4.1 Introduction to leadership
This video was included as a mention in the 4.1 notes and explained leadership exceptionally well and made me smile.
The two key players to any change in schools or in leadership are the first and second participants; the leader and the first follower. The leader must embrace the first follower, remain open to their input and encourage in order for others to determine how their own contribution will be recieved. The first follower must follow the leader closely, as all consequential followers aren’t just following the leader, but also the first follower to determine the effort needed, the behaviour accepted and the aims or goals.
Also, I love this video.
4.2 TLs as Leaders
Read
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2013). Chapter 4 Empowering learning through leadership. Empowering learners: Guidelines for school library programs.
I found this reading to be very interesting. Although based on the US school system, it laid out some very explicit and reasonable expectations of TLs as operational leaders within schools.
The type of leader that this reading is aiming to develop is a Transformational leader with a focus on professionalism. Part of the suggested responsibilities of TLs is to participate in local, regional and state education and librarian orgnaisations, as well as publish articles an information in school and community newsletters and media. These are not things I would have considered doing as a TL but I can understand why they are included as it is sharing knowledge and ensuring the TL is a visible leader in the community.
While Bishop (2011) unpacks ‘collaboration’, I find the most interesting and valid point to be that Principals, executive staff and CTs may not have a lcear idea of what collaboration looks like and it is, therefore, the role of the TL to develop that understanding amongst them, presenting all options and determining, collaboratively, what that means for their school context. Interestingly, it never occured ot me that all staff may not have the same idea of collaboration but, now that it has been pointed out, it makes sense. Everyone will have had different experiences with collaboration and some may have come away with a negative perception, or even a skewed understanding of what collaboration requires. Prior to developing a collaborative TL position, it may be necessary for the TL to take on the role of leader to educate other staff on what collaboration can look like and how it can benefit everyone.
Bell’s(2013) acronym for collaboration is something could be quite useful in developing our group work responses for this course, as well as in school settings.
“Bell (2013) offers a useful acronym for the process of successful collaboration:
R = Respect your counterparts.
E = Educate yourself regarding the role of the individual with whom you want to build a bridge.
A = Assume responsibility as the one to reach out. Do not wait or tell yourself it will never work.
C = Communicate and collaborate!
H = Help one another to provide the very best instruction and experiences for students. “
Read (choose two):
Mackenzie, T. (2019, April 21). How your teacher-librarian can be an ally when
teaching with inquiry. KQED News: MindShift.
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/53417/how-your-teacher-librarian-can-be-anally-when-teaching-with-inquiry
I chose this one as I have recently been assigned the task of introducing inquiry-based learning to Stage 3 while learning at home. It would be great if this could be continued when students return to school full-time.
While I am excited to delve into enquiry-based learning, I think it is going to be important that the CTs and I are on the same page in terms of what method we are going to teach the students and how often it is going to be employed. It is all well and good to focus on it during library time, learning the acronyms and what they mean, how to find information, etc, but if students are not utilising these skills regularly, including during class time with the support of the teacher AND independently, there is a risk that this process will not translate to different environments.
Softlink. (2017). School libraries share: Ideas for school-wide
collaboration. https://www.softlinkint.com/assets/img/banners/Whitepaper_-
_School_libraries_share_ideas_for_collaboration.pdf
I chose this second resource to check out how else I might collaborate with CTs and other staff at my tiny school.
I quite liked this resource as it is very visual and has collated information, opinions and experiences from around the world, including Australia, which is sometimes difficult to find, particularly in regards to TLs. It also provides TLs with further reading and resources to help support their collaborative development.
Browse and choose one to read in-depth
Goodnough, K. (2005). Fostering teacher learning through collaborative
inquiry. Clearing House, 79(2), 88-92. https//.doi.org/10.3200/TCHS.79.2.88-93
I chose this article becuase I wanted to see how a collaborative picture looks in its whole and what barriers this school faced when implementing collaborative inquiry.
The success of this project relied upon the overall commitment of the team to the project and its contributors (each other), the equal sharing of power and responsibility, the diversity of skills and abilities individuals brought to the project and support from outside of the testing group e.g. executives/principals etc.
In this paper, collaborators developed a unit addressing areas of the curriculum which had been percieved as lacking. This not only served to support students and develop their understanding in this area, it also served to develop staff undertsanding of this topic and gave support in how to teach it to students. Reflection was a large part of this project, both inidivudally and as a group as, I believe, should be the case for all planning, teaching and learning directed by teachers or librarians.
As you read Cole’s (2012) article, reflect on:
– the value and purpose of the different delivery models
– your current position in the delivery/receiver
model
– pathways to contribute to the school’s learning culture
– opportunities for future leadership in supporting teachers’ professional learning.
Take note of the impediments and strategies to address these issues and consider in light of your readings on change management.
Different delivery methods
Large presentations- useful for sharing new, broad-based information, rather than speicifically targetted at indiivduals or groups. Useful for making staff aware that change is needed, but not for implementing changes.
Specialist workshops- usually expensive but useful in addressing specific areas to develop, demonstrate new skills and communicate new knowledge. These should be followed up by reflection, a chance to implement, further reflection and observation, with peer feedback.
Individual PL online- good for addressing specific areas of development with individuals, but must be tooled to contribute to whole school vision and goals. This also gives individuals the chance to taregt their PL in an area that interests them. I believe, however, that they must remain accountable to ensure that their PL is relevant, completed and reflected upon after implementation.
Deliver/Receive PL
Currently, I do not deliver PL to my fellow staff. I undertake independent PL on a range of subjects that interest me and that, I believe will help develop my classroom and library practice. It is difficult, however, doing this alone as I often feel disconnected from my peers, who, as full time CTs get more collaborative PL than I- admittedly, it is usually in small groups or at seminars, so lacking that individual targetting. I can also become disenchanted with the courses I have chosen and most the NESA seem to be tooled towards CT, meaning I have little chance of implementing what I have been learning about, as a TL.
Pathway to contribute to school learning culture/Opportunities for leadership in the future
I am about to undertake a PL course on Aboriginal Education and Language that I would very much like to share with fellow staff members. I currently have the support of my Principal to take this course on and, I hope she will encourage sharing of this knowledge in staff meetings once completed. I feel that the sharing of this knowledge would benefit from a workshop then peer coaching or mentoring throughout a set period, followed by reflection and feedback (Goodnough, 2015)
Additionally, it is my intention to start displaying teacher resources within the library and sharing them in staff meetings to support staff with their planning any way I can. I am currently cleaning out 15 years worth of library resource room stock and am already finding some amazing resources!
I would like to work more collaboratively with other staff in programming, however, their concept of collaboration seems to differ from mine (AASL, 2013). Additionally, many of my current peers seem to be running off their feet, operating in survival mode without stopping to confer with anyone else. This is a cultural phenomenon within our small community that the recently-arrived Principal is working on changing.
References
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2013). Chapter 4 Empowering learning through leadership. Empowering learners: Guidelines for school library programs.
Bell, M. A., Van Roekel, J. L., & Weimar, H. (2013). School librarians and the technology
department: A practical guide to successful collaboration. Linworth.
Bishop, K. (2011). Connecting libraries with classrooms. Linworth.
Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching
practice.
https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_t
eaching_practice_-_cole.pdf
