Assessment 3: Reflective Practice

The role of the Teacher-Librarian (TL) is constantly evolving, as does my understanding of it. At the start of the semester, I thought the Library was predominantly about books, not realising that the increasing digital world and the projected future needs of our students means TLs need to revolutionise their practice in order to meet the information needs of their students (Montgomery, 2021, March 7; FitzGerald, 2015, p.17; Montgomery, 2021, March 12). As digital information becomes privileged over printed works, it is imperative that TLs equip students with the information literacy (IL) skills necessary to make sense of information (Montgomery, 2021, April 29).

Through the unit, I’ve become concerned about the ‘invisibility’ of the profession and the failure to acknowledge TLs as highly-trained leaders (Bonnano, 2007). This has been exacerbated by the increasingly digital landscape that has caused an ‘unprecedented reorganization’ of learning environments (O’Connell, 2014, p.4) and the misguided notion that a TLs role is fundamentally related to print texts and therefore becoming obsolete (Silka & Rumery, 2013, p.16).  It is imperative that TLs remain ‘visible…and integral’ within a school community, and actively collaborate with staff on curriculum, IL, and pedagogical innovation (Oberg, 2007). In my future career, I can’t wait until teachers ask for help, as this may never happen! Teachers are struggling with an increasing workload and may be disinclined to try new things (Sheerman & FitzGerald, 2019, p.4) and I will need to be proactive and show the school community how the unique TL skill-set can boost information fluency. It’s this insight – this ability to look broadly across curriculum areas and learning needs of the school with a ‘bird’s eye view’ and consider how best to support it – that I’ve discovered the real value of the TL lies (Lupton, 2014, p.22). In this way, it is not entirely sufficient to say that a TL is an instructional partner – they should be an instructional leader (Baker, 2016, p.145).

At the beginning of the course, I identified that TLs needed to be innovative, fostering 21st century learning skills (Montgomery, 2021, March 7). Due to the increasing information landscape, our students require a new set of skills: critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, metacognition, collaboration, self-efficacy, motivation and perseverance (Lamb, Maire & Doecke, 2017, p.3). However, even as the Australian Curriculum advocates for critical and creative thinking (ACARA, n.d), education has become increasingly politicised which has impacted on pedagogical innovation (Montgomery, 2021, April 14). Students are rapidly acquiring more technological tools, as BYOD programs and technological integration become increasingly common digital strategies, but this creates the ‘illusion’ of technological competence unless specific information skills are taught (O’Connell, 2014, p.11; Coombes, 2009, p.3). I’ve realised that the teaching of IL skills, such as locating and critically evaluating sources, should be embedded within curriculum content to make it relevant. The advances in technology, coupled with contemporary educational discourse supporting student-centred, 21st century learning, create the potential for a paradigm shift where pedagogy can become constructivist, providing an immense opportunity for inquiry learning (Montgomery, 2021, April 14). I’ve learnt that TLs are ‘indispensible’ in the delivery of inquiry units and are significantly more likely to teach information skills during inquiry units (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014, p.16; Lance & Maniotes, 2020). TLs should be working with faculties to create inquiry units which integrate technology in a transformative way to foster deep and rigorous critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and connections between curriculum content and students’ own experiences (Gordon & Todd, 2009; Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012). I found the GID framework particularly resonated with me, and I have already started to adopt it into my practice, as I believe the guided inquiry process fosters engagement and rigorous metacognitive skills, assisting students to be judicious, ethical and digitally-literate users of technology who are prepared for new and emergent media trends (Montgomery, 2021, May 10).

This unit has taught me that TLs need to adopt reflexive practices that continually strive to meet the needs of their students. We must be informed by research; however, we should also consider ‘evidence in practice’ by reflecting and evaluating what has worked, or might work, for our own school context and compiling evidence accordingly (Todd, 2015, p.10).  As Todd puts it:

“The school library is about empowerment, connectivity, engagement, interactivity, and its outcome is knowledge construction” (2001).

I agree, but now would add to it: I’ve come to realise that it’s also about leadership, collaboration, innovation and ‘student voice and choice’ (Lance & Maniotes, para.12.). I feel deeply inspired about these possibilities, and I’m now committed to developing my professional practice to ensure this happens at my school.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d). The Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/critical-and-creative-thinking/

Baker, S. (2016). From teacher to school librarian leader and instructional partner: a proposed transformation framework for educators of preservice teachers. School Libraries Worldwide 22(1). 143-159. https://iasl-online.org/resources/Documents/PD%20Library/11bakerformattedfinalformatted143-158.pdf

CSU-SIS Learning Centre. (2011). ASLA 2011. Karen Bonanno, keynote speaker: A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan [Video file]. https://vimeo.com/31003940 

Coombes, B. (2009). Generation Y: Are they really digital natives or more like digital refugees? Synergy, 7(1).

Fitzgerald, L. (2015). Guided inquiry in practice. Scan (34)4. 16-27.

Gordon, C.A.& Todd, R.J. (2009).  Weaving evidence, reflection and action into the fabric of school librarianship. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. 4(2), p. 4-7

Kuhlthau, Carol C., Leslie K. Maniotes, and Ann K. Caspari. (2012).  Guided Inquiry design: a framework for in your school. Libraries Unlimited.

Lamb, S., Maire, Q., & Doecke, E. (2017). Key skills for the 21st century: an evidence-based review. Project Report. NSW Department of Education, Sydney.

Lupton, M. (2014). Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6: A bird’s-eye view. Access, 28(4). 8-29.

Lance, K.C., & Maniotes, L.K. (2020). Linking libraries, inquiry learning and information literacy. Phi Delta Kappan (March 26, 2020).

Oberg, D. (2007). Taking the Library out of the Library into the school. School Libraries Worldwide (13)2. i-ii

O’Connell, J. (2014). Researcher’s perspective: Is teacher librarianship in crisis in digital environments? An Australian perspective. School Libraries Worldwide 20(1). 1-19.

Silka, L., & Rummery, J. (2013). Are school libraries necessary? Are libraries obsolete? Maine Policy Review 22(1). 10-17.

Sheerman, A. & FitzGerald, L. (2019). A reflection on Guided Inquiry, Scan, 38(4).

Todd, R.J. (2001). ‘Transitions for preferred futures of school libraries: Knowledge space, not information place; connections, not collections; actions, not positions; evidence, not advocacy.’ Keynote address: International Association of School Libraries (IASL) Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.

Todd, R.J. (2015). Evidence-based practice and school libraries: Interconnections of evidence, advocacy and actions. Knowledge Quest 43(3). 8-15 https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1643157876/fulltextPDF/F400C263B770418APQ/1?accountid=10344