Part C Reflective practice

Literacy is the foundation of our profession as Teacher Librarians. To me, literacy was simply reading and writing. During the subject I reflected on what literacy means (Powell, April 22, 2019). I realised it is a complex mix of listening, looking, reading, writing, comprehending and understanding. The importance of information literacy (IL) in the 21^st century has become clear to me. The complexity, the need for focus and different implementations of IL have become apparent. Jannet Taylor (2019) sums it up beautifully on the discussion board: ‘I can’t teach a child everything they need to know for the future, but what I can do is teach them how to learn.’

The term information literacy is not easily explained. There is no clear agreement about what information literacy is. The capacity for people to recognise their information needs, locate and evaluate information, collect and store information, use information in an effective and ethical way, and apply information to create and communicate knowledge is the way the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) describes information literacy (Catts & Lau, 2008). The UNESCO acknowledges the importance of IL skills for people to be lifelong learners and even included it their Information for All Programme (IFAP) as a basic human right. The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) released a joint statement describing what information literacy means in the context of an information literate school community.  The statement calls for a framework “to ensure all the targeted skills are identified and taught strategically and sequentially within the context of the school’s curriculum” (ASLA & ALIA, 2016).

The problem with the increased importance of Information Literacy, is the need for students to develop skills, to navigate their way through the maze of information. Students struggle with the various aspects of gathering information online, searching and evaluating being two of them (McGrew, et all. 2018).  This is something I see in my Stage 2 and 3 classes during research tasks. The students do not know how to find the right information, what questions to ask and what is valuable to their topic. As a TL, it is my job to teach them these skills.

Whilst exploring the IL models mentioned in the modules, I got excited! I wanted to learn more. During a recent conference, I had the privilege to attend a workshop by June Wall. Wall is the NSW Department of Education and Training Library Coordinator, and in the process of developing an Information Fluency Framework for New South Wales schools based on the ISP (Department of Education, 2017). She spoke about how information literacy is a process and an outcome of this process is information fluency.  Information fluency is the ability to think critically while engaging with, create and using information and technology regardless of what platform (Wall, 2019). The pyramid Wall used is shown in my blog (Powell, May 10, 2019). This should be what we are aiming for as TLs; students who think critically, solve problems while being creative and innovative. As Trish Templeton mentions in her blog; ‘The role of the TL in this changing information landscape, is to ensure that all students have access to information and have the ability to seek, use and share that information in a variety of formats” (Templeton, 2019).

The information literacy model that resonated the most with me is the Guided Inquiry Design (GID). The deeper learning experienced through GID really inspires me to teach my inquiry lessons this way. The students are guided through the process of learning and information gathering (Maniotes, 2018). Students can ask thoughtful questions and learn because they are curious about a question or topic.

Teaching students the skills to become information literate, is a process that needs to be taught from Kindergarten onward. According to the NSW Department of Education (2017) all students, from Kindergarten to Year 12, need the opportunities to develop expertise in using the information process. As TLs, we are at the forefront of this development. It will be our job to teach, arrange, support and develop. Although my understanding of IL and the models used to teach these skills, has expanded immensely during the subject, I still stand by my discussion board entry (4.1b. Inquiry learning, April 12, 2019) regarding the contradictions in the school curriculum. The push towards inquiry-based learning but the need for standardised testing and data collection, has the system at opposing ends of the spectrum. Until this is resolved, a true inquiry-based learning framework will be hard to implement in Australian schools.

ETL 401 Reference list Part C

Australian School Library Association & Australian  Library and Information Association, (2016). Information Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.asla.org.au/information-literacy

Catts, R. & Lau, J. (2008). Towards Information Literacy. Retrieved from UNESCO Digital Library: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000158723

Department of Education. (2017). The information process. Retrieved from Learning across the curriculum: https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/teaching-and-learning/information-skills/the-information-process

Maniotes, L. (2018). Guided Inquiry Design in Action, Elementary school. Santa Barbara: Libraries Umlimited.

McGrew, S. B. (2018). Can Students Evaluate Online Sources? Learning from Assessments of Civic Online Reasoning. Theory & Research in Social Education, 46(2), 165-193

Powell, C. (2019). Carolien’s Blog. Retrieved from Thinkspace: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/carolien/2019/04/22/literacy/

Powell, C. (2019). Carolien’s Blog. Retrieved from Thinkspace: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/carolien/2019/04/22/information-literacy/

Powell, C. (2019). Discussion Board. Thread 4.1b. Inquiry learning. Retrieved from Interact2: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard

Taylor, J.  (2019). Discussion Board. Thread 5.3b. Guided Inquiry. Retrieved from Interact2: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard

Templeton, T. (2019). Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from Thinkspace: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/04/30/digital-literacy-and-its-impact-on-pedagogy-and-the-role-of-a-tl/

Wall, J. (2019). Information Fluency. Retrieved from https://mantleconference.weebly.com/june-wall.html

Time is a precious thing. A thing teachers always seem to have too little off! The management of time, is one of the most important lessons you learn as a teacher. Some learn these lessons fast and juggle all the balls efficiently. Others struggle and drop the ball every now and again.

Me? I am juggling just fine! Usually. And sometimes I don’t. Luckily I have a great network of TLs to ask for support. I believe it is important to be part of a local group of TLs, to share and collaborate. Gilman (2007) lists four great habits a TL should have. Openness, responsiveness, collaboration and communication are very important in the daily interactions with staff and students. The line “Openness entails a willingness to listen to what the facts are telling us,” was an eye opener for me. I see myself as an open and flexible person but maybe not always open to see the facts….

The readings on Information Literacy (IL) were very interesting. There are varied ideas about the way IL should be implemented in schools.

The reading Six frames for information literacy education (2007), covered a range of different perspectives regarding IL. It was interesting to read how each frame has a different view of learning, teaching and IL.

Abilock (2015) describes every part of the information literacy process as building blocks. This gives a clear overview of the process.

The readings are very diverse. IL doesn’t seem to have a universal description yet. The different views on teaching seem to transfer to the different views of IL. In my opinion, the IL frame work or building block you choose, depends on your teaching style and the school.

References

Abilock, D. (2015). Information literacy. Building blocks of research: Overview of design process and outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

Bruce, C,  Edwards, S &  Lupton, M. (2006).  Six Frames for Information literacy Education: a conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships between theory and practice., Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 5:1, 1-18, DOI: 10.11120/ital.2006.05010002 .   Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/03075070309295?src=recsys

Literacy is the ability to read and write according to the dictionary. But what point is being able to read and write, if we do not understand what it means? The mechanics of reading and writing is only a small part of literacy. The understanding of WHAT we read and write is the next and very important part. It is a complex mix of listening, looking, reading, writing, comprehending and understanding.

While listening to Bonanno’s speech, and than reading the article, the main thing standing out for me was the library budget and how it impacts on student outcomes.

The connection between school library budgets and literacy levels, and school library staffing and literacy levels, is mind blowing. Research by the Softlink Australian School Library Survey  (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), show clearly the correlation between a higher library budget and NAPLAN results. Even more staggering is the link between the number of library staff and the results in NAPLAN. Although these results speak loud and clear, the trend of decreasing budgets and drastically decreasing library staffing is continuing.

Investments need to be made in the 21st century libraries. The library should still be the information centre of the school. We are doing our students a disservice by not prioritising this space!