Professional knowledge of Children’s literature

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Prior to completing this subject I would say that my knowledge was limited to what I had come across as a reader myself, and through what I have read with my own children or seen them reading. I have also had experience in helping at the School library and seeing popular novels that the students regularly borrow.

Things that I could do to increase my professional knowledge of Children’s literature:

  • Join social networking sites that review the literature such as goodreads.
  • Subscribe to publications like Magpies
  • Collaborate with other Teacher Librarians from other schools about things like their collections.
  • Collaborate across various curriculum areas with teachers to get an insight into what they are using in their classrooms or would like to be using.
  • Liaise with local book stores regarding trends.

What is my vision for the future of children’s literature? Who will be the drivers of the change?

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Children’s literature will change over time to reflect the changes in society. Key themes in literature will reflect those facing children of the modern world such as social media and connectedness. There is also a greater global awareness amongst children that is growing by the minute and this too will be reflected in literature. The modern child is also used to being constantly stimulated and this will be reflected in literature being more active as opposed to passive. Perhaps providing children with greater choice and involvement in how the themes in story progress or eventuate may become more commonplace. They may also be able to actively change details or characteristics of a protagonist or of the setting of a story.

The drivers of children’s literature will definitely be the children themselves who dictate change through their opinions and readership.

ETL-504 Part B- Reflection

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My understanding of leadership and team work grew through my participation in the case studies. My insights were evident in the post where I explained that there needed to be somebody who took on the organiser role within the group to ensure responsibilities and expectations were clear (Linquist, 2019, August 18). I learnt that this leadership role can be assumed without any legitimate position of power, and sometimes a leader emerges through necessity. This is in contrast to my previous thinking that leadership roles had to be appointed. 

Mindtools (2016) suggested that different characteristics of leadership matter in different circumstances. This cemented the notion that these group tasks required good decision making, team work and empathy. All members of our group were juggling multiple roles, and some were dealing with difficult personal situations requiring empathy. As a group we had common goals which made it easier to work as a team to achieve them. Module 2.2 was useful in highlighting the leader’s organisation of the group as being servant leadership. Servant leadership is where the focus is on collaboration, trust, empathy, and ethics (Burkus, 2010).

Case study 5 had strong applications to my real life with the deeper issues for the library revolving around advocacy and marketing. My contribution to the group for this centred around strategies that are proving to be beneficial at work. I was able to solidify my ideas using strategies suggested by others to better advocate for the library in practice. I responded to Group 5s point about the need for showcase sessions at staff meetings by explaining that this was proving beneficial at my school (Linquist, 2019, September 21). Korodaj (2019a) suggested that this highlights the purpose of the case studies, as relating the theory to practise is useful for practitioners. This learning made me realise the importance of connecting with colleagues to share ideas and strategies. I realised, from this process, the importance of networking as other people may have devised solutions to my problems. 

An article in Module 3 highlighted the importance of setting realistic targets to help manage stress (Welham, 2013).  This made me appreciate that I needed to manage my workload carefully and not take on more work when I already had enough. My natural reaction to tasks is to agree to them without considering the consequences on my wellbeing. I have learnt through the case studies that I have to trust in others more to complete tasks, as this will help to generate greater success for the school overall.  In our group, people worked to different timelines, some getting things completed early and some at the last minute. I realised that it was important that leaders set clear targets and deadlines, and to offer assistance if required, but not complete the work for them. In case study 6 it became clear that one member had not understood the expectations set, so I assisted her. Lori responded to the post by indicating that this was a sign that we had good support of one another, and there was obvious appreciation of that within the group (Korodaj, 2019b). From this I learnt that team work requires some give and take to ensure the successful achievement of goals. 

References

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. In DB: David Burkus. Retrieved from http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

Korodaj, L. (2019a, September 22). CS5 – Group 5: Adam Hands, Abby Jansen, Donna Lechte, Marla Robertson-Jones, Tanya Silver [Online Discussion Comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University Library Interact 2 website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42385_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78888_1&forum_id=_164188_1&message_id=_2499707_1

Korodaj, L. (2019b, September 30). Case study 6 group 2 [Online Discussion Comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University Library Interact 2 website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42385_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78888_1&forum_id=_164187_1&message_id=_2507950_1

MindTools. (2016). Core leadership theories. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-theories.htm

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

Module 6.3 Response to scenario

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While assisting a parent in the library, his/her young child is running amok amongst the shelves. 

How would I respond?

If I was confronted with the above situation I would respond in  a supportive stance by finding some activities for the child to do to get their attention. These could be within the makerspace and include a board game or a puzzle. By ensuring that they are occupied and being creative it would allow for a more successful interaction with the parent. Initial impressions are very important in the way that you are perceived by others (Green, 2004) Therefore it would be important to show the parent that they are both important to the school community by giving my positive attention to both, and being understanding of both people’s needs.

 

References

Green, G. (2004). The big sell: Creating influence and credibility. Session  presented at LIS@ECU Seminar, Information literacy.

 

How the Case studies are helping me as a learning TL

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I spent the day yesterday with the colleague from our Head office who is the expert on our Oliver system. He introduced me to some of its amazing features. Part of this week’s case study was regarding the need for marketing strategies for the library and to showcase the work that happens in the library. Having read Group 5s response I found myself relating well to their key points, especially related to showcasing the library at staff meetings and using Oliver to promote the library. I replied to their post writing how their ideas are excellent practical tips for addressing the issues being faced by NWC that are very similar to the situation at my school. Some of their solutions are what we are currently implementing and plan to implement as solutions to similar issues as being experienced at NWC.

Team work: what is working

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The learning gained from the case study work has been more than just the subject matter. Moreover, it has been about what makes a good team and what makes a team function well. I found that it is really important to support one another. Sometimes people have external events occurring, and need extra support to fulfil their roles. I found that for Case study 5, giving support to other members and their work gave them the confidence to continue. I used to think that once I had fulfilled my own personal role that I was done. However, from this experience I have learned that the sum of the group work is of main significance, and I need to be concerned with that as opposed to only being concerned about my own contribution.

Group work and leadership

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From the experiences with the group work it is clear that there needs to be someone who organises the process and drives it. Once that has been established people are quite happy to complete their work and make their contribution. Without someone to lead the process it is inefficient and people are left wondering what to do. The same problems exist in any school and that is why we have leaders or managers of departments. It is the manager or leader who organises. They are not necessarily the most talented or skilled, but they co-ordinate the work of others to ensure that is it streamlined. Issues arise when others are not willing to follow what has been set in place, or when conflict arises between staff.

Case study group work insights

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Working with others in a team without being able to meet physically to discuss had advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes meetings can be time consuming and not productive if the agenda is unclear, and if there is too much discussion. The advantage of not meeting physically was that we were forced to be very specific in our communication.

We were able to establish roles efficiently which meant that members knew what the expectations were. It is clear from the process that you definitely need someone who brings everything together at the end to consolidate the work. As long as roles are clearly defined and everyone knows what is expected of them then the group has a greater chance of success.

Conflict handling style

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For the Conflict Handling questionnaire I scored the following:

Yielding: 17

Compromising: 14

Forcing: 8

Problem Solving: 16

Avoiding: 19

What is my approach to managing conflict?

I tend to want to be the peacemaker in conflict situations. Conflict makes me uncomfortable, so I tend to want to put others’s needs before my own to avoid or minimise conflict. The scores above do ring true according to my feelings about conflict and how I respond to it.

Does this match to how you think of yourself?

I do think that I’m a good problem solver, but also try to avoid problems or conflicts and yield to others for this to occur.

What areas do you think you need to develop?

I need to work on my ability to express my feelings and opinions during conflict situations and be willing to make others aware of my needs and ideas. I have to develop confidence in my professional opinion and realising its validity.

School changes

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In reading the personal experiences of fellow teachers related to change it is common to see that consultation and time to process it is what is often lacking.  There is often not enough time given to absorb the reasons for the change leading to resentment and frustration. Gillian Cornwell and Carolien Powell both mentioned that new leaders often bring in new ideas without consultation of existing staff. Involvement in the change and feeling part of the process of change has always made me feel more comfortable with it.

Clement (2014, p. 45) highlighted problems that can occur with change when adequate time is not given to make meaning of the change.

Reference
Clement, J. (2014) Managing mandated educational change. School Leadership & Management, 34(1), 39-51. doi:10.1080/13632434.2013.813460