ETL401 has introduced me to the concepts of information literacy and inquiry learning and has also challenged my perceptions of the role of the TL and their importance to the school community.

My initial understanding of a literate person was simply someone who could read and write and therefore participate in society more fully. However, in a rapidly expanding information society the term “information literacy” has never been more important. Information literacy primarily pertains to critical thinking and evaluation skills and is at the heart of learning (Hutchinson, 2017). The students that I teach are the first generation of true “digital natives” and I am guilty of assuming that because this generation have only ever known a world with technology that they must automatically be “technology savvy” (Wang et al., 2013). However, the many readings and discussion posts in ETL401 have made me realise that this generation is better defined as the “google generation”.

The persistence and replicability of digital information means that students in today’s schooling system must wade their way through an enormous volume of content in search of the information that they seek (Upton, July 18). My role as a TL will be to help students to navigate the information society in which we live. In the words of a fellow student, “If [TLs] resist the information society, we only perpetuate the outdated ideas of what a TL is and what our role is” (Whittle, 2023, July 23).

Information literacy requires students to think more deeply; to be able to successfully locate information, evaluate it, make judgements about its relevance, and then devise ways to communicate and share this information. The TL is fundamental in teaching students the best way to locate and access information and can ensure that these skills are incorporated into the curriculum.

A fellow ETL401 student noted in the discussion forum that whilst she sees plenty of opportunities to embed information literacy into the curriculum, at her school she sees only “pockets” of the school that are doing this successfully (Auld, August 13). As an aspiring TL I see the importance of taking a more systematic approach to teaching information literacy. Inquiry learning and various information literacy models can help to develop a school-wide process for students to learn how to seek, access and use information effectively and ethically.

As a result of completing this assignment, I have a new understanding and appreciation for inquiry learning. I initially thought that such an approach was sacrificing breadth of knowledge to focus on one small aspect of the curriculum. However, I now understand the numerous benefits of the inquiry learning approach to teach information literacy. TLs can use the many inquiry learning and information literacy models to support inquiry learning such as Guided Inquiry Design, The Big 6, FOSIL and ISP. All models promote information literacy by actively engaging students in the task, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, encouraging students to think critically and solve real-world problems.  Far from my initial perception that inquiry learning was too time consuming, I have come to realise that inquiry learning is essential in developing information literacy as it teaches students to value the process of learning and not just the end product.

One of the most disheartening reflections of this course is just how under-utilised and undervalued the TL can be in schools. In one of my earliest blog posts (Upton, 2023, July 24), I expressed shock at Karen Bonanno’s view of TLs being the “invisible profession” (2015). More troubling still was that many of the readings for this course reiterated the need for TLs to constantly advocate for and justify the important work they do.

Through my studies, I have a much better understanding of the integral role that TLs play in teaching information literacy. They are fundamental in equipping students with the skills to achieve academic success and become responsible citizens.

References

Bonanno, K. (2015). A profession at the tipping point (revisited). Access, 29(1), 14-21.

Hutchinson, Elizabeth. (2017). Navigating the information landscape through collaboration. School Catalogue Information Service, (101).

Whittle, Roanna. (2023, July 23). What is a teacher librarian? [Description]. My TL Journey. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/roannawhittle/2023/07/23/what-is-a-teacher-librarian/

Wang, Q. (Emily), Sundaram, D., & Myers, M. D. (2013, November 8). Digital natives and digital immigrants – Association for Information Systems. Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Towards a model of digital fluency. https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1254&context=bise

The modern day teaching and learning environment is busier than ever. Far from whittling down the curriculum content, the new Australian Curriculum appears to have retained most of the original syllabus content and skills present in the New South Wales syllabuses as well as adding more in the form of General Capabilities.

My experience from working as a History and Geography teacher is that, whilst my school has made an effort to try to integrate the general capabilities into the various subjects studied, these twenty-first century skills are still seen as mutually exclusive to what is being taught on a daily basis in the classroom. There is the perception among teachers that by working to develop these general capabilities, they are doing so at the expense of the subject content. I work in a private school and there is a strong focus on the outcome of learning rather than the process of learning. My school has relatively recently introduced a Deep Learning focus into all secondary subjects. Whilst the intention is good, it has deteriorated into a “tick a box” activity and many teachers feel that these units have been integrated into the existing syllabus to the detriment of other content and skills that need to also be covered.

I believe that the teacher librarian can play a significant role in the promotion of the general capabilities across subject curriculum. They are the only person who has direct contact with all classes and all subjects. Teachers largely avoid the focus on developing general capabilities in their students as they either feel that they do not have the time or that, they themselves, don’t possess the skills or expertise in teaching these important skills. Teacher librarians can help to develop these skills. By combining the subject expertise of the classroom teacher with the information and research expertise of the teacher librarian the teaching and acquisition of twenty-first century skills can be achieved more authentically. In the case of my own school I feel that the experience of the teacher librarian is under-appreciated and under-utilised. Our teacher librarian has extensive experience in developing many of the general capabilities but teachers do not draw on her expertise frequently enough. It is for this reason that I feel that the role of the teacher librarian can sometimes be limited to working in parallel to the classroom teacher rather than in collaboration with them.

In a perfect world the old saying “We measure what we treasure” will refer the measure of the extent that students will have acquired twenty-first century skills that transcend subjects and serve them well for future education and workplaces and not their final mark in standardised tests.

“Literacy” is a word that I use on an almost daily basis without much thought for what is actually meant by this term. As teachers, we live in a world governed by literacy and we are always trying to employ new strategies to develop and improve the level of literacy of our students. The most simple definition of a literate person being “educated” and “learned” is too broad in the world that we live in. The correlation between being literate and being “cultured” and “able to participate” in all of life’s opportunities is still somewhat relevant and we, as teachers, all have a responsibility to ensure that students leave school with a level of literacy (or competency) across a range of contexts.

Too often I hear teachers at the school that I work at lamenting the falling literacy standards (primarily the reading, written expression and poor grammar) of today’s students. However, most assume that this is purely the responsibility of primary teachers in the students’ formative years and the English staff in the secondary school context. When whole-school literacy initiatives are introduced by the Principal or members of the Executive Team most teachers assume that they will not have to participate or engage with this policy “as they are not English teachers”.

Unfortunately, literacy has become synonymous with a student’s ability to perform well in a test or assessment. Too much focus has been put on measures of student literacy such as NAPLAN testing. Teachers (through no fault of their own) have become task-driven and are encouraged to “teach to the test”. The reading in “The Conversation” (Merga, 2022) discussed the importance of building student literacy through engagement. Students need to be encouraged to read for the pure joy of reading and to be curious learners rather than simply learn in order to pass a test.

Teachers need to be provided with training in order to identify students who are struggling with literacy skills in their subjects. Learning support staff in schools are stretched to the limit and can only provide generalised assistance with literacy. They are experts in employing strategies to support students who have diverse learning needs but they do not necessarily possess the discipline literacy required for each specialised subject. By providing tools for teachers to address the range of literacy standards within their class, this could improve students’ literacy across the various subjects taught in schools.

On reflection, I don’t necessarily think that the term “literacy” has been watered down, but rather, I think that it has expanded. As new technologies are introduced, new ways of communicating with others become mainstream and new ways of accessing information have emerged, the concept of multiple literacies has had to replace more traditional understandings of what it means to be literate. I think that “multiple literacies” now describes a need to possess a level of competence across many areas and disciplines. We forget that students who may not know anything different from the world that they live in still need to be explicitly taught how to “identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute” (UNESCO, 2004) information in a range of different contexts in order to build literacy and prepare them for the future.

References:

Merga, M. K. (2022, November 29). Every teacher needs to be a literacy teacher – but that’s not happening in most Australian schools. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/every-teacher-needs-to-be-a-literacy-teacher-but-thats-not-happening-in-most-australian-schools-184557

I have been a History and Geography teacher for twenty years and in my time in the classroom I have had the privilege of teaching students from Years 7-12. Working in the Humanities Faculty means that I have always understood the importance of literacy for students of all ages and I have designed my teaching programs to include a strong literacy focus. Despite my passion for reading and inquiry learning, I am ashamed to say that I have previously downplayed the role of the teacher librarian in schools and not utilised their incredible experience in the fields of literacy and research to help support me in my role as a teacher. Rather than seeing the role of the teacher librarian as being one that could assist me, I treated this option as a “luxury” that I was too busy to take advantage of.

I have always loved the feeling that comes over me when I enter my local community library or the school library space. There is always something so calming about being surrounded by books and having the soft whispers of the library staff fill my ears. One of the roles of the teacher librarian is to make the library an inviting and safe space for students and teachers alike. The library serves so many purposes; a quiet place to read or study, a classroom to teach students important literacy skills, a place for students to go at lunch to play board games, build LEGO and complete last-minute homework and so it is essential that this place feels welcoming and is easy to navigate.

However, the role of the teacher librarian is so much more than just designing the physical space of the library. Teacher librarians work with all students and classes across the school to foster a love of reading and inquiry learning, develop information literacy and promote creative and critical thinking. A report published in 2014 by the Young Adult Literacy Services Association states that adolescents in the 21^st century “need a much more expanded skill set”. Skills which include “communication, problem solving, information/media/digital and ICT literacy” are considered pre-requisites for student success in today’s education and work environments (Bonanno, K., 2015). Being dual qualified means that the teacher librarian is best placed to help students acquire these skills. They are the gateway between their schools and the enormous world of digital literacy and can provide specialist assistance for navigating library systems, resourcing the curriculum and working directly with classroom teachers to embed important skills and technology into teaching programs.

One of the biggest misconceptions (and one that I personally held prior to beginning my studies as a teacher librarian) is that teacher librarians work in an isolated environment and that the school library only has relevance to the students and teachers who choose to use that space. Before beginning my studies in teacher librarianship, I did not realise that the role of the teacher librarian was to foster links between the school, students, parents and the wider community. The teacher librarian, far from being isolated from the school environment, is a critical part of the school community. I have learnt so much in the short time I have been training to become a teacher librarian and have a new appreciation for the multi-faceted role that the school librarian plays.

References:

Bonanno, K. (2015). A profession at the tipping point (revisited). Access, 29(1), 14-21.

It has been a bumpy start to ETL505. There is so much information that is covered in only the first couple of weeks of the course that it is hard to get my head around! I have gone from not even knowing what the term “metadata” is to understanding its meaning and being able to analyse resources according to the metadata they include. At times I have found the concepts covered in the prescribed text to be overwhelming and a little confusing but the textbook and the course itself has certainly given me an appreciation of the sheer importance that library systems and tools play in our ability to find, identify, select, obtain and explore educational resources (particularly digital resources). My head is swimming with so many new definitions and concepts!

Persistance, replicability, scalability and searchability are the four characteristics of digital information. In many ways we live in an exciting new age of information which opens up our world and makes anything possible. After reading much of the information in Module 2 of this course it would seem that we are on the cusp of another great revolution (perhaps as significant as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions)-an Information Revolution. I am perhaps, according to Floridi (2017), part of the last generation to recognise a world where there is a distinction between the offline and online world. The online article “Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants” makes a clear distinction between digital immigrants (those who have known a world before digital information and have, at some stage during their adult life, had to learn about the the world of computers) and digital natives (young people born into the digital age) (Wang, et.al., 2013).

I am a digital immigrant. I have distant memories of getting presented with a new research assignment as a young primary and high school age student and racing to both the school library at lunch and my local community library that very afternoon after school to try to secure the very limited print resources available to complete the assignment successfully. Nowadays, students have a wealth of information at their very fingertips. There is no need to leave their home workspace or even race other students to the resources in a first-come-first-served basis. It is assumed that these digital natives are “inherently technology-savvy” but I do not always think that this is the case. The persistence and replicability of digital information means that information is never truly deleted and therefore “builds up” over time. This can lead to students in today’s schooling system having to wade their way through an enormous volume of content in search of the information that they seek. The negatives of this is that it can become overwhelming for many students, particularly those with special needs who require clear guidelines and scaffolding to achieve the outcomes of the subject.

The growth of digital information for teacher librarians also comes with positive and negative ramifications. One of the benefits is that teacher librarians can give less thought to the way in which they will need to physically accommodate information resources within the four walls of the library. The extended benefit of many resources now being available digitally is that they can also ease the burden on already strained school library budgets.

However, the expansion of the world of digital information has also seen an expansion in the role of the teacher librarian and subject teachers in teaching students digital literacy and the skills needed to evaluate the authenticity and reliability of the information they come across online. Far from the “inherently technology-savvy” digital natives that Wang and her fellow scholars talk about (Wang et al., 2013) students are finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate between reliable information and misinformation and disinformation. The replicability of digital resources leads to problems in identifying the original source of the information and its scalability often leads to information being manipulated and separated from its original context. The availability of digital information has transformed the way in which we educate our students, the way in which the new generations learn and has also transformed the role of the teacher librarian in schools.

References

Floridi, L. (2007). A look into the future impact of ICT on our lives. The Information Society, 23(1), 59-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240601059094

Wang, Q. (Emily), Sundaram, D., & Myers, M. D. (2013, November 8). Digitalnativesanddigitalimmigrants – Association for Information Systems. Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Towards a model of digital fluency. https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1254&context=bise

Wow! What a start to my career in Teacher Librarianship! This first week of the course has been a real wake up call. I haven’t studied formally for some twenty years so getting back into the routine of university life has been both daunting and exciting. I have enjoyed the first week of readings and it has opened my eyes to just how integral the role of teacher librarian is in schools but also solidified my desire to transition into this role. This is the first step of my journey…

References:

11,032 feeling overwhelmed images, stock photos & vectors. Shutterstock. (n.d.). https://www.shutterstock.com/search/feeling-overwhelmed