curriculum – From dust jackets to digital horizons

Professional Learning Strategy

Posted on May 19, 2025

Lifelong Learning

Discussion Prompt: The Australian Curriculum is providing teachers and teacher librarians with many new challenges, including the need to continually improve personal knowledge and understanding of digital tools and digital environments. A personal learning strategy is possibly more important now than at any other time. Teacher librarians have an opportunity on the one hand, and a challenge on the other. How will you manage your own professional learning strategy? How will you influence and/or guide the professional learning needs of others?

Teacher Librarians, like all educators, must remain agile and informed. This involves staying up-to-date curriculum knowledge (in Victoria this is either the Australian Curriculum, Victorian Curriculum or International Baccalaureate program) as well as pedagogical best practice, and keeping up with technology change. It’s a lot to cover!

My professional learning strategy focuses on collaboration and learning growth, I never want to be stagnant or ‘rinse and repeat’ because it’s easier to do what has been done before. Our priority must always be the needs of our students, and supporting these as best we can, which involves ongoing development.

I plan to keep engaging with professional learning networks (such as SLAV, ASLA, ALIA and more), attend webinars and conferences (such as the National Education Summit and association conferences), and subscribe to relevant journals and podcasts. I have found social media and Substack newsletters to also be helpful for learning new ideas to apply in my library classroom. Professional learning is not just formal events, it encompasses both “the formal and informal learning experiences undertaken by teachers and school leaders that improve their individual professional practice” (Cole, 2012, p. 5).

Equally important is supporting the professional learning of others. Through our school library, I aim to create collaborative spaces where staff can learn and explore our wonderful collection of physical and digital library resources. I want to intentionally keep seeking out these opportunities for support and collaboration. As educators, we are all lifelong learners, and need to keep helping each other to grow.

Reference List

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. Association of Independent Schools of the ACT. https://ais.act.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/Professional-Learning-linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

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Leading Change

Posted on April 22, 2025

Change

In this week’s module, we are learning about change and outcomes. Change is inevitable in education as we try to keep pace with the world that our learners exist in outside the classroom walls. Technology is a huge driver of change, particularly recent developments with generative artificial intelligence. Change can be innovative and exciting, but it can also be challenging and demanding of already time-poor education and library staff in schools (Emerson, 2025). For our blog post this week, we have been asked to consider one major change we have experienced at school, and consider how this change was facilitated by leadership, staff reactions and change outcomes.

A few years ago when I was working as a high school English teacher, we were asked by leadership to overhaul all of our curriculum documentation ahead of auditing. We were told, via our Department Heads, that we would need to update every term planner to a Understanding by Design template and store the files in clearly labelled, shared drives. Leadership used a distributed leadership approach, offering consultative ‘drop-in’ sessions with two leading teachers, and released some video content of the steps required. We were also given deadlines to work towards.

Many of the staff could see the purpose for the changes, but the amount of work it would take to update all of the documentation within a 9-week term (with the usual assessment and reporting schedules) felt immense. Many staff advocated for time release to get this project completed, particularly if they worked across multiple subject areas and teams, or were sole practitioners teaching VCE subjects.

In the end, we passed the audit and all of the curriculum documentation was updated and accounted for. It was helpful to have leadership guidance through this process, and deadlines in place to motivate our efforts. I think that staff need as much notice as possible ahead of change, and offering support throughout the process goes a long way.

Reference List

Emerson, M. S. (2025, February 24). Seven reasons why change managements strategies fail and how to avoid them. Harvard University Division of Continuing Education. https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/7-reasons-why-change-management-strategies-fail-and-how-to-avoid-them

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Changing Times: Technology and Literature in Classrooms

Posted on August 16, 2022

This is only my sixth-year teaching, so technology use has been embedded in my practice right from the start. During my Master of Teaching, I remember sitting in a tutorial and a friend said, “Let’s use Google Docs to collaborate” and my mind was blown that each group member could access the document individually and make changes in real-time! Technology is seamlessly (most of the time) integrated into our daily lives at school – from learning management systems and emails to student and staff devices. In addition, many staff incorporate digital tools to support classroom teaching and learning activities to foster participation, collaboration, and engagement (e.g. Canva, Prezi, YouTube, iMovie, ACMI Storyboard Generator and so on).

As an English teacher, I haven’t seen much digital literature in use for classroom study and eBooks are not promoted at our school library. There was some discussion a few years ago about bringing Inanimate Alice onto a Year 7 text list, but there was some anxiety amongst staff about how to approach teaching a multimodal text (as opposed to a book or film text). I don’t think it’s just a matter of ‘changing tools’ as there are different pedagogical practices associated with embedding digital technology (and digital literature!) into the classroom. Instead, we need to be adapting our curriculum, upskilling, and expanding our pedagogical practices accordingly.

This discussion reminds me of the SAMR model, developed by Dr Ruben Puendetara, which is a hierarchical framework for the integration of digital technology in the classroom. The four levels are: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (Hilton, 2016). The lowest level, substitution, is where teachers replace tools using technology, but without any functional change. The highest level, redefinition, is the best-case scenario – where digital technology is used to expand possibilities that were not viable without technology. As education theorist Kirkland states, “the key to using the SAMR model is not to think of it as a progression to work through. Really using technology effectively means creating the kind of rich tasks that redesign traditional ways of learning” (2014, p. 16). I personally think this is exciting, but I know that it must be scary for some educators!

Reference List:

Hilton, J. T. (2016). A Case Study of the Application of SAMR and TPACK for Reflection on Technology Integration into Two Social Studies Classrooms. Social Studies, 107(2), 68–73.

Kirkland, A. B. (2014). Models for Technology Integration in the Learning Commons. School Libraries in Canada, 32(1), 14–18.

Image Credit: Photo by Wokandapix from Pixabay

Guided Inquiry Design

Posted on May 9, 2022

The Guided Inquiry Design (GID) is a prominent information literacy model based on extensive research by Carol Kuhlthau and her earlier model the Information Search Process (Kulthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012). There are eight phases to the GID model: “Open, Immerse, Explore, Identify, Gather, Create, Share, and Evaluate.” (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014). Below are some advantages and challenges:

Advantages:

Students inquire into an area that piques their interest
Clear scaffold of steps to follow (to support the inquiry process)
Involves in the teacher librarian in embedding information literacy
The model itself is based on extensive research, conducted by Kuhlthau
Inquiry Learning is a priority in the Australian Curriculum
Can be used across different subjects

Challenges:

Not all schools have a teacher librarian on staff to collaborate with teachers
Students with specific learning needs may need additional support structures
It requires careful planning and prior organisation
Can be difficult to use the framework while meeting curriculum demands
It can be challenging to keep students on task and motivated as parts of the process are self-directed
Needs to be a whole-school approach

References

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2012). Guided inquiry design: A framework for inquiry in your school. Libraries Unlimited.

Maniotes, L. K., Kuhlthau, C. C. (2014) Making the shift. Knowledge Quest. 43(2) 8-17.

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Inquiry Learning

Posted on May 9, 2022

Definition of Inquiry Learning:

“Inquiry-based learning is an education approach that focuses on investigation and problem-solving. Inquiry-based learning is different from traditional approaches because it reverses the order of learning. Instead of presenting information, or ‘the answer’, up-front, teachers start with a range of scenarios, questions and problems for students to navigate.” (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2021).

Definition of 21st Century Skills:

The Assessment and Teaching of 21^st Century Skills (2012) partnership, headquartered at the University of Melbourne, presents the following 21^st century skills, categorised into four groups, using the table below:

(More research and information about the list of 21st century skills are detailed in Binkley (2012)’s chapter of in Patrick Griffin’s collection ‘Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills’).

I personally find discussions about inquiry learning and supporting students to acquire 21^st century skills exciting! I think that inquiry learning prompts students to formulate important questions, search for answers, think critically and solve problems. The skills that they develop and refine in the process will be essential as they go beyond the school gate and enter a dynamic, transforming workforce as, ideally, passionate, inquisitive, lifelong learners.

The challenge for teachers and teacher librarians, however, is that the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum Priorities, along with inquiry learning project aspirations, don’t always align with other curriculum demands. As an English teacher, who has Senior English classes studying the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), we are flat-out trying to cover content and prepare students for Student Assessed Coursework and Examinations, which dictate our every lesson. In middle grade English classes, we don’t always ask students to do research as the often use literature texts as their springboards for discussion, comparison, analysis, and evaluation. We also have the intrusion of standardised testing, such as NAPLAN at Years 7 and 9.

Teaching Inquiry learning and the development of 21^st century skills isn’t as well as curriculum accountability/standardised testing/VCE outcomes aren’t mutually exclusive – there just isn’t always time to cover everything! It is a balance, and a tricky one at that. Some schools have launched inquiry learning units or project-based learning subjects for middle grade students, to block out specific time that can be devoted to the scaffolding of these important skills. At our school we have the Global Citizens Program for students in Year 7-9 for this very purpose. If we had a teacher librarian, it would be wonderful to get their input into this program as well!

References:

Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills. (2012). 21st century skills. http://www.atc21s.org/

Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2021). Australian Curriculum: Inquiry-based learning. Australian Government. https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-curriculum/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/i-want-know-about-stem-education/what-works-best-when-teaching-stem/inquiry-based-learning

Binkley, M. et al. (2012). Defining Twenty-First Century Skills. In: Griffin, P., McGaw, B., Care, E. (eds, pp. 17-66) Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills. Springer.

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Defining Collection Development

Posted on March 3, 2022

This week in ETL503 Resourcing the Curriculum, we have been learning about managing and developing the school library collection.

I couldn’t find a definition of collection management or development used by my local educational authority, the Victorian Department of Education. So, instead, I found the South Australian Department of Education’s 2020 policy document: ‘Selecting and using resources for educational purposes guideline’. On page 5, an overview of collection management is discussed:

“Teacher-librarians, resource centre managers, technology coordinators, team leaders and IT managers have key roles in selecting, managing, and distributing a range of resources. They are well-placed to provide advice about selecting resources including conventional books, newspapers, magazines and journals, CDs, talking books and DVDs, conventional charts, digital images, e-collections, apps, and a variety of digital resources. Existing resources require regular review for quality control and to monitor continuing relevance” (Department of Education South Australia, 2020, p.5).

In the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV)’s 2018 ‘Statement on School Libraries’, they state that school libraries support learning communities by “managing and curating equitable, inclusive and diverse physical and digital collections that reflect both a local and global perspective.”

Key elements across these two definitions are the importance of school collections that comprise digital and print resources that are suitable to the needs of school learning community. The first definition, offered by the South Australian Department of Education, distils the teacher librarian’s core role as “selecting, managing and distributing” resources. In addition, the process that our lecturer Ms Krystal Gagen-Spriggs calls ‘weeding’ is also mentioned, with emphasis on the continual assessment of resource quality and relevance. The SLAV statement places explicit importance on resources that are “inclusive and diverse”, which I think is a vital component of collection management or development as well.

In this week’s module, I found it comforting to read that it’s not just the teacher librarian’s responsibility! Developing and managing resource collections is a collaborative effort which involves the input of many in the broader learning community.

References:

Department of Education South Australia. (2020). Selecting and using resources for educational purposes guideline. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/doc/selecting-and-using-resources-educational-purposes-guideline

School Library Association of Victoria. (2018). ‘Statement on School Libraries’. https://slav.org.au/resources/Documents/statement.pdf