Being a reflective practitioner is at the pedagogical core of the teaching profession. Interesting, reflection has been inherently linked to the concept of inquiry, where “reflective practitioners take an inquiry stance in that they actively search for understanding, and are always open to further investigation” (NSW DoE, 2021, para 4). Pondering my ETL401 learnings, it […]
teacher librarian
The Need for an Information Literacy Model in Schools
The readings and learnings from Module 5 provided some interesting takeaways, regarding the need for an Information Literacy model in schools. It has allowed me the opportunity to explore various models I was previously unaware of including Guided Inquiry Design, FOSIL, the Big6 and iLEARN). As a practitioner in a NSW Department of Education school, […]
Integrated Information Literacy Instruction
The reflection prompt invites consideration of the following three questions: How might the teacher librarian help the school move towards integrated information literacy instruction? What challenges lie in the way of such instruction? How might teacher librarians and teachers encourage students to transfer information literacy skills and practices from one subject to another? Firstly, it […]
The Teacher Librarian and Curriculum Development
The teacher librarian has a relevant and significant role to play in curriculum development. They can be involved in collaborative planning of units across all stages, which can assist in ensuring continuity of skills development (ie. General Capabilities) are uniformly and consistently implemented as a whole school priority and focus. This can be achieved through […]
A Call for Collaboration
When referring to the notion of collaboration in a professional teaching context, collaboration is defined as “a trusting, working relationship between two or more equal participants involved in shared thinking, shared planning and shared creation of integrated instruction” (Montiel-Overall, 2005, p. 32). I feel that collaboration, when it is done well, can be transformative to […]
Inquiry Learning and the Teacher Librarian
An interesting article I discovered during my quest for a deeper understanding of inquiry learning was Linking Librarians, Inquiry Learning and Information Literacy?, written by Keith Lance and Leslie Maniotes. In the article, Lance and Maniotes (2020) outline the process of inquiry as “help[ing] students [to] develop self-directed lifelong learning skills that will contribute to […]
Tech Tools for Collecting Evidence
The teacher librarian operates in a unique and dual role – that of teacher and librarian. To exist and align in equal standing with teaching colleagues as professionals in the field, it is necessary for teacher librarians to similarly collect evidence in order to support and maintain accreditation at proficient and lead levels. As previously […]
The Principal and the Teacher Librarian
The teacher librarian and the principal are two key stakeholders that should form a harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship. This is to ensure the continued success of the school library program and to guarantee the opportunity for the teacher librarian to continue in their support of classroom teachers on a broader scale as well as […]
The Role of the Teacher Librarian
According to the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), the teacher librarian has three major roles. They include that of: curriculum leader, information specialist and information services manager. Their role is vital as they “support and implement the vision of their school communities through advocating and building effective library and information services and programs that contribute […]
ETL401 Assessment 1 (Part B) – Online Reflective Journal: Blog Post
Only a few weeks in to the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course and it is glaringly apparent that my former understandings of the role of the teacher librarian will undergo a drastic transformation as I progress through my studies. Whilst it has not been a position that has been on my radar until relatively […]
The Information Society and the role of the Teacher Librarian
There is no doubt that we are part of an ‘information society’. Whether you identify as what Floridi (2007) describes as a “digital native”, who has been born into this current time period burgeoning with technological devices, smart technologies and constant connectivity; or a “digital immigrant” who has adopted and incorporated these technologies as they […]