read the same book but instead read books or pieces around a theme, genre or subject. Her discussion of how this is good for libraries (where the library doesn't have to purchase several copies of the same book) make just TONS of sense. Not only financially, but also allowing the book club members to explore topics and have truly indepth, active discussions where they would learn more by connecting themes across several pieces of writing.
The different ways that book clubs can engage - over different types of texts, within different demographics, over meals, with the author - also was a great way to think about book clubs. However, I thought the most genius idea - especially for public libraries - was to connect book clubs with library or citywide events. This could be a great way for libraries to "stay relevent" and connect with their communities. They can bring in new audiences and help create a more active community in this way.
Second, I read the Tredway article on a new term to me: Socratic Seminars. The idea of such a way to engage students by having a "structured discourse about ideas and moral dilemmas" shows that the Socratic Seminar is far more than a discussion about the plot of a book. The questions in a Socratic Seminar actually make students think - evaluating options and making decisions - based on what they read. One thing I really took from this was that the instructor is a facilitator, one who lets students ask their own questions and guides them along the way.
I liked how Tredway discussed the students interacting in "intellectual discourse" by observing their classmates contributions and learning to paraphrase (something that definitely will come in handy as they continue their studies). Further the teacher's role to guide students toward a deeper understanding and respecting other's points of view are other skills that are applicable in the real world (further education or in work).
That all of this actually leads to high-end thinking seems most important.
The third piece I read really tied the idea of book clubs and Socratic Seminars together. Metzger's idea to modify the Socratic Seminar into a student-led empowerment initiave was the culmination of what a good book club (led by the readers) and a formal Socratic Seminar would do. As a teacher, she couldn't actually see what students were comprehending - even in a Socratic Seminar she saw too much ritualistic question and answer - so she allowed students to engage with and develop their own learning strategies. She allowed students to facilitate one another and stepped out of the process enough so that students were really engaging with one another (high-level for freshman!) and let them talk out issues without the precsense of the formal adult.
Metzger's piece was inspiring because as librarians, we can do this. We can easily slip out of the role of a formal instructor and step into a role that facilitates learning through informal deep processes. We can allow readers a place to engage and we can lead at the beginning, but then really step back and allow the book club, socratic seminar, whatever you want to call it, to happen. It shows that formal rules can be broken in a good way and that reader conversation can truly develop with a bit of structure and a lot of intention.
The Dalton piece - are we supposed to comment on this? - was pretty interesting - I have a feeling we're using it to model Socratic Seminar in class. So, I won't comment too much except that I have seen this situation directly at the UM Library. My previous job was assisting the Director of a few libraries at UM and several of the meetings for which I took notes involved discussion of prices of serials going through the roof, sustainability and Google digitization. It will be interesting to hear my peers thoughts on this article, as well as open access and the DLPA in class...
So, I started with Hoffert's "The Book Club Exploded." Funny, because I just joined a book club about a year ago. It was an informal way for me to make friends with some women after I moved back into Ann Arbor. Our reason for gathering was that all of our significant others played rugby and we always found ourselves at the same gatherings but wanted a way to get to know one another better. This is just a side note, but it was how I connected this weeks' topic to my own prior knowledge. The idea of book clubs in libraries (oddly enough) hadn't really occurred to me, so Hoffert's piece about the diversity of Book Clubs was really fascinating to me.
I had also never considered a book club where not everyone actually read the same book but instead read books or pieces around a theme, genre or subject. Her discussion of how this is good for libraries (where the library doesn't have to purchase several copies of the same book) make just TONS of sense. Not only financially, but also allowing the book club members to explore topics and have truly indepth, active discussions where they would learn more by connecting themes across several pieces of writing.
The different ways that book clubs can engage - over different types of texts, within different demographics, over meals, with the author - also was a great way to think about book clubs. However, I thought the most genius idea - especially for public libraries - was to connect book clubs with library or citywide events. This could be a great way for libraries to "stay relevent" and connect with their communities. They can bring in new audiences and help create a more active community in this way.
Second, I read the Tredway article on a new term to me: Socratic Seminars. The idea of such a way to engage students by having a "structured discourse about ideas and moral dilemmas" shows that the Socratic Seminar is far more than a discussion about the plot of a book. The questions in a Socratic Seminar actually make students think - evaluating options and making decisions - based on what they read. One thing I really took from this was that the instructor is a facilitator, one who lets students ask their own questions and guides them along the way.
I liked how Tredway discussed the students interacting in "intellectual discourse" by observing their classmates contributions and learning to paraphrase (something that definitely will come in handy as they continue their studies). Further the teacher's role to guide students toward a deeper understanding and respecting other's points of view are other skills that are applicable in the real world (further education or in work).
That all of this actually leads to high-end thinking seems most important.
The third piece I read really tied the idea of book clubs and Socratic Seminars together. Metzger's idea to modify the Socratic Seminar into a student-led empowerment initiave was the culmination of what a good book club (led by the readers) and a formal Socratic Seminar would do. As a teacher, she couldn't actually see what students were comprehending - even in a Socratic Seminar she saw too much ritualistic question and answer - so she allowed students to engage with and develop their own learning strategies. She allowed students to facilitate one another and stepped out of the process enough so that students were really engaging with one another (high-level for freshman!) and let them talk out issues without the precsense of the formal adult.
Metzger's piece was inspiring because as librarians, we can do this. We can easily slip out of the role of a formal instructor and step into a role that facilitates learning through informal deep processes. We can allow readers a place to engage and we can lead at the beginning, but then really step back and allow the book club, socratic seminar, whatever you want to call it, to happen. It shows that formal rules can be broken in a good way and that reader conversation can truly develop with a bit of structure and a lot of intention.
The Dalton piece - are we supposed to comment on this? - was pretty interesting - I have a feeling we're using it to model Socratic Seminar in class. So, I won't comment too much except that I have seen this situation directly at the UM Library. My previous job was assisting the Director of a few libraries at UM and several of the meetings for which I took notes involved discussion of prices of serials going through the roof, sustainability and Google digitization. It will be interesting to hear my peers thoughts on this article, as well as open access and the DLPA in class...
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