Teacher Librarians as leaders of change in schools

After only a few years as a Teacher librarian (TL), I have grown to understand that this unique role extends beyond that of managing a library space and its collection. I have witnessed firsthand the power of my role in changing learning environments. Teacher librarians have an opportunity to ignite student’s passion for reading, whether that be in literature circles, book clubs, reading classes or merely casual book chats during student breaks. Additionally, TL’s can mentor students to enhance their research skills, therefore helping student’s navigate the huge virtual dumpsite of misinformation.

“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.” ~ Neil Gaiman

Standardisation of minds

Ken Robinson (2010) critiques the standardisation of education through curriculum testing and challenges how this approach fails to nurture individual creativity. Testing ultimately drives toward finding a correct answer, set against a marking criteria, and resulting in a specific grade of achievement. Teachers are often so focused and pressurised into achieving student results, that it can leave little time in a subject classroom to allow for students to be innovative, independent learners engaging in open ended tasks. Teacher librarians can design library programs that extend students beyond the curriculum standards. As a Teacher librarian, I can provide a value added service that coaches students in research skills offering them a supportive environment to explore alternative perspectives and approaches.

A practical example of implementing these objectives would be to provide tasks and lesson activities that lead to opportunities to develop the Australian Curriculum general capabilities. The given tasks should have real-life connections, making learning more meaningful. Within inquiry based programs, as the TL, I can focus on tapping into student’s creative and critical thinking through open-ended explorative tasks that provide choices in their learning discoveries. Through inquiry tasks, Teacher librarians can encourage students to see multiple perspectives by asking unique questions and searching for a wide variety of responses using integrated technologies. These collaborative tasks can nurture problem solving skills stimulating students to think divergently.

Creative capabilities across cultures

The future ready curriculum has emerged as a prominent goal at my current school, equipping students to leave school and become successful participatory adults in a rapidly changing workforce. The 2020 Future-Proofing Students report, the 2020 Australian Report of the Review of Senior Secondary Pathways, emphasise the importance of students leaving school with 21st century skills. Teacher librarians are uniquely positioned to teach essential skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, intercultural capability, entrepreneurial agency, digital literacy, and information literacy. Ken Robinson doesn’t directly refer to a future ready curriculum as such, but he does argue for the value of creativity to be upheld in schools, believing if educators encourage individual talents, students will be able to adapt to our changing world more easily.

Breaking borders in an interconnected world

Globalisation cannot be ignored in today’s society; the world is more interconnected than ever. Needless to say this has implications within education. Students need to be better prepared for interacting within a globalised world. Students have opportunities to work in careers that involve international collaborations across borders through emerging technologies. This is why widening the skill base of students is important and a teacher librarian can be a driver for cultivating students abilities and pursuing passions beyond traditional academic subject knowledge.

Teacher librarians as drivers of change

Isn’t preparing students for life after school is surely the whole point of secondary education? Teacher librarians are in a unique central position in a school and therefore have potential as powerful drivers of change. It is the responsibility of Teacher librarians to spark students imagination through access to relevant, thoughtful resources, both in print and digitally. Teacher librarians are in a core position in a school and can influence technology integration with the provision of digital tools and resources within the library services offered. Through digital literacy, Teacher librarians can mentor and train students with 21st century skills, enhancing their academic learning through cross-disciplinary teaching leading to improved academic successes and future work readiness.

References

Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2020) Looking to the Future: Report of the Review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training. https://www.education.gov.au/quality-schools-package/resources/looking-future-report-review-senior-secondary-pathways-work-further-education-and-training

Hassim, E., Luo, R., Milligan, S., & Johnson J. (2020). Future-proofing students report – what they need to know and how educators can assess and credential them. The University of Melbourne. https://education.unimelb.edu.au/mgse-industry-reports/report-2-future-proofing-students