Archive of ‘Inquiry learning’ category
Every teacher librarian (TL) experiences the time when a class is in the library and is being noisy and off task. This could even be a daily occurrence. So, what do you do about it? Well…that depends on how you look at the situation. There are short-term solutions ranging from asking the students to be on task, to long-term solutions which involve collaboration with staff and analysing the library environment. The short-term solutions might be the easy go-to, but it does get pretty draining asking students to be on task day after day. The long-term solutions require analysis and reflection about the library space but are well worth the effort. The results are a win-win for students, teachers and the TL.
Short-term solutions:
Short-term solutions are required to solve the issue straight away but are not a total solution in themselves. Short-term solutions don’t particularly require any level of leadership from the TL, just a good ‘teacher stare’, quick reminders and positive interactions with students. Here are some ideas:
Do a check of what is really happening. Talk to the teacher about what the task actually is. You never know…the students might be on task, but it just doesn’t look like it!
If there are students off task, ask yourself, is it really the whole class who are noisy and off task or just a few students? Remind students to stay on task and to be respectful of others. Ask the students who are off task to show you what they are working on (in a positive way) and show interest in their work. Some students need the stimulus of a conversation to get on track. Ask students what their task is. Ask them how you can assist them in that task, or better yet, show them how the library can support them in the task. Here is a great opportunity for servant leadership to listen to students’ needs and act on them.
Long-term solutions
Long-term solutions may not solve the issues at hand immediately in that particular moment, but they will help to mitigate the same situation from occurring in the future. These long-term solutions rely on a combination of servant and transformational leadership and how these two styles interconnect.
Having a conversation with the classroom teacher is a wonderful place to start. Ask them what the task entails and, depending on their answer, it might be an opportunity for collaboration with the classroom teacher to devise inquiry learning tasks. Through servant leadership you could devise library guides and pathfinders for the teacher and students to use. There’s also an opportunity here to team-teach with the classroom teacher which results in more support for the students in their learning. This would be a positive approach to support the teacher to make their library time more effective.
Delving in deeper from this point is reflection on the environment of the library space. A close analysis of how the library space is set-up is essential to supporting student learning. There is an opportunity to ask yourself several questions in addition to talking to teachers and students about what they would like to see in the set-up of the library space. Questions could include
- Is the current set-up conducive to student learning?
- Are there sufficient break-out spaces for collaboration?
- Are there private study spaces for students who want to work quietly?
- Do the students and teachers know about the services available at the library?
There are a mountain of questions to ask in this process of analysis and reflection and changes would need to be made over time rather than in one fell swoop.
Gone are the days of the shushing library dragon and oppressive silence of a library, however, students need to be supported to achieve their best and TLs play a major role in this support through their leadership, collaboration and management of the library space and resources.
So much has changed in my thinking in the areas of the role of the teacher librarian (TL), Information Literacy and Inquiry Learning Models over the course of this unit it’s hard to know where to start. Even prior to beginning this area of study I had moved my thinking from the TL being a staff member whose roles “included reading a story to each class every week, helping students with borrowing, putting books back on the shelves, and organising and handing out BookClub orders” (Gemell, 2021, March 7, para. 1), even though these are some tasks that I fulfil in my current TL role. On reflection, having read back over my very first post, The Role of the Teacher Librarian (Gemell, 2021, March 7), not once did I mention inquiry learning. I hinted at information literacy but didn’t quite hit the mark by stating that the TL fulfils “a vital role by working collaboratively … to plan and teach units of work in order to assist the students to develop information literacy” (para.2). This collaboration only meant working with a classroom teacher, not the principal and I had no understanding of why this collaboration was important, it was just something TLs did.
Prior to study I thought that Information Literacy just referred to students being able to search for and use information for their assignments. I also never realised that information literacy has no set definition and its use depends on the context and purpose (Charles Sturt University, 2021). With all the different theories and approaches to information literacy no wonder it becomes a daunting area! However, I have come to realise it is so much more than doing basic searches and students writing information in their own words, and the TL plays an important role in this particular avenue of literacy. This does not happen in isolation and is a collaboration between the TL, classroom teachers and the school principal. Without all these elements in sync, the initiative of information literacy will fail before it flourishes (Kelly, 2021, April 30 ).
In my previous experience, inquiry learning was done in-class with the classroom teacher and the students. It never occurred to me that the TL would be an integral part of the process. I also never realised that there were so many different inquiry models to choose from, each offering something different, depending on the context in which they are used. I had only ever worked with Kath Murdoch’s model of designing a journey of inquiry (Murdoch, 2019) (and this was only brought to my attention five years ago) so it was interesting to delve deeper into the world of inquiry learning models and the benefits of using inquiry learning. I have come to the conclusion that a whole-school approach is the most effective way to achieve quality outcomes from inquiry and “the vision of all three (TL, classroom teacher and principal) need to match so that the skills being taught and used by the students are systematic and consistent” (Gemell, 2021, April 9, para. 4). The skills the TL brings to any inquiry learning model are paramount to the success of the program.
I think that my biggest shift in thinking throughout this unit has been the concept of collaboration between TL, principal and classroom teacher. Without a shared vision and collaboration between all three, the failure of information literacy and inquiry learning is inevitable. The roles of the TL, principal and classroom teachers work hand in hand (in hand) and the TL is the butter that holds that sandwich together. “The TL needs to be proactive in voicing the needs of the teachers and students so that the principal can facilitate these needs. The principal can only act on what they know. It is up to the TL to demonstrate the value of the library resources and programs and in turn this enables the principal to be able to fulfil the needs” (Gemell, 2021, March 18, para. 3).
It’s interesting that the idea of collaboration between TL, classroom teacher and principal is not a new one and was shown as a key component to student success in 1999 (Muronaga & Harada) and possibly even earlier. It was a big lightbulb moment when I realised this was such an important component of the TL role and the success of information literacy and inquiry learning models. My biggest question now is how far can you take this collaboration and what would happen? Just imagine the possibilities!
References
Charles Sturt University. (2021). Information Literacy [course material]. ETL401, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_4194250_1&course_id=_55148_1
Gemell, L. (2021, March 7). Role of the Teacher Librarian. Mrs G’s Masters Musings. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mastersmusings/2021/03/07/role-of-the-teacher-librarian/
Gemell, L. (2021, April 9). Information Literacy in the school context. Mrs G’s Masters Musings. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mastersmusings/2021/04/09/information-literacy-in-the-school-context/
Gemell, L (2021, April 3). Inquiry learning vs. standardised testing. Mrs G’s Masters Musings. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mastersmusings/2021/04/03/inquiry-learning-vs-standardised-testing/
Kelly, S. (2021, April 30). DISCUSSION: 5.4a: Information Literacy. [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University
Murdoch, Kath (2019). A Model for Designing a Journey of Inquiry. Kath Murdoch. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55c7efeae4b0f5d2463be2d1/t/5dcb82551bdcf03f365b0a6f/1573618265386/A+MODEL+FOR+DESIGNING+A+JOURNEY+OF+INQUIRY.pdf
Muronaga, K. & Harada, V. (1999). The Art of Collaboration. Teacher Librarian, 27 (1). 9
Mandy Lupton’s article Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum presents an interesting analysis of the links (and omissions) in the inquiry methods in the Australian Curriculum across the disciplines of Science, History and Geography.
These three disciplines give scope for inquiry learning, whether it’s guided inquiry with questions posed by the teacher, or open inquiry with questions posed by the student. Both of these inquiry models require the students to answer the questions using inquiry methods.
Inquiry models can be used across a variety of disciplines. It is important to have a consistent approach to inquiry so that the same techniques and methods are used consistently. Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle (Murdoch, 2019) is the inquiry method I am most familiar with as this is the model that is used in my K-12 school.
This uniform approach to information literacy is intertwined with collaboration between the TL, teachers and the principal. The vision of all three need to match so that the skills being taught and used by the students are systematic and consistent.
Lupton states that there are omissions in the Australian Curriculum when it comes to information literacy and the imbedded skills. This omission is seen as both an oversight, but at the same time an opportunity for the TL to shine in their role as curriculum innovators.
“If teacher librarians see their role as curriculum innovators, then integrating the Australian Curriculum strands into a coherent inquiry learning framework that explicitly integrates information literacy may be one of the most significant ways we can contribute to the implementation of the Australian Curriculum” (Lupton, 2014, p. 18).
This cannot be done by the TL alone. It needs to be a whole-school approach in order to achieve the best outcomes for students in their emerging and continuing skills in information literacy.
References
Lupton, M.(2014) Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6, Access, November
Murdoch, K. (2019). A model for designing a journey of inquiry. Retrieved from Kath Murdoch: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55c7efeae4b0f5d2463be2d1/t/5d672b554646780001dbe0fd/1567042417794/%23A+MODEL+FOR+DESIGNING+A+JOURNEY+OF+INQUIRY.pdf
How do 21st century skills and skills accountability work together? This is such a big question and one I am not going to solve by myself in a single blog post. There are expectations on both sides of the debate. On one hand we want our students to be independent thinkers, capable of posing questions about a variety of topics and interests, and using inquiry methods to answer these questions. On the other hand, there are growth point expectations with NAPLAN, HSC and LIEN testing, just to name a few.
There would be several issues that could potentially arise in a school that adopts an inquiry learning approach. These would include
- students lacking skills in being able to complete standardised tests such as NAPLAN
- reluctance for some students to participate
- Teacher not having the appropriate professional development to support students in inquiry learning
Every school I have taught in states that they do not ‘teach to the test’ for NAPLAN, however, inevitably a few weeks before NAPLAN commences, out come the past papers as a way for students to familiarise themselves with the types of questions they will be faced with. This is a dilemma every Year 3, 5, 7, and 9 teacher tackles every year. To prepare or not to prepare? From my own experience I have seen students (and parents) get very stressed and anxious about NAPLAN, but is the solution to get rid of it and lose the growth point data? Is there a better way to track learning growth and development without NAPLAN?
Some students may be reluctant to participate in inquiry learning because they are disengaged from their learning, perhaps through a learning disability, or they find the process overwhelming. This is a challenge for inquiry learning that would need to be addressed as the individual situations arise.
Inquiry learning success is also dependent on teachers being able to facilitate the inquiry learning process. Teacher who do not have the appropriate professional development in inquiry learning may not be able to support their students successfully.
These are but a handful of issues that could arise in a school which adopts an inquiry learning approach, though I feel I have raised more questions than answers.
Teacher librarians have a unique role in the school for the implementation of inquiry learning, however there are challenges that arise. Collaboration with class teachers and students is key to the success of inquiry learning but a challenge that arises is everyone’s best friend – time. Time to prepare the inquiry learning project in collaboration with the TL and class teacher, as well as time for all parties (TL, class teacher and student) to work together on the inquiry project.
I don’t feel the skills acquired in inquiry learning and the skills required for standardised testing are mutually exclusive, in that the skills learnt in one can be useful in the other. However standardised testing has given questions to answer, rather than questions to be devised by students.