Back in March, I reflected that I was ignorant of the meaning of ‘teacher’ in teacher-librarian (TL), (Court, 2021, March 9) but now I know what TLs make!
They make a difference!
Valenza’s (2010) passionate rejoinder to claimants that school librarians are an ‘anachronism’, immediately deepened my understanding of what teacher-librarians (TLs) do and ‘can be’. Far from an anachronism, I have learnt that TLs ‘make a difference’ by being at the forefront of preparing students for 21st century life.
I have obtained a deeper conceptual understanding of information literacy (IL) and that IL is understood in different ways. Early on, I read and reflected on the importance of students learning to navigate and just ‘be’ in the dynamic ‘infosphere’ (Court, 2021,March 17). I identified key aspects of IL that TLs can foster in students: ‘how to safely, ethically and effectively locate and evaluate information in digital (and traditional) places’, …..and the processes of turning information into knowledge. There are many more. Information literacy’ is like a babushka doll. It sits under a ‘literacy’ (or trans-literacy) umbrella, ‘digital’ literacy is a subcategory of information literacy, and digital literacy in turn, covers a range of skills and concepts including digital and global citizenship. All are vital for 21st century learning but none can be assumed to be held or understood by students including under the specious ‘digital native’ thesis (Coombes, 2009) – all must be explicitly taught or carefully integrated in curriculum design. As far as teaching research skills, I valuably learnt there are a range information literacy models that break the research process into steps and provide structure for teaching, most notably Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014, pp.9-10). More broadly, IL can be aligned to or framed as approaches to teaching and learning (Bruce et. al, 2006, pp.3-6). Bruce et al’s innovative relational frame was concerned with how content was understood and experienced by students, conceiving IL as ‘a complex of different ways of interacting with information’; a way of learning (p.6).
Inquiry-based learning models are constructivist ‘ways of learning’. They privilege student engagement and choice, so are most suited to developing 2Ist century skills and mindsets in students, as required or implied by the Australian Curriculum (Court, 2021,May 9). Buchanan et al.’s research (2016, p.32;Court 2021,May 6 ) found IL competencies are pre-requisites for effective inquiry based learning and this accords with my observations in the classroom. Hence a key attraction of the model, guided inquiry design process (GID), is that it is an overall framework for inquiry curriculum design and implementation comprising eight stages, developed from, and embodying ISP (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014, pp.11-12). Additionally, affective as well as cognitive aspects of learning are tracked and supported by scaffolds and interventions (pp.10-11) . Motivation is encouraged through curriculum and student interest meeting in the ‘third space’ (Fitzgerald, 2015, p.9) when students generate authentic focus questions in the middle of the research process (Maniotis & Kuhlthau, 2014, p.10).
Crucially, GID provides an opportunity for the teacher-librarian to be a key member of learning teams and a leader of pedagogical change throughout the school. TLs make a difference when they are involved in the development of curriculum and the movement toward the integration of information literacy instruction. The TL is an expert in IL and is uniquely placed to have a cross-curricular overview and an understanding the general capabilities under the Australian Curriculum (Wilson, 2021, April 24). If a school is truly aiming to be a learning organisation, then the principal will ‘model’ and ‘grow learning leadership’ (Kools & Stoll, 2016) such as by facilitating collaboration between CTs and the TL. If the principal is not on board, then this is another opportunity for the TL to lead change, by using every ‘softly softly’ means possible to show the principal, that the TL can support the principal in her role and that IL and pedagogical change will assist her in achieving school and student learning goals (Court, 2021,April 25).
There are always challenges in bringing about change; lack of time and resistance to change being commonly identified as drawbacks with introducing more collaboration and major changes such as GID. But as TLs we know we can ‘make a difference’ and take positive steps to meet the challenges (Court, 2021,May 9b;French, 2021,April 14; Blaxland, 2021,April 6), even if we need to be very patient and start with working with one teaching ally at a time (Garrison & FitzGerald, 2019, p.1; Wilson, 2021, May 3).
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Blaxland, P. (2021, April 6). Discussion: The challenges. [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_55148_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_110080_1&forum_id=_231217_1&message_id=_3403177_1
Bruce, C., Edwards, C. & Lupton, M. (2006). Six Frames for Information literacy Education: a conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships between theory and practice., Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 5:1, 1-18, DOI: 10.11120/ital.2006.05010002
Buchanan, S., Harlan, M., Bruce, C. & Edwards, S. (2016, July). Inquiry Based Learning Models, Information Literacy, and Student Engagement: A literature review. School Libraries Worldwide, 22 (2). 23-39. doi: 10.14265.22.2.03
Coombes, B. (2009). Generations Y: are they really digital natives or more like digital refugees? Synergy, 7(1), 33-40.
French, E. (2021, April 14). Discussion: The challenges. [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_55148_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_110080_1&forum_id=_231217_1&message_id=_3403177_1
Garrison, K. L., & FitzGerald, L. (2019, October 21-25). “One interested teacher at a time”: Australian Teacher Librarian Perspectives on Collaboration and Inquiry [conference paper]. 48th Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship and the 23rd International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Kools, M. & Stoll, L. (2016). “What makes a school a learning organisation?”: OECD Education working papers. 137, OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/what-makes-a-school-a-learning-organisation_5jlwm62b3bvh-en;jsessionid=g36oF-8pUZuJ8sz6LnwKA-l3.ip-10-240-5-24
Maniotes, L.K.& Kuhlthau, C. (2014). Making the shift. Knowledge Quest. 43(2), 8-17.
Valenza, J. (2010). What librarians make. Or why should I be more than a librarian?. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/17247140
Wilson, A. (2021, May 3) Discussion: Information Literacy. [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_55148_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_110080_1&forum_id=_231218_1&message_id=_3403189_1
Wilson, A. (2021, April 24). Discussion: TL and curriculum. [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_55148_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_110080_1&forum_id=_231217_1&message_id=_3403176_1