For my digital story, I am creating a non-fiction narrative of the life of a child in the 1960s. The story will centre around a seven-year-old girl and share stories and artefacts about what life was like for her during this time. Digital artefacts, such as videos and photographs containing hotspots, will be created using artefacts and stories from my mother’s childhood. This digital story is inspired from an interview that my 2018 Year 1/2 class conducted with my grandmother on what life was like when she was a child. Using the information gathered from the interview the children then identify similarities and differences between her life as a child and their lives today.
My grandmother being interviewed by my Year 1/2 class.
The main character in the story is seven years old, making it relatable to a junior primary cohort. It aligns with the Australian Curriculum learning area of Humanities and Social Sciences, in particular the Year One History content descriptors of AC9HS1K01 and AC9HS1K02 (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.).
Genially logo (Genially, n.d.).
I have chosen Genially (Genially, n.d.) as my creative platform. Genially allows presentations to be presented in an interactive and non-linear way, making it possible for younger students to take control of the story, explore topics of interest and revise content as needed. Supporting digital elements, such as embedded narration, are available within Genially to support early readers in accessing the content. Genially also comes with a vast array of graphics to make it visually appealing to a younger audience.
Space Frog! (npckc, n.d.) is a piece of hypertext fiction that embodies a Choose Your Own Adventure style of reading. The story is about a frog called Space Frog, who is on a quest to find a star. The simplicity of the story line and the use of anthropomorphic animals makes it a suitable option to use as an introduction to hypertext fiction for a younger audience.
The first Choose Your Own Adventure book was published in 1979, with the concept becoming popular in the eighties, and to this day, is the fourth best-selling book series of all time (Jamison, 2022). In the books, readers would be presented with choices to make at crucial points within the story. The reader would then be guided to a different page within the book to continue the story. The hyper-connectedness of the internet streamlines this literary style by removing the need for flicking through pages. This is suitably demonstrated in Space Frog!, where the reader is in control of how the story evolves through the use of hyperlinks. At points throughout the story, the reader is prompted to make decisions about which direction the story should go by clicking on the hyperlink that corresponds with how they would like the story to progress.
Choices are made using hyperlinks (npckc, n.d.).
The story contains simple, computerised graphics that align with the content of the text on each screen. With many other children’s digital narratives, the story remains fixed while the illustrations contain interactive digital elements. For Space Frog!, the opposite is happening; the graphics are static and contain no interactive elements, while it is the story itself that readers can manipulate and change. The use of static graphics takes away the element of distractibility that illustrations containing hotspots can possess (Hoel & Jernes, 2023, p. 12). On the other hand, it is a missed opportunity to utilise the full abilities of digital media to create graphics that enhance a young readers comprehension of the story.
While the content is appropriate for a younger audience, it does not contain any digital supports that would allow an early reader to read the text independently. Accessibility features, such as narration or text-to-speech, would assist an early reader to access this piece of digital literature independently. Instead, early readers may require an adult to read with them in order for them to access the text.
On pages where there is no decision that needs to be made, the reader progresses the story by clicking on forward arrows to move the text forward, or backward arrows to go back to the last page. In linear digital story books, research has shown that students in upper primary don’t often adhere to the “codex convention of reading” and will move forwards and backwards, subsequently affecting their comprehension and recall of the text (Trushell et al., 2001, p. 399). Given that hypertext narratives possess the added complexity of not being as linear as a traditional text, if these behaviours are exhibited when reading Space Frog!, it could greatly impact a child’s comprehension of the story. This is another reason why the text would need to be read in the company of an adult.
Arrows are used to move the story forwards and backwards (npckc, n.d.).
Space Frog! exists within a niche in the hypertext fiction world as there doesn’t appear to be many hypertext fiction pieces suitable for younger children. When searching for hypertext fiction on websites such as the Interactive Fiction Database and itch.io, the majority of their titles appear to be aimed at a much older demographic as they contain mature themes. Also, much of the hypertext fiction that exists on the internet is self-published, therefore teachers would need to be critical of their quality. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and appropriate themes would need to be evaluated before sharing a selected piece with the students (Dobler, 2013, p. 21). From reading Space Frog! multiple times and using alternate scenarios and endings, there does not appear to be any grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors, therefore would be suitable to use within the classroom.
In a classroom context, Space Frog! could be used to model hypertext fiction or the concept of Choose Your Own Adventure to the class. It could be used in independent reading by proficient readers, but due to the lack of accessibility features, it would require scaffolding and support for early readers.
Space Frog!’s simplicity is its strength as well as its weakness. Its content is suitable for a younger audience and its simple design and graphics make it not as distracting as other digital literature aimed at children. However, it’s lack of accessibility features, such as narration and text highlighting, means it would require adult support for a child to read it.
References
Dobler, E. (2013). Looking beyond the screen: evaluating the quality of digital books. Reading Today, 30(5), 20-21.
Hoel, T., & Jernes, M. (2023). Quality in children’s digital picture books: seven key strands for educational reflections for shared dialogue-based reading in early childhood settings. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2172552
Trushell, J., Burrell, C., & Maitland, A. (2001). Year 5 pupils reading an Interactive Storybook on CD-ROM: losing the plot?. British Journal of Educational Technology, 32(4), 389–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8535.00209
K’gari (SBS, n.d.) is a digital documentary that challenges Eliza Fraser’s account of events from when she became shipwrecked on the island of K’gari (previously known as Fraser Island) in 1836. This review will apply the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2021, p. 34) to analyse the effectiveness of the digital elements used within this digital documentary.
The cognitive theory of multimedia learning outlines that learners actively process incoming information through multimedia when it engages both the visual and auditory senses concurrently through focused and thoughtfully laid out content (Mayer, 2021, p. 34). The theory is based on three assumptions: “dual channels”, “limited capacity” and “active processing” (Mayer, 2021, p. 34). These three assumptions will be elaborated on and applied to K’gari to analyse the effectiveness of the digital elements used for learning the Butchulla’s side of the story.
The first of these assumptions is that humans acquire information through “dual channels”, being the visual and aural channels (Mayer, 2021, p. 34). In K’gari, Eliza Fraser’s recount is presented through written word on the screen while concurrently being narrated by Miranda Otto, hence simultaneously engaging both the visual channel with written word and aural channel with narration. The Butchulla’s side of the story engages the aural channel by orally recounting their history of events and engages the visual channel through animations that support what is being said.
K’gari builds upon this first assumption by adding in a third sense, touch. The powerful digital effects mean the reader doesn’t just question Eliza Fraser’s account of events but is actively encouraged to physically destroy the words with powerful digital effects, like triggering lightning to strike at the words, physically washing away the text with the waves of the ocean and blowing paragraphs away with the wind.
The reader clicks the screen to trigger lightning to destroy Eliza Fraser’s words (SBS, n.d.).
The second assumption is that each channel has a “limited capacity” in the amount of information that it can process at one time (Mayer, 2021, p. 36). K’gari chunks the information by presenting the reader with one paragraph of Eliza Fraser’s recount at a time, then presents the Butchulla’s rebuttal to what has just been said. This back-and-forth continues throughout, with the documentary only progressing when the reader clicks their mouse. This allows the reader to set the pace in which they absorb the information presented.
The third assumption is “active processing”, where humans actively make sense of the information being presented to them by paying attention to the incoming information, integrating it with their prior knowledge, and cognitively organising this new information (Mayer, 2021, p. 37). The juxtaposition of these two recounts side-by-side provides scaffolding for the user to actively compare and contrast both accounts simultaneously. This is not something that can be as easily replicated in print form as the history of First Nations Australians is primarily an oral history, spanning 60,000 years (Koori Heritage Trust, n.d.), whereas history in England, where Eliza Fraser originated from, has primarily taken the form of written records (English Heritage, n.d.). This digital documentary provides the perfect platform upon which these two differing mediums of history telling can be juxtaposed side-by-side, comparing the Butchulla peoples’ oral retelling of events against Eliza Fraser’s written words.
By analysing K’gari against the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, it is evident that K’gari’s digital construction makes it a highly effective piece of digital literature for learning. It has applications within the classroom across the Australian Curriculum, as this digital documentary aligns well with the learning areas of English and History and Social Sciences (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.). It is also an authentic way to embed the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures’ cross-curriculum priority into units of work.
Digital documentaries are a powerful medium upon which the oral histories of First Nations Australians can be preserved. It is estimated that around 90 percent of First Nations Australian languages are critically endangered (Johnson, 2016, para. 24). The significance of the K’gari digital documentary is three-fold; it corrects Australian history, preserves the oral history of the Butchulla people, and educates readers on the purpose of correcting the name of ‘Fraser Island’ back to ‘K’gari’.
From analysing K’gari through the lens of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, one can see how the digital elements employed are a powerful way for the Butchulla people to reclaim their history from the falsehoods perpetuated by Eliza Fraser. The juxtaposition of oral history with written history through the use of engaging visual, aural and tactile digital elements creates a crucial learning experience for readers.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). The Australian Curriculum.
The popular children’s book Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd (2005) has been digitally reproduced into an interactive iPad app, with digital elements included that support early readers to read the story independently.
The digital version of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy mimics the layout of the print books, with pictures on the left-hand side of the screen and matching text on the right. This makes the format familiar to children who have experienced reading the print version of the story. The digital reproduction of this book effectively uses digital features to scaffold the story so early readers can read the story independently. As the narrator is reading the story aloud, the words change from red to black and bounce off the page, assisting the reader to visually track text and promote left-to-right directionality. Words can be tapped individually and read aloud by the narrator. Children can also swipe their fingers over the text, and the narrator will read the section that the child’s finger has passed over.
An example of text movement (Kiwa Digital, n.d.).
The illustrations within the app are identical to those within the original book, but small movements have been added, such as the blinking of eyes, or the nodding of a head. There are hotspots located within the illustrations, but these are limited to the bark of the dog or the meow of a cat. The subtlety of these additions minimises distractions from the storyline.
It is through the playful use of language, like the rhyme and alliteration found in the Hairy Maclary series of stories, that children develop their language abilities. Children’s stories that contain these fundamental elements usually need to be read aloud by an adult for pre- and early readers to access the language contained within the story. Research has shown that digital texts have an advantage over their printed counterparts when it comes to comprehension and vocabulary development when children are reading independently (Takacs, Swart & Bus, 2014, p. 10). The inclusion of a narrator means children are not reliant on an adult to access the story and enables them to independently access the rich language contained within (Hoel & Jernes, 2023, p. 10). In this context, the digital reproduction of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy gives greater opportunities for a child to independently enhance their language abilities when compared to reading the same text in printed form. In a school context, the Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy app is a suitable choice for implementing within literacy rotations or as independent reading, as a teacher does not need to be working one-on-one with the child for them to read the story.
Readers who are deaf are supported through the inclusion of a signing narrator, telling the story using Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN), New Zealand sign language or American sign language. Multimodal texts that tie together the text, oral narration and sign are advantageous for children who are deaf, as they can pause, replay, and revisit elements of the text which in turn improves their comprehension of the text (Walker-Gleaves & Waugh, 2018, p. 113).
Sign language narration is included (Kiwa Digital, n.d.).
The app also has a colouring-in function, where the illustrations change to greyscale and the child can colour them by running their fingers over the illustrations. This function is hidden behind the Puffin logo and is not distracting while you are reading the story. However, this digital enhancement does not “deepen conceptual knowledge” of the story or its characters (McGeehan et. al., 2018, p. 63), making this feature superfluous to the story itself.
Colouring-in the illustrations is an additional feature (Kiwa Digital, n.d.).
While the suite of digital features discussed so far are advantageous to early readers, it could be argued that the creators have not taken full advantage of the digital features available to them. Junko Yokota and William H. Teale state that digital books that employ a similar suite of features, such as the “Living Books” adaptation of Just Me and My Mum, employ “minimal digital affordances that could enhance the reading experience” (2014, p. 581). The Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy app could have added digital enhancements that align with the text, such hotspots within the illustrations where the reader opens the gate on each page to let the dog out. Such interactive elements would align with the story and support comprehension (Hoel & Jernes, 2023, p. 12).
While the addition of more interactive features would enhance this app even further, the Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy app in its current form provides more opportunities for children to access literature independently than they could with the book alone. The scaffolded reading cues, narration, subtle digital enhancements of the illustrations, and sign language in this digital reproduction gives the reader an experience that cannot be replicated in the print version of the text.
References
Dodd, L. (2005). Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy. Puffin Books.
Hoel, T., & Jernes, M. (2023). Quality in children’s digital picture books: seven key strands for educational reflections for shared dialogue-based reading in early childhood settings. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2172552
McGeehan, C., Chambers, S., & Nowakowski, J. (2018). Just Because It’s Digital, Doesn’t Mean It’s Good: Evaluating Digital Picture Books. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 34(2), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2017.1399488
Takacs, Z. K., Swart, E. K., & Bus, A. G. (2014). Can the computer replace the adult for storybook reading? A meta-analysis on the effects of multimedia stories as compared to sharing print stories with an adult. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 1366. https://doi.org/10. 3389/fpsyg.2014.01366
Walker-Gleaves, C. & Waugh, D. (2018). Looking After Literacy: A Whole Child Approach to Effective Literacy Interventions. SAGE Publications.
Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture Books and The Digital World: Educators Making Informed Choices. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577–585. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1262
Prior Knowledge and Pigeons: My Preliminary Understanding of Digital Literature
Within the introductory module of ETL533 Literature in Digital Environments, my preconceptions of digital literature have already been challenged. Prior to the commencement of this unit, I would have classed eBooks or PDF books as a part of digital literature, but as explained by Giovanna Di Rosario in her TEDx Talk, Pixelated Words: Literature Facing the Digital World (TEDx Talks, 2018), it pertains to literary works that are created for and on digital devices. From the examples shown within the video, it is clear that digital literature is not just replacing paper for a screen. It involves a level of interactivity and manipulation from the user.
The starter list of various digital narratives was all very new to me. However, there was one stand out that I have used extensively during my time as a classroom teacher. Don’t let the Pigeon Run this App! (Disney, 2017) was a staple in my teacher toolkit. Mo Willem’s had already perfected the art of creating physical books where readers could interact with the main protagonist, the persistent Pigeon, as he tries to persuade the reader that they should let him do un-pigeon-like things, such as drive a bus, stay up late, or get a puppy. Don’t let the Pigeon Run this App! (2017) takes it to the next level, allowing children (and adults, alike!) to create their own Pigeon story using the same story structure as the series of books. It always had a magical ability to engage the whole class, with students eager to create their own version of the Pigeon stories and share them with their classmates. Students would challenge themselves to come up with funny responses to the prompts given by the Bus Driver to make their classmates laugh.
The pigeon is told “NO!”, he cannot have what he is asking for. From the app: Don’t Let The Pigeon Run This App! (Disney, 2017)
I have had other experiences with combining digital technology and literature, but at this early stage of my learning I am unsure if this would be classed as digital literature. As a junior primary teacher for my whole career, apps such as Reading Eggs (3P Learning, n.d.) have been an integral part of the reading programs of both schools that I been a part of. I have also utilised the coding app Scratch Jr(DevTech Research Group & Scratch Foundation, n.d.) for students to create their own mini stories. I will reassess where these apps fit within the digital literature landscape once I have developed a better understanding of what digital literature is.
Reflecting upon my limited experience of digital literature, I can see how it could be a powerful tool to engage students in the reading process; particularly those who are reluctant, find reading difficult due to a disability, or English not being their first language. I am really keen to learn more about this aspect of teacher librarianship and how I can adapt my future library to take advantage of the vast array of digital literacy platforms.
‘Mirrors and windows’ is an analogy that I first encountered during my studies in ETL503. It means students must be able to see themselves reflected in the school’s library collection (the mirrors) and be provided with opportunities to learn about the lives and experiences of others (the windows) (Adam, 2023, p. 1). This analogy has underpinned much of my thinking as I worked through this unit, further developing my understanding of the nature of school library collections and the practical applications of a collection development policy. In this blog post, I take the time to reflect upon how my learning has progressed around the topics of student-led collection development policies, censorship, advocacy and future-proofing the collection.
In module 2.1, I was inspired by the success of Melba Copeland Secondary School’s library incorporating a student-led collection development policy to empower students when it comes to the selection of books within the library’s collection (Jorm, 2022). I used this as a launching pad to research ways in which I could emulate their success in my own future library. Implementing strategies, such as suggestion boxes, request books, and automatic patron-driven acquisition systems, will give me the ability to tailor my collection to meet the teaching and learning needs of my school community (Wilson, 2023, March 15). In taking this approach to collection development, I hope to increase engagement and circulation statistics within my future library.
I have come to learn that a collection development policy can protect a collection through clearly articulated policies around censorship. My initial understanding of censorship was the active and conscious suppression of materials, but through module 4.1 I learned that censorship could come in many subtle and overt forms. One subtle form is the teacher librarian pre-emptively excluding a resource from the collection to avoid dealing with a challenge from the learning community, known as self-censorship (Johnson, 2018, p. 133). A collection development policy gives me the courage to select a diverse range of resources, knowing that my decisions are guided by the policies upholding the need for students to have free access to information without interference (Wilson, 2023, April 19).
Compiling an annual report articulating how the library worked towards the policies and goals set out in the Collection Development Policy can be used as evidence when advocating for the library (McKenzie, 2009, para. 13). The Australian School Library Survey Report 2021 (Softlink, 2022) found that 26% of school libraries were receiving a low to very low level of support from their school’s Senior Leadership Team (p. 4). Considering this statistic, I am aware that I may end up in a school library that does not receive an adequate amount of support. Investing time into the creation of an annual report is an effective way to engage the senior leadership team with the library. Presenting qualitative and quantitative data on the impact the school’s Collection Development Policy has on teaching and learning has the power to make the invisible achievements of the library visible (Wilson, 2023, April 29). This can raise the profile of the school library within the school, making advocating for appropriate resourcing an easier task and ensuring that the library remains a valuable component of the school into the future.
Not all libraries have a collection development policy (Gregory, 2019, p. 29), therefore it is a real possibility in the future that I may need to take the initiative to create one from scratch. With the understanding I have gained from ETL503, I feel confident in approaching this task, knowing how crucial it is in tailoring the collection, confronting censorship, boosting the library’s standing through advocacy and future-proofing the collection. Through this I will be able to develop a collection that is the ‘mirrors and windows’ my learning community requires.
Gregory, V. L. (2019). Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Libraries and Collections : An Introduction (2nd ed.). American Library Association.
Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management (4th ed.). ALA Editions.
An annual report can be a powerful tool that gives a teacher librarian the ability to provide transparency, take accountability and advocate for their library. In this blog post I elaborate on these three concepts, detailing some of the ways an annual report can be beneficial to a school library and to the role of a teacher librarian.
For transparency:
Creating an annual report plays a part in making the invisible visible. Karen Bonanno (2011) describes how teacher librarians were viewed during the Australian Government’s Inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment, 2011), stating that many stakeholders:
“…referred to the profession as an invisible profession. They didn’t know what you did. They didn’t know who you were. They considered that you did not have any significant contribution to the learning experiences and the academic excellence of students because they could not see any direct evidence of that” (Bonanno, 2011).
An annual report gives a teacher librarian an opportunity to articulate and demonstrate the integral part a school library has in the teaching and learning of a school. It also brings to light other “invisible” areas that may go unnoticed, such as the impact volunteers have in the day-to-day functioning of library processes (McKenzie, 2009).
For accountability:
If teacher librarians are to convince school leadership to financially invest in their school library, they need to demonstrate how the allocated funds are used effectively and the impact on teaching and learning. The National Library of New Zealand (n.d.) has detailed some ideas on information to include within the report, such as highlights of the year, usage statistics, how your library has engaged students as readers, and how you have supported inquiry learning and digital literacy.
Teacher librarians are reflective practitioners and an annual report is a valuable opportunity to provide personal accountability by reflecting upon the achievements of the school library and your impact as the teacher librarian. In doing so, teacher librarians can identify areas of strength and areas of improvement to enact upon in the following year. This can also be used to demonstrate proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011), specifically the standards: 3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs, and 6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice.
For advocacy:
Advocacy is integral to the role of a teacher librarian. Having the data to demonstrate how your school library impacts the teaching and learning within your school is crucial in advocating for its importance, and an annual report provides key evidence of this. An annual report can be distributed to the executive leadership team. It can be repackaged using more community-friendly language and distributed to other stakeholders such as teachers, parents, carers and other community members.
Although it may be time consuming to create, an annual report has multiple capabilities to demonstrate the strengths of a school library and the teacher librarian. It brings to the forefront the invisible attributes and can also act as a way for a teacher librarian to embed reflective practice within their role, which can then be subsequently used for advocacy.
References:
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
Bonanno, K. (2011). ASLA 2011. Karen Bonanno, Keynote speaker: A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan. https://vimeo.com/31003940
In the article entitled Selection & Censorship: It’s simple arithmetic (2002), Dave Jenkinson outlines the following three challenges when dealing with censorship in the school library. This blog post will analyse each challenge and identify if Australian school libraries face the same challenges around censorship.
1. The majority of school censors are parents, but in-school censorship from teachers and other school personnel is still significant.
While it is difficult to obtain statistics around who is censoring materials, there is no doubt that challenges towards resources is happening within Australian schools. Reflecting upon my own teaching career, I have personally experienced in-school censoring of resources. Early on in my teaching career, the Senior Leadership Team at the time were not happy with a picture book that was selected for the CBCA National Simultaneous Storytime that year. The book was subsequently replaced with another picture book that was read at the dedicated time. In hindsight, if I was the teacher librarian at that time, I could have approached the executive team with my concerns, referencing the school’s collection development policy and other relevant documentation from Australian and international library standards to justify why the deselection of the book is a form of censorship.
2. The level of principal involvement in the development of censorship policies and generating awareness around these policies.
Dave outlines how there is a guiding principle within the Vancouver School District that suggests “the principal should review the selection and objection rules with the teaching staff at least annually” (Jenkinson, 2002, p. 22). The Australian School Library Survey Report 2021 (Softlink, 2022) found that 26% of teacher librarians experienced a low to very low level of support from their Senior Leadership Teams (p. 4). This would mean that at least one quarter of principals within Australia would not be engaging with their school library at same level of engagement expected of principals of schools within Vancouver. This has prompted me to ensure that I make the effort to engage my future Senior Leadership Team in creation and promotion of the school’s collection development and management policies, particularly around the topic of censorship and challenges towards the collection.
3. Self-censorship
My initial understanding of the word ‘censorship’ involved the conscious and active suppression of information in order to influence or control. The most significant learning I gained from this article and Module 4 material (Gagen-Spriggs & Oddonne, 2023) is that a teacher librarian pre-emptively not including a resource in order to avoid dealing with a possible challenge to the collection from the school community in the future may find themselves inadvertently censoring their school collection. Relying on the collection development and management policies of the school, teacher librarians need to be courageous and justified in the selection of resources for their library, regardless of a potential challenge.
Although this article is written twenty years ago and from a Canadian perspective, challenges towards resources are not time- or place-bound and are still faced by Australian teacher librarians today. Regardless of how libraries evolve into the 21st century, challenges towards the information housed within will be an eternal minefield that teacher librarians will need to navigate.
References:
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection and censorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School libraries in Canada, 2(4), 22-23.
Gagen-Spriggs, K. & Oddonne, K. (2023). Module 4: Selection of Resources [Study notes]. ETL503: Resourcing the Curriculum. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au
When learning about student-lead collection development in school libraries, I was introduced to a theory that really resonated with me. This theory was: mirrors and windows. Teacher Librarian at Melba Copeland Senior Secondary school, Mali Jorm, used this expression to explain how a school library collection should contain literature that shows a variety of different experiences and perspectives (School Improvement Branch, 2021). Students should be able to see themselves reflected in the literature that they are accessing (mirrors); and should also be able to see the lives of others to develop understanding and empathy (widows). This theory has me contemplating how I can engage learners in the development of the school library collection to ensure it contains an adequate amount of “mirrors” and “windows”.
The first idea that springs to mind is simple yet effective; suggestion boxes and request books. This would be particularly effective in a primary school setting as barriers for students to access these methods would be limited. Book requests have been successful at Melba Copeland Senior Secondary School, with the school library reporting that books bought upon a student’s request have a higher circulation rate than books that have been selected by members of staff (Jorm, 2022). Requested books have a book plaque attached at the front with the phrase “This book was recommended by…”, giving students ownership over the purchasing choices made within the school library (Jorm, 2022). It makes sense that the students are more in tune with what is popular at the moment, so listening to what they have to say is crucial to keeping the school library collection relevant to them.
Another way in which schools are tailoring their teaching collections is through patron-driven acquisition (PDA). Kerferd Library, located at Mentone Girls’ Grammar School, implemented a PDA system to help support teacher professional development by which three loans of a title would trigger a purchase within the system (Feighan, 2015, p. 9). Kerford Library calculated that they spent USD$497.50 on 127 eBooks through the PDA system, which would have cost them USD$3272.23 if purchased outright, meaning a saving of $2774.73 (Feighan, 2015, p. 9). This is a win-win situation for both the school library and teaching staff; teachers can access resources that will enhance their lesson planning and teaching, and the library is able to make significant savings in the purchase of these resources.
It is important for a teacher librarian to keep abreast of reading trends among student cohorts as this information can be used to ensure that students view the library as relevant and engage with its collection. Through the implementation of the different collection development methods mentioned here, a teacher librarian can better tailor their collections to ensure their school library is, indeed, mirrors and windows.
Feighan, D. (2015). Building a school library collection to keep up with the digital age. FYI : The Journal for the School Information Professional, 19(3), 6–12.
The difference between a proficient and highly accomplished teacher librarian
What separates a proficient teacher librarian from a highly accomplished one? By analysing the Australian School Library Association’s Evidence Guides and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011), one can identify the skills and qualities that set highly proficient teacher librarians apart from those who are proficient. This blog post will use teaching standard 3.4 Select and use resources to compare and contrast.
As all my experience has been centred around classroom teaching, I currently do not have any practical experience within the school library. However, when looking at teaching standard 3.4 in the ASLA Evidence Guide for teacher librarians in the proficient career stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014b), I can see parallels between skills that I have developed in the classroom and those that are implemented by a proficient teacher librarian. For instance, the first example of evidence states: “unit of work, lesson plan or learning activity that involved students’ use of digital resources” (Australian School Library Association, 2014b, p.10). I have experience planning, sharing, and implementing a junior primary Unit of Inquiry on coding using apps on iPads. When undertaking the role of a teacher librarian in the future, I will be able to transfer across some of my skills developed in the classroom. However, once in the role I need to know where to go to further develop my skills and become a highly accomplished teacher librarian.
Teaching standard 3.4 from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 10).Teaching standard 3.4 from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Highly Accomplished Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 11).
When comparing the two Evidence Guides, there is one quality that is weaved throughout the examples given for a ‘highly accomplished’ teacher librarian that is missing from the ‘proficient’ teacher librarian examples. That quality is: collaboration. The proficient teacher librarian is undertaking tasks crucial to their role, but the involvement of other stakeholders in the processes appear limited. The highly accomplished teacher librarian builds upon this by engaging others within the school community. This is evidenced by the many collaborative verbs included within the example, such as ‘assist’, ‘co-operate’, ‘recommend’, ‘share’, ‘demonstrate’. It also highlights the different stakeholders in which they are collaborating with, such as staff, colleagues, and professional networks. They essentially become the information expert that guides their school community in the resourcing of the curriculum.
Collaboration is also the key focus from teaching standard 3.4’s ‘illustration of practice’ video entitled Selecting Resources (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2016). The video interviews Teacher Librarian Anne Chowne, who gives us a glimpse into how she collaborates with a wide range of staff, such as planning with a fellow teacher librarian and consulting with the director of teaching and learning. She also describes how she collaborates with teaching staff in the development of the collection; showing teachers what is available in the library and filling in resourcing gaps.
Teacher Librarian Anne Chowne collaborates with the director of teaching and learning (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2016).
The significance of collaboration in the success of the school library is backed by Hughes-Hassell and Mancall (2005, p.66), who state that “collaboration is the key concept underlying the development of learner-centred collections and collection services”. Creating a collaborative culture as a teacher librarian is no easy feat, as I have reflected on in a previous blog post, but for a school library collection to remain relevant and reflect the needs of its learning community, it is essential that the teacher librarian develops and maintains a culture of collaboration within their school community.
So, what does this mean for me as a future teacher librarian? From analysing the Australian School Library Association’s Evidence Guides (2014a, 2014b) and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011) it is clear that developing strong relationships with those I will work with within the school community is essential to become a highly accomplished teacher librarian. I will also need to seek out, join and be an active participant in professional networks in the broader community. Prioritising collaboration should ensure that I am able to provide my future school community with a 21st century library that meets the needs of the teachers and learners within it.
References:
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2016, April). Selecting resources
Australian School Library Association. (2014a). Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Highly Accomplished Career Stage. ASLA. https://asla.org.au/evidence-guides-tls
Australian School Library Association. (2014b). Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage. ASLA. https://asla.org.au/evidence-guides-tls
Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J. (2005). Collection management for youth: Responding to the needs of learners. ALA Editions.
