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Professional Reflective Portfolio

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Part A: Statement of personal philosophy – What makes an effective teacher librarian?

 

“Libraries are the backbone of our education system”. (Slaughter, n.d., p.1)

The quote of Karen Slaughter states how important libraries are in our education system. I believe that effective teacher librarians are able to make their school libraries effective educational learning and teaching resource centres.

 

In my personal philosophy, effective teacher librarians as qualified information professionals should have good knowledge about national and state curricula to deliver good teaching and learning resources to the school community. They also need to acknowledge and understand the needs of their school library users to provide them with better information products and services. Teacher librarians are responsible information professionals who develop and manage the balanced print and digital library collections in their school libraries.

 

 

Reference

 

 

Slaughter, K. (n.d.). Karin Slaughter Quotes. In Brainy Quote. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com

 

Part B: Evaluation of my learning during the teacher librarianship course

 

 

ICT use in the school library

 

“Information and Communication Technology (ICT) refers to the technologies and services that enable information to be accessed, stored, processed, transformed, manipulated, and disseminated”. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015, p.1) In this information age, it is essential for the school library to use ICT to help the school community to access and use an overwhelming amount of information. When the school library provides teachers and students with better ICT, they can become effective information users.

 

 I experienced the importance of ICT use in the school library from studying my chosen subject, ETL 501 The dynamic information environment. For example, teacher librarians are able to make pathfinders to connect their students and teachers to different formats of learning and teaching educational resources. Through studying the ETL 501 subject my knowledge of pathfinder has grown.

 

 The school library also can provide teaching and learning instruction on the web. According to Smith (2010), good library instruction on the web is to “incorporate appropriate information technology and other media resources” and to “include active and collaborative activities”. (p.11) When making a pathfinder for the ETL 501 Assessment 2, I had to consider the appropriateness and usefulness of students’ print and digital learning resources for their active learning based on their reading ability.

 

 Although it was fun for me to create a pathfinder targeting Year 3 students study of rainforests, I had to spend more time in searching for relevant and quality print and digital resources to support students’ learning and teachers’ teaching. I also had to build up my knowledge on the Australian curriculum to focus on Australian Curriculum General Capabilities: Literacy; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability; and Critical and Creative Thinking for Year 3 students’ learning outcomes. When I work as a teacher librarian in the future, I really would like to create more pathfinders for my school community to use for their learning and teaching.

 

 While I undertook the 70 hours professional placement at St.Andrews Christian College, I observed the ICT application in the school library. For example, St.Andrews provides Year 4, 5 and 6 students with Accelerated Readers (ARs) according to their reading ranges. After Year 4, 5 and 6 students finish reading each ARs book, they take AR tests in the school library on ipads or laptops for their reading comprehension. Year 7 and 8 students at St.Andrews also have to visit the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge (VPRC) website to find 15 books to read and add them to their reading lists for their VPRC.

 

 After Year 7 and 8 students at St.Andrews finish reading each VPRC book, they have to write a book review and submit it to the teacher librarian or English teacher on the VPRC website to receive approval. As I mentioned from ETL 507 Professional experience and portfolio assessment 5, teacher librarians need to “ensure the effective integration of information resources and technologies into students learning”. (Australian School Library Association (ASLA), 2019, p.1) The practicum gave me the insight that students’ learning and teachers’ teaching can be enlarged when the TL integrate information resources and technologies into learning and teaching.

 

 Prior to studying ETL 501 subject, I had not heard of flipped learning and learned that ICT products enable students to access class content at home and prepare to answer questions at school and it helps teachers to have more chances to work with students individually. (Teaching in Education, 2017, June 20) I have learned about the need to be equipped with good skills in creating resources and using technology to deliver class content and library research investigations. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/category/etl-501-the-dynamic-information-environment/) When the TL becomes responsive and effective in delivering good class content and library research investigations, students can be collaborative and independent learners through the flipped learning with the ICT use.

 

Through studying the subject ETL 501, I also learned how to evaluate websites in terms of educational, reliability and technical criteria. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/08/16/a-table-for-website-evaluation-criteria/)

The website evaluation activity gave me a new knowledge and understanding when looking at websites. When I become a TL in the future, I would like to apply this knowledge to find good websites for my future school community.

 

Another way to use ICT  in my future school library is to use a blog to share the school library news with students, parents, staff and the school community. My future school library news blog will inform them of library times, upcoming events, book fairs, book reviews and so on. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/09/10/a-way-use-a-blog-in-the-school-library/) It is very essential to use ICT in the school library to supply the school community with updated information to enhance student learning.

 

 

Literature

 

While studying ETL 402 literature across the curriculum subject, I learned the difference between literary learning and literacy learning. Literary learning is when students learn through literature and literacy learning is when students learn to be literate through learning “how to read literature” and “how to deconstruct it”. (Derout, 2020, ETL 402 module 5) The definition of literary learning gave me the insight that teachers and TLs need to use literature in teaching curriculum subjects. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/10/what-is-literary-learning/)

 

“All areas of the curriculum can be enriched through literature”. (Kiefer, 2010, p.14) This is a vital teaching component for TLs to remain aware of. As a future TL, I will need to increase my knowledge of the Australian and state curriculums and literature.

 

From completing ETL 402 subject, I learned that one major role of the TL is to use literature in education. Prior to the completion of that ETL 402 Assessment 1: Rationale for fiction, I had not thought about how fiction can support all areas of curriculum and engage students with curriculum contents by providing other perspectives. To develop a rationale for a fiction collection in the school library, I chose five war fiction examples of recent children’s literature themed on picture books for older readers.

 

The ETL 402 Assessment 1 changed my view about using fiction in education. It also gave me an understanding of the value of creating and managing a fiction collection in the school library. I now think that including fiction in teaching curriculum subjects is important and necessary.

 

In terms of school library fiction collection, my placement organisation, St.Andrews Christian College’s Junior school library arranges fiction books in general alphabetical order based on the author’s name and its Secondary school library adopts genre classification. As I mentioned in the ETL 507 Assessment 5, St.Andrews school library arranged the fiction book sections according to different genres such as adventure, animals, crime, fantasy, family, historical, humour, mystery, school, science and sport. I think genre classification is very practical for teachers and students to find the topic they are seeking easily.

 

 Due to the development of ICT products, many students are easily exposed to digitised literature. Through studying the subject ETL 402 I heard of digital literature and learned that most children need to develop digital literacy skills although they are good at accessing digital literature on the Internet or on the digital devices. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/07/what-is-digital-literature/) Before teaching them digital literacy skills, it is crucial to teach students traditional literacy skills and then they are able to “navigate and make meaning from text, images and multimedia on screens”. (Combes, 2016, p.1-3)

 

From the virtual study visit 202060 experience, I was impressed by what Krystal Gagen-Springs, a school librarian, was doing in her school library at Mount Alvernia College in Kedron in Queensland. Krystal explained although 80% of her students borrow physical books and 20% of her students borrow e-books, the demand for the e-books collection is growing because of COVID and easy access. I was also challenged by Krystal because she tried to read 132 books a year to select good books for her school community.

 

Krystal also said that her focus was “reading for fun”. (personal communication, August 24, 2020) She runs non-structured campfire classes for her students not for academic activities but to have reading for fun activities. One particular thing I have learned through the virtual school library visit is that it is very important for the TLs to connect their students with reading for fun because reading is such an important skill.

 

ETL 402 subject gave me the chance to think about how I could increase my professional knowledge of children’s literature. I suggested some strategies which are to visit the Australian curriculum website, research some issues and trends in children’s literature, refer to scholary books themed on children’s literature and read through the references on the childeren’s literature of ETL 402 subject. (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/03/29/childrens-literature/) There is a need for the TLs to be experts in children’s literature.

 

During my placement, my supervisor teacher librarian suggested me to read widely and become familiar with a range of books and authors because it helps when recommending books for children to read. The biggest challenge I found while doing my placement was that I discovered that I would have to read books widely and get to know more book titles and authors. As a TL in the future, I will need to use my physical and virtual library resources to meet the needs of my future school library users.

 

 

Leadership

 

Before I studied ETL 504 Teacher librarian as leader, I had never thought about TLs as leaders. ETL 504 subject provided me with the experience to see the TL as a leader. It also enlarged my knowledge in leadership theory related to the TL’s role in the school.

 

It was very practical to make a concept map of leadership in schools for the ETL 504 Assessment 1 in 2019. To make the concept map, I had to study how to create a concept map and how to use a mind map. The real practice of making a concept increased my techniques in using a concept mapping tool.

 

Through studying ETL 504 subject, my knowledge of leadership in schools and TL’s leadership practice in a school library has grown. I learned that the TL can lead from the middle to work strategically within the school. In terms of TL’s leadership, I would like to apply what I learned from the ETL 504 when I become a TL.

 

When I studied ETL 504, I worked through six case studies and four case studies were designed for group work. The group work discussion and individual contribution tasks gave me the chances to play both leadership and followership in a small group. I think the designed case studies in ETL 504 encouraged me to interact with others in my course in practice by exchanging our different opinions and views on the given subject topics.

 

It is important to have a respectful and motivational environment to increase productivity and to create value and support among staff. (Smith, 2016, p.67) The value and support among our group members in ETL 504 increased the productivity of our group works. I learned that one quality of good leaders is to create a respectful and motivational environment by showing team members they are valued and supported.

 

What I observed from my professional placement was that my supervisor teacher librarian showed respect and care for her library staff. She seemed to have good relationships with other staff at her school by having an open line of communication. (Smith, 2016, p.73) Other staff in the school library also seemed to feel supported by her leadership and good communication skills.

 

When I become a TL in the future, I would like to encourage my library staff to feel free to suggest any good recommendations or talk about issues that need to be resolved and then I will be able to lead my library team effectively. I think there are no leaders without any followers. Leaders are responsible for building a positive community to lead their teams well.

 

From the virtual school library visit 202060, I found out that Krystal Gagen-Springs, a school librarian at Mount Alvernia College in Kedron in Queensland gave examples of textbooks to staff and let teachers decide which books to buy. Krystal seemed to have conversations with other staff and consultations with specialists. TLs as leaders need to have good communication skills to maintain good relationships with other school staff.

 

According to Doucett (2011), team leader responsibilities are to “clarify who is taking on which role on a team”, “help the team clearly define its goals and figure out how it will measure success” and “keep the team moving forward”. (p.78) TLs as leaders need to give their team members clear job allocations, goals and visions to move the teams forward. They also need to display good leadership skills to lead their teams towards the visions and goals of the school community.

 

ETL 504 subject provided me with the experience to see the important role of TL’s leadership in the school library. The challenge for TLs is how to keep developing good leadership skills. Although my knowledge about developing leadership was limited to reading leadership books and attending professional development about leadership, Doucett (2011) suggests that TLs can develop leadership by partnering with librarians through mutual support. (p.24)

 

In terms of partnering, TLs can have mutual support from other library staff when they share ideas and talk about issues the library team members face. (Doucett, 2011, p.24) The term of partnering changed my view about leadership. I learned that TLs as leaders need to get mutual support from their followers to reach their library goals.

 

Through studying this course, my knowledge of leadership has grown. TLs as leaders need to partner with their school staff as well as lead towards the school vision. TLs as leaders are good at creating a respectful and motivational environment, showing respect and care to their team members and communicating well with other staff and partnering with them.

 

 

Reference

 

 

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4160.0.55.001~Jun%202015~Main%20Features~Information%20and%20communication%20technology~10018

 

Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2019). What is a teacher librarian? Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

 

Combes, B. (2016). Digital literacy: A new flavour of literacy or something different? Synergy, 14(1). Retrieved from https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/4/2

 

Doucett, E. (2011). What they don’t teach you in library school. USA: the American Library Association.

 

Derout, L. (2020). Literacies and Learning. In Multi-literacies. [ETL 402 module 5]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_44234_1&content_id=_3228488_1

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, August 16). A table for website evaluation criteria. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/08/16/a-table-for-website-evaluation-criteria/

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, Sptember 10). A way I could use a blog in the school library. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/09/10/a-way-i-could-use-a-blog-in-the-school-library/

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, March 29). Children’s literature. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/03/29/childrens-literature/

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020). ETL 501 Assessment 2: Digital library research guide critical reflection.

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2019). ETL 504 Assessment 1: Concept map and critical analysis.

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020). ETL 507 Assessment 5: Professional placement report.

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, September 13). How flipped learning could influence program design and delivery for the classroom and library research investigations. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/09/13/how-flipped-learning-could-influence/

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, May 7). What is digital literature? [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/07/what-is-digital-literature/

 

Eun Hee Kim. (2020, May 10). What is literary learning? [blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/10/what-is-literary-learning/

 

Kiefer, B.Z. (2010). Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature. (10th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

 

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

 

Smith, S.S. (2010). Web-based instruction: A guide for libraries. (3rd Ed.). Chicago: American Library Association (ALA).

 

Teachings in Education. (2017, June 20). Flipped classroom model: Why, how and overview [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BCIxikOq73Q

 

 

Part C: An evaluation to what I have learned during this course

 

The ASLA/ALIA TL professional standards are stated on the three main areas of professional knowledge, professional practice and professional commitment. (ALIA, 2004) In terms of professional knowledge, this Master of Education course has enlarged my professional knowledge in Teacher Librarianship. I have also realised how ICT use in the school library is very important for students to become lifelong learners in this information age.

 

Excellent TLs need to “understand the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in lifelong learning”. (ALIA, 2004, p.3) As ICT products have been developing rapidly, I need to spend more time becoming familiar with new technologies related to the management of the school library. The role of a TL is to help students to become effective lifelong learners who can apply the ICT skills they have learned through their ICT use and experiences in the school library.

 

To carry out my role as an excellent curriculum leader in the future, I need to build up a detailed knowledge of national and state curriculums. When I have a thorough understanding of curriculum, I will be able to meet the information needs of my future school community. It will also enable me to plan and teach cooperatively with other colleagues for students’ better learning outcomes.

 

In terms of professional practice, ETL 507 Professional experience and portfolio subject gave me the chance for 70 hours of professional practicum in a school library. The experience has given me a deeper knowledge about the roles of a TL and developed my general library skills. I value the importance of creating and nurturing “an information-rich learning environment” to support student learning and teacher teaching. (ALIA, 2004, p.4)

 

As my practicum supervisor teacher librarian suggested, I also realised that I need to read books widely and become familiar with a range of books and authors. This will help me to suggest titles to read and answer questions related to books for patrons I will work with. It will also give me ideas to design and deliver information services of benefit to any future school community.

 

Throughout my course, I have reflected on my learning on my blog for two years. I think the learning blog shows how my knowledge and skills in teacher librarianship has grown. When I become a TL in the future, I would like to ask my students to make blogs for their learning journey.

 

In terms of professional commitment, ASLA/ALIA TL professional standards states that excellent teacher librarians “empower others in the school community to become lifelong learners” and “foster a reading culture through the active promotion of literature”. (ALIA, 2004, p.5) The challenge is how to empower others to become lifelong learners and foster a reading culture. I think I need to work on these areas and take professional development opportunities in them to undertake the roles of an excellent teacher librarian.

 

This course has been rewarding and challenging to me. The 70 hours professional placement gave me confidence to be a TL in the future. I would like to apply what I have learned from the teacher librarianship course to my future teacher librarian career.

 

 

Reference

 

 

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2014). ASLA/ALIA TL professional standards. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/standards-professional-excellence-teacher-librarians

Part B: Critical Reflection

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Part B: Critical Reflection

In terms of the role of the school library as an information centre, I suggested the creation of a makerspace in a primary school library for my assessment 1: Library Services Design Proposal. The assessment gave me a chance to think about how library services are able to meet the needs of the school community challenged by the developments and changes of information technology. In addition to it, assessment 2: Library Research Guide and Reflective gave me a more practical way to create a pathfinder and reflect on what I have learned from this subject.

The pathfinder I created was for the Year 3 classes looking at Rainforests as part of a Science subject. While I was selecting websites to include them in the pathfinder, I realised that Schrock’s website evaluation of 5W’s (who, what, when, where and why) was very practical and informative. It is important for teacher librarians to teach students how to evaluate websites with ‘the 5W’s of web site evaluation’ created by Schrock (2018) to find relevant and appropriate digital resources.

A pathfinder is ‘a path guiding students as they navigate the complex world of the information age” and it “helps students to develop their information-seeking strategies”. (Kuntz, 2003, p.1-2) The information technology is utilised to create pathfinders which contain print and digital resources/formats to support resource-based, independent learning by students. The roles of teacher librarians are to support students “by guiding them through the gridlock of the information highway” and to assist them “in the development of effective search strategies”. (Kuntz, 2003, p.3)

In terms of Web 2.0 impact on education in today’s schools, Daniel Murphy (2020), in his forum post, states that the 21st century skills of problem solving, creativity, collaboration and communication can be enhanced and developed in the digital space using Web 2.0 tools. Daniel Murphy (2020) also states that teacher librarians cannot afford to ignore Web 2.0 tools because ignoring Web 2.0 tools means ignoring part of the Curriculum and ICT Capability. We can see the impact of digital learning environment using Web 2.0 tools in today’s schools.

For the development of students’ information literacy in the digital learning environment, students as 21st century learners are required to develop essential skills which identify appropriate resources, locate relevant information and curate the information, construct their knowledge and create high quality products. (Australian Library and Information Association, 2016, p.1-2) One of the information literacy models is Guided Inquiry Design Process (GIDP) created by Kuhlthan, Maniotes, and Caspari (2012). In my blog post, The roles of the TL in Guided Inquiry (ETL 401, 2019), I described that the three main roles of the TL in Guided Inquiry are ‘resource specialist, information literacy teacher and collaboration gatekeeper’. (Kuhlthan, Maniotes, and Caspari, 2007, p.57)

To become a 21st century TL, I will need to be a resource specialist and information literacy teacher. Creating a pathfinder for the Year 3 classes gave me extended knowledge and understanding of the use of pathfinders to teach students curriculum subjects. I will create and use pathfinders with relevant and current resources to support students’ learning and teachers’ teaching the curriculum subjects through information resources. (IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2015, p.35)

 

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2016). Statement on information literacy.  Retrieved from https://www.asla.org.au/policy/information-literacy.aspx

Daniel Murphy (2020, August 21). Forum 4:4.1 Web 2.0 impact and opportunity [online discussion comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_47579_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_94201_1&forum_id=_202390_1&message_id=_3199630_1

Eun Hee Kim (2019, May 11). The roles of the TL in Guided Inquiry [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2019/05/11/the-roles-of-the-tl-in-guided-inquiry/

The IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015). IFLA School Library Guidelines. (2nd ed). USA: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Kuhlthau, C.C., Maniotes, K.L., &Caspari, K.A. (2007). Guided learning: Learning in the 21st century. London: Libraries Unlimited.

Kuntz, K. (2003). Pathfinders: Helping students find paths to information. Multimedia & Internet @ Schools, 10(3). Retrieved from https://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/may03/kuntz.shtml

Schrock, K. (2018). The 5W’s of web site evaluation. Retrieved from https://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html

 

How could I incorporate learning objects (LOs) into my future practice?

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The definition of a learning object (LO) is “an item, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning. An LO is often described as being reusable”. (Bales, 2020) It is important fot the TL to provide a range of LOs to meet the curriculum requirements for students’ learning and teachers’ teaching. To do so, I would like to update my knowledge of new LOs by attending PD, sharing information with other librarians and researching LOs.

Reference

Bales, J. (2020). Learning objects. In Learning resources [ETL 501_202060 Module 5: Learning resources]. Retrieved from  Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_47579_1&content_id=_3640394_1

How flipped learning could influence program design and delivery for the classroom and library research investigations

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Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) products such as i-phones and personal computers enable students to access class content at home and be prepared to answer questions at school and it helps teachers to have more time to work with students individually. (Teaching in Education, 2017, June 20) This flipped learning could influence teachers and teacher librarians to be equipped with good skills in curating resources and using technology to deliver class content and library research investigations. Good impacts of flipped learning are that students are better prepared to apply what they have already learned at home to class discussion, collaborative and independent learning and extension activities at school. (Earp, 2016, February 3)

References

Earp, J. (2016, February 3). Homework culture key to flipped learning success. Teacher. https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/homework-culture-key-to-flipped-learning-success

Teachings in Education. (2017, June 20). Flipped classroom model: Why, how and overview [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BCIxikOq73Q

 

A way I could use a blog in the school library

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When I become a TL in the future, I would like to use a blog to share the school library news with staff, students and the school community. Whenever they visit a school library news blog, they will be informed of library times, upcoming events, book fairs and so on. The advantages of blogging are that it makes posting, updating online news and promoting events easy, but it requires blogs to be updated frequently and regularly. (Farkas, 2007, p.30)

Reference

Farkas, M. G. (2007). Social software in libraries: Building collaboration, communication, and community online. USA: Information Today, Inc.

Key considerations to take into account when choosing which format/s when purchasing resources for the library

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It is not easy to choose between print and electronic formats because each format has its own strengths and weaknesses. Stewart (2000) states that selection criteria can help a selector to compare both information formats and make decisions to choose and purchase which format. (p.96) The traditional selection criteria are to evaluate “the content of the material; its coverage, intended audience and quality, including the reliability, accuracy and currency of the information; the authority of the author and publisher, the cost of the resource” and “the format or features that add value to the title”. (Stewart, 2000, p.83)

 

According to Stewart (2000), “the complexity of electronic resources” raises additional selection issues including “technology in the library, desired access method, overlap between indexed publications and the library’s collection, service implications, archival concerns” and “availability of information about new products”. (p.87) I do not work as a teacher librarian at the moment, but I would like to apply the traditional selection criteria and additional selection issues suggested by Stewart (2000) when choosing which information format to purchase. I learned that it is important to choose information resources according to their contents, not their formats. (Stewart, 2000, p.95)

 

Reference

 

Stewart, L. A. (2000). Choosing between print and electronic resources. The Reference Librarian, 34(71), 79-97.  https://doi.org/10.1300/J120v34n71_07

 

 

A table for website evaluation criteria

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Website Evaluation Criteria

 

Educational

Reliability

Technical

Does the website provide a definition of the term that the user searches?

Does the website provide information about the author?

Does the website have an easy lay-out to read?

Does it show examples of the information the user searches?

Does it update content frequently?

Does the website have a good lay-out to read?

Does it engage students to read about the information the user searches?

Is the website biased, if so, to what extent?

Is it too slow to load?

Does it provide students with activities to do?

To what extent can it be trusted?

Does it provide links to other sites which are related to the user’s needs?

 

 References

 

Bales, J. (2020). Critical evaluation for Teacher Librarians. In Print versus digital information resources. [S-ETL501_202060 module2]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_47579_1&content_id=_3640379_1

 

McLachlan, K. (2002). Cyberguide Ratings. Retrieved from: http://cuberbee.com/content.pdf

 

 

Reflect on Farmer’s ideas about print/digital reference material.

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The types of reference sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs and yearbooks, atlases, handbooks and manuals, biographical sources, and guides to other sources (indexes, abstracts, bibliographies and concordances). (Farmer, 2014, p.54-61) Farmer (2014) recommends middle school libraries to have a class set of almanacs to “teach data analysis skills”. (p.57) Also, he insists that high school students should be taught “how to use indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, and concordances” because these tools help to use other reference sources. (Farmer, 2014, p.60)

Although it is convenient to use online maps, school libraries are encouraged to keep a class set of a student atlas version “to teach map-reading skills”. (Farmer, 2014, p.58) The factors influencing the decision on which format (physical or digital or both) to choose are access vs ownership, degree of access, ease of use, features, need for supporting equipment and staff, need for timeliness, stability and archiving requirements, special needs and cost. (Farmer, 2014, p.67) Reference users can use any type of print and digital reference sources based on their needs as long as they can have answers for their searches.

Reference

Chapter 4: Developing resource collections, in
Farmer, L. S. J. (2014). Introduction to reference and information services in today’s school library. Rowman & Littlefield.

 

Bloom’s Questioning and Resourcing

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ETL501 | Module 1: Teaching & Learning

Bloom’s Questioning and Resourcing

 

Objective

Question

Resources/Web 2.0 tool

Knowledge

What is an ecosystem?

Dictionary – print or online or basic textbook, eg. Wordnik, Visuword, specialist glossary, …

Knowledge

Define an ecosystem and list the varieties that are found in South Australia.

Dictionary – print or online

Google search

Comprehension

List the different parts of the ecosystem and explain what they do.

Mind map maker

Comprehension

Compare a marine ecosystem with one from another area of our state.

Wikipedia

Application

Using a diagram, show how the water cycle operates in an ecosystem.

Google images

Application

Demonstrate what happens when humans interfere with the water cycle.

Animation maker

www.animatron.com

Analysis

Contrast the natural water cycle with that used by our community.

Animation maker

www.animatron.com

Analysis

Examine an ecosystem that has been damaged by human interference. Avoided how?

Evernote

www.evernote.com

Synthesis

Identify an unspoilt ecosystem and design a way of preserving it.

Google docs

Synthesis

How would preserving our local ecosystems enhance our environment?

Digital storytelling

Evaluation

Is it reasonable that people pollute our waterways? Defend your answer.

Blogging

Evaluation

Assess the impact of pollution in our local waterways.

Google docs

My thoughts on Bloom’s questioning and resourcing

Based on the Taxonomy of Bloom (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation), Kathy Schrock (2017) assembled many different kinds of online tools to support Bloom’s revised Taxonomy. (Creating, Evaluating, Analysing, Applying, Understanding and Remembering) Our teacher librarians could use Web 2.0 tools to support students’ learning and teachers’ teaching.

 

Reference

Schrock, K. (2017). Bloomin’ apps. Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything. Retrieved from https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

 

Part B: Reflective blog post

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Part B: Reflective blog post

 

In my first blog post, The future of children’s literature (2020), I described that my vision is for children to gain more knowledge through reading books regardless of the format change of children’s literature. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), reading is an essential activity “for success in education”. (p.1)

 

My new insight is that reading to the child is very significant because it crucially influences “children’s engagement in reading”. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, p.1) While I was doing ETL 402 assignment 2 Part A, I learned that interactive “read alouds” are a literature response strategy for teachers in order to model students’ reading and for students to be exposed to excellent literature. (Lehman, 2007, p.27) I would like to apply this interactive “reading alouds” in my future literature teaching because it motivates students to build their sense of story and their understanding of “how different text structures work”. (Lehman, 2007, p.28)

 

Trisha Templeton (2020), in her forum post, states that her school runs mandatory silent reading program for 2 x 10 minutes a day across Years 7 / 8 / 9 due to the lack of recreational reading among students. I think the mandatory silent reading program is beneficial to engage students in reading and some of them will read for pleasure in the future very likely.

 

In terms of reading from the screen, Daniel Murphy (2020), in his forum post, states that although his school runs the Scholastic Literacy Pro Lexile program, students always have access to digital reading options through the platform. We can see that students have preference for digital reading because of the impact of digital environments. In my blog post, What is digital literature? (2020), I refer to the suggestion of Combes (2016) where teachers and teacher librarians need to instruct students’ traditional literacy skills before teaching them digital literacy skills.

 

I have understood the difference between literary learning and literacy learning. In my blog post, What is literary learning? (2020), I refer to the explanations of Derout (2020) which define literary learning as students learning through literature and literacy learning as students learning to be literate through learning “how to read literature” and “how to deconstruct it”. (ETL 402 module 5) It is easy to see why teachers and teacher librarians can use literature in education.

 

My extended knowledge and understanding of the use of literature in education is that teachers and teacher librarians are able to use quality literature to teach students curriculum subjects and cross-curriculum priority areas. The role of the teacher librarian in teaching literature across the curriculum is to provide teachers and students with current and relevant resources to “support the curriculum through information resources”. (IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2015, p.35) When the TL works with classroom teachers collaboratively to meet the curriculum requirements, learning needs and interests of students, both are able to elicit strong results in students’ literary learning and teachers’ literary teaching.

 

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2012).   Reading: The home and family context.                                Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Reading:%20the%20home%20and%20family%20context~205

 

 Combes, B. (2016). Digital literacy: A new flavour of literacy or something different? Synergy, 14(1). Retrieved from https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/4/2

 

 Daniel Murphy (2020, April 21). Forum 4.2 Reading from the screen [online discussion comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_44234_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_88815_1&forum_id=_181938_1&message_id=_2862910_1

 

 Derout, L. (2020). Literacies and Learning. In Multi-literacies. [ETL 402 module 5]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_44234_1&content_id=_3228488_1

 

 Eun Hee Kim (2020, Feburary 18). The future of children’s literature [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/02/18/hello-3/

 

 Eun Hee Kim (2020, May 7). What is digital literature? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/07/what-is-digital-literature/

 

 Eun Hee Kim (2020, May 10). What is literary learning? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/eunhee/2020/05/10/what-is-literary-learning/

 

 Lehman, B. A. (2007).  Children’s literature and learning: Literary study across the curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.

 

 The IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015). IFLA School Library Guidelines. (2nd ed). USA: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

 

Trisha Templeton (2020, March 3). Forum 1. One thing I would introduce. [online discussion comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_44234_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_88815_1&forum_id=_181935_1&message_id=_2720545_1