November 2020 – Seoul Learning

Module 2.1 and 2.2: The information environment

I really enjoyed reading different definitions and perspectives of ‘information’. It made me think that as a subject teacher, I have had a rather limited understanding of information up to this point, almost one dimensional. When reading the module however, it was like my linear thinking was pushed into 3-D!

Several things stood out to me within the module sections of 2.1-2.2. They are reflections and are in no particular order.

: I appreciated the flow from raw data to wisdom as presented by Wideman (2008). We have an overwhelming amount of information in our lives and it was refreshing to be reminded of the possibility of a higher purpose – we could really use more wisdom! I started to reflect as to whether the word ‘wisdom’ has featured lately in any discussions I have had with students and I (to my sadness) could not think of any recent examples. I did a little reading around the subject of teaching wisdom in schools and stumbled upon Robert Sternberg who promotes this. “When schools teach for wisdom, they teach students that it is important not just what you know, but how you use what you know–whether you use it for good ends or bad.” (Sternberg, 2002, as cited in the Oregon Technology in Education Council, 2007). I realised that TL’s could play a very important role in this, as information specialists.

: I also found it helpful to think of information as a traded good that is inconsumerable, untransferable, indivisible and accumulative (Derouet, 2020). I had not really thought of information in these terms and it made me realise how powerful information can be due to these attributes.

: In this day and age of mis- and dis- information, when is a fact not really a fact? Information can be so very subjective too.

References

Derouet, L. (2020). The information environment [Study notes]. ETL401: Introduction to Teacher Librarianship. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_3883144_1&course_id=_49763_1

Oregon Technology in Education Council. (2007). Data, information, knowledge and wisdom. https://otec.uoregon.edu/data-wisdom.htm

Wideman, R.M. (2008). The information hierarchy. [Powerpoint slides]. http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons/iac1013d/sld004.htm

Beginning ETL503

Yes, I’m beginning ETL503, and even though I have been teaching for 20 years, I also feel very much a beginner to the entire world of teacher-librarianship! I have just started working my way through Module 2 and I already feel challenged with new terminology, perspectives and ideas. I’m looking forward to delving into the hows and whys of collection development and management. (I am such a newbie, I didn’t even know this was a ‘thing’!)

I was able to track down my school’s library policies and these documents seem to focus more on procedures of how to deal with complaints about resources, rather than developing the resources themselves. Which leaves me curious as to why the emphasis seems to be reversed compared to what I had expected. I’ll try and ask our TLs during a quiet moment and report back via blog post!

Culture and Teacher Librarianship

Korean Gate within our school.
Besides our more formal assignment reflections, we have been encouraged to record our musings at any point in our blog. I have taught in Indonesia, Singapore, Germany and now South Korea. I doubt it will end there and we’ll move on as a family to new countries and adventures. In our role as educators, we have come across many different approaches to education informed by the dominant culture. It has been really interesting, often challenging and always thought-provoking.

While writing Assignment #1_Part B, a few questions popped up for me. I obviously held little regard to TLs in my early years of teaching. The onus is probably on me but it did make me wonder. I have compared my experiences against the roles of a librarian identified by the Australian Schools Librarian Association (which is a new document for me at the start of this new course). I wonder what roles have been identified in the countries I have worked in – for Teacher Librarians? In what ways are the same and in what ways do they differ from the ASLA roles? How does culture and in particular educational culture, inform TLs in other countries? What about the role of a TL in the international school setting? How do they ‘marry’ their own expectations of their role with the expectation of the school? What do students of different cultures expect from their TL?

I’m hoping that I’ll have time to do a deeper dive into TLs and culture throughout my course. Could I use this as a possible research project in INF447?

Assessment #1_ Part B

Reflection on the role of Teacher Librarians (prior to my interest in becoming a Teacher Librarian).

I must be honest and admit that prior to 2018, I had a very limited understanding of the role of Teacher Librarians (TLs) in schools.

My first teaching position was in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000. Looking back, I can barely remember the school library. I suspect that being new to the profession and a new country, I used the scheduled library sessions as a “dump and run”. Desperate for some breathing space and planning time, I had little interest in what the TL’s were doing with the students. I then moved to Singapore. From my observations, the TLs did not leave the library space and I identified their roles as the following: role #1_the ‘guardian of the library space’ and role #2:_the scanner of books.

My next job took me to an international school in Germany, and I added another TL role to my list: role #3 :_the provider of books related to current units I was teaching. There was very little dialogue between myself and the TL, I would simply state what topic we were investigating. This is a far cry from the comprehensive role outlined by the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) in regards to the TL being a leader in curriculum development (ASLA, 2014).

I started work in my current international school in Seoul and my experience of the role of TLs utterly changed. In Middle School I met a TL who was the antithesis of every other TL I had come across. He knew the students well. No shushing. Instead, laughter and animated discussions over books. He would do a ‘book pitch’ at the beginning of each library time – I have never seen students move SO FAST to literally dive on one of the ‘pitch’ books once he had finished. His role went well beyond what I had experienced before and extended to what ASLA (2014) has identified as information service manager and information specialist.

Two years ago, I moved to the High school section. At some point teaching a rigorous higher level History program, I ran into a conundrum with some referencing issues and a few elusive research topics and sought help from the TL, Judith. It was clear from our first meeting that Judith was not only an information manager and specialist but also a leader in curriculum development.

You could find Judith in the library, but just as likely, she would be talking to students in the halls and classrooms, or attending meetings. At this point, I was Head of Department of Individuals & Societies and I wondered why Judith attended these meetings. Then I realised that she brought a different perspective to our discussions. It became obvious that she had taken on a leadership role within the High School with the full support of the Principal. She transcended departments and grade levels. The library linked all of us together.

Judith has had a profound impact on my understanding of the role of a TL. I had never before witnessed the combination of teacher and librarian and someone who was willing to partner me in the classroom. It was only after this experience that I began to quietly wonder of the possibility of becoming a TL too.

References

Australian School Library Association. (2014). What is a Teacher Librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian.

My First Blog Post (ever)

I’ve never blogged before, so I am trying to figure it out. During our ongoing Covid 19 times, we have been thrust unceremoniously into virtual learning. We’ve made it work. But there have been days when I felt like I couldn’t handle any more ‘tech tips’, new apps, instructions and links from our digital learning coaches – it was all rather overwhelming. But this blog feels personal. I’m doing it for me (OK, also for our online reflection assessment!) I’m going out on yet another limb in order to navigate a new tech area and build a new skill set to reflect on my upcoming journey into the world of Teacher-Librarianship.

I’ve always loved libraries. Our little SA country town had a small school library which I haunted. It was mostly due to the lure of books – but it also provided a cool room in mid summer! Once I had read everything on the fiction shelves, I moved on to the reference sections and the dusty natural science books at the back. I’d check out a mineralogy book (what a nerd!) time and time again. My Dad and I would fossick on holidays in the Flinders Ranges and this book would be our ‘go to guide’. My family then moved to Pakistan in 1984 and our school library there was even smaller – but that’s where my love of history began. I remember crying over Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (Brown, 1970). We referenced all our essays by hand (my History teacher insisted – and rightly so), and I spent hours at the top of some extremely steep stairs which lead up to the library, sometimes working by kerosene lamp (electricity was often irregular).

Now I’m older and greyer, I have spent years taking deep dives down rabbit holes as a Middle Years Program Individuals & Societies teacher and Diploma Program History teacher, helping students research their internal assessments, extended essays or assorted projects. But at some point in 2019, I realised that I had met my match with several research questions and that’s when I trotted down to our High School library and spent time with Judith Reid. For the first time in my teaching career, I witnessed how powerful the combined role of the teacher AND the librarian could be. She is the one who has kickstarted the first steps of my journey (read more about Judith in Assessment #1_Part B!)

So, it’s the hope that with this course, I’ll be able to combine my love of reading, researching and teaching as well as Judith did, in order to provide practical support for students, teachers and the wider community. And get to work in a room full of books 🙂

References

Brown, D. (1970). Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. Holt, Reinhart & Winston.