Studying Introduction to the Teacher Librarianship subject helped me develop a better understanding of the Information Literacy and Inquiry Learning models as well as the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL) in the process of inquiry. 

I came to this subject with the background of an ESL teacher and a Classroom Teacher having no experience of working in the library and in the beginning I did not think that the subject would have so much in common with what I was doing as an IB PYP teacher. 

When I started learning Model 3 about Information Literacy I began to see clear connections between what TLs do in the library and what teachers do in their classrooms. In my blog post “Understanding Information Literacy” I wrote about the need for collaboration between TLs and classroom teachers so that TLs would be included in the unit planning process from the very first stage (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 16). I think that in my school context, individual teachers understand the principles of Information Literacy well and apply them in their classrooms, however, there is no centralised approach to that and the TL is not in charge of this process. In Module 3 of ETL401, I came to the understanding that the TL should lead the Information Literacy at school and I added this point to my Teacher Appraisal Document at school, which underpins my goals for this academic year. 

Later in Module 3 I looked at Information Literacy and Inquiry Learning models and found some similarities and differences between them. In my discussion forum post I compared the NSW ISP Model and the Inquiry Cycle that we follow at school (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 16). I only knew about one inquiry model before, which was Inquiry Cycle, and it was interesting to look at other models and analyse what they have in common. 

In my reflective blog post, I wrote that information society uses information as an economic resource and that there is a constant demand for information services and facilities, which brings us to the need of being information literate to be able to trace the source of information and define the credibility of the author (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 4).  I inquired more into the aspects of Information Literacy when I was working on Assessment 2 for this subject. I looked at the interrelatedness of information literacy and teacher self-efficacy and it gave me a new perspective on the topic from the viewpoint of educating teachers about information literacy and not only the students. The research by Williams and Coles showed that some teachers had not enough competencies to locate and evaluate information (Williams & Coles, 2007, as cited by McKeever et al., 2017, p.52). I realised that while some teachers have a very high level of information literacy, others might struggle to develop their understanding which impacts the role of the TL as a leader in organising professional development sessions about information literacy. 

In the discussion forum for Module 4, I wrote a post about the connections between Inquiry Learning and General Capabilities (Kaigorodova, 2023, Jan 6). In that post, I said that there is an opportunity for the TL in my school to help teach communication and collaboration skills that are essential for inquiry learning. 

Working on this assessment I studied deeper the Information Literacy Models and learned how to embed them in the Unit of Inquiry. The development of a unit based on the framework of FOSIL information literacy model helped me clearly see the connection between Information Literacy and Inquiry. Now I feel as involved in inquiry learning as I was when working in the classroom. I will start using the FOSIL model with our Grade 5 students to prepare for Exhibition research projects. 

This subject helped me find the direction in my teaching practice now as I feel responsible for the development of Information Literacy skills as a TL. I also feel confident about the implementation of the Information Literacy model in my school. 

References:

McKeever, C., Bates, J., & Reilly, J. (2017). School library staff perspectives on teacher information literacy and collaboration. Journal of Information Literacy,11(2),51–68.http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/11.2.2187

I have a background as a primary school teacher in a school that follows the IB curriculum, and I think information literacy is definitely a part of our curriculum. Of course, lower primary kids don’t know the term “Informational literacy”, but even at that age, they know what information is, where we get information from and how we receive different kinds of information. As students are set in the international environment, they acquire authentic knowledge about other cultures and languages which helps them become open-minded. 

Upper primary teachers have a bigger focus on information literacy.  Grade 4 and Grade 5 students are required to bring their own devices and at this stage, teachers start teaching digital and information literacy. Students are taught about digital citizenship. They learn about internet safety when searching for information on the internet. They start using their critical thinking skills to compare and analyse resources. 

  In Grade 5 students learn about academic integrity. They start paraphrasing information they want to add to their project presentations. They also learn to reference sources of information. As students start doing projects, they think about where they can find the information they need, so they often come to the library to ask the TL for help. The TLs provide students with resources they might find useful and explain why they are good resources to use. 

     I think that the TLs could enhance how information literacy is taught by collaborating with homeroom teachers and understanding their needs. They could build on what is taught in the classroom and run activities in the library that would support students’ learning. The TLs should be part of unit planning to know in advance what kind of support the students will need. On top of that, being a part of the Literacy Committee would help the TLs better integrate information literacy teaching into the curriculum and spread it across the school. 

     As part of the IB programme, we aspire to develop our students as lifelong learners. Everybody in our school understands that the information landscape is changing very rapidly bringing a massive flow of information we encounter on a daily basis, so it is essential for our students to be informationally literate.

To better understand the term “Information Society”, I decided to look at the meaning of each word separately. MacMillan Dictionary provides the definition of information as “knowledge or facts about someone or something” (MacMillan Dictionary, 2022). The definition of society in the same dictionary is “people in general living together in organized communities, with laws and traditions controlling the way that they behave toward one another”, while the information society is defined as “a society in which every aspect of cultural, political and social life is based on information technology” (MacMillan Dictionary, 2022). Thus, information technology is the main asset of the information society, rather than any form of material goods. Hugh Mackay (2003) refers to information society as a post-industrial society, pointing out that it is the next stage of evolution of the society after industrialization, which combines social and technological aspects. The information society uses information as an economic resource. The growth of IT and telecommunications made technology a part of our everyday life. People nowadays can’t imagine their lives without the Internet and Social Networks. The constant demand for information services and facilities led to the emergence of the Information Industry. IT made it possible for us to stay connected with each other 24/7 regardless of time and distance, and even be connected to our work and business. People have almost unlimited access to information whenever they need it. Hugh Mackay (2003) argues that these connections will help us improve our practices in economic, environmental, political and social fields by using shared ideas and best practices with solutions to global and local problems (p. 9). 

In the post-industrial era, people have moved from producing physical goods to producing information and providing services. Getting access to this information and services became crucial and that’s where the implication of teacher librarianship comes into place. It is very important for the Teacher Librarian to understand the informational landscape. Just like the city landscape consisting of various buildings, roads, highways, parks etc., the information landscape consists of multiple formats of containing information and the ways to deliver this information. In the times of industrialization, people gained information from books, magazines, journals, radio and TV programs and it was relatively easy to trace where the information was coming from and who created it. Thus, it was easier to find reliable sources of information unlike nowadays, when people have access to endless videos, posts and publications online without knowing who the author is. Teacher librarians need to be aware of the information cycle, which starts from the author followed by the product and then the distributor of the product to the main consumer of the information. 

References: 

Mackay, H., Maples, W., Reynolds, P. (2003). Investigating Information Society. Taylor & Francis Group.

MacMillan Dictionary. (2022). Information. In MacMillan Dictionary online. MacMillan Education Limited 2009-2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/information

MacMillan Dictionary. (2022). Information Society. In MacMillan Dictionary online. MacMillan Education Limited 2009-2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/information-society

MacMillan Dictionary. (2022). Society. In MacMillan Dictionary online. MacMillan Education Limited 2009-2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/society 

If someone told me one year ago that I would become a Teacher Librarian one day, I would think that person was insane. One year ago I didn’t even think of changing my career path to start working in a school library. Back then I was teaching a small English Academy class with twelve students ages 8 to 10 years old. 

    My understanding of the role of the TL has changed a few times starting from being a student to being the TL today. When I was a student, I used to think that school librarians were only in charge of circulation and navigation in the library. At that time titles, “teacher” and “librarian” were differentiated in my understanding and I didn’t think of librarians as being teachers. These seemed to be completely different jobs to me. Later, when I started working as a teacher in an international school, I realised that librarians also cooperate with other teachers and help to support their plans with necessary resources. Besides, the librarians in our school gave Library lessons to primary students once a week, so I started looking at librarians as single-subject teachers. Teacher Librarians worked closely with the curriculum coordinator and participated in our collaborative planning meetings where TLs looked at central ideas of units of inquiry that we were planning and suggested some resources they had available to support us. I understood that the library was there not just to provide us with textbooks and cover the reading interests of students, the librarians had knowledge of the curriculum of the whole primary school including vertical and horizontal alignment and they were ready to support it across all subjects. On top of that, TLs organised whole-school events like “Book Week” providing many engaging activities for students of all ages. 

     Last year our school library went through a significant transformation with a new librarian who rearranged the stacks and made the library a great welcoming place. I came to the library one day and instead of rows of ordinary shelves, I saw a lot of space filled with cosy sofas, chairs, carpets, cushions, and beanbags. There were small coffee tables covered with tablecloths and signs hanging under the ceiling, which navigated me through different sections of the library. The books in the children’s area were turned to display the front covers to make it easier for small kids to choose books. The library became much more user-friendly and kids were happy to spend time there. That was when I realised how important it was to consider the needs of different types of learners. I understood that TLs create an environment where learning can happen. 

    Later that year the vacancy for TL was announced and I decided to take part in the competition together with other candidates. During the interview process, I had a chance to work together with the TL to see what the job looked like from the inside. I learned about collection development and orders. I understood that TLs are conductors of information and they connect students and teachers with the whole world of information inside and outside of the school. I realised that TLs need to display an extensive range of skills including IT and ICT skills and be aware of the constantly changing information landscape and all current trends. This is how my understanding of the TL’s role has evolved and I’m sure that it will continue developing further on during my studies.