The first unit in my Teacher Librarian (TL) course has been eye-opening and full of development, to say the least.
A few months ago, I was just beginning to scratch the surface of the role of TLs in schools. Now, in just two days time, I will step into the role as Teacher Librarian. Whereas previously I’d considered the role of TL as literacy and literature specialist, I now view the role as Information Specialist. Empowering learners with skills in critical thinking and research as well as developing enthusiastic readers are all key aspects of our role (American Association of School Librarians (2009a).
As information specialists, assisting learners in being able to access, evaluate and use information are integral elements in our role. The term information literacy (IL) was new to me coming into this course, as I describe in blog post Information Literacy for Beginners (Henderson, 2021, January, 14).
Critical thinking and using information in new ways to create and innovate are invaluable tools for our learners, growing up in an age defined by digitalisation and information, the Information Age. I’m excited to be a part of supporting young learners in this way. IL is where a multitude of skills and dispositions come together to enable learners to use information to meet their needs. Not only does IL include digital, textual and technological literacies, it is also where reading and inquiry skills meet (AASL 2007). Persistence, flexibility and divergent thinking are learner dispositions associated with strengthening IL (AASL 2007).
Learning about yet another relatively new concept to me, inquiry learning models, has bridged the divide between teachers and teacher librarians for me. Studying inquiry learning models, in particular, Guided Inquiry Design, has shown me how teachers and TLs can work together, maximising the information skills held by the TL and supporting teachers in their work in the classroom (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012). Further, collaborating on inquiry units enables our learners to use inquiry skills within the context of their learning, making it more meaningful and more likely to be retained, as opposed to teaching library lessons which aren’t related to classroom learning. I’ve written about five inquiry learning models here (Henderson, 2021, January 20).
During the course of this semester, I’ve been offered a Teacher Librarian role in a primary school. The principal has flagged the idea of collaboration and team teaching with the class teachers in the school. When I initially heard this, the thought of collaborating with all of the teachers in the school left me feeling overwhelmed. In my initial post about The Role of the Teacher Librarian, I put forward the idea that I’d like to learn more about how teachers and TLs work together as I’ve never seen this in action (Henderson, 2020, November 23). Thankfully, we learned about inquiry learning models and how teachers and TLs collaborate to create engaging inquiry units for their learners. As I mentioned in this discussion board forum post, some challenges to working collaboratively with teachers in the school will include getting all teachers to agree to a model of inquiry to be used throughout the school as well as training and equipping teachers in the model of inquiry (Henderson, 2021, January 8).
A part of the TL role is advocating for evidence-based best practice. This is something I will need to develop in this role as I’ve utilised evidence based strategies in my own teaching, but never lead the way in influencing other teachers. Uniting the school’s inquiry learning model will be a challenge. Increasingly, I’m learning that one of our best resources as teachers, is each other. Learning more about collaboration is my next endeavour, beginning with learning to listen to the teachers and build honest relationships where we can provide one another with critical feedback (Langford, 2009).
My contributions on the discussion boards in this first subject has been mostly asking questions and seeking clarification. In one post (Henderson, 2021, January 14) I compared the Information Search Process/Guided Inquiry Design model to James Nottingham’s Learning Pit (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012 and Nottingham, 2007). Remaining open to struggle in learning is one thing I will need to maintain in my studies in this course as well as in the role of TL.
References
American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Chicago: American Library Association. https://www.epsnj.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=7770&dataid=32216&FileName=AASL%2021ST%20C%20LEARNER.pdf
American Association of School Librarians, (2009a), Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs, American Library Association. https://www.epsnj.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=7770&dataid=32216&FileName=AASL%2021ST%20C%20LEARNER.pdf
Gibson-Langford, L. (2009). Collaboration or co-blab-oration. Synergy, 7(2). https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v7220096
Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L. & Caspari, A. (2012) Guided Inquiry design: A framework for inquiry in your school. Libraries Unlimited.
The Learning Pit https://www.challenginglearning.com/learning-pit/#introduction
The Big6, Information Technology skills for student success. http://www.big6.com/