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Annual Reporting: Making the Invisible Visible

Annual Reporting: Making the Invisible Visible

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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

 

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment. (2011). School libraries and teacher librarians in 21st century Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=ee/schoollibraries/report.htm

 

McKenzie, D. (2009). Importance of creating an annual report. [blog]. Library Grits. http://librarygrits.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/importance-of-creating-annual-report.html

 

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Annual Report. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/leading-and-managing/managing-your-school-library/annual-report

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The difference between a proficient and highly accomplished teacher librarian

The difference between a proficient and highly accomplished teacher librarian

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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.

 

The first place to look for this information is the ASLA Evidence Guides for Teacher Librarians. Below are screenshots of teaching standard 3.4 from the Evidence Guide for teacher librarians in the highly accomplished career stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014a) and the Evidence Guide for teacher librarians in the proficient career stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014b):

An extract from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Highly Accomplished Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 11).
Teaching standard 3.4 from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 10).
An extract from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Highly Accomplished Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 11).
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).
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

. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYGyYV8AxPU&t=280s

 

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.

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Collection Development and Management

Collection Development and Management

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At first glance, it can appear as if the terms ‘collection development’ and ‘collection management’ are interchangeable. Once I was able to tease out the differences between the two, I was able to see that both processes, while intertwined, have the teacher librarian using their knowledge and expertise in different ways. In this blog post, I explore my current understanding of collection development through the creation of my own process diagram and reflect upon what I believe are the differences between collection development and collection management.

 

Collection Development

To commence my understanding of collection development, I examined Kay Oddone’s Collection Development: Process diagram (Oddone, 2019). I used this as a basis to create my own version, as seen below. As I am not currently working in a library setting, it will be interesting to revisit this post in the future to see how I may change or adapt this version of the collection development process.

Amanda Wilson's interpretation of the Collection Development Process
My personal interpretation of the Collection Development Process.

Identify: Identify the needs of the school community in which your library serves.

Locate: Locate potential resources that could meet the needs of library stakeholders. This could be through purchasing new resources, using local library networks or inter-library loans.

Select: Select the resources accordingly. If purchasing new resources, the budget may need to be referred to. Otherwise, inter-library loans could be organised at this stage.

Catalogue: Once the resources have been received by the library, they will need to be catalogued in a way that makes them accessible to library users.

Promote: Teacher Librarians will need to actively promote the resources in their library. This is especially important for “invisible” resources, such as the digital collection.

Evaluate: Stocktake resources and evaluate if the resources are still of value to the library community.

Weed: Weed out those resources that are no longer of value to the library community.

 

Where to start?

I believe it is crucial to begin with ‘identify’ when developing the library collection. The needs of students, teachers and the wider school community should underpin all decisions made when it comes to the development of the collection. The school library serves the community in which it is located, and its collection needs to be reflective of this.

 

One step that I felt was missing…

One step that I felt was missing from Oddone’s diagram was ‘promote’. Resources that are not actively promoted within the school community could be deemed irrelevant and subsequently weeded from the collection, when the main issue is it was not easily accessible or obscured from students and teachers. This is especially important for the digital collection, as digital resources don’t take up space like a physical book, therefore they can be easily overlooked and underutilised by the library users. Finding creative ways, such as using QR codes and thematic displays, to promote these resources is an essential task for the Teacher Librarian to mitigate any unnecessary weeding or double-up in resourcing.

 

Collection Development vs. Collection Management

From my understanding, collection development is a collaborative process between all members within the learning community. The Teacher Librarian takes on the role of leader in the collection development process, but the process involves the input of teachers, students, executive staff, families, and any other stakeholders in the learning community. On the other hand, collection management is at the core of the Teacher Librarian’s role. It involves them using their skill and expert knowledge to make nuanced decisions around what is included in the collection, ensuring that the collection as a whole is unbiased, reflects the school community and is accessible to all. Collection management also involves understanding the school’s mission and vision and aligning the library’s collection development policy with these priorities.

 

References:

Oddone, K. (2019). School library collection development: It’s not as simple as you might think. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/school-library-collection-development-its-not-as-simple-as-you-might-think/

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ETL401: A Reflection On Learning

ETL401: A Reflection On Learning

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When I reflect upon how far my learning has come since the beginning of this subject, I have come to realise that the preconceived ideas that I had were from a different era of teacher librarianship (Wilson, 2021, March 8). In recent times the profession has undergone a renaissance, reinventing itself to meet the need for students to be information literate in the 21st century. Through regular blogging and online discussions, I can see just how far my understanding of information literacy, inquiry learning models and the teacher librarian’s role in inquiry learning has come.

 

My initial understanding of information literacy was simply the action of selecting, locating and evaluating resources. My new understanding acknowledges that information literacy is complex, broad and context dependent. With the information landscape continuing to evolve at a rapid rate, the definition of information literacy will evolve with it and in turn, change the skills and knowledge required of me as a teacher librarian (Wilson, 2021, May 5). To begin constructing my own understanding, I applied Annemaree Lloyd’s (2007, p. 5) sociocultural definition of information literacy to the context of student learning and identified that the development of transliteracy skills, student collaboration, engaging students using all their senses, and incorporating ICT were crucial in the teaching of information literacy (Wilson, 2021, April 26).

 

With my increased understanding of information literacy comes a greater understanding of the Australian Curriculum’s (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.) general capabilities and their place within teaching and learning. In module 4.1a and 4.1b, I reflected upon my personal experience as a classroom teacher trying to reconcile best practice with other competing demands (Wilson, 2021, April 16; Wilson, 2021, April 17). I resonated with what Lee FitzGerald (2018, p. 53) cited as an inhibitor for collaboration: “embarrassment”. I was embarrassed for not understanding how to incorporate the general capabilities within my teaching. Having now had practice in embedding the general capabilities within an inquiry unit and identifying how to assess these skills, I now feel more capable in incorporating these skills and processes into future guided inquiry units.

 

Through my learning of information literacy models I came to the conclusion that any challenges or disadvantages bought about by the implementation of a guided inquiry approach were outweighed by the advantages; the most notable being that “a guided inquiry approach to learning allows our students to construct their own meaning and subsequently create lifelong learning skills” (Wilson, 2021, May 1). Of the many information literacy models I analysed, the one that piqued my interests was Guided Inquiry Design (Kuhlthau et al, 2015, p. 53). As a lower primary teacher, I always believed that research tasks were reserved for older students. However, Guided Inquiry Design has shown me that by scaffolding their emerging research skills and harnessing their natural curiosity (Maniotes, 2018, p. 19), even the youngest of students can develop inquiry skills. Utilising digital tools allows teachers to collect qualitative data on the inquiry process (Wilson, 2021, April 14) and support younger students to record reflections on their learning orally, mitigating the need for well-developed writing skills.

 

I have come to learn that the role of a teacher librarian is teacher first, librarian second. This concept was reinforced when I examined the standards within the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014) (Wilson, 2021, April 19). I previously held the misconception that teacher librarians simply connected classroom teachers to relevant resources when planning units of inquiry. I now recognise that collaboration is the key to embedding information literacy and sits at the core of a teacher librarian’s role. However, creating a culture where collaboration is valued amongst classroom teachers is no easy feat, requiring a teacher librarian to think long-term and begin with “one interested teacher at a time” (Garrison & FitzGerald, 2019) (Wilson, 2021, April 23).

 

In module 4.3, I examined research that provided evidence of the impact a teacher librarian has on student reading results (Hughes, 2013, para. 1) and expressed the opinion:

If the mere presence of a teacher librarian (sometimes not even qualified with dual qualifications) in a school has the impact to improve reading results, then I imagine the active involvement from a dually-qualified teacher librarian in curriculum development would have an even greater impact on student learning and achievement across many other learning areas (Wilson, 2021, April 24).

Therefore, by expanding my own understanding of information literacy and inquiry learning through ETL401 and putting this new learning into action, I should be able to make a significant pedagogical impact on the teaching and learning within my school.

 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). General capabilities. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/

 

Australian School Library Association. (2014). Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage. ASLA. https://asla.org.au/evidence-guides-tls

 

FitzGerald, L. (2018). Guided inquiry goes global : Evidence-based practice in action. ABC-CLIO, LLC

 

Garrison, K. L. & FitzGerald, L. (2019, October 21-25). “One interested teacher at a time”: Australian Teacher Librarian Perspectives on Collaboration and Inquiry [conference paper]. 48th Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship and the 23rd International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

 

Hughes, H. (2013).  School libraries and teacher-librarians: evidence of their contribution to student literacy and learning. Curriculum and Leadership Journal, 11(12). http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/school_libraries_and_tls,36453.html?issueID=12777

 

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

 

Lloyd, A. (2007). Learning to put out the red stuff: Becoming information literate through discursive practice. Library Quarterly, 77(2), 181-198.

 

Maniotes, L. K. (2018). Guided Inquiry Design in Action: Elementary School. Libraries Unlimited.

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The Advantages, Challenges and Disadvantages of Implementing a Guided Inquiry Approach

The Advantages, Challenges and Disadvantages of Implementing a Guided Inquiry Approach

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The implementation of any new learning program within a school brings with it advantages, challenges and disadvantages. Through pre-identification, teacher librarians can gain a wholistic view of the guided inquiry framework they wish to implement. They will be able to use points of advantage to advocate for its implementation and develop an understanding amongst staff of its potential impact on student learning. Pre-identifying challenges and disadvantages allows the teacher librarian to predict possible hurdles and subsequently plan to mitigate their impact on the implementation process. Below are just some of the advantages, challenges and disadvantages that I have identified through literature so far.

 

Advantages

A guided inquiry approach to learning offers students an authentic learning framework through which they develop and utilise skills that are applicable to their lives outside of schooling. Carol Kuhlthau, Leslie Maniotes and Ann Caspari (n.d., para. 27) describe their Guided Inquiry Design framework as:

“a way to learn that prepares them for living and working in the information age. … [it] creates an environment that motivates them to want to learn. It engages them in determining importance and meaning by connecting the curriculum with their world for deep lasting learning. The Guided Inquiry Design framework is an innovative, dynamic approach to teaching and learning for providing information age education for children”.

It is clear from this quote that implementing a guided inquiry approach within a school has far-reaching benefits to the lives of the students that we teach. It is through this framework that students can develop 21st century skills, such as those stipulated within the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. A guided inquiry framework combined with the teaching of the General Capabilities equip students to be informed and active citizens beyond their schooling years.

 

Challenges

One of the first challenges a teacher librarian may come across in their mission to implement a guided inquiry approach is getting classroom teachers onboard with the concept and opening a channel of collaboration. I have discussed the challenges related to initiating collaboration and ways to circumnavigate this within my previous blog post, Slow and Steady Wins the (Collaborative) Race. However, this post did not address why teachers were hesitant to engage collaboratively with the teacher librarian to implement a guided inquiry approach. One possibility could be due to the “embarrassment” that can be felt by a classroom teacher when it comes to their limited knowledge of the inquiry process (FitzGerald, 2018, p. 53). This embarrassment can also be felt by the teacher librarian as they deal with the specialist content of a classroom teacher (FitzGerald, 2018, p. 53). This explains why many teachers default back to a traditional research assignment approach to teaching units of work (Kuhlthau, 2014, p.9). Linda Gibson-Langford (2009, p. 3) suggests using action research to develop true collaboration between teacher librarians and classroom teachers as it “deepens conversation and challenges both researchers and participants to question the way things are done and to take risks with new ideas”. In its essence, action research creates a new blank space in which the teacher librarian and classroom teacher can create new ideas and learning approaches together.

 

Stemming from the embarrassment that many teachers may feel in regard to their lack of knowledge around guided inquiry is the issue of workload and time constraints. A lack of time to learn about, plan and implement guided inquiry coupled with competing demands affects both the classroom teacher and the teacher librarian. The adage work smarter, not harder comes into play here. Research has shown that collaboration is the most effective way to overcome this (Garrison & FitzGerald, 2019, p. 7). Building interdisciplinary guided inquiry units is one way in which teacher librarians and classroom teachers can use time more effectively (Garrison & FitzGerald, 2019, p. 7). This breaking down of the knowledge silos within a school makes learning more authentic and gives students the opportunity to apply their understanding of the guided inquiry process to different contexts.

 

Disadvantages

There exists many inconsistencies and omissions within the Australian Curriculum when it comes to inquiry learning (Lupton, 2012, p. 15). This puts an unnecessary onus on the teacher librarian to fill in the gaps. This view may be seen as a “glass half-empty” one, but as I discussed before one of the hurdles towards teacher librarians successfully implementing a guided inquiry approach is a lack of time. If the inquiry components of the Australian Curriculum were more streamlined and coherent, then that would allow a teacher librarian to invest more time into the other aspects involved in implementing a guided inquiry approach. There is currently a review being conducted of the Australian Curriculum, with the aim of “refining, realigning and reducing the existing content of the curriculum” (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2020, para. 8). Hopefully, the inconsistencies that currently exists will be addressed, taking the pressure off the teacher librarian to fill in the gaps.

 

Implementing any new approach to learning is always going to be met with challenges and disadvantages but identifying them and researching ways to overcome these hurdles is the best approach that a teacher librarian can take. At the end of it all, the advantages of a guided inquiry approach outweigh any of the challenges or disadvantages it may bring. The biggest advantage is undeniable: a guided inquiry approach to learning allows our students to construct their own meaning and subsequently create lifelong learning skills.

 

References:

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2020). Review of the Australian Curriculum. https://acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum-review

 

FitzGerald, L. (2018). Guided inquiry goes global : Evidence-based practice in action. Libraries Unlimited.

 

Garrison, K. L. & FitzGerald, L. (2019, October 21-25). “One interested teacher at a time”: Australian Teacher Librarian Perspectives on Collaboration and Inquiry [conference paper]. 48th Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship and the 23rd International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

 

Gibson-Langford, L. (2009). Collaboration or Co-blab-oration. Synergy, 7(2).

 

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K. & Caspari, A. K. (n.d.). Guided Inquiry Design. Rutgers. http://wp.comminfo.rutgers.edu/ckuhlthau/guided-inquiry-design/

 

Lupton, M. (2014). Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6: A bird’s eye view. Access, 28(4), 8-29.

 

Maniotes, L. K. & Kuhlthau, C. C. (2014). Making the shift. Knowledge Quest, 43(2), 8-17.

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A Work in Progress: My Initial Understanding of Information Literacy

A Work in Progress: My Initial Understanding of Information Literacy

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I am currently at the very beginning in regard to forming my understanding of information literacy, so the views that I write below are my preliminary understanding of things to consider when embedding information literacy as a teacher librarian. No doubt these views and understandings will evolve and change the more I learn, so it will be interesting to revisit this post in the future to see how far my understanding has developed.

 

Annemaree Lloyd’s (2007b) article, entitled Recasting information literacy as sociocultural practice: Implications for library and information science researchers, resonated with me the most. I was able to apply her observations around how NSW ambulance officers and firefighters became information literate within their professions to my own experience of becoming a primary school teacher; moving from the educational theory learned in university lecture theatres (epistemic information), to undertaking teaching practicums (corporeal information), then to my first job as a teacher (social information). Lloyd’s definition of information literacy is embedded in a sociocultural theory of learning. She describes information literacy as:

“a catalyst for learning and at the same time inextricably enmeshed with learning. Information literate people have a deep awareness, connection and fluency with the information environment. Information literate people are engaged, enabled, enriched and embodied by social, procedural and physical information that constitute an information environment. Information literacy is constituted through the connections that exist between people, artefacts, texts and bodily experiences, which enable individuals to develop both subjective and intersubjective positions. Information literacy is a way of knowing the many environments that constitute an individual being in the world” (Lloyd, 2007a, p. 5).

To structure my current understanding of information literacy and how it applies to the role of a teacher librarian, I am going reflect upon each sentence in Lloyd’s definition of information literacy above within the context of student learning in a school environment.

 

“Information literate people have a deep awareness, connection and fluency with the information environment” (Lloyd, 2007a, p. 5).

For a teacher librarian, this sentence highlights the need to develop the transliteracy skills of students. Transliteracy is the ability to fluidly move between technologies, media and contexts in order to search, collaborate and communicate effectively (Sukovic, 2016, para. 2). For example, the skills needed to select, locate, and evaluate information within a book are different to the skills needed to select, locate, and evaluate information within a website, and users need to know both in order to gain exposure to a richer information environment. A library that is comprised of a diverse range of information in different modalities is required so students can proficiently develop and use transliteracy skills. Some of the transliteracy skill set is reflected in the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities through the elements below:

 

“Information literate people are engaged, enabled, enriched and embodied by social, procedural and physical information that constitute an information environment” (Lloyd, 2007a, p. 5).

This point touches on Lloyd’s (2007b, para. 26) “knowing locations”: epistemic (print and electronic texts that contain theory and are representational of a concept), corporeal (formed through observation or a “tactile and kinaesthetic activity associated with actual practice” (Lloyd, 2007b, para. 29)) and social (knowledge gained from first-hand practice and experience). In a school context, I draw parallels with this idea to the Gradual Release of Responsibility model that is commonly used within teaching and learning. This model sees teachers scaffold learning by moving through a sequence of modelled (student observes a task or skill), shared (student performs this task or skill with a peer or teacher), and independent learning (student performs the task independently). This model is commonly implemented with the teacher-student relationship at the centre and ignores the beneficial impact that collaboration with peers can have during the modelled and shared stages (Fisher & Frey, 2008, p. 3). Proving students with opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other is reflected in the following elements from the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities:

 

“Information literacy is constituted through the connections that exist between people, artefacts, texts and bodily experiences, which enable individuals to develop both subjective and intersubjective positions” (Lloyd, 2007a, p. 5).

Lloyd (2007b, para. 11) highlights how we need to use our whole body, not just our minds, when becoming information literate. Providing opportunities for students to engage with content through the utilisation of different senses via various modalities will strengthen their learning and development of information literacy. Again, it highlights the important role collaboration and social interaction play in learning. As I reflect on this element of Lloyd’s definition, I recall the Visual, Auditory and Kinasthetic learning style theory that was popular around the time that I was studying my degree. As a theory, its impact on learning has been challenged, but at the crux of it exists an idea that most competent teachers understand already: “that children learn through their senses, that environment and motivation are important, and that the human brain is pretty well adapted to processing the information from everything that they see, hear and do” (Sharp et al., 2008, p. 294). Understanding that learning is complex and thus planning learning experiences that engage all three can provide a richer learning experience to create information literate students.

 

“Information literacy is a way of knowing the many environments that constitute an individual being in the world” (Lloyd, 2007a, p. 5).

The ‘environments’ are the different contexts that exist within a student’s life which requires them to learn a related information literacy. Some environments that students may be developing their information literacy include part-time jobs, sporting groups, and hobbies. Groups, such as hobby and interest groups, can exist face-to-face on through online communities. In the school environment, teacher librarians can harness the use of technology, such as wikis, skype and the Google suite of tools, to foster collaboration, “break down the knowledge silos”, and expand the learning environment (Gibson-Langford, 2009).

 

The considerations that I have identified through the analysis of Lloyd’s (2007a) definition of information literacy are: the development of transliteracy skills, collaboration between students, providing learning experiences that utilise the students whole body and senses, and utilising ICT as a means of collaboration and expansion of the learning environment. As I mentioned previously, I am still in the preliminary stages of developing my own understanding of information literacy. Lloyd’s (2007a) definition combined with practical examples of how this applies within the workplace provided a context for me to develop my understanding. From this I was able to make connections to how it would apply in a school context and the considerations a teacher librarian would need to make when planning to teach information literacy.

 

References:

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching : A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development

 

Langford, L (2009). Collaboration or Co-blab-oration. Synergy, 7(2).

 

Lloyd, A. (2007a). Learning to put out the red stuff: Becoming information literate through discursive practice. Library Quarterly, 77(2), 181-198.

 

Lloyd, A. (2007b).  Recasting information literacy as sociocultural practice: Implications for library and information science researchers. Information Research, 12(4). http://informationr.net/ir/12-4/colis/colis34.html#Lloyd_2007

 

Sharp, J. G., Bowker, R., & Byrne, J. (2008) VAK or VAK‐uous? Towards the trivialisation of learning and the death of scholarship. Research Papers in Education, 23(3), 293-314.

 

Sukovic, S. (2016). What Exactly Is Transliteracy?. Elsevier SciTech Connect. http://scitechconnect.elsevier.com/what-exactly-is-transliteracy/

The ASLA Evidence Guide: Teacher first, librarian second

The ASLA Evidence Guide: Teacher first, librarian second

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The Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014) is a window through which I am able to gain a comprehensive understanding of what will be expected of me when I eventually step into the role of a teacher librarian. As discussed in my first blog post, I am commencing this degree with limited predetermined ideas of what the role should be. This has allowed me to look at the role through fresh eyes and form my ideas from the ground up. This has been particularly pertinent as literature has indicated that the role is constantly evolving to adapt to learning in the 21st century (Lamb, 2011, p. 27). The Evidence Guide gives me a clear indication of what will be expected of me when I eventually do step into the role of a teacher librarian.

 

From first glance, this document clearly articulates that the role is teacher first, librarian second. By building upon the standards outlined within the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011), the Evidence Guide emphasises that teaching is at the core of the role. Through the elaborations made on the descriptors, the document outlines the pedagogy that a teacher librarian would need to demonstrate to be considered proficient within their role. One such example can be seen below within the focus area 2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.  The elaboration on the descriptor states that: “Proficient teacher librarians use their knowledge of current content requirements and teaching strategies to plan and teach a wide range of topics” (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 6).

An extract from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014).
An extract from the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (Australian School Library Association, 2014, p. 6).

This indicates to me that planning and teaching is not isolated to classroom teachers alone. The inclusion of the word ‘wide’ when describing the topic range suggests that the content a teacher librarian would be planning for will overlap slightly with the planning of a classroom teacher (through collaborative planning), and goes beyond that of literacy, digital literacy and information literacy skills. Mandy Lupton (2014) recognises the teacher librarian’s unique “birds-eye view” perspective and proposes that teacher librarians utilise this and become curriculum consultants within their school (Lupton, 2014, p. 23). Reading the Evidence Guide clearly reinforces that the role of a teacher librarian is one that is strongly embedded in pedagogical undertakings of the school.

 

I have reflected upon how I would use the Evidence Guide to inform my practice in a previous blog post. In this post I applied the perspective of a reflective practitioner; using concepts of ‘structure’, ‘challenge’ and ‘support’ to frame my analysis. Throughout my learning in this degree, I will continue to make connections to the Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage (2014) to further my understanding of the role of a teacher librarian.

 

References:

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. AITSL.  https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

 

Australian School Library Association. (2014). Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians in The Proficient Career Stage. ASLA. https://asla.org.au/evidence-guides-tls

 

Lamb, A. (2011). Bursting with potential: Mixing a media specialist’s palette. TechTrends : Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 55(4), 27-36. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1007/s11528-011-0509-3

 

Lupton, M. (2014). Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6: A bird’s-eye view. Access, 28(4), 8-29. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/78451/1/Lupton_ACCESS_Nov_2014_2pg.pdf

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash
Are school librarians an endangered species?

Are school librarians an endangered species?

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Teacher librarians will become an endangered species if they do not make visible what is invisible; that is, the pedagogical impact of their role on the teaching and learning within a school. Current changes within the learning landscape have created an opportunity for teacher librarians to evolve and position themselves as the information specialists that support their school community in the transition to an increasingly digitised curriculum. They are also well placed between the information and education disciplines to support the development of research and critical-thinking skills that learners require. Ultimately, teacher librarians need to advocate and promote their unique talents as information specialists in 21st century learning.

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My initial understanding of the role of a teacher librarian

My initial understanding of the role of a teacher librarian

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My initial understanding of the role a teacher librarian plays within a school was shaped by the experiences and the system for which I worked in. From 2014 to 2019 I was working in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) public school system as a classroom teacher. In the ACT, school budget constrains mean that “only four out of 10 public schools had a library that was staffed by a qualified teacher librarian” in 2020 (Lansdown, 2020, para. 6). This means that I have had limited experience in working alongside a teacher librarian and subsequently developed many misconceptions regarding what the role entailed. The first school I worked for shared a teacher librarian with a nearby school. I only saw them during my allocated 40-minute library time where I only observed them assisting students to borrow and return books. At the second school I worked for there was no teacher librarian. The library was staffed by a part-time administrative assistant whose role was to ensure that the library was in an orderly condition. We as teachers were encouraged to facilitate library time with our class ourselves.

 

Because of my limited experience working alongside teacher librarians, I viewed the position as more of an administrative role that was a luxury reserved only for schools who could afford one. I held the assumption that all those who worked in the position came from an information sciences background, not an education background. They were to ensure that the library was orderly by placing books carefully back on the shelf using an understanding of the Dewey Decimal System. A teacher librarian would get students excited about reading by sharing new stories or helping them find books on a topic of interest. They had one week every year, Book Week, which was their time to shine. During Book Week they would organise a dress up day, facilitate the book fair and announce the winners of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s book of the year. I only ever saw the surface-level tasks that teacher librarians performed and believed that was the whole role, not understanding the deep pedagogical support that they provide to teachers and students behind the scenes.

 

Today I am much more aware of the important role a teacher librarian plays. It is promising to see the ACT government has also recognised the importance this role has “in enriching the learning environment of all of our students and the wider school community” (Australian Capital Territory, 2019, p. 1) and followed through pledging to fund scholarships for 10 teachers to up-skill each year the next five years (Lewis, 2021, para. 2). A renewed focus on employing more teacher librarians makes me hopeful that more people will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the positions impact within a school and in doing so, eliminating many of the misconceptions that exist.

 

I am excited to be commencing a degree in a field that I can now see has far-reaching impact on the teaching and learning within a school. I am now much more informed about the role but I am also aware that I have so much more to learn on this learning journey… let’s begin!

 

References:

Australian Capital Territory. (2019). School Libraries: The Heart of 21st Century Learning. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf

 

Lansdown, S. (2020, September 9). ACT election 2020: Liberals promise to recruit teacher librarians as parents call for school libraries to be protected. The Canberra Times. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6916017/teacher-librarians-lost-in-public-school-squeeze/

 

Lewis, Kathryn. (2021, February 1). ACT government to provide 10 teachers a year scholarship to complete librarian qualifications. The Canberra Times. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7106701/scholarships-to-address-shortage-of-canberra-teacher-librarians/

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