Throughout this course I have really enjoyed opening my thoughts to understand the impact literacy learning can have within the classroom. Being able to apply my knowledge that I had gained into practical assignments was a rewarding challenge. I am a lover of books but flipping my thinking to explore literature in a new way allowed me to enjoy this course as it progressed. As teachers and librarians the way that we grow is by learning from each other. Collaborative learning happens all the time within workplaces and it allows for diversity of perspectives. When this happens it allows us as a learner to grow (Loes, Culver & Trolian, 2018, p.936). Throughout the topic it was rewarding to read everyone’s different views on the blog reflection posts and module discussions. We all come from such wide backgrounds it was valuable to see how differently we approached the topics. I learnt about a new website called Google Lit Trips that uses Google Earth to create immersive 3D literary field trips.
The most challenging part of this course for me was that even though I did work within a school library for 7 years, it was as a library technician. It has been interesting to learn and develop skills in critically thinking about how and why texts are chosen to assist in curriculum learning. It was more difficult than I imagined but I really enjoyed thinking about how each book I selected could be used in a practical way to assist in literacy learning. I think at any age developing your critical thinking and expanding your thoughts enable you to grow. Learning from others and taking into consideration that there is more than one way to view a particular problem or situation helps you establish these new thoughts (Kallet & Patterson, 2014, p.9).
Reading back over my posts I had written it is clear that I believe that libraries are spaces that should not shy away from providing access. Everyone can learn or grow from a book that might deal with a new situation they haven’t experienced before. I think that when school libraries also provide this access to high quality resources this can have an impact on learning. I like the idea that collections need to be windows, so people can see other views of the world and mirrors to reflect themselves back. Children need to be exposed to both as this can help shape them grow and learn. It is important not to shy away from topics because they might be taboo or not widely accepted, but within the library space there is always an avenue in which it can be added (McNair, 2016, p.375).
I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this subject and being able to examine literature from a different perspective. It really furthered me to push my thinking and I really enjoyed learning from both Jennie and my classmates.
References
Kallet, M. & Patterson, D. (2014). Think smarter: critical thinking to improve problem-solving
and decision-making skill. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
McNair, J. (2016). #WeNeedMirrorsAndWindows: Diverse Classroom Libraries for K-6
Students. Reading Teacher, 70(3), 375-281. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1516
Loes, T. L., Culver, K. C. & Trolian, T. L. (2018). How Collaborative Learning Enhances
Students’ Openness to Diversity. Journal of Higher Education, 89(6), 935-960. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2018.1442638
When I worked within a school library it was one of the best parts of my job to connect those students who didn’t think they could read a full novel or they didn’t enjoy reading with a book that they ended up connecting with. At the start of the school year we would get a largeish intake of year 5 students from surrounding schools and most of them came from a school who didn’t have a strong reading culture. We didn’t mind so much because we knew that sooner or later even those reluctant readers would be able to find something from our many collections.
We had one particular student who we noticed that was borrowing a bunch of cookbooks each week, she wouldn’t make any of the recipes but loved looking at the pictures and reading the recipes. After 3 weeks we decided that we would try to engage and get her to borrow a fiction book. We had an informal chat about what types of books she liked and I got her a selection of graphic novels for her to have a look at. She ended up taking the whole bunch because she thought she would just give them all a try. The following weeks she ripped through our graphic collection and then came and asked for chapter books that were similar to what she had been reading. From there she became one of our most frequent borrowers and each week she was so happy to tell us about her favourites.
I think the most important thing when working with children is understanding both the collection you manage and the types of readers you have. Working with a whole school can take some time but if you are invested then you will start to form connections and then are able to suggest the best ones for them. When children see you being passionate about literature and showing an interest they will also reflect that back to you and this can build a strong reading culture. You don’t need to read every single book to know what they’re about but it is important to invest time in knowing about these things.
Librarians are there to support and help both students and teachers, by working with the classroom teacher alongside your own personal knowledge all these little things can help build the library and your own confidence with the literature.
I think over time like anything it becomes easier to process information or learn a new skill at a younger age. This does not mean that the older generation can’t still learn and adapt to the changing environment but I do see that younger and younger kids can teach me more about an iPad than I ever knew it could do…and I’m only 27. I do think that reading is a skill that you can get better at the more you do it. I can read 3 to 4 books a week given the time and that’s simply because I practice everyday. When I told the children that I worked with I could do that they would think I was crazy but the more that they read they were so proud to tell me that they also finished 2 or 3 books in one week!
Working now within a public library environment one of my responsibilities is that I run one to one technology training and basic community workshops. The clientele of these sessions are generally our older patrons who wish to learn how to send an email or how to use a device they received for christmas. These sessions normally last an hour and at times we can only get through the very basic functions of the device. Some book in for multiple sessions so they can feel more comfortable and confident using the device and some go away thinking they will never understand how to fully use them. Alternatively we have children come in with their grandparents who do everything and more on their phones if they need help or assistance with anything. So I believe that younger people do adapt and use technology differently simply because they are able to process the information faster and more confidently.
When I worked within a school the high school trialled an ebook platform for the students to access. However after a year they didn’t continue subscribing as the stats showed that only a few students were using the platform even after promoting the service. We never trialled it within the junior school because we wanted to spend our budget on the most up to date physical resources we could get. Occasionally we would be asked by parents about ebooks but we always forwarded them onto the local libraries. Now working with a public library we offer a range of online platforms, however within my branch we get most families borrowing the max amount of resources they can (35 items) and not bothering with any of the ebook platforms. I think it comes down to personal preference and parents don’t want their kids in front of more screens so they don’t invest in kindle and kobos until the children are older. During lockdown we did see a massive shift to online resources but that was because they did not have access to the library.
As the world changes and evolves I still think that people will want access to those physical items along with the ability to get things digitally if they want.