Reflections of a teacher gradually transforming into a teacher librarian – one subject at a time.
Since beginning CSU’s Masters of Education – Teacher Librarianship in July 2023, I have been asked many times by colleagues: Why Teacher Librarianship? This question shall act as my overarching inquiry question for this reflection – in an act of displaying, via direct application, my reflection of information literacy, inquiry learning and the role of a teacher librarian.
Chosen Inquiry Learning model: Darryl Toerien’s the Fosil Cycle. https://fosil.org.uk/fosil-cycle/
Fosil Cycle Stage 1: Connect: Drawing on what you might already know in order to better understand what you do not yet know
I know teaching: I have been teaching for 25 years and in an age of teacher burn-out and low retention rates, I recognise that 25 years is a long time. I also recognise, within myself, that I love teaching, so much so, that when I went looking for a career change – I chose teacher librarianship because it meant that teaching remained at the core of my change.
Fosil Cycle Stage 2: Wonder – Identifying those questions that will best guide your investigation
At the beginning of this course I wondered what I would learn. I thought I would learn about literature, about library budgets and accessioning. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eleni/2023/07/03/post-it-note-a-brief-introduction-of-me/ I thought my answer to -why teacher librarianship?- was “I can teach English all day and incorporate the arts … I can focus on my passions and expertise.”
Fosil Cycle Stage 3: Investigate – Knowing what scholarly resources are available and being able to use them effectively
This has been my biggest lesson thus far! Learning to find and use academic and practitioner literature to further my understanding of the teacher librarian role, information access, information literacy and inquiry learning. Readings, readings and more readings! I am surprised at how much I have read and analysed and thought of. I am also surprised how hard it is to take those readings and turn them into essays. I’m not sure if it’s because I work full time as a teacher, or because I’m not in a TL role or because my personal life is also demanding – but I have found it hard and I look forward to next year when I will be in a TL role and will have one whole weekday per week to study!
Fosil Stage 4: Construct – Building an accurate understanding based on factual evidence
Building my scholarly library of TL academic writers has been more enjoyable than I imagined. I love that the more I read, the more connections I find between readings and how each academic influences another and how you begin to see the researchers that are referenced the most. I particularly love when I find an academic that puts into writing what I know, through years of experience, to be the best strategy or the secret to teaching. But I must admit, constructing my own voice from the voice of others has not been easy for me. Essay writing is something that I will need to improve on, which leads me to Stage 5 of the Fosil Cycle: Express.
Fosil Stage 5: Express – Making the most compelling case given your evidence and audience
My high school daughter has a tutor for English and Maths. A young man in his first year of university. I find myself asking him questions like – how do I reference this or how do I embed that??? Expressing my ideas, supporting them with evidence and referencing correctly have been my steepest learning curves and I am expecting to keep climbing, for I know that I know not how to express my complex, creative ideas in well-structured, eloquent, evidence-based essays.
Fosil Stage 6: Reflect – Evaluating how you have worked and what you have produced
When I reflect on my overarching inquiry question – why teacher librarianship?- I realise my answer has changed due to my ETL401 studies – and is now something like this ….. I love learning. I love learning as much as I love teaching and the library is the perfect place for a teacher librarian to model a thirst for learning, a love of reading and how literacy and information literacy give you the tools to succeed in the 21st century.