Tag Archives: professional standards

Forum 4.1 Are the acquisition of 21st century skills and the focus on accountability mutually exclusive?

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NO the acquisition of 21st Century skills and the focus on accountability are not mutually exclusive.  Of course we can develop the skills required for the 21st century and sill have accountability.  We need to have accountability in any system, the problem is what is done with the information gained from the tests we are currently using and what abilities are not reflected in these tests.  I feel as a both parent and a teacher that often the information is misused.  We have parents who started selecting schools based on lead tables and results from standardised tests.  Schools that started using standardised tests, such as NAPLAN, as a means of screening potential students.  This, I believe, has led to many schools teaching to the test or screening students out of tests to improve their results which in fact are skewing the data, and it’s not what the test results should be used for.

 

As the cartoon in Bruce Stewart’s reply shows one test cannot give an accurate depiction of a student’s ability.  It brought to my mind Howard Gardiner Multiple Intelligence Theory and a quote that is often attributed to him “it is not how smart you are; but how you are smart”.  Learners in the 21st century have the opportunity to respond creatively, collaboratively and exercise problem solving skills through inquiry based learning that will allow them to construct meaning and develop 21st century skills.  How we assess our accountability in this process is hard to measure quantitatively, but I feel is still necessary.

(Stewart, 2017)

Education System (Stewart, 2017)

 

 

Stewart, B. (2017, April 10). Forum 4.1 [Online discussion group]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_84756_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_42098_1&course_id=_23912_1&message_id=_1116816_1#msg__1116816_1Id

Forum 3.4 Advocacy, accountability and research

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This week we were asked as part of our discussion group how we would show that we meet one of the standards outlined by AITSL.  I chose  4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environment.

 

4.1 Support Student Participation: I would design a libguide that linked to lists of new recommended reads for different year levels, interests and genres.

 

4.2 Manage Classroom Activities:  I would ensure that the library space design allowed for all work environments ranging from collaborative to quiet independent work areas.

 

4.3 Manage Challenging Behaviour: I would set clear student behaviour expectations so that both library staff and student body were aware of library etiquette.

 

4.4 Maintain Student Safety:  Using our libguides I would design a wellbeing page with tips and links on how to deal with the stress of being a student and teenager in todays world.

 

4.5 Use ICT Safely, responsibly and ethically: Implement a digital citizenship program that adapted with the age of the students building to include their digital footprint that employees are now vetting applicants on.

 

What are you doing to meet the standards?

Forum 3.1 – AITSL Standards

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As someone who is new to the field of working as a teacher librarian and at the same time new to working in a secondary school setting I find the ASLA evidence guides extremely useful.  They ensure that we keep the professional teacher within us accountable. We are both a teacher and a librarian.  The tasks that we perform as ‘librarians’ need to be rooted in the education of our students and therefore directly tied to the curriculum and professional standards.  We are afforded the rare opportunity of peeking beyond the curtain and witnessing all the key learning areas in all the year levels engage with the curriculum.  They can guide my practice, show me what I am achieving well and where I need to improve.

Engaging with teachers in formulating and implementing guided inquiry tasks with the students, teacher librarians actively display all professional standards outlined by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2014). Australian professional standards for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list

Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2012). Publications. Retrieved from http://www.asla.org.au/publications/evidence-guides.aspx