Uncategorized – Chasing my Tale

Be a Fearless and Ferocious Practicioner

https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-jzijp/download

Librarians should be fearless stepping into the unknown.

The 21st Century Teacher Librarian (TL) has to ensure a diverse, dynamic and rich selection of material to suit the changing education environment and to inspire students to be mindful and compassionate citizens. My readings in the Resourcing the Curriculum course has shown me that I should also be a collaborative practitioner, be aware of the legal requirements of a hybrid collection, ensure compliance to copyright law, know the school context and maintain a vibrant collection to suit the learning, teaching and pleasure-reading needs of the school.

Report:

I have grown in my understanding about future proofing the library space as well as the collection (Gleeson, 2025a) and also developing personal relationships with students (Hand, 2025a) which will ultimately improve student and teacher outcomes (Loh, 2018). I also explored the importance of advocating for greater parity and consistency in library collectionsin an environment of funding cuts (Gleeson, 2025b.) and the need to liaise with the school executive (Hand, 2025b), and that drew my attention to the importance of developing a strong voice backed by clear quantitative and qualitative evidence (Hart, 2003; McKenzie, 2009). However, the Collection Development Policy (CDP) module drew my attention to the possibility that policy can be used as a powerful piece of persuasion to advocate for representation of all members of the learning community (Gleeson, 2025c).

Relate:

Up until this point in time, I had a CDP that had been constructed according to the ALIA template (2017). After doing a quick search through the other libraries in my Diocese, both high school and primary school, I found that the only difference between most policies was the name on the cover. I now understand that this group policy creation has fulfilled a requirement, but has not fulfilled the need to create a document that responds to the context of each school (Yaqin, 2022). Wose, this systematic duplication fails to provide an individualised intellectual framework and goals for each context’s collection development (Bitherman & Frempong-Kore, 2022).

Reason:

It was Mitchell (2018) and Hoffman & Wood (2007) who first drew my attention to the importance of intellectual freedom, which was further extended through course lectures and the IFLA & UNESCO (2022) manifesto that libraries are a ‘living force’ to promote culture, peace and understanding. I began to understand that the TL position was a serious vocation of advocacy for the minority voice and future change (Jones, 2022). While much of the literature that I read focused around the LGBTQIA+ community, I felt that this community had a significant representation in my context, but up to 20 per cent of my students who had a reading impairment such as dyslexia did not. This year I started reading more about dyslexia and I have discovered how imperative it is that TLs consider dyslexia as an essential issue of accessibility within the CDP (Turner, 2018).

Reconstruct:

I have already started to change my practice to ensure accessibility for dyslexic students. I have taught students about computer accessibility, ebook functions and I have started buying books with Open Dyslexia font (Dyslexic Books, n.d.). I have also liaised with key staff members and through the parent community informing them of these technological opportunities. I will also continue to search for new, and less expensive options, such as Book Tech or Benetech as recommended by Turner (2018). I also intend to personalise my CDA to reflect my specific context and to ensure that my collection is built against the policy recommendations.

I hope to be as ferocious and proactive as the many TLs I have read about who have ensured active representation for their students and have successfully built a dynamic learning environment to benefit teachers and students with an enriched curriculum. As Jones (2020) pointed out, TLs are bringing the UN’s 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child to life by ensuring not only that everyone has a right to a voice, but that everyone has a right to be seen.

Resources

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian School library resource centres (2nd ed.). https://read.alia.org.au/manual-developing -policies-and-procedures-australian-school-library-resource-centres-2nd-edition

Bauld, A. (2023). See You In Court: Fed Up And Filing Suit For Intellectual Freedom. School Library Journal, 69(8), 25.

Bitherman, B. K. A., & Frempong-Kore, A. (2022). Resource Acquisition and the Role of Collection Development Policy in the Development of Ghana Communication Technology University Library Collection. Library Philosophy and Practice

Dyslexic Books (n.d.) Dyslexia Font. https://www.dyslexicbooks.com/dyslexia-font

Fuoco, C. K. (2019). Moral Courage and the School Librarian: A Pragmatic Approach to Professional Ethics. Johnson University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2393044850/9BE9E7B25F7641B5PQ/2?accountid=10344&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses

Gleeson, L. (2025a). 21st Century Learning and Thinking Space. Chasing my Tale. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2025/05/03/a-vision-for-the-library-of-the-future-of-libraries/

Gleeson, L. (2025b). Funding – Who cares?. Chasing my Tale. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2025/05/03/resourcing-the-curriculum-post-1/

Gleeson, L. (2025c). Policy – Persuasion on paper. Chasing my Tale. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2025/05/03/resourcing-the-curriculum-post-2/

Hand, V. (2025a). Thank you for such a thoughtful post [Comment on the blog post “21st Century Learning and Thinking Space”.] Chasing my Tale. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2025/05/03/a-vision-for-the-library-of-the-future-of-libraries/

Hand, V (2025b). Hi Linda, Thank you so much for sharing your reflections! [comment on the blog post “Funding – Who cares?”.] Chasing my Tale. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2025/05/03/resourcing-the-curriculum-post-1/

Hart, A. (2003). Collection analysis: powerful ways to collect, analyze, and present your data. In C. Andronik (Ed.), School Library Management (5th ed.) (pp. 88-91) Worthington, Ohio: Linworth .

Hoffman, F. W., & Wood, R. J. (2007). Intellectual freedom. In Library collection development policies : school libraries and learning resource centers, (pp. 63-80). Lanham, Maryland : Scarecrow Press.

International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) & UNESCO. (2022) IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022. https://repository.ifla.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d414c76e-17ef-4581-9c0f-cc6e250a2743/content

Jones, A. (2022). YOU’RE GONNA HEAR ME ROAR. Knowledge Quest, 51(2), 18–23.

Loh, C.E. (2018). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21st century framework. Singapore: National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330618940_Envisioning_the_School_Library_of_the_Future_A_21_st_Century_Framework [accessed Jan 15 2020].

McKenzie, D. (2009). Importance of creating an annual report. Library Grits. https://librarygrits.blogspot.com/2009/06/importance-of-creating-annual-report.html

Mitchell, P. (2018). How does your collection measure up?: Using the school collection rubric. Journal for the School Information Professional, Autumn 2018, Vol.22(2), pp.18-19,2.

Turner, B. (2018). Benetech global literacy services: Working towards a ‘born accessible’ world. Learned Publishing, 31(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1141

Yaqin, M. A. (2022). Strategy of library development towards digital library. Khatulistiwa Jurnal Pendidikan dan Sosial Humaniora, 2(2),52-69. DOI:10.55606/khatulistiwa.v2i2.417

21st Century Learning and Thinking Space

Funding – Who cares?

Policy – Persuasion on paper

21st Century Learning and Thinking Space

The 21st Century Learning and Thinking Space

Creating 21st Century thinkers. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-jmfsi

A 21st school librarian needs to be able to redefine the library space to ensure best-practice access to information and knowledge in order to bring about the process where students become critical and creative thinkers.

In order to do this, the TL must backward map what it wants for students and provide the best resources for them to address the changing needs of the ‘learning’ evironment, but also the ‘thinking’ environment. For me, this is the most critical aspect of the library space and should be the philosophy under all library decisions because I, with all other TLs, am in the free learning space which is ultimately responsible for creating life-long learners who are excited about acessing, evaluating and synthesing the depth and breadth of good and bad information around them.

One of the ways the TL can do this is by creating a space where students can meet to create their own self-directed learning environment. According to Loh (2018) the 21st Century Library should be a space of ‘reading, research, collaboration, studying and doing’. This space may mean that students can access white boards, small meeting spaces, quiet areas, comfortable and functional furniture, charging ports, spare pens as well as reading and knowledge material. Alternatively, doing can be an activity that directly relates to reading, and can be reading groups, literacy circles or finding a book that builds pleasure and interest in students.

Part of the backward mapping must be to provide information to support teachers create the best learning space in the Australian Curriculum and give students access to information in order to complete set tasks and assessments. Mitchell (2020) notes that planning for curriculum changes requires the biggest time and money resource in education apart from face-to-face teaching, and librarians can help teachers through accessible access to online resources such as Scootle or any electronic subscription resources that the library manages. In the optimum situation librarians can act as a liaison between faculties to create information-rich material in a shared and collaborative environment with the by-product of reducing the work load of teachers (Chadwick, 2016).

Digital material provides librarians with additional opportunities for students to think critically about the information around them which comes from a variety of sources, both reputable and popularistic. Librarians need to be able to take the opportunity to increase students’ digital literacy and their ability to evaluate material that they can readily access, according to O’Connell et al. (2015) this could mean incorporating ebooks as a significant alternative to physical resources so that students can access material in a 21st Century environment but also create inbuilt motivation and differentiation strategies.

While many of these strategies build a critical space for students, it is also important to allow a creative space for students to build interest and connection with information and reading. Creative spaces can be through maker-spaces, a librarian directed book club with incorporated craft or writing opportunities. The library also needs to have a blended space and resources to allow this multi-use creative space and librarians need to consider furniture, storage and resources to allow this opportunity.

Resources

Chadwick, B. (2016) Curriculum-engaged school libraries and teacher librarians value curriculum-alignment of resources , International Association of School Librarianship. Selected Papers from the IASL Annual Conference, 2016, pp.1-30.

Mitchell, P. (2011). Resourcing 21st century online Australian curriculum: The role of school libraries. FYI : the Journal for the School Information Professional, 15(2), 10-15.

O’Connell, J., Bales, J., & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 64(3), 194-208, https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043

Policy – Persuasion on paper

Policy – Persuasion on Paper

Using policies for persuastion. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-ammar/download

A policy is a plan of action (Oxford Learners Dictionary). It’s a wonderful definition. A plan. For Action. It means that a policy is a plan for something good, or even better, to happen. And that means, once a policy is written and approved, it must be supported and, obviously, actioned. Thus a policy is not meant to be a ‘dry and dusty’ document to be shelved and forgotten. A policy is a key piece of ‘persuasion’ for the library and the ogoing development of the library.

A library policy needs to be current, reflect best-practice, contextual and be proactive for the future needs of the library. According to the American Library Association (2017) it needs to include ‘objectives, responsibility, criteria, procedures for selection, reconsideration of materials, and policies on controversial materials’. The policy should begin with an overarching statement in the objective and then build to more specific information to inform the library staff, executive and the wider school community including parents. Examples of specific material could be a drafted letter for collection complaints and criteria for selection of material.

The library policy needs to share the vision of how the library needs to develop into the future to keep preparing students to be 21st Century learners. The Collection Development Policy (CDP) is the most important part of a librarian’s job according to Newsum (2016), and thus requires a policy for the digital and traditional aspect of this role. While a librarian cannot know how the publishing industry will develop, it can future proof by a vision statement that ‘links the collection development policy to the values of the school’ while giving ‘equitable access to resources’ to create ‘lifelong, independent learners and responsible citizens’ (Australian Library and Information Services, 2007). The broad statement creates a cohesive progression of a comprehensive policy no matter what changes in functionality and technology. Some of the categories that need to be developed including relevance, currency, accuracy, authority, presentation, user-friendly, respectful, appropriate and contextual. It is important that the policy covers the digital collection to focus on the accuracy and currency of the collection (Newsum, 2016). While the policy should be future proofed, TLs need to routinely return to the policy to assess, position, implement and review the collecion in order to make sure the best collection delivery for the students, teachers and the wider values of the community (Mitchell, 2018).

Policies need also to include the material that will not be included in the library in order to provide current, best-practice and proactive practice. On the flip side, this may also include material that will not be included in the library. A policy that aims to develop a collection that is current, educational, age-appropriate, contextual and respectful will ultimately mean that material that comes outside of the parameters will not be included in the collection. Sometimes that may mean that material is rejected because knowledge has been superceded, material is explicit or is disrespectful; alternatively, it may mean that material is included because it shows a wide variety of voices or points of view (Hoffman & Wood, 2007). Once the collection profile has been developed in the policy it is much easier for the librarian to select or deselect material according to the parameters and not under the emotionally-charged label of censorship. Mitchell (2016) also includes that the material is legal, is value for money and also has metadata as part of a wider policy on ecollection.

When the policy is complete and approved, the librarian can use this document as part of the tool kit to have broader discussions with the wider school community. The librarian can use this to develop funding models, resource access, KLA collaboration and technology decisions. Most importantly it will be used as a persuasion tool that the librarian can use to validate requests in negotiations and difficult conversations.

Resources:

American Library Association. (2017). Workbook for selection policy writing. http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=dealing&Template-/ContenManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11173

Australian Library and Information Association School, & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2007). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. https://asla.org.au/policy-development-manual

Mitchell, P. (2016). Digital collections. [slideshare]. https://www.slideshare.net/pru_mitchell/digital-collections

Mitchell, P. (2018). How does your collection measure up?: Using the school collection rubric. Journal for the School Information Professional, Autumn 2018, Vol.22(2), pp.18-19,2.

Newsum, J. M. (2016). School collection development and resource management in digitally rich environments: An Initial Literature Review. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 97–109.

Oxford Learners Dictionary. (n.d.). Policy. In oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved May 3, 2025 from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/policy

Funding – Who cares?

Funding – Who Pays?

Who pays for a growing library collection? https://www.pexels.com/photo/bundle-of-books-on-a-library-2553427/

The school library is under threat, but who cares?

Author, Nova Weetman is one of the few voices outside of the TL community who cares. But even though she is a passionate advocate for reading and writing she fails to fully grasp the importance of the school library. She writes, ‘Perhaps it is hard to quantify just how important a library and dedicated librarian can be to a school community’ although she links the value of vocabularly to improved NAPLAN results and increased empathy to creatng better citizens (Weetman, 2023). But she values the librarian to create a space where students can ‘stop and just be’. While Weetman’s plea is eloquent and heartfelt, it fails to adequately justify the need for a library in a user-pay system where we allocate resources to pushing stuents to achieve and grow more – and yet, they’re not.

Here lies the problem. At my school I was informed that the library budget was being slashed from $10,000 per annum to nil. That’s right – nil. The business manager has agreed to support the library – within reason. Just as Weetman could not quanitfy the importance of the library, I am also of the belief that most of my staff, including the executive, do not believe the link between student reading and access to quality information to improved school results. This is despite reading being the school’s goal this year, and teachers having had access to several staff PD sessions allocated to improving reading delivery and understanding.

My budgetary problems are part of a much bigger funding crisis and looking at the funding models, it is easy to see how the library can be overlooked. The zero-based budgeting model maps expenses to a justified result. Similarily, activity-based budgets require a justification in order to allocate staffing and financial resources in future years. alternatively, line budgets can be a blessing or curse depending if the fuding model gave a reasonable allocation with room for inflationary growth. Thus it is important that the library can qualify and quantify its usage in the digital and traditional environment. Using the Softlink (2021) annual report data it is possible to assume that most schools function on the line budgeting system where the majority of schools, 59 per cent, recieved the same funding despite inflationary factors. Of the 14 per cent of schools who did receive increased funding many indicated that the funding was due to other contingencies such as refurbishment or required online teaching resources, and had little to do with the actual library collection. Moreover, librarians reported about a 50 per cent split about whether they were adequately resourced in money and staffing.

Budgetary and cultural forces may be set against the school library and space making it imperative for teacher librarians to advocate for better resources. Librarians can do this by creating open and transparent line of communication through informal and formal means. The most formal method of communication is through an annual report that allows for reflective practice of events, data usage, spending allocations, comparitive analysis and goal setting. McKenzie (2009) implores librarians to complete the annual report and writes,’Cannot afford time to write an annual report? My feeling is that you can’t afford not to!’. The annual report should include data which can be collected through quantative means using the OPAC which can include circulation statistics, collection age, collection growth and use (Hart, 2003). These statistics tell only a small story about the contribution of the library to the school social fabric and its importance to students’ outcomes and wellbeing (Johnson, 2018). Therefore, TLs should also include a qualitive report based on survey of staff and students or a focus group feedback. This material should help TLs develop their goals, but also help executive allocate appropriate resources on the library.

With schools under budgetary stress, the school library is an easy place to cut funding given its secondary link to the students and learning teaching environment. School librarians need to find a voice within the school to ensure that students of the future can thrive in a dynamic and engaging literary and information environment.

Who cares? We all should.

Resources

Hart, A. (2003). Collection analysis: powerful ways to collect, analyze, and present your data. In C. Andronik (Ed.), School Library Management (5th ed.) (pp. 88-91) Worthington, Ohio: Linworth .

Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of collection development and management. ALA Editions.

McKenzie, D. (2009). Importance of creating an annual report. [blog]. Library Grits. http://librarygrits.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/importance-of-creating-annual-report.html.

Softlink. (2021). 2021 Australian and New Zealand school library survey. https://www.softlinkint.com/downloads/2021_Softlink_School_Library_Survey_-_Australian_Report.pdf

Weetman, N. (2023, September 12). School libraries are an ally to students needing an escape. We can’t let them vanish. The Guardian: Australian Edition. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/sep/12/school-libraries-are-an-ally-to-students-needing-an-escape-we-cant-let-them-vanish

The Librarian as 21st Century Practitioner

Part C: Reflective Practice

As a classroom teacher I have conducted many inquiry learning activities and I have engaged with the librarian as an Information Literacy expert, but not to formulate the task. Now that I am the TL, I understand how much I can offer teachers as an expert in Information Literacy as well as a co-constructor and designer of carefully planned backwardly mapped Guided Inquiry units (Kennedy and Green, 2014). Additionally I can offer continued intervention and support to students out of class time to increase personal connection, engagement and resilience (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2011). This also includes student-led conversations which help build connection through collaboration, questioning and talking through ideas which can lead to deep learning and analysis (Heal & Goodwin, 2023).

The inquiry process is also a chance for me to grow connections with the teaching community in order to offer innovation and real-world assessments for students so they become 21st Century learners. This collaboration is essential for TLs to create holistic learning over multiple KLAs to ensure the General Capabilities are addressed and students can develop deep learning through critical and creative tasks which foster metacognition (Together for Learning, n.d.).

I have discovered that the Inquiry Process is a synthesis of the TL role. As the information specialist within the school the TL is the key person for staff and students to access for research assistance and access to the physical and digital collection. The TL can also improve Information Literacy according to the General Capabilities to improve students ability to source and critically analyse the information that they use. The TL is also a classroom teacher and has his or her unique experience and ideas to add richness to all KLA collaboration during the development of a GI unit. Lastly, and probably the most important part of the role is the TL’s accessibility outside of the classroom to discuss and challenge students to reach deep levels of thinking, questioning and analysis because students reach a deeper level of understanding when teachers stretch their thinking process through discussion and questioning (Knowledge Banks, 2023).

Other students have written how their knowledge has been extended through advocacy, literacy, collaboration, complexity and insularity (Bailey, 2015; Diamond, 2012; Templeton, 2019; Pericles, 2012; Parnell, 2018). While I also have been challenged in all these areas, my biggest learning has been how the TL can be best placed to incorporate the General Capabilities into the school. As a teacher I have relied on syllabus links, which incorporate the General Capabilities to some extent, but I have discovered that the library is best placed to match the outcomes through Guided Inquiry collaboration to add depth and richness to content delivery (Gleeson, 2023, September 27).

Moving forward, I have opened discussions with the principal to advocate for the Library to become the backbone for the General Capabilities and the building block for curriculum enrichment so students can become 21st Century learners. The most effective way to achieve this is through Guided Inquiry which can be across all KLAs including subject areas that I had not thought of such as Music, Art and STEM (Kennedy and Green, 2014; NSW Government n.d.). But that is only the start of possibilities, I can add depth and key skills to information literacy, help teachers delve into ethical and intercultural understanding by creating real world links through the books and digital material that I have available, but also through more collaborative activities such as human Libraries. I can add value and depth to numeracy by creating a Maker Space with STEM activities, and I can obviously address Literacy skills across the school. All of this requires collaboration with teachers, and my ability to advocate for my role as well as support from my principal. The key skill for a TL is to think laterally and be prepared to compromise in the collaborative process to co-create the best unit of work to meet the demands and time requirements of each KLA.

References

Bailey, N. (2015). Critical Reflection ETL401. Informative Flights – Musings of a Teacher Librarian. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://intlnadine.org/2015/01/25/critical-reflection-etl401/.

Diamond, F. (2012). Part C – Critical Synthesis about the Role of the Teacher Librarian. English and literary education. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://fleurdiamond.com/tag/etl401/.

Gleeson, L. (2023). TLs (IL + GI) = Lightbulb. Chasing my Tale. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/lindagleeson/2023/09/27/what-is-guided-inquiry/.

Heal, J. & Goodwin, B. (2023). Movement from Engagement to Deeper Thinking. ASCD. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/moving-from-engagement-to-deeper-thinking.

Kennedy, K., & Green, L. S. (Eds.). (2014). Collaborative models for librarian and teacher partnerships. Information Science Reference. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4361-1.

Knowledge Banks. (2023). Classroom Dialogue: Talk for Learning. https://www.teachingtimes.com/knowledge-banks/classroom-dialogue-talk-for-learning/.

NSW Government. (n.d.). Stem Support. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/programming/stem-support.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2011). Getting Started with Student Inquiry. https://www.onted.ca/monographs/capacity-building-series.

Parnell, L. (2018). Reflective Practice ETL401 Assignment 3 Part C. Liz at the Library. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://lizisatthelibrary.wordpress.com/category/reflective-journal/etl401/.

Pericles, K. (2012). Thinking about roles of the Teacher Librarian. It;s all about the Learning: Kimp’s Blog. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://kpericles.edublogs.org/2012/04/06/thinking-about-roles-of-the-teacher-librarian/.

Templeton, T. (2019). Its the skills that matter. Learning through the Library. Retrieved October 1, 2023 from https://literacylearningliterature.com/category/etl401-teacher-librarian/.

Together for Learning. (n.d.). Discovery and Guided Inquiry. School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons. Retrieved September 28, 2023 from http://www.togetherforlearning.ca/discovery-and-guided-inquiry/.

TLs (IL + GI) = Lightbulb

Finding the lightbulb moment. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-tpklv

TLs can use the specialisation skills of Information Literacy and Guided Inquiry to help students find their ‘lightbulb’ moment.

The Guided Inquiry Design Framework is a process that helps students reach that lighbulb moment. It helps them formulate their own research task and develop a focus question. It is a way to immerse students in a topic by responding to curiosity and individual interest to develop background knowledge in order to create meaning, but the individualised question will discourage a simple ‘cut and paste’ approach to learning. The final evaluation allows students to participate in a meta-cognitive activity to reflect and evaluate how they learned rather than what they learned.

Guided Inquiry is an amazing learning tool with many steps: starting from Open (wonder and curiosity); Immerse (background knowledge); Explore (an explosion of information); Identify (develop inquiry question); Gather (deeper reflection); Create (Communicate meaning); Share (Discussion) and; Evaluate (Self-Reflection) (Teachthought, 2020). The TL can be particularly helpful in the Explore, Identify and Gather sections of this task.

The first point of interaction with this process would be to decide what Guided Inquiry model to use for the school, with the five choices being the 5E model, Points of Interest, Fosil, the Inquiry Cycle and the Guided Inquiry Design model. All have similarities and strengths especially the embedded reflection activity, I particularly like the posters in the Inquiry Cycle model and I like the 5E model for the simplicity of the structure. This needs to be tied to an Information Literacy Model that is embedded in Library practice through a formalised policy and reinforced through visual reminders as prompts and scaffolds.

Garrison and Fitzgerald (2019) research student outcomes through a collaborative TL and teacher guided inquiry unit and discovered that students noted the importance of have the assistance of both educators to help them discover information when they were unable to discover it on their own, and thus avoid any hefty ‘potholes’ and increase their mental grit. Fitzgerald (2015) also emphasised the importance of addressing the ‘dip’ that often happens in the middle of the process as it helps create perseverance and resilience because ‘If teachers and students do not know that there is a challenging set of intellectual processes to go through to make inquiry learning worthwhile, teachers tend to underestimate it, and students tend to underachieve in it.’ Additionally students were able to transfer the guided inquiry skills throughout their whole education (Fitzgerald et. al., 2018).

Another tool to use when formulating a Guided Inquiry unit is the development of student Information Literacy (IL). One Information Literacy system is the SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (2011). This creates a seven pillar process that is both circular and interconnected as students can often be working on several aspects at the same time, or not at all. The processes correspond to the GI process in that they encourage students to start broadly and then dig deeper. The circular process begins with: Identify; Scope (assess current knowledge and information gaps); Plan (be more specific in information gathering); Gather (collection of material); Evaluate (reliability and usefulness of material); Manage (bibliography); Present (summarise and synthesise).

My understanding of the vital importance of Information Literacy in the 21st Century has been reinforced by the following readings. The Garrison and Fitzgerald article (2017) discusses Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process which helped the students chunk information into subheadings to be able to make better meaning of the material, and also to find the best inquiry question. For example, ‘Tinkerbell commented that she learnt to “make it broad and then specify as you go along”‘ while Iggy noted, ‘it kind of trains your brain to do research properly’. While the embedded reflection activity helped them to consistently readjust their thought processes by making their thinking visible.

Josephine Larative (2019) gives some IL advice:

Writing search terms and queries, being aware of the web address and type of website, use of quotation marks for exact phrase searching, and use of ‘find’;
Spelling and comprehension focus;
Additional skills required extended to multimodal literacy such as inferring differing fonts, colours, styles of text and use of hyperlinks;
Knowledge of the type of website and navigation within a website.

The TL can obviously be a co-collaborator in many stages of this continuum by accessing a variety of types of information that is best suited to the year level of students; ranging from academic articles for senior students and information picture books for junior students as well as a variety of digital resource links.

When GI and IL are combines, educators will be able to switch on those ‘light bulb’ moments and students will feel proud of their achievements and go on to achieve bigger and better things in the future..

Resources

Fitzgerald, L. (2015). Opportunity knocks: The Australian curriculum and guided inquiry. Access, 29(2), 4-17.

Garrison, K., & FitzGerald, L. (2017). ‘It trains your brain’: Student reflections on using the Guided Inquiry Design process. Synergy, 15(2). https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v15220179

Fitzgerald, L., Garrison, K., & Sheerman, A. (2018). ‘It’s just what the brain does’: The shape of Guided Inquiry. Access, 32(3), 4-10.

Garrison, K. L., Fitzgerald, L., & Sheerman, A. (2018). “Just let me go at it”: Exploring students’ use and perceptions of guided inquiry. School Library Research, 21, 1-37.

Laretive, Josephine. (2019). Information Literacy, Young Learners and the Role of the Teacher Librarian. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association. 68. pp. 1-11. DOI 10.1080/24750158.2019.1649795.

SCONUL Working Group (2011). Seven Principles of Information Literacy. https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf

Teachthought, 2020, July 8. 6 Strategies For Creating An Inquiry-Driven Classroom. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/learning/inquiry-driven/

Collaboration beats the lonely teaching blues.

Collaboration sparks ideas. https://pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-dvrjwIt

Teaching is a lonely profession. This might seem like a paradoxical statement because teachers spend every day with up to 25 children in a primary classoom and up to 150 students in a high school and see up to 100 other staff members a day. But still, it is lonely when it is just you and the students during the day and you and planning or marking at night.

The key to avoid this is collaboration, genuine and active collaboration within subjects helps ease the load and create more inspiring learning experience. However, taken a step further and include collaboration between subjects and you have a ‘best practice’ approach for the whole school. This is where the TL can really shine.

The TL can actively lead collaboration through working hroughout faculties to help build ACARA cross-curricula priorities and general capabilities (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.). This can be done through developing Inquiry units that excite and engage students to persue their own interests while developing a real-world end product (Youth Learn, 2016).

The benefits of Inquiry Learning for student outcomes are enormous. It can embolden the 21st Century learner and the model is flexible and matches all curriculum areas, it promotes deep thinking, it encourages student collaboration, creativity and critical thinking and it encourages students to the reflect on their learning through metacognition strategies. (Together for Learning, n.d.)

This is a challenge for me as a new TL in a new school as I will have to create trusting and professionally respectful relationships across all curriculum area so tht I can encourage staff to take advantage of the skills and the resources that I have to offer. I also have to convince them to spend time and energy into something that can add value add to their course when they have been managing quite well on their own. I do not think that this type of collaboration can relieve the time management for teachers, I do believe that it can create enriched learning opportunities and more directed outcomes for students.

And when that happens, the TL and teacher can embolden students to create new learning, personal skills and a positive outlook.

Thanks to my principal.

General Capabilities icons from Australian Curriculum ad Assessment Reporting Authority [ACARA]. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/

I had a meeting with my principal recently where I had to address a number of negative issues. As I am new to the school I also wanted to leave her with a positive impression about myself and the role of the library.

And while I did the nominated issue, I was able to move the coversation forward into a positive direction to discuss what I (the TL) can do to help ensure the school is meeting their obligation to students to address the General Capabilities. (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.).

The General Capabilities, combines with the Cros-Curricula priorities, are one area where Teacher Librarians can ease the burden of teachers, and create vibrant learning opportunities for students where they can thrive and become 21st Century Learners (La Marc, n.d.).

The General Capabilities are also a place where Librarians can encourage students to be international citizens with the skills needed to empathise and understand the needs of people in other situations and conditions. Reading is of course the greatest precursor to encourage Ethics and Intercultural Understanding through empathy, There is nothing more compelling to address ethics and understanding than developing empathy in young minds. And the most fertile place for developing empathy is through student’s imagination and stories. For example, there’s no better way of learning what it is like to be a runaway refugee than by readinga story like Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh or there’s no better way to question what is normal and how to overcome differences than by The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guinm, and when a student reads them then they can start to realise what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes (Wolf, 2019). But this is the only one entry point into the General Capabilities that the Library and TL can offer.

As a TL specialist, the TL can address Information Literacy to improve ICT Capabilities and Literacy.

Lastly, the TL has opportunities to develop teacher collaboration through developing guided inquiry units that develop Critical and Creative Thinking and Personal and Social Capability. The only General Capability that is really not covered is Numeracy; however, the possibilities are endless given that the TL should liaise with multiple KLAs.

The challenge, of course, is to have the principal on side to support and encourage learning collaboration.

My meeting with her ended up being very proactive. She had a limited idea of what the library currently offered and that it could offer so much more.

I have a very lovely principal who wants to do the best for everyone in her care and meet the demands of a busy job. I was able to make one part of her life easier, and, hopefully, with her support the students can flourish through whole staff collegiality and exciting learning opportunities embedded by the TL.

Principals are looking for the best outomes for students. https://melindasmiller.com/missouri-principals-day-moedcha/

References:

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.). General Capabilities (Version 9). https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

La Marc, S. (n.d.) Curriculum, Culture and Community: The School Library and the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. International Association of School Librarianship. https://iasl-online.org/resources/Documents/c1_6larmarcapp.pdf

Oddone, K. (2022). 5 Reasons we need Teacher Librarians and School Libraries in 2022. Libraries Research Group at Charles Sturt University https://librariesresearchgroup.csu.domains/blog/2022/05/02/5-reasons-we-need-teacher-librarians-and-school-libraries-in-2022/

Wolf, M. (2019). Reader Come Home. Harper Collins.

Top-end Advocacy

Searching for better recognition for TLs. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-eusnl

While preparing for my second assessment I have been overwhelmed with the repeated statements from educational researchers that teacher librarians need to be an integral part of the digital literacy environment.

At the same time I have attend the National Education Summit, 2023, where we were told about the systematic downgrading of librarian jobs even in the case of sophisticated and resource-rich schools like Riverview and then through the course we have discovered that there are hardly any teacher-librarians in Western Australia. In my own context there are about 46 schools in my Diocese, and only four teacher-librarians. I am currently training to be the fifth although the most experienced and proactive teacher librarian is about the retire.

It is an ironic situation that the more students need to navigate a difficult, biased, commercially influenced and ethically ambivalent web on a daily basis for their educational, social and entertainment purposes, yet they have less guidance than ever before.

As a former journalist, and an English and History teacher I am actively aware about the need to discuss bias within our sources. Conversely as a teacher I am also aware that it is important to manage students’ searches because there is a lot of garbage out there. As teachers we try not to ‘trick’ the students because we know how easy it is for them to be ‘tricked’ and believe an axiomatic biased source which will actually limit their understanding of the world. For example, in a recent history assignment a student had to find a ‘for’ and ‘against’ media source about a controversial figure, one student found an article on the Betoota Advocate, the satirical news site, and was unable to discern the unreliability of the site because it looked ‘real’.

While professionals and academics within the TL sphere are telling us that we must become advocates within our school, it has occurred to me that we need to be far more than that.

Advocacy needs to be addressed at the op end so that ACARA can ensure the roles and responsibilities of TL as specialists in multiple literacies, information literacies, literacy as well as the key resource for guided inquiry.

Small scale interventions will remain just that, small gains will be addressed by well-meaning principals who have to balance their school needs against other needs of limited time and resources.

Our governments need to ensure that all school libraries can support students and staff in gaining better literacy outcoms for everyone.

Better advocacy creates better outcomes for students. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-okqxd

Multiple Literacies – where does it end?

Learning comes from all angles. https://www.pxfuel.com/en/desktop-wallpaper-qdwwd

Learning does not come from a single source, it comes from multiple visual, textual, digital, audible sources and a combination of all of them. Learning is not about books, it is about using and discerning information from multiple sources.

I am a TL, an English and history teacher, which means I love books, but I also love ideas and creativty. I want my students to love them too. I have used digital text to create skills in multiple literacies for my students from quality texts like the documentary K’Gari, newspaper stories like Snowfall and 3D poetry Seaprayer. While these texts require the ability to read, interpret and analyse through multiple literacies, they also develop traditional literacy skills such as persuasion, information and emotive language manipulation.

At my school there is not a policy for multiple literacies or digital literacy. The library handbook does say Working with subject departments is integral to the work of the Library. The staff in the Library liaise with Leaders of Learning and specific subject teachers on not only acquiring resources but in developing students’ information literacy skills. The Library also offers opportunities for teaching staff in developing skills in information literacy, familiarity with print and non-print resources and in using new forms of ICT. It is a nod to digital literacy without fully embracing it.

The convergence of literacies means that TL need to be progressive in developing their skills across multiple literacies and allowing students ease of access to these through selected syllabus links.

Literacy – Provide a wide range of texts in multiple formats (printed, audio, visual and multimodal).
Content area – Provide material that support the curriculum in a wide variety of applications including Maths, Science, Religion, Commerce and Health through PDHPE.
Visual/ Screen – Provide access to quality film and visual texts.
Digital/Media- Source and access quality digital and multi modal formats for pleasure and education.
Cultural/Health/Religious – Provide a wide range of texts that explore cultural, ability and religious differences to improve empathy and understanding.
Network – Provide opportunities for students to come together and talk/discuss their favourite books and films etc.
Critical Literacy – Provide higher order critiques of texts particularly in HSC English reading material.

While this is what the Library can provide, as a TL I need to be able to communicate with the various KLAs about the material that can best suit their needs as well as teaching students how to ask for help, seek material and create greater depth in their understanding of the mass of information around them. Students should have access to this critical skill at the beginning of a new inquiry-based assessment task.

Additionally, it is important to note that transfer of information does not happen over a single entry point, but needs multiple reiterations to cement the learning. According to the study by Garrison and Fitzgerald, students had three successive Guided Inquiry tasks and ‘they progressed and developed a firmer understanding of the research process. Their responses reinforce the importance of consistency and suggest that using a school wide approach to research may beparticularly useful in building skills.’ The second statement suggests that I need to be part of a strategy to teach teachers how to better access information (not just websites) that conform to a school-wide approach according to an Information Literacy Policy to be written in the not to distant future.

What I understand from the term of multiple literacies is that ‘literacy’ extends back to its original meaning of being ‘educated, learned’. We have to be able to absorb, contextualise and critically analyse information in order to understand the world and create our own responses to the situations as we understand it. This leads us to great works “1984” which explicitly does all those things to a high level. To create this work you need to have a sophisticated sense of literacy, critical literacy, media literacy (newspapers), cultural literacy and possibly religious literacy. All of these things are self-perpetuated and interconnected through wide reading and analysis, and all through the inherent experiences of the individual.

In the 21st Century we expect our students to be developing the same skills, but also to be empathatic to a wider variety of people through cultural and trans literacy, but with the expectation that they assimilate and accumulate knowledge will occur through a greater variety of technology including digital media. Thus it is imperative that students become critical readers of their new environment through digital, screen, network and media analysis. The challenge for schools is to give students those capabilities, while at the same time giving them the option to grow critically and creatively.

It is very easy to see that a short Pixar film watched on YouTube has many elements that could relate to good literacy including religious, cultural, trans and maybe even health literacy while also incorporating a skilled manipulation of the screen and digital format. However, from last week’s reading we can see that the majority of time is spent watching Tik Tok videos which arrive as YouTube shorts. If we are teaching students to ‘read the world’ through literacy, what happens when their world is both technically limited and content poor.

Here are three examples I picked randomly off YouTube Shorts which are entertaining, but…

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QmLq7Q5JtS0

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5q72T7PUwng

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AAxfijEC9ko

I have probably written more on this than I expected to. I was really excited about the possibilities that can be explored within my context to create to make learning more engaging and student centred while also helping students develop the metacognitive skills they need to be a 21st Century (and beyond) learner.