Deborah's reflections

My journey to becoming a K-6 TL.

Oct 2

ETL504 Assessment 2 Part B: Reflection

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

 

Our relationships with students, colleagues, parents and executives are constant and immersive. The complexities of nuance in a leadership context through module readings have highlighted the differences between managerial and true leadership styles for change (Smith, 2016, p.75). Managerial style dominance in schools is counter-productive to real transformation but this needs to be carefully orchestrated through team strength and influence across a workplace. Trust is an overarching factor that cannot be downplayed. “Leadership is creeping up on me” (Nicklin, 2019, July 15)  is an initial sentiment I made and predicted an increased focus on leadership attributes. This has occurred already with influence from ETL504 and increasing my understanding of the scope of the TL role with input into curriculum development my most recent foray. I’m assisting with resource development but have nudged myself in quietly into discussions regarding staff personal development and teaching pedagogy. I’m feeling my way, aiming to increase my indispensability. Module 3 readings influenced here.

 

Case study (CS) collaboration online with unknown participants was new, however, group 9 set patterns of regular discussion and contribution to establish ease with the task. Ann (2019,October 1) expressed the sentiments of anxiety, relief and trepidation when group members were revealed, however we had a clear ‘expert’ (Belbin ,2010, p. 102). Marika shaped our plan which set the structure of work. Our group dynamics allowed various leadership styles to show through with one participant admitting she needed to step back (2019, October 1) at one point due to other commitments and not wanting to take over. Distributed leadership in action. This has been a positive experience due mainly to cooperation and commitment by group 9. We’ve had small bumps (Conte,2019,September 22; Murphy,2019,September 23; Simon, 2019,September 21) along the way but we have learned from them. Good communication, trust and a shared goal of support had us across the line successfully. The subject matter of the CSs was out of the realm of our group’s experience but the chance to combine our thoughts in our wiki space allowed us to pitch ideas safely. Other groups weren’t so lucky as Marika (2019,October 1) explored in blog post meanderings. Leadership within CSs, discussion forums and blogs have shown to be different online with an element of anonymity. Being able to carefully craft and edit replies/posts and consider every word is a luxury compared to the time-stretched and scheduled nature of a school environment. Our group 9 responses for CS6 (Group 9,2019) were realistic in this type of environment. The chance to contemplate posts with the backup of research is a good training ground for future practice.

 

Modules 5/6/7 culminated in this idea of the leadership capacity for a TL and how it can neatly fit within current school leadership structures. My concept map (Nicklin, 2019, September 18) attempts to visualise this idea and enhanced my view of how the TLs role weaves into school structures and resulting in my personal development plan for this semester being aligned with the evidence guide for TL in the proficient career stage (ASLA, 2014). Planning with the principal, executive staff, leading and classroom teachers to build capacity in a pedagogical, curriculum and technological front will advocate for the library, its staff and the entire school. Thus, inspiring us to do the very best we can for all our students and their achievements now and in the future.

Conte, A. (2019, September 22). Re: Collaborative learning in case studies [Blog comment]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/askalibrarian/etl504-teacher-librarian-as-leader/collaborative-learning/

Conte, A. (2019, October 1). Re: Collaborative Learning in case studies [Blog comment]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/askalibrarian/etl504-teacher-librarian-as-    leader/collaborative-learning/

Group 9 (2019, September 26) Group 9 Case Study 6 [Online Forum Comment]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messag es&course_id=_42385_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78888_1&forum_   id=_164187_1&message_id=_2509766_1 

Murphy, D. (2019,September 23). Re: Case Study 5 [Blog comment]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/danielm/2019/09/23/case-study-five/

Simon, M. (2019, September 9). Re: I Aim to Misbehave [Blog comment]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mrssimonsays/2019/09/09/i-aim-to-misbehave/#more-641

Simon, M. (2019, September 21). Re: Time is an illusion [Blog comment]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mrssimonsays/2019/09/21/time-is-an-illusion-case-study-posting-time-doubly-so/

Simon, M. (2019, October 1). Re: Cry-baby-cry-baby-make-your-mother-sigh [Blog   comment]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mrssimonsays/2019/09/22/cry-baby-cry-make-your-  mother-sigh/

Smith, B. (2016). The role of leadership style in creating a great school. SELU Research Review Journal, 1(1), 65-78. Retrieved from     https://selu.usask.ca/documents/research-and-publications/srrj/SRRJ-1-1-Smith.pdf

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Oct 2

Case study 6

by debnicklin1

realworkhard / Pixabay

Significant Issues

  • Overwork
  • Physical and mental health
  • Home/family life balance
  • Performance review

Future strategies

The initial year in a new position in a new workplace will always be challenging. Routines, culture and organisational processes differ between schools and time is needed to familiarise yourself with these factors so they become routine. This alone will take time to internalise, let alone meeting and working with a new group of people and establishing relationships. The TL in case study 6 has not only all of the above factors to contend with in a new position but has also led many changes in the school library including: staff roles/satisfaction in the workplace, writing a budget, led staff PD, revised vision/mission statements, promoted the library, provided evidence based practice related to outcomes, worked closely with teachers and improve the communication systems within the school to name a few. A significant list. It is now time for the TL to reflect on her year with the Annual review. However, when all the achievements of the year are listed together, there are many successes to be proud of. Jealousy amongst heads of department are only due to budget allocation and relationship with the principal, not your work performance and the significant value adding the library has enjoyed this year to the school. A shift in leadership style to include servant leadership to guide and allow library staff to step up and be more involved in general operations and organisation will more evenly distribute workload. Other TLs across the campus and library support staff can be empowered to run programs to gain experience and confidence.

 

The TL needs to reassess her time commitment and reorganise her work within time limits and to hydrate (Craddock, 2019). She can concentrate on maintaining new initiatives already established and begin to distribute leadership and reallocate some of these tasks to library staff. On the home front our TL could write a list of stresses and divide the list into those she can control and those she cannot. Writing possible solutions for the list where you can control the outcomes (Welham, 2013). A short list of goals for the coming year will assist with family and health issues.

Realigning the following year’s Personal Development Plan (PDP) to include these strategies will increase job satisfaction and personal wellbeing.

 

Craddock, I. (2019). Self-care tips for school librarians. Retrieved from: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=Self-Care-for-School-Librarians

 

Welham, H. (2013, November 6). 10 ideas to help teachers beat stress. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/nov/06/teachers-beat-stress-10-ideas

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Aug 31

ETL504: Case Study 3 reflection

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

With our first group task behind us I think we did a great job. We were good at communication, delegation and participation from everyone. Marika started the ball rolling with deadlines and possible strategies to cover the work. We also agreed as to the ideas we should include and made good use of email and the discussion forum within our wiki. Most of us admitted to inexperience with using a wiki however we managed quite well in the end. As suggested by Jennie and Lori, sticking to one reference per issue kept the task manageable and the time commitment less onerous when we had our first assessment due.

A real time group discussion was the only thing we just didn’t manage this time. All our group members have a myriad of  commitments and despite attempting to find time, it just didn’t happen. In the end it wasn’t crucial and consistent communication/contributions worked well for us.

Thank you to everyone in group 9, you’re a great bunch to work with.

 

 

 

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