Author: AOK

Terminology around Research

AOK EER500 , ,

WORDS, WORDS & MORE WORDS

Who would have thought that to just read an article or journal paper you would need the glossary from your subject textbook open at all times just to get through the first few paragraphs.

As I slowly wrap my head around the terminology in this subject, my understanding of key concepts and terms are starting to develop. Quantitive, qualitative and mixed methods approach, experimental and controlled trials, sampling, standardised and non standardised testing, acute, longitudinal and intervention studies, indicators and analysis are all words that are becoming second nature to me the more I read and research my topic. Although very time consuming, the more I read the more I want to find out, which is something I never thought would happen. A take home for me and my students at this point is the need and importance for organisation when researching. Having a table to jot down important information about each journal is a must as once the reading stage begins, without this, remembering what you have read where or what is relevant is impossible.

What is interesting is the different approaches that researches have when researching. Am I researcher that leans more towards quantitative or qualitative research methods? Or am I someone that is drawn to a mixed method approach? Who knows. Only time will tell.

Introduction to Research

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As I enter the world of research I am both apprehensive and excited at the same time. As a teacher, I know how students can feel when given a task or at the start of an inquiry. The variety and the roller coaster of emotions that one can go through as they move throughout the process, is not something I am looking forward to. However I am excited about the fact that there is no limitations or restrictions on the research. Researching a topic that is of interest, again is something that I can relate to with my own teaching of students.

Lots of reading and decision making ahead.

 

Copyright issues relating to Music

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Copyright is the responsibility of all members of the school however it is the Teacher Librarians responsibility to ensure they provide information, including signage, about copyright to the school community and inform all staff and students of any changes to copyright laws (CSU, 2019, Module 4). Although Music specialist have to understand and manage the specific education licences and copyright that goes with the various forms of music, it is important that as a Teacher Librarian you keep abreast of the laws to help guide other members of the community that may wish to use music as part of their teaching, assemblies, assignments etc.

Embedding units like Music for free?  (Department of Education Science and Training, 2007) which explores the legal and illegal ways of downloading music from the internet as well as examining personal actions and values and how that influences personal choices, as apart of students learning, is a great way for students to broaden their understanding of copyright as well as being responsible digital citizens.  This unit could be apart of library lessons or be taught in conjunction with the English teachers.

Being able to direct the community to places where they can find music and sounds that are legal to download and use is very important as a Teacher Librarian.  The sources listed in, Where to find CC licensed material, is a valuable source that can be circulated and shared amongst the community. The site offers a number of places and tools that can be used.

Exploration of the Smartcopying: The Official Guide to Copyright Issues for Australian Schools and TAFE site has opened my eyes to a whole new world.

 

Australian Government Department of Science and Training.  (2017).  Music for free? Building values across the whole school: A resource package.  Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/music-for-free.pdf

Charles Sturt University (CSU). (2019).  Legal and ethical issues of collections.  In ETL503: Topic 4.1: Copyright [Subject module].  Retrieved from Charles Sturt University webiste: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_42383_1&content_id=_2636383_1

National Copyright Unit. (n.d.) Smartcopying: The official guide to copyright jssues for australian schools and TAFE.  Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/home

National Copyright Unit. (n.d.)  Where to find CC licensed material.  Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/open-education/open-education-resources/where-to-find-cc-licensed-material/where-to-find-cc-licensed-music

Ordering Policies and Procedures

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Accountability is fundamental in any organisation, system or facility.  School libraries are no exception.  After reading Chapter 4 of A Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures in Australian School Library Resource Centres it is clear that and Ordering policy does not exist however we do have and follow Ordering Procedures.  In my current school anyone can complete a electronic purchase order to request a resource. Being such a large school, a P-12 college, we have many different people that are responsible for and are able to authorise the purchase orders.  A teacher librarian and other Head of Departments can authorise anything up to the value of  $500 but anything over that needs to be authorised by a member of Leadership.   A part of the purchase order is to assign a department that is responsible for the resource and ultimately which budget it will be coming from. Often, although the Head of Departments can authorise, they do turn to the Teacher Librarian to complete the purchasing. Once the purchase order has been approved by the appropriate person the order can then be placed. A new concept that our school is still getting use to is ensuring that all non perishable orders, no matter which department it has been purchased from, comes to the library upon arrival so that it can be checked and accessioned into our Library Management System.  This is a practise that we are trying to make a routine as accountability, as well as the worth of resource and being able to locate and find resources at all times is extremely important.  Until this is achieved, the teacher librarian having a full record that can be compared to the finance department is not possible or happening within my school.  The teacher librarian does work in close consultation with the finance department, who will send on all invoices and purchase orders once complete.  The finance department regularly update all departments of the current expenditure and the amount remaining in the budget.

Cooney et al. (2017).  A manual for developing policies and procedures in australian school library resource centres. 2nd Edition  Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/policies-procedures-manual_ed2.pdf

 

 

Collaborator, Steward and Thinker

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Collaborator, steward and thinker, three terms used to describe a good budget manager.  I can see how all three need to be employed in order to manage a budget effectively. In the fast paced society in which we live, the demands of the curriculum and the new trends and processes that institutions are implementing for planning and teaching, teachers rely on Teacher Librarians to offer suggestions or find resources that support the need. Sometimes there is no collaboration with the Teacher Librarian as teachers want or need a resource ASAP.  When being a collaborator it is important that there is a balance. One way is showing initiative, being involved in planning sessions to help resource and support teaching and learning.  Another way is to look at the current collections to see if there is a similar resource.  This does not only apply to teachers but all community members.  Due to tight budgets, Teacher Librarians can not simply buy everything every community member would like.  They need to monitor and assess what best suits the needs of the community.

The roll out of the new Senior Syllabus is a prime example of how a Teacher Librarian shows leadership and stewardship.  Liaising with the principal and subject coordinators to move through the costly yet essential process is essential in order to provide a collection thats caters for the needs of the community.  One needs to be organised, monitor and assess and keep track of all expenditure.

Being creative and thinking outside of the box is also important when managing a budget.  Negotiating with others and being resourceful on how to access other funds can offer opportunities to support the library collection and budget.  A resource that is multiple purposeful opens up conversations and negotiation as to which budget it can come out of.  It is also important that one does not spend all the budget at once or early in the year.  That it is thought out to allow for special events, redesign or new products or trends that occur.

To manage a budget effectively one needs to plan, record, consider, collaborate, lead, initiate, and reflect on all purchases to be made and those that are made.

 

Fiction vs Non-Fiction

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A very timely reflection as I have just finished revamping the Junior Non-Fiction collection within my school.  I would not say that there was tension between fiction and non-fiction but rather there was a need to revisit the collection and look at ways to improve it.  After reflecting on borrowing statistics, patterns, current curriculum and student interests I set myself a goal at the beginning of the year to do something about the non-fiction collection within our Resource Centre.

Our collection is quite large, and the location in which it sat, students found it quite difficult and daunting to browse and find books.  Apart from a few bulk loans from classroom teachers and the occasional joke and cook book being borrowed, the collections borrowing statistics were very low.  Reflecting on why, I decided to divide the collection into two separate collections – P-3 and Junior Non Fiction.  I did this according to appropriate age level, reading levels and content. Now that the two collections are in different locations and the accessibility to the books has changed, with the detailed signs to assist and aid learners, the borrowing in both these sections have dramatically increased. The National Library of New Zealand, (2014) discusses James Moloney’s opinion about the attraction that boys have to non fiction.  I agree with James. Since dividing the collections I have seen those conversations, the excitement about topics and books and my reluctant readers and non borrowers are now borrowing.

Like all schools there are a variety of topics and genres that capture students interests.  Focussing on the upper primary I have noticed that a large amount of students both reluctant and avid readers are in fact interested in events in history and biographies.  Keeping in mind Mosle’s (2012) opinion that what schools need is not more non-fiction but better fiction, “narrative non-fiction” that models good writing persuades me to revisit the collection and the curriculum and look for opportunities where I can build such texts into the collection.

References

National Library of NZ. (2014). Non-fiction. National Library of New Zealand Services to Schools. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160729150727/http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creating-readers/genres-and-read-alouds/non-fiction

Mosle, S. (2012, November 22). What should children read? [Blog post]. Opinionator: The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/what-should-children-read/?_r=0

How can teacher librarians effectively collaborate with the school community in the selection of resources?

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According to Hughes-Hassell and Mancall, (2005) providing a collaborative access environment requires that “school library media specialists, teachers, and other members of the learning community enter into a collaborative relationship and share authority for collection and access decisions” (p. 48).  No longer is it the sole responsibility of the teacher librarian to develop the library collection.

Doughty, (2017) explains that collaboration with all library users contributes to a great library service. Ways in which a collaborative relationship can be built with the learning community is by attending planning and team meetings to inform what parts of the curriculum are currently being studied and to offer suggestions of resources that may support the learning.  Student involvement in the selection process can also be established by having students offer suggestions.  These can be simply based on interest or a suggestion that supports their learning.  By giving students an active role to play in the library it offers them a greater sense of ownership (Doughty, 2017).  Relationships with parents and the wider community are equally important and can be achieved through offering a collection that parents can borrow from and by having connections with local libraries and resources that can be accessed for your community.

Doughty, K. (2017). Collaboration is the name of the game. Incite, 38 (11/12), 25. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=220458073962485;res=IELAPA

Hughes-Hassell,. S. & Mancall, J. (2005). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners. Chicago: ALA Editions.  Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=289075&ppg=48

Definition of collection management or development

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According to the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the definition of collection includes “traditional and electronic resources.” (2001, p. 25).  These resources  include print, graphic, audiovisual and electronic.  The curriculum is supported through “a collection of learning resources and equipment organised, accessed and circulated through a whole school resource management system that includes all information services” (ASLA & ALIA, 2001, p. 25). By collaboration with all staff members it is the responsibility of the teacher librarian to develop a balanced collection (2001).

The key elements similar to those already provided are:

  • resources that support the curriculum
  • a balanced collection – both traditional and electronic resources
  • it is the responsibility of the teaching librarian working in collaboration with staff members to develop a collection

ALSA., & ALIA. (2001). Learning for the future: Developing information services in schools (2nd ed.). Carlton South, Victoria: Curriculum Corporation.

First attempt at a Selection Process

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Wouldn’t it be great if you could just buy something purely because you like it.

As a teacher librarian it is very important to develop a process for the selection of resources.  Collaboratively with your learning community, moving through the step by step process should help discern the appropriateness, relevance, worthiness affordability of the resource.

As I attempted to formulate a process and think about sorts of questions that needed to be asked I could see the process unfold.  The first attempt is definitely not perfect.

 

Selection Process