I chose this subject as the final elective in my Masters of Ed (TL) course, partly just because it sounded interesting (!) and partly because the assessments sounded practical and relevant to my future career. I currently work in a library with decent physical spaces (not perfect, but decent!) but very little digital resources spaces, which is an area that I want to gain more information about.
Certainly, modern discourse supports the connection between pedagogy and space, and thus flexible library spaces, designed in a way which facilitates collaboration and innovation, can enhance 21st century teaching and learning practices. Indeed, library spaces should facilitate different modalities of learning (Fisher, 2006), drawing on Thornburg’s archetypal learning spaces of the ‘campfire’ (the space where groups can gather to listen to an expert), the ‘watering-hole’ (a shared and informal discussion space) and the ‘cave’ (a quiet space for individual learning or independent work (Davis & Kappler-Hewitt, 2013), and thus it is essential that a range of different spaces are used and that these are adaptable. Moreover, a twenty-first century library space should be fully equipped with technology as this allows the expertise of the Teacher Librarian (TL) to be drawn on, particularly in regards to supporting guided inquiry learning and the facilitation of information fluency. A flexible environment is important as this will allow it to be adapted to meet the future needs of its patrons, and support future pedagogies and priorities (Stewart, 2018).
To some extent, the physical spaces in my Library address this, but a lot of the furniture is heavy and barely mobile, and thus more flexible options would be beneficial to optimise pedagogy and learning.
The early weeks of this course, and the readings I have done so far, have made me strongly consider these links, and look around my Library with a more critical eye. It’s also made me realise we need a far stronger digital presence.
References
Davis, A., & Kappler-Hewitt, K. (2013). Australia’s Campfires, Caves, and Watering Holes. Learning & Leading with Technology, 3. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1015175.pdf
Fisher, K. (2006). The new learning environment: Hybrid designs for hybrid learning. Public Paper: Education Futures, 2, pp. 17-24.
Stewart, P. (2018). School library design, facilities and resources for sustainable cognitive and social development for students: An evaluation case study. School Libraries Worldwide, 24(2), pp.30-46.