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ETL504 Assessment 2 Part B: Reflection

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This session has been incredibly difficult, with workload pressures leading to burnout. The challenges I’ve faced this session have highlighted the ways that effective leadership can support positive school culture, and this unit emphasised the importance of understanding leadership theory to advocate for our role to ensure effective practice.

One key idea is teacher-librarians should not be held back by their lack of formal leadership position, since good leaders have the vision and skills to inspire others to achieve a common goal and hold perceived influence regardless of title (Bush & Glover, 2014, p.554; Ezard, 2015; Gardner, 2013, p.18-19; Gleeson, 2016; Holmes et al., 2012, p.271, 276; Spencekao, 2013; Sutcliffe, 2013). Rather than relying on official authority, effective teacher-librarians should focus on developing a strong understanding of different leadership styles, integrating their traits to be responsive to their context’s specific needs (Bush & Glover, 2014, p.567; Smith, 2016, p.75-76). I greatly enjoyed learning about these leadership styles and recognised many aspects of Servant Leadership in my own practice (Lysaught, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c) due to its focus on service, community building, and empowering others (Arar & Oplatka, 2022, p.83-87; Blanchard & Broadwell, 2018; Crippen & Willows, 2019, p.171-172; Greenleaf, 2008, p.36). I particularly loved the ‘Continuum of Care’ concept (Reinsel Soulen, 2020), since showcasing my leadership by mentoring staff aligns well with my current position in the Teaching and Learning faculty.

   Image 1: Reinsel Soulen, 2020, p.39

However, despite my natural inclination towards Servant Leadership, this subject taught me it’s important to step outside my comfort zone to ensure effective practice and to be truly responsive to my community’s needs. Moving forward, I plan to also draw on the traits of Instructional and Transformational Leadership, with their focus on improving student outcomes through instructional quality, innovation, and reflective practice (Arar & Oplatka, 2022, p.3-5; Holmes et al., 2012, p.276; Moir et al., 2014, p.36, 39). For instance, these leadership styles can be integrated within our role as technology experts to support time-poor staff and demonstrate our value to our school community (Johnson, 2019):

Image 2: adapted from Johnson, 2019

In schools where misconceptions about our roles abound, ETL504 emphasised the importance of promoting the varied nature of our work and different ways we can leverage these leadership traits to advocate for our positions (Boyd, 2021; Jones, 2021). Reminding staff that our work extends beyond books – especially to technology and wellbeing – and that we can alleviate their workload is a key aspect of leading from the middle which I plan to integrate into my future practice (Lysaught, 2023d, 2023b, 2023e, 2023f). Module 5.3’s self-reflection was useful, identifying that I should improve my practice by leading staff professional learning and continued blogging (Lysaught, 2023f).

ETL504 revealed that ongoing strategic planning projects professionalism (Markless et al., 2016; Wong, 2012); reminding me “don’t get angry, get strategic” (Boyd, 2021).  I’ve improved my planning since my early amateur attempts (Lysaught, 2023h). Change fatigue and innovation overload are real threats in modern education (Clement, 2014; Dilkes et al., 2014; Holmes et al., 2012), and the various models summarised below were incredibly useful for understanding how to successfully manage change, allowing me to move forward in my own setting.

Image 3: Robbins et al., 2006

Image 4: adapted from Chow et al., 2019

Particularly, I found the focus on understanding stakeholder needs useful (Pratt, 2017). The two questions posed by Chow et al. (2019) and understanding resistance (Lancaster, 2019) will be at the forefront of my community consultation moving forward:

Image 5: adapted from Chow et al., 2019

Image 6: adapted from Lancaster, 2019

The importance of developing strong relationships with stakeholders, such as principals, was emphasised and helped me reframe my approach to ensure that my work was relevant to their vision. In future all library initiatives and budget submissions will align with the School Improvement Plan. Previously I’ve created an Annual Library Report, but didn’t know if my efforts were noticed (Lysaught, 2023i, 2023c). Inspired by ETL504, I created a Term 1 Library Snapshot which I published on social media, the newsletter, and library displays (Lysaught, 2023j) and received an email from the Principal thanking me.

Visibility is crucial!

Image 7: adapted from Softlink, 2017, p.3-11

 

 

Word count: 655

 

References:

Arar, K., & Oplatka, I. (2022). Advanced theories of educational leadership. Springer.

Blanchard, K., & Broadwell, R. (2018). Servant leadership in action. Berrett-Koehler.

Boyd, K. C. (2021). Advocacy: 2021 style & beyond. Knowledge Quest, 49(4), 26-31.

Bush, T. & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: What do we know? School Leadership and Management, 34(5), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2014.928680

Chow, A., Robinson, J., Paulus, L., Griffin, B., Smith, N. Z. & Watterman, A. (2019). From me to we: Seeing is believing. Knowledge Quest, 48(2), pp. E1-E7.

Clement, J. (2014). Managing mandated educational change. School Leadership & Management, 34(1), 39-51. https://doi:10.1080/13632434.2013.813460

Crippen, C. & Willows, J. (2019). Connecting teacher leadership and servant leadership: A synergistic partnership. Journal of Leadership Education, 18(2), pp. 171-180.

Dilkes, J., Cunningham, C. & Gray, J. (2014). The new Australian Curriculum, teachers and change fatigue. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(11). https://doi:10.14221/ajte.2014v39n11.4

Ezard, T. (2015). Building trust and collaboration – Tracey Ezard [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/kUkseAdKyek

Gardner, J. W. (2013). The nature of leadership. In M. Grogan (Ed.). The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership (3rd ed., pp. 17-27). John Wiley & Sons.

Gleeson, B. (2016, November 9). 10 unique perspectives on what makes a great leader. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2016/11/09/10-unique-perspectives-on-what-makes-a-great-leader/#276777b95dd1

Greenleaf, R. K. (2008). Greenleaf on Servant-Leadership: Who Is the Servant-Leader? The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 4(1), 31–37. https://doi.org/10.33972/ijsl.234

Holmes, K., Clement, J. & Albright, J. (2012). The complex task of leading educational change in schools. School Leadership & Management, 33(3), 270-283.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2013.800477

Johnson, D. (2019). The school librarian: Your ultimate digital resource. Educational Leadership, 76(5). https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-school-librarian-your-ultimate-digital-resource

Jones, A. (2021, May 6). School library advocacy: The time is now. Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/school-library-advocacy-the-time-is-now/

Lancaster, I. (2019, January 26). 5 strategies for managing change in schools. TeachThought. http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/5-strategies-for-managing-change-in-schools/

Lysaught, D. (2023a, March 12). ETL504 2.2 leadership theory. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/03/12/etl504-2-2-leadership-theory/

Lysaught, D. (2023b, March 21). ETL504 2.3: Promoting the teacher-librarian’s visibility and value. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/03/21/etl504-2-3-promoting-the-teacher-librarians-visibility-and-value/

Lysaught, D. (2023c, May 7). ETL504 5.2 & 5.3: Servant leadership. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/05/07/etl504-5-2-5-3-servant-leadership/

Lysaught, D. (2023d, April 8). ETL504 2.3: Leadership concept map. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/04/08/etl504-2-3-leadership-concept-map/

Lysaught, D. (2023e, March 5). ETL504 2.1: Organisation theory introduction. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/03/05/etl504-2-1-organisation-theory-introduction/

Lysaught, D. (2023f, February 25). ETL504 1.1: How school leaders can build hope and prevent teacher burnout. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/02/25/etl504-1-1-how-school-leaders-can-build-hope-and-prevent-teacher-burnout/

Lysaught, D. (2023g, May 7). ETL504 5.3 Future ready librarian self-reflection. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/05/07/etl504-5-3-future-ready-librarian-self-reflection/

Lysaught, D. (2023h, April 27). ETL504 Strategic planning and setting goals: An amateur’s journey. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/04/27/etl504-strategic-planning-and-setting-goals-an-amateurs-journey/

Lysaught, D. (2023i, March 5). Annual library report. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/03/05/annual-library-report-2022/

Lysaught, D. (2023j, May 2). ETL504 Advocacy and visibility. All You Read Is Love. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/allyoureadislove/2023/05/02/etl504-advocacy-and-visibility/

Markless, S., Bentley, E., Pavey, S., Shaper, S., Todd, S., Webb, C., & Webb, C. (Carol). (2016). The innovative school librarian (S. Markless, Ed.; Second edition.). Facet.

Moir, S., Hattie, J. & Jansen, C.  (2014). Teacher perspectives of ‘effective’ leadership in schools. Australian Educational Leader, 36(4), 36-40.

Pratt, A. (2017). The challenge of implementing change. SCIS Connections, (103). https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-103/the-challenge-of-implementing-change

Reinsel Soulen, R. (2020). The continuum of care. Knowledge Quest, 48(4). 36-42.

Robbins, S.P., Bergman, R., Stagg, I. & Coulter, M. (2006). Foundations of management. Pearson Education. In ETL504 Module 4. Strategic and Operational Planning. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Smith, B. (2016). The role of leadership style in creating a great school. SELU Research Review Journal, 1(1), 65-78. https://selu.usask.ca/documents/research-and-publications/srrj/SRRJ-1-1-Smith.pdf

Softlink (2017). School libraries share: Ideas for school-wide collaboration. https://www.softlinkint.com/assets/img/banners/Whitepaper_-_School_libraries_share_ideas_for_collaboration.pdf

spencekao. (2013, April 6). Instructional leadership. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efzXDk1–4w

Sutcliffe, J. (2013, September 24). The eight qualities of successful school leaders. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/sep/24/eight-qualities-successful-school-leaders

Wong, T. (2012). Strategic long-range planning. Library Media Connection, 31(2), 22-23.

ETL512 Assessment 2: Post 2 – Challenges, Advice, and Pathways to Becoming an Information Professional

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Establishing a career in the information sector can often involve taking a variety of pathways. Discuss the examples, pitfalls, barriers and advice provided by agency hosts on their career journey to becoming information professionals. Provide one professional development action you are going to take as a result of the study visits to support your career. Include a short discussion about why and how you will take this action and include examples of possible opportunities for this PD. (500 words)

The hosts at State Library Victoria’s Rare Book Collection (SLV), Lake Tuggeranong College (LTC) and Bundaberg Regional Libraries (BRL) provided valuable points about the challenges and possible pathways into a career in the information sector. 

One key challenge identified by SLV relates to staffing and budgets, threats to libraries worldwide (Morris, 2022; Softlink, 2022, p.6-7; Woodcock, 2023). Wee noted that increasing demand for their services  was not matched by financial or staffing support, and positions were increasingly filled by people without information sciences backgrounds. BRL revealed they’d had programs cut by Council. LTC also recognised hopelessness, exhaustion and feeling unappreciated as significant challenges, echoing research outlining the negative impacts of poor leadership on staff wellbeing (Cross, 2015,p.10, 13; International Literacy Association, 2022, p.5). This devaluation of expertise is replicated in my experience, where only 1/7 local schools has a substantive, full-time, trained teacher-librarian, and our library budget hasn’t increased since 2001. Staff at SLV and LTC recognised that time management and prioritising competing demands was another challenge, with Godfree and Korodaj advising prospective teacher-librarians to view our work as a “marathon, not a sprint”. 

Wee advised that good traits for staff include: love of learning; emotional intelligence; and strong interpersonal skills to deal with the public-facing aspect of the role.  LTC advised that key characteristics of effective teacher-librarians include: persistence; gentleness; emotional intelligence; being pushy in an appealing way; cheerfulness and warmth; maintaining calm under pressure; lateral thinking; authenticity; and knowing when to say no to avoid overstretching yourself. Wee noted that all core skills were transferable to different information settings and clearly there is significant cross-over in desirable personality traits for both settings.

Volunteering was one piece of advice given by both SLV and BRL. Wee and Harris both stated that volunteering allows prospective information professionals to network and develop visibility, improve their skills, and show enthusiasm. All three hosts emphasised the importance of advocacy and promotions in their work. BRL emphasised that providing relevant programs to meet user needs is crucial to their advocacy efforts, while both SLV and LTC affirmed that constant promotions were necessary to ensure that their relevant resources connected with users in a timely, effective manner. 

As a result of these hosts’ emphasis on the importance of advocacy and promotions, I will create a school library strategic plan. This will help me to advocate for my role in a professional manner (Markless et al., 2016, p.87) and implement positive change over 5 years, heeding the ‘marathon’ advice from LTC. Within this strategic plan I intend to focus on increasing the promotion of library resources and services to ensure that my users are aware of how I can support their needs. The NSW Department of Education has a free subscription to LinkedIn Learning, which has many courses on marketing and promotions (such as this one Introducing Social Media Marketing) which I can use to improve my library’s visibility and community engagement. Changing technology will also be a focus of my strategic plan, and as a member of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) I can access their professional learning (such as this one on Digital Trends). This strategic plan and continued professional development will help develop my key capacities in learning and teaching, management, leadership and collaboration, and community engagement (ALIA & Australian School Libraries Association, 2020, p.1-2).

Word count: 554

 

REFERENCES:

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA] & Australian School Libraries Association [ASLA]. (2016). ALIA-ASLA statement on teacher librarians in Australia. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-statement-teacher-librarians-australia

Cross, D. (2015). Teacher well-being and its impact on student learning [Slide presentation]. Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia. http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2633590/teacher-wellbeing-and-student.pdf

International Literacy Association. (2022). Librarianship and literacy [Literacy leadership brief]. http://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/the-essential-leadership-of-school-librarians.pdf

Markless, S., Bentley, E., Pavey, S., Shaper, S., Todd, S., Webb, C., & Webb, C. (Carol). (2016). The innovative school librarian (S. Markless, Ed.; Second edition.). Facet.

Morris, L. (2022, December 21). National Library’s treasure Trove under threat from budget cuts. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/national-library-s-treasure-trove-under-threat-from-budget-cuts-20221212-p5c5m6.html 

Softlink (2022). 2022 Australian and New Zealand school library survey report. https://www.softlinkint.com/resources/reports-and-whitepapers/

Woodcock, C. (2023, January 13). Public library budgets are being slashed. Police have more cash than ever. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/akemgz/public-library-budgets-are-being-slashed-police-have-more-cash-than-ever

ETL504 Advocacy and Visibility

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Inspired by the ETL504 readings about the importance of advocating for what we do and the different stats snapshot infographics posted on the NSW School Library Matters Facebook group, I thought I’d have a crack at designing my own. Hopefully this will help increase my visibility and show the value of my work to the school. As a relatively new TL fumbling my way through each day I‘ll take whatever wins I can!

ETL504 3.2 + 3.3: Applying Leadership Theory

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Scenario:
Recreational borrowing is declining and students’ engagement with the fiction collection has decreased. The collection is currently shelved alphabetically. Genrefication of the fiction collection is being proposed as a strategy to address the issue.

Task:
A) Consider both internal (library) and external (school wide) factors in this element as a response to the change process

B) Identify one leadership style that will facilitate your chosen element to support the change process. Explain the leadership attributes that will be of most value.

 

External factors potentially leading to conflict over proposed genrefication could include:

  • Different or competing personal beliefs held by leaders and teachers regarding the role of the fiction collection
    • Possible solution: present summary of research into the benefits of fiction as a literary learning tool to support the curriculum; show connection between this research and the impacts that increased pleasure reading has on NAPLAN/HSC scores to align the project with the school’s Strategic Improvement Plan; show testimonials and data from other teacher-librarians or public librarians who have genrefied their collections to benefit their communities
  • Lack of communication opportunities
    • Possible solution: in addition to email communication which members of the leadership team can review in their own time, potentially schedule a meeting to present research and make a professional case for the genrefication of the fiction collection; briefly explain process and reasoning to whole staff at a meeting
  •  Limited available time and resources to genrefy the fiction collection (this is especially problematic given current staff shortages and workload issues!)
    • Possible solution: form a student library committee to a) increase student voice and ownership over the project and b) provide students with their own leadership opportunities (in my school, Student Voice is a key component of the Strategic Improvement Plan)

Internal factors which could potentially lead to conflict in this scenario are:

  • Lack of understanding about what genrefication is and how to undertake this process
    • Possible solution: undertake professional learning in this area, read professional articles (such as those in SCIS Connections), seek support from professional networks and other local libraries (both school and public libraries)

To implement a project such as this, I believe that a teacher-librarian would benefit from understanding both Transformational and Distributed leadership styles. We need to ensure that we have the support and buy-in of both official leaders and classroom teachers and can achieve this by providing them with the reasons why this project benefits them as individuals as well as the whole school community. Our colleagues would need to trust that we are capable of achieving this goal and so we would need to project our professionalism and base our plans in research and best-practice at all times. Leading this change by example is another way we can exhibit Transformational leadership. Empowering selected students to assist in the process of genrefication would also display elements of Distributed leadership.

ETL504 1.1: How School Leaders Can Build Hope and Prevent Teacher Burnout

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Beachboard, Cathleen (Feb 25, 2022). How school leaders can build hope and prevent teacher burnout. Edutopia.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-school-leaders-can-build-hope-and-prevent-teacher-burnout

Some of the key points I took from this article are:

  • There’s three key components which lead to burnout – exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (these three factors are sadly very common at the moment!)
  • Hope is crucial to safeguarding identity, which can be built by discovering and developing goals, having autonomy over one’s purpose, and finding opportunities to exercise this potential and purpose
  • If people feel needed, respected, and valued, they have a higher perception of their own agency (this is true of students and staff alike!)
  • Recognising and acknowledging competence, granting autonomy, and fostering relatedness among staff are three ways school leaders can build hope and protect against burnout
  • “One of the ways leadership can aid teachers is to give staff an abundance of resources to assist with mounting workloads.” I’ve noted a few times in my blog ways in which an effective TL can assist time-poor, overworked classroom teachers (January 10, 2022; February 27, 2022; August 7, 2022; October 4, 2022) and thus potentially act as leaders in schools.

ETL533 2.3: Challenges of using digital literature in the classroom

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There is an enormous difference between facility with technology and being able to engage with the content of digital literature as a consumer or a creator. What are some ways (small or large) you could alter your pedagogy to ensure technology and digital literature is embedded in your educational practices?

In this week’s readings I liked the distinction made by Allan (2017) between the different types of digital fiction:

1. eBooks or “paper-under-glass” texts;

2. Narrative or enhanced apps; and

3. “Born digital” multimodal narratives.

This distinction fit nicely with Unsworth’s classifications (via Walsh, 2013) from the Module 1 readings, where he identified three main categories of e-literature:

1. Recontextualised literary texts;

2. Electronically augmented literary texts; and

3. Digitally originated texts.

This also links with previous discussions I’ve read about what counts as digital literature, which emphasise the difference between “the digitised and digital literature” (for more on this, please feel free to check out my blog post).

In our school we have a virtual library with eBooks and audiobooks that our students, staff and parents can engage with, but it’s an expensive subscription (last year’s invoice was over $3000 – more than a third of our yearly budget!) with logistical issues around promotion and access. It also falls into the digitised, ‘paper-under-glass’ or ‘recontextualised literary texts’ category where technology facilitates access rather than exists as an innovative and inherent aspect of the texts. While it was a useful resource during last year’s lockdowns, data suggests that average use each month is down on last year’s figures. This year our school removed the DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) program, so I’ve been trialing a Wide Reading Program with a few Year 7 classes (initially 4, now dropped back to 2). Given Foley’s (2012) findings about student engagement with ebooks, it might be worthwhile creating activities for the Wide Reading Program which target and promote our virtual library.

One of the texts I’ve been investigating for the second assessment is the iPoe app by iClassics Collection. From my engagement with this app so far, it appears to fall under the ‘enhanced app’ or ‘electronically augmented literary text’ categories outlined above. I chose this because a) Poe is awesome fun and b) we have a Year 8 unit on suspenseful stories that this would work well with. I had a great time exploring this app and playing with its features, designed to immerse the reader with the texts’ Gothic emotions, settings, and atmosphere. I think this is a resource that could work really well with our Year 8 unit, though it cost $8.99 for all three volumes/apps, therefore presenting a financial and logistical issue for faculties with tight budgets.

This week I also had a little play with Microsoft Sway, in an attempt to create my own ‘born digital’ narrative in preparation for the final assessment. One of my projects this year has been to build up the Student Media Team I introduced to the school last year, and Microsoft Sway was one of the tools we were investigating for our student-designed newsletter. While it has many useful features and is (mostly) user-friendly, one issue I found while playing with it is that this tool lacks the ability to link to content within the Sway, and thus might not work for my intended ‘choose your own adventure’ style narrative. However, this investigation did remind me that for larger projects teachers might have, it takes time to find the right tools with the right features for their vision. While wonderful guides exist (such as http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html and https://instructionaldesignbykelly.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/the-evolution-of-blooms-taxonomy-and-how-it-applies-to-teachers-today/ from this week’s readings) these take time to investigate and, given the current educational climate, this is time that many teachers simply cannot spare. This is where an innovative, technologically current teacher-librarian could be an invaluable resource for time-poor teachers!

 

 

Allan, C. (2017). Digital fiction: ‘Unruly object’ or literary artefact? English in Australia, 52(2), 21-27.

Foley, C. (2012). Ebooks for leisure and learning. Scan, 31, pp. 6-14.

Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment (Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA).

ETL503 5.1 Methods of Collection Analysis

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From your readings of module 5.1,  discuss which collection methods are suitable and practical in school libraries, and which ones you will use. 

As teacher-librarians, one of our core responsibilities is to identify the needs of our learning community and then figure out what we have and what we require to ensure those needs are served effectively and efficiently. The readings for this module reveal that a balance of qualitative and quantitative methods can help teacher-librarians discover and meet these needs with our existing collections and future purchases. Some of the methods outlined in Johnson’s (2018) chapter fit the ‘just in case’ collection development paradigm, while others exemplify the ‘just in time’ approach.

In my secondary library, I already use circulation statistics from our library management system, Oliver, as well as from Wheelers ePlatform which hosts our online library collection. For these eresources I will also conduct cost-per-use analysis to determine whether to renew all of our subscriptions later this year (we currently subscribe to 3 packages through Wheelers: ebooks, audiobooks, and the Wellness collection). 

I have just completed a stocktake of our non-fiction, biography, and senior fiction collections since circulation data indicated that they were our least used resources. During this process I was able to conduct a direct collection analysis/shelf scanning, though I didn’t realise that this was what it was called at the time! During this process I was able to not only become familiar with our collection, but also to determine whether these resources were still relevant and in good condition. Our shelves have gone from an overpacked, outdated, uninviting mess to a more streamlined collection which will hopefully allow students to identify relevant materials more effectively. One thing I realised was that sometimes poorly performing resources might still be valuable, but need to be displayed or promoted in a more effective manner. However, this was definitely a time-consuming process and not one which could be conducted easily every year!

 

I’d also love to begin more qualitative methods of collection analysis this year. One of my 2022 goals is to establish a student-led library committee, and we could incorporate other methods such as focus groups and more regular user opinion surveys (for my last one, only 11 staff out of 95 responded). I have also tried to get staff to share their assessments with me so that I can conduct curriculum mapping, but this task often gets put aside and forgotten amidst the rush of term so I’ll try to find new ways to get my hands on their tasks. List checking, for example against lists such as the Suggested Texts for the English K-10 Syllabus (2012) or the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge, is another useful qualitative way to analyse the relevance and quality of our library collection. 

I think it would be interesting to see whether the gaps in our collection could be filled by resources available at other local libraries; however, while this might be a cost effective way to ensure the needs of our learning community are met, it is hard to quantify using data and when we pass these ‘sales’ (so to speak!) to other libraries they don’t appear on our statistics which makes it difficult to prove the value of the school library’s work to the powers that be. The importance of advocating our value is a recurring theme in this course, and I’d love to be able to include some of these qualitative and quantitative collection analysis methods in our annual School Report to show students, staff, and parents the complicated nature of our work and how we are supporting their learning and recreational needs.

ETL401 5.4a Information Literacy

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Read:   Fitzgerald, L. & Garrison, K. (2017) ‘It Trains Your Brain’: Student Reflections on Using the Guided Inquiry Design Process. Synergy,    15/2

How might the TL help the school move towards integrated information literacy instruction?

What challenges lie in the way of such instruction?

How teacher librarians and teachers might encourage students to transfer information literacy skills and practices from one subject to another?

The teacher librarian can absolutely help the school move towards integrated information literacy instruction. As shown through the above article, effective collaboration between teacher librarians and classroom teachers in planning and implementing Guided Inquiry units can result in students having a greater understanding of the research process. The article also revealed that GI can increase students’ abilities to transfer knowledge and skills from one KLA to another and increase their confidence and capabilities as lifelong learners. In order to achieve this the teacher librarian must first have a deep understanding of the Guided Inquiry Design Process and be able to apply that understanding to different subject areas. It is important for the teacher librarian to ‘sell’ their skills in this area to ensure that staff are aware of the opportunity to work collaboratively on curriculum design, and for the teacher librarian to identify key staff who might be interested in working collaboratively in this way. The teacher librarian can also deliver professional development to relevant staff, leading their colleagues through the process of programming of a GI unit to ensure that staff are competent in developing and delivering their own GI units in future.

However, the article noted some challenges that can impede the implementation of such instruction. These challenges largely deal with the need for time to effectively collaborate, implement, assess and evaluate these types of programmes. The article revealed that it is important for staff collaborating on GI programmes to understand the philosophy behind Guided Inquiry as well as its processes and scaffolding. Time is also needed for staff to read and apply GI to their own learning and to consider how to best implement it for the students in their class; it is indeed true that what works for one class doesn’t necessarily work for another, and thus teachers are constantly required to rework existing units and resources. Time is a core requirement of collaborative practice and matching conflicting schedules can be a Herculean task. We haven’t even discussed the time it takes to plan and assess student learning and already I’m exhausted! The lack of time coupled with high workloads might also make people reluctant to take risks or leave them feeling uninspired to plan something new.

Another element that was not referenced in the article is the fact that it also takes time to change the public perception around the role of the teacher librarian and to promote our role as information specialists. In my school I have tried to start small by getting staff to share their assessment tasks with me so that I can help support our students and provide relevant resources to help them complete these tasks. Despite my fortnightly reminders, I often end up getting only one or two tasks each term. This is not because my colleagues do not see the value in what I do or the assistance that I can provide, but simply because this task (simple as it might be) is one of hundreds that might populate their weekly to-do lists and often doesn’t register as a priority. It often merits an “I meant to send something!” response. It is an uphill battle to break through the “survival” mode teaching that seems to have taken hold in recent years. However, just like Sisyphus, I’ll keep rolling that boulder up that hill and hope that one day I’ll reach the top. Maybe one day someone will find the energy and meet me there.

 

ETL401 4.1 Inquiry Learning: Some Thoughts

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Are the acquisition of 21st century skills and the focus on accountability mutually exclusive?

What issues might stand in the way of inquiry learning in the school?

What issues might stand in the way of collaboration between teachers and teacher librarians to carry out inquiry learning?

I don’t believe that accountability and the acquisition of 21st century skills are necessarily mutually exclusive. Accountability can help us to focus our practice and become more effective teachers through its emphasis on evidence and reflection. However, the increasing complexity of this task is not given any extra time but expected to be completed on top of everything else and thus seems to be an additional afterthought for teachers’ workloads. Accountability procedures such as the development of PDPs, observation and submission of accreditation often feel like tick-the-box activities that are not necessarily effectively aligned with our actual practice. Perhaps more meaningful integration and more time is needed.

Increasing workloads and minimal free time are massive issues that I can foresee hampering my efforts to implement inquiry learning at school. Even though I work with some teachers who would be interested in this type of collaboration, finding time in our already busy schedules would be a huge ask. The increased workload resulting from the demands of online learning (not to mention the logistics) make collaboration in this current climate almost impossible. Even when we return to face-to-face learning, there’s no guarantee that the time we set aside to work on a collaborative project like this would be uninterrupted, and considering the difficulty we were experiencing in finding casuals to cover absent colleagues there is a high chance that these planning sessions would be instead taken up by one or more involved staff members being required to supervise these extra classes. It would be very hard to implement something on this scale when it feels like most of our staff are in ‘survival’ mode.