Category: Reflection

20
May
2023

Digital citizenship, the DLE, and the TL

categories: Digital citizenship, Digital learning environment, Digital literacy, ETL523, Information landscape, Information literacy, Reflection

When I began my learning in ETL523, my initial post showed a very basic understanding of digital citizenship, stating that “digital citizenship is participating online in a responsible and positive manner” (Gemell, 2023, February 20, para. 3). I was on the right track, however there is more to digital citizenship than I first understood.

I now know that digital citizenship goes beyond online safety. It’s all the competencies required to interact in the digital environment in a positive way, including digital literacy (Ribble, 2015). It was also interesting to frame digital citizenship in a positive frame as a list of ‘do’s’ rather than a list of ‘don’ts’ (ISTE, 2018).

Prior to studying ETL523 I never gave much through to the digital learning environment (DLE) and the role that it plays in education. I still stand by my statement on the discussion board, “Students must have skills beyond digital literacy to engage in these platforms in a positive manner…Students need a thorough understanding of digital citizenship to prepare themselves for life in and out of (and beyond) school” (Gemell, 2023, March 5a).

As a TL, I was excited to learn about the collaboration required between TL’s and teachers to implement a successful digital citizenship program in schools. Embedding digital citizenship skills is the best way forward, rather than individual stand-alone lessons or seminars (Maughan, 2017). This is something I touched upon in the Forum Topic 1.2 where I stated that “It’s about embedding digital citizenship in the learning, not adjacent to the learning” (Gemell, 2023, March 5b).

This is best achieved through collaboration and common language around digital citizenship as a whole-school approach (Preddy, 2016). The TL is well-placed (in the Library with a central view of the curriculum) to collaborate with teachers and the integration of technology into teaching programs (ASLA, 2021).

Two challenges that are faced in many schools are the assumptions, by teachers, that students already have competencies in the DLE, and that students also believe they have these competencies. It is important to remember that students do not innately have skills in the digital environment and the concept of the ‘digital native’ is misinformed. Digital skills need to be taught and fostered (Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017). I touched on the idea of students thinking they know it all (about the DLE) stating that “explicitly teaching these skills is quite difficult without students coming back with the response of ‘I know!’” (Gemell, 2023, March 5c). It is also up to teachers to model appropriate online behaviours, including referencing standards. “Teachers are ridiculous with their breaches of copyright and then expect students to comply with referencing standards” (Gemell, 2023, March 22a). This possibly links with the range of teachers’ abilities in the DLE, which makes “it difficult for them to confidently navigate the DLE, let alone teach students how to use it” (Gemell, 2023, March 22b).

My learning about digital citizenship in schools, the role of the DLE in education and the role that the TL plays in this has increased significantly through studying ETL523. I look forward to applying my learning in my own school context to develop the schools’ digital citizenship program and improve the schools’ overall level of skill in the DLE.

References

Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2021). What is a teacher librarian?. https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

ISTE. (2018, October 11). Rethinking digital citizenship [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwKTYHBG5kk

Kirschner, P.A., & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The Myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education. 10(67) 135-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.001

Maughan, S. (2017). School librarians are teaching digital citizenship. Publishers Weekly, 264(34), 30. https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/school-librarians-are-teaching-digital/docview/1931489244/se-2

Preddy, L. (2016). The critical role of the school librarian in digital citizenship education. Knowledge Quest 44(4), 4-5. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=752c5457-531c-4889-b73b-41955846fe5f%40redis

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools (3rd edition). International Society for Technology in Education.

28
Mar
2023

Reflecting on creating a digital citizenship guide and video

categories: Digital citizenship, ETL523, Reflection

Assignment 1 for ETL523 had many challenges. The most challenging aspect for me was turning my ideas into reality in relation to the website and the video. I had very clear ideas about how I wanted the website and the video to look, but executing the ideas required a lot of practice in new skills, including manipulating HTML code. I have built a website once before using ThinkSpace, so I drew on that experience but challenged myself further by implementing features such as drop-down menus. I had to find my own information about how to do this, since this is not provided through the ThinkSpace user guides. I have never made a video before either, so that came with a new set of challenges with learning how to use unfamiliar software.

One aspect of this assignment that I found interesting was digging deep into Mark Ribble’s 9 Principles of Digital Citizenship, as outlined in ‘Digital Citizenship in Schools’ (2015). I have gained further understanding about areas of digital citizenship that I hadn’t considered before, including digital commerce and digital health and wellness.

Through doing this assignment, I would like to be involved in having an explicit digital citizenship program implemented at my school. All students at my school have a school-provided laptop and a range of, but not all, digital citizenship practices are embedded into the curriculum through teaching and modelling. After exploring through the range of skills required to be a capable digital citizen, I feel we are doing students a disservice by not providing explicit teaching of digital citizenship skills. A lot of these skills are assumed knowledge, but this is not a safe assumption to make. My school has a technology user agreement, which is generally a list of items such as ‘I agree to use my laptop in a responsible manner’, but no further instruction is given afterwards.

Using Ribble’s (2015) 9 Principles of Digital Citizenship as a framework, the students would benefit from explicit teaching of all areas of digital citizenship through the House Tutor Program. Students meet in their vertical house groups two times a week already so a possibility would be to implement a ‘skill of the week’ to be explicitly taught during one of the two sessions.

References

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools (3rd edition). International Society for Technology in Education.

03
Oct
2022

Digital resources and the teacher librarian

categories: 21st century library, Copyright, Dynamic information environment, ETL501, Information literacy, Reflection, Resource selection, role of the Teacher Librarian

Technology is a great tool to harness information in the 21^st century learning environment. It is the teacher librarian’s (TL) responsibility to ensure that students ‘have access to well-organised systems for retrieving resources’ (Gemell, 2022, July 24), since effective school libraries enhance student learning outcomes (Libraries Tasmania, 2022). This is achieved by providing easy access to information in a range of formats through the use of technology. Effective school libraries also assist with integrating information literacy skills across a range of curriculum areas (Libraries Tasmania, 2022). All these aspects are covered in a well-constructed research page.

Creating digital learning objects is an important role of the TL to support digital literacy for students. A digital learning object is ‘a standalone piece of digital content that can be used and reused for learning purposes’ (IGI Global, n.d.). ‘The TL is well-placed to curate digital resources for teachers and students to access’ (Gemell, 2022, August 22), making them a ‘one-stop-shop for accessing information quickly and easily’ (Gemell, 2022, August 22). This idea is supported by ACT Government (2019, p. 7), stating ‘Teacher librarians are professional curators – they select only the most useful resources for teaching and learning’. By creating research guides, TLs assist in locating reliable, meaningful and authoritative resources in a world of information overload (ACT Government, 2019). Research guides also ‘encourage active engagement in the interactive information seeking process’ (Education matters, 2022).

Teaching and support are required in students’ development of information literacy and research skills (Loh, 2019). Students do not naturally have digital literacy skills (Kirscher & De Bruyckere, 2017). Kelly (2022, September 16) stated that there is ‘value in building the essential skills students need to be successful, particularly when using digital technologies’. I agree with this statement and as a TL it is imperative to teach our students the skills they need to be successful. ‘This world of ever-changing information is a minefield for students to navigate and we are all having to upskill in a variety of areas in order to successfully navigate and access the information we require’ (Gemell, 2022, July 24).

Creating research guides presents challenges relating to copyright. As the TL I must be an exemplar for best practice. This was discussed in relation to the use of book covers as pictures when creating research guides. The main point from the discussion is that using the book covers is highly unlikely to have any negative effects, however it’s important that correct copyright practice is modelled (Oddone, 2022, September 13). I found the smartcopying website to be reliable resource.

Another challenge that arose is the consideration of the reading level of the online resources. Knowing my students is key to selecting appropriate resources, but this was also backed up by the use of website readability checkers. The two that I predominantly used were Webfx for individual pages and Experte for entire websites. The accessibility of the online research guide also needed to be considered. ‘If students are presented with a resource that is not suitable for their needs, then it is of little use’ (Gemell, 2022, September 8). This is also true in the evaluation of search engines. ‘It’s important to think about what the students need out of their searching’ (Gemell, 2022, August 4).

To validate the effort of building a research page, it needs to be used by students and promoted by teachers. It is not a matter of ‘build it and they will come’. Having the research pages located on a platform that students use regularly helps in this conundrum. In my current role, LibBase (part of Infiniti) is used as the research guide platform. These are linked to class pages and promoted in class by the classroom teachers. As a result, these research guides are well-used (Gemell, 2022, August 2022).

In building the research guide I have learnt to consider the readability of a website, including the reading level, navigation and layout. I have also learnt to do some coding (thanks to a wonderful colleague) to ensure that the website was fit for purpose.

References

ACT Government. (2019). School Libraries: The Heart of 21st Century Learning. Canberra: ACT Government: Education. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf

Education matters magazine. (2022). School libraries supporting 21^st century learning. https://www.educationmattersmag.com.au/school-libraries-supporting-21st-century-learning/

IGI Global. (2022). What is a digital learning object. https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/enhancing-21st-century-learning-using-digital-learning-objects-and-multiple-intelligence-theory/67087

Kelly, S. (2022, September 16). Creating resources [Discussion board]. ETL501, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_62875_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_127076_1&forum_id=_281396_1&message_id=_4131909_1

Kirschner, P.A. & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 135-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.001

Libraries Tasmania. (2022). Effective school libraries. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/effective.aspx

Loh, C. E. (2019). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21^st century framework. https://doi.org/ 10.13140/RG.2.2.32524.36489.

Oddone, K. (2022, September 13). Referencing pictures [Discussion board]. ETL501, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_62875_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_127076_1&forum_id=_281392_1&message_id=_4222723_1

24
Aug
2022

Schools and social media

categories: ETL501, Reflection, role of the Teacher Librarian

I think that using social media in the classroom is a slippery slope. There are arguments for and against using these platforms, but I personally would be reluctant to harness social media as an education platform.

There are several arguments supporting the use of social media. Students are using a variety of social media platforms and, as educators, and particularly as digital literacy experts, the teacher librarian are well-placed to support students in the safe use of these online spaces. Using social media opens up opportunities for ‘teaching moments’ to show students the importance of online responsibility and the use of privacy settings to ensure their online safety. Students also learn to engage with social media in a responsible manner and learn to only post what is appropriate. It’s the ‘think before you post’ mantra. My go to was always ‘if you wouldn’t put it on your grandmother’s fridge, don’t post it online’. These are vital skills for students as they interact with each other more and more in the digital world.

In saying that, interacting with students in a social media platform potentially opens a minefield of problems. When a page is opened for students to use it would become the responsibility of the teacher to monitor the use of the page. Teachers cannot monitor a page 24/7 so there is potential for the page to be used inappropriately. The page can’t be ‘closed’ overnight so students would have 24/7 access. Depending on which platform is chosen, students would be able to directly message the teacher, and this can place the teacher in an awkward situation in regard to child protection. These platforms are not monitored by the school and would breach child protection policies.

So, are there better options than teaching students how to be responsible in a public social media platform? Well, it depends on what the social media platform is being used for. Is it simply for sending out messages to students or is it for students to collaborate and contribute to the page? For messages being sent out be the teacher, the platforms School Stream and Class Dojo allows the school to make whole-school and individual class announcements. These platforms are monitored by the school to ensure that the content is appropriate.

Google Classroom allows interaction between teacher and students, and it includes a class homepage where students can post. I have previously worked in a ‘Google’ school and Google Classroom was used effectively to teach students about appropriate online interaction. The beauty of this choice is that the platform was monitored by school IT services, so the teacher was not on their own in monitoring the content. The page was also ‘closed’ from 8pm – 8am and on weekends. This is a setting the school chose to employ as a way to reduce issues around page monitoring.

I understand that students need to have real-world opportunities to build their skills in digital citizenship and that social media is not going away any time soon. However, I don’t think using public social media platforms is the way forward. I would suggest that teachers need to think carefully about what the purpose of using social media is before diving in headfirst.

17
Aug
2022

Online learning and the flipped classroom

categories: ETL501, ETL512, Reflection

I’m now halfway through ETL501 and I have been enjoying my learning journey so far. It has definitely challenged my thinking in the design of the physical library space and how that space is used by ALL members of the school community. I have looked at my library through a more critical lens and thinking about more than the aesthetics. The physical layout of the library must be purposeful and fit the needs of the school community, taking 21^st century skills into account, thus future-proofing the library space. It was exciting to share the (imagined) library redesign ideas with my colleagues and to spark conversations around why the space is set up how it is and what would be changed, if anything. Being more critical of the library space allowed me to realise there are issues in my library, particularly the height of the non-fiction shelves. I hadn’t realised that the height makes browsing prohibitive as well as a WHS issue.

It was also eye-opening to realise that the library’s number one purpose is to service the needs of teachers and the students come secondary to this. However, by supporting the teachers it enables them (and us) to support the students. It’s not about neglecting student needs but supporting them through the curriculum needs of teachers.

Doing all this learning online is challenging however it does have advantages. The online delivery model allows me to

Access the content when I want to
Refer back to the content as required
Curate readings digitally

Disadvantages include

A lot of reading online
Feeling isolated because there is no in-person interaction with the unit coordinators or students

Even though I have enjoyed the learning in ETL501 so far, I do find it difficult to be excited about it. I have to be self-motivated to engage in the learning and the discussion boards. The amount of reading can be overwhelming. I would like to see a change in the delivery of the bulk of the content through recorded weekly lectures with additional reading and activities required in addition to the lecture. I have previously engaged in distance education that followed this model and I found it to be more motivating.

Engaging with online content has got me thinking about the concept of the flipped classroom. The flipped classroom model needs to be considered carefully before implementation. The resources provided must suit the needs of the learners otherwise it is difficult to engage with the materials independently. The flipped classroom model also needs to take differentiation of content into consideration. There is not a one-size-fits all when it comes to learning. I can see that the flipped classroom model could possibly allow students to move through their learning more quickly because the learning is taking place outside of class time. This frees up the class time to be used for support from the teacher and peers through questions and practice of new skills.

The flipped classroom model could influence library research investigations with students engaging in independent research outside class time and then receive guidance from the classroom teacher and the teacher librarian at school.

However, it does make me wonder if the flipped classroom model works for motivated, capable students but is potentially a pitfall for students requiring more support.

24
Jan
2022

Collection development: resourcing, policy and futureproofing

categories: 21st century library, Collaboration, collection development, collection management, Copyright, Creative Commons, ETL503, Information landscape, Reflection, Resource selection, Resourcing the curriculum, role of the Teacher Librarian

The role of the library is to support the needs of the school community by providing a wide range of physical and digital resources (Fleishhacker, 2017; International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), 2015). It sounds quite simple but is a daunting task that involves knowledge of the curriculum, the school community, the current collection and how to build and manage a balance of resources that best support these needs.

Prior to ETL503 I did not realise that resourcing was the responsibility of both the teacher librarian (TL) and the classroom teacher (CT). I thought that supporting teachers involved providing resources such as pathfinders, lists of websites and piles of books (Gemell, 2021, November 4). In fact, selection of resources is set out in Standard 3.4 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2014). I now understanding that for optimum resourcing, it is vital for the TL and the CT to collaborate, with the TL providing a whole-school birds-eye view of resourcing across the curriculum, and the CT focused on their class’ needs (Gemell, 2021, November 8).

I was also initially baffled by the seemingly interchangeable terms of collection development and collection management. Through further investigation and discussion, I sifted through the terminology to discover that the two terms are, in fact, different. I was involved in a great discussion with several other students, and we nutted out that management is what happens after the collection has been developed (Gemell, 2022, January 3). This was summed-up perfectly by Kay Oddone (2022, January 10) who commented that “development is an activity that is part of the overall management of the collection.” Through this discussion I developed further understanding in the nuance between collection development and collection management.

I then came face-to-face with the concepts of copyright and creative commons. I must admit, this is an area that I have never put much thought into and I’m sure I have been in breach of copyright at some time. I was under the impression that anything could be used so long as it was properly referenced (Gemell, 2021, December 12). However, this area is hugely complex and goes far beyond appropriate referencing. I believe there is an expectation that librarians have a basic understanding of copyright and licensing of electronic resources and, as such, support the school complying with copyright requirements (Copyright laws, 2021). To assist with this, I found an invaluable resource in the website https://smartcopying.edu.au/.

I had previously heard of creative commons, but like copyright, had never given it much thought. I now understand that creative commons licenses help with the sharing and reusing of creations. Creating my own post (Gemell, 2021, December 12) about the different licenses and their uses has definitely supported my understanding of the link between copyright and creative commons. This understanding is invaluable as a TL because it helps to ensure that the library is complying with copyright, and also able to provide resources under creative commons licenses to support the school community across the curriculum. Through this knowledge of creative commons and copyright the TL is also in a strong position to advise others on copyright issues and the use of creative commons materials.

Through ETL503, I have an improved understanding of the importance of a collection development policy (CDP) as a strategic document. According to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA, 2017), “A collection development policy is essential to a school library as it explains why the collection exists” (p. 8). During discussions with other students, it was surprising to realise just how many schools did not have a current CDP, or even more startling was the schools that did not have one at all. I found myself in that position with a policy available for my secondary school, but no policy for the primary school (Gemell, December 27). If it is such a crucial document, then why is it seemingly not a priority?

Collection development is an incredibly complex process with a multitude of facets (Oddone, 2019, August 19). These facets increase with the development of technology and changes in information access, not only in schools, but in society as a whole. It serves as a blueprint for the overall goals, processes and overall management of the library (Abercrombie, 2018, 30 May), ensuring there are clear processes for budgets, resource selection, deselection and challenged materials (Abercrombie, 2018, 30 May; Libraries Tasmania, 2021). The policy is also explicit in its descriptions of the school profile including their specific requirements. With all these elements in mind, the CDP must be updated regularly to stay current (ALIA, 2014).

The development of a CDP is an important matter to discuss with the school leadership and demonstrate the importance of developing, reviewing, and maintaining this document. The school leadership must be part of the development of the CDP (Libraries Tasmania, 2021) so they can best support the needs of the library through budgeting, and understand that the library is not stagnant, but continually changing and evolving with users’ needs, including technology and digital resources.

The CDP policy serves an important role in the issue of self-censorship. I had previously not considered self-censorship as an issue but, through my readings, have discovered that it is very common and easy to fall into to avoid conflict situations (Jacobson, 2016). The CDP supports the librarian by having clear selection criteria and processes (including use of selection tools) as well as outlining the process for challenged materials. This ensures confidence in the selection of potentially contentious material (Gemell, 2021, 28 December).

Through collection development and management, the library can be equipped for the future. It is important for the library to consistently update materials (including deselection) and provide digital resources (Tonini, 2020, June 24). The key to future-proofing the library collection is fluidity. Samantha Macey (2022, January 2) summed this up perfectly, stating that “the collection development policy should be continually revised (collaboratively if possible) to reflect the fluid nature of libraries, and to keep on top of any new developments.” The information landscape is ever evolving, and it is the responsibility of the library to evolve with it. Remember, a stagnant library is a redundant library (Gemell, 2022, January 8).

The number one goal of any library is to provide knowledge to the community, no matter how that knowledge is accessed and it is up to the library and librarians to “understand the community and adapt to their needs” (Gemell, 2022, January 8).

References

Abercrombie, S. (2018, May 30). Why do you need a collection development plan? Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/why-do-you-need-a-collection-development-plan/

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards.

Australian Library and Information Association. (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

Australian Library and Information Association. (2014). Future of the library and information science profession: School libraries. https://read.alia.org.au/content/future-library-and-information-science-profession-school-libraries

Copyright laws. (2021, September 30). A simple guide to copyright for librarians: 15 essential facts and tips. Copyrightlaws.com. https://www.copyrightlaws.com/simple-guide-copyright/

Fleishhacker, J. (2017). Collection development. Knowledge Quest. 45(4). 24-31.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015). IFLA school library guidelines. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural selection. School Library Journal, 62(10), 20–24.

Libraries Tasmania, (2021). Procedures and guidelines. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/managing-procedures.aspx

Tonini, S. (2020, June 24). 7 tips for future-proofing school libraries. eSchool News. https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/06/24/7-tips-for-future-proofing-school-libraries/2/

08
Nov
2021

Resourcing: the role of the teacher librarian and the classroom teacher

categories: Collaboration, ETL503, Reflection, Resourcing the curriculum, role of the Teacher Librarian

As I begin diving into the content of ETL503 I am reflecting on the role of the teacher librarian (TL) and that of the role of the classroom teacher (CT) in relation to resourcing. This raises some interesting questions:

Do the roles overlap?
How do the roles complement each other?
How are the roles different?

First and foremost, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2014) sets out in Standard 3.4 that all teachers must ‘select and use resources’. The four levels are outlined as such:

Graduate teachers are required to “demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.”
Proficient teachers “select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning.”
Highly accomplished teachers “assist colleagues to create, select and use a wide range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning.”
Lead teachers “model exemplary skills and lead colleagues in selecting, creating and evaluating resources, including ICT, for application by teachers within or beyond the school.”

With this standard in mind, my initial reaction is that the roles complement each other and collaboration is vital, as the final goal for both the TL and the CT is successful learning for students. I do feel that the TL, almost by default as a central curriculum and resourcing expert, comply with the criteria for Highly accomplished/lead standards as they collaborate with and assist classroom teachers. ‘The services (TLs) provide and the resources they access impact on every teacher and every student’ (ACT Government Education, 2019, p. 5).

The CT supports the TL by providing specialist knowledge of their subject area and understand the needs of the students in their class. CTs also are up to date with the curriculum requirements for their subject (NSW Department of Education, 2017). This knowledge is important in locating and evaluating potential resources. The TL provides the CT with expertise in locating and evaluating resources.

To complement the skills of the CT, the TL brings the general overview of curriculum, including links to General Capabilities and are up to date with new resources which are available. TLs are skilled at linking teachers and students with resources available both inside and outside the school.

The two roles differ in that the focus for the TL is more on the information service management role (Australian School Library Association, 2021; School Library Association of South Australia, 2015; NSW Department of Education, 2017). This management role is about the needs of the whole school and the selection of resources that meet the curriculum requirements of all students.

So, in some ways the roles of the TL and the CT overlap, but the TL is more focused on a whole-school view, whereas the CT is particularly focused on their class. As such the roles complement each other. It is very difficult for the TL to select appropriate resources without the input of the CT and the TL can provide insight into potential resources across a range of curriculum areas. The two roles become and partnership and work hand in hand.

References

ACT Government Education. (2019). School libraries: The heart of 21st century learning. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards.

Australian School Library Association. (2021). What is a teacher librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

NSW Department of Education. (2017). Handbook for school libraries. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/schoollibrarieshandbook2015.pdf

School Library Association of South Australia. (2015). Teacher librarian role statement. https://www.slasa.asn.au/Advocacy/docs/RoleStatement2015.pdf

04
Nov
2021

Resourcing the curriculum – first impressions

categories: Collaboration, ETL503, Reflection, Resourcing the curriculum, role of the Teacher Librarian

So, here I am again, at the start of another unit for Teacher Librarianship. Before I get too far into the throws of readings and discussion tasks, I wanted to take the time to frame my thinking about my first impressions of what ‘Resourcing the Curriculum’ means. My initial thoughts revolve around collaboration with classroom teachers to find out what they are teaching and then finding resources, both in the library and online, that would support both the teachers’ and the students’ needs. This could include creating pathfinders or providing teachers with a list of websites and a pile of books to use. I believe resourcing the curriculum requires the TL to have an overview of the curriculum areas being taught at the school by staying up to date with current curriculum requirements and syllabus documents.

I believe it is also the responsibility of the TL, through collaboration with teachers, students and the principal to select, procure and organise resources that will be of use to the school. The library is not the place for the TLs personal preferences regarding resources; selections have to be made based on the needs of patrons.

I think a big challenge is how to know where to find the right resources to support the school community. There are so many other challenges that feed into this overarching challenge; changes in technology, resource access for the school community, availability of resources and changes in curriculum. I am looking forward to learning more about how to best assist students and teachers in resourcing and how to select (and deselect) resources to keep the library catalogue and available resources relevant.

30
Sep
2021

Leadership roles and the teacher librarian

categories: ETL504, Leadership, Reflection, role of the Teacher Librarian

At the very start of the ETL504 I stated that I was interested in gaining further insight into how the teacher librarian (TL) can be the link between teachers, curriculum and school leadership (Gemell, 2021, 5 July). I also discussed the (TL) as a central role, stating that “we are the linking ingredient at the centre of the school, guiding the research and reading culture of the school” (Gemell, 2021, 5 July). This really was the beginning of my journey to understanding the central leadership role of the TL and how this role functions within the school. Oddone (2021, June 14) sums it up well stating that the TL leads from the middle by providing professional learning communities and facilitating collaboration. However, I feel that the TL does more than this. The role of the TL encapsulates more than PD, collaboration and resourcing. They are a leader within the school community, linking the needs of the students and staff with the goals of the school principal and the leadership team. The TL does this through clear communication with the whole school community and listening and responding to their needs. The TL also supports the school community through the management of the library space as a 21^st century learning environment. Without that central space where collaboration, sharing, discussion and research come together then perhaps “these key learning activities are in danger of no occurring at all” (Gemell, 2021, 22 August).

Learning about the different leadership models and understanding how particular leadership affects the culture of a school has been eye-opening. I never realised there were different leadership models and that leadership was not all about the principal and the leadership team (Gemell, 2021, August 9). It was interesting to realise that different leadership models can be drawn upon to utilise the attributes of the different styles. The individual models by themselves have their own strengths and weaknesses, but in combination make the leadership stronger. I was particularly drawn to the models of servant and distributed leadership and how they support the role of the TL. The distributed model is essential to mitigating the ‘dictating from the top’ approach (Shaked, 2021; Ng Foo Seong, 2019) and gives the TL opportunity to be a leader. The TL then has the capacity to utilise servant leadership to assist the school community as a whole, not just the students or teachers separately.

I was also particularly challenged by the concept of conflict as a catalyst for change. I did identify some areas for my own improvement in regards to conflict as I try to avoid it rather than confront it (Gemell, 2021, 18 July). I have come to grow in my understanding of conflict and how it can form a platform to think about different angles in a particular situation rather than from my own perspective.

Moving forward with my learning, I will be mindful of leadership styles that I utilise to best support the library and school community. I feel that servant leadership works well for a TL because the attributes of listening and communication support the learning community as a whole. Through servant leadership I am looking to increase my own skills in ICT, particularly digital citizenship. By increasing my own skills, it becomes a platform from which to best support the whole school community (Gemell, 2021, 7 September). I would also use the experience of the discussion paper to harness servant leadership as a vehicle to discuss improvements with the principal. It has helped me to articulate where the gaps are in my school and how the TL can support the school community to fill these gaps. I have more fully grasped the understanding that the TL and the library cannot be seen as stand-alone resources within the school and, for improvements to be made in 21^st century learning, it must be a whole-school approach (Cole, 2012).

References

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

Ng Foo Seong, D. (2019). Instructional leadership. In T. Townsend (Ed.), Instructional leadership and leadership for learning in schools : understanding theories of leading (pp. 15-48). Springer International Publishing.

Oddone, K. (2021, June 14). Teacher librarian as leader: Lessons from the literature. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/teacher-librarian-as-leader-lessons-from-the-literature/

Shaked, H. (2021). Relationship-based instructional leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1944673

09
Aug
2021

Leadership styles, communication and collaboration

categories: Collaboration, Communication, Conflict, ETL504, Leadership, Reflection, role of the Teacher Librarian

I have just completed and submitted the first assignment for ETL504. I found working with the software challenging, and my perfectionist self definitely struggled with ‘getting it right’. I came to the conclusion that the concept map was never going to be perfect because of the interconnectedness of all the parts of a school. I stand by my big ‘uh huh’ moment of ETL401 that collaboration is the key to success within a school. Staff cannot be islands who function independently of each other. Without collaboration each person would have their own values, vision and agenda and there would be no cohesion within the school.

I have also been reflecting on the attributes of different leadership models and how they interrelate and affect each other. Schools are always striving towards best-practice teaching, taking into account the 21^st Century educational landscape. The leadership styles of the principal need to complement the change required to accommodate this evolving landscape. Transactional leadership is not going to be a good choice for inviting change. Instructional leadership is a good choice but needs to be supported by both distributed and transformational leadership attributes.

Shaked (2021, p. 2) shows that instructional leadership correlates with “better school results, improved teacher practices and higher student achievement.” This is a strong case for utilising instructional leadership within the school, but as stated before, this needs to be done in a distributed manner to mitigate the ‘dictating from the top’ approach that could be a factor in instructional leadership. Shaked (2021) and Ng Foo Seong (2019) both support that leadership must be distributed throughout the school and cannot be left to the principal alone.

For this distribution of leadership to work, there must be open lines of communication and opportunities for collaboration and discussion. The TL is well-placed within the school to be a central point of collaboration and communication. As a central point within the school, interacting with all staff and students, the TL can lead from the middle to provide professional learning communities and collegial collaboration to support and resource these areas (Oddone, 2021).

This task has been interesting to analyse my understanding of leadership theory and to apply it in a real-world context. Prior to undertaking this assignment my idea was that a principal took on one leadership style and applied that. Through research, there has been a shift in my understanding of how several leadership styles can be combined to support change and the 21^st Century education landscape. I was also challenged by the concept that conflict could be a good thing. I am usually one to avoid conflict at all costs but have come to the realisation that conflict that occurs, as a result of collaboration, can be positive (Ho and Ng, 2017). It gives rise to opportunities for change with a purpose rather than change for change sake.

References

Ho, J., & Ng, D. (2017). Tension in distributed leadership. University Council for Educational Administrators. Vol. 53(2), 223-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X16681630

Oddone, K. (2021, June 14). Teacher librarian as leader: Lessons from the literature. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/teacher-librarian-as-leader-lessons-from-the-literature/

Shaked, H. (2021). Relationship-based instructional leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education. Vol.ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1944673