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A Reflection on Literary Learning

 

Literary learning

There is so much more to literature than literacy. In literary learning, the use of literature linked to the curriculum enables students to gain multiple competencies, starting with a deeper understanding of the topic content, through multi-literacies, to the building of character through empathy, emotional engagement and ‘moral imagination’, the term Rundell (2019) uses to describe the kind of imagination that allows us to experience the world from the perspectives of others.

 

Resources

I have realised how important the quality of resources is; resources that not only support the curriculum, but do so in sophisticated, artistic and innovative ways. Being able to guide students and teachers to the right resource can make a considerate difference to their learning: a difference between shallow, literal learning and lasting, profound understanding through engagement with texts that stimulate inquiry, deep thinking and empathy. Whilst there might be a place in school libraries for books about underpants, farts or glittery unicorns, children also deserve exposure to literature that is interactive, varied in formats and genres, that cultivates their appreciation of literary and visual arts, to stories that challenge the stereotypes and raise deep questions, and to characters that represent their diverse personalities. To increase engagement in curriculum topics, texts should not be boring – they are more likely to impact students’ learning if they stimulate an emotional response.

 

Strategies

Having the most amazing books just sitting on library shelves will definitely not do the trick. These resources need to be displayed well, promoted, and most importantly presented to students and teachers through meaningful reading response strategies. To create valuable experiences for students and keep them motivated and involved in their learning, we have to be looking for more creative and interactive ways of integrating literature into the curriculum (Kopka, 2014). As technology continuously changes, effective reading strategies must include the use of innovative formats and digital technology platforms. Whilst I was familiar with some of the strategies presented in the module readings and discussions of ETL402, many of them were new to me and I cannot wait to implement them in my own practice.

 

Time and free choice

Krashen (2011) hypothesises that language and literacy development happens when the reader is directed at a message they find interesting, not at the language itself (p.85) and stresses the importance of having access to a wide range of books and time to read, as opposed to the idea of compulsion and comprehension checking, both of which he finds counterproductive. Indeed, students’ free choice in the selection of their reading materials plays a crucial role in sustaining their motivation and their development as independent and life-long readers.

 

TL’s role and the power of collaboration

Teacher Librarians are experts in finding learning opportunities within resources, thus having a significant influence on teaching and learning within their school communities (AITSL, 2017 and Magdolenova, 2022). However, successful literary programs can only be delivered to students in collaboration with other educators, from class teachers, specialist teachers, and IT professionals, to leadership teams.

 

A recurrent theme throughout many subjects has been the importance of instilling the love of reading in students. In ETL402, through the exposure to high quality literature of all genres and through the understanding of its value, the love for children’s literature has been reawakened in myself as well. Its richness, its art and its impact on our growth as learners, as individuals, and empathetic human beings, and the discovery of new exciting possibilities of its delivery to students leave me with a renewed passion for the profession, a perfect culmination of my studies at CSU.

 

References:

Krashen, S. D. (2011). Free voluntary reading. ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Kopka. S. (2014, May 7). Transmedia and education: Using transmedia in the classroom with a focus on interactive literature. Sekopa. https://sekopka.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/transmedia-education-using-transmedia-in-the-classroom-with-a-focus-on-interactive-literature/

Magdolenova, M. [mmagdolen] (2022, May 23). Sophisticated Picturebooks in Upper Primary Classrooms. Panta Rhei. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/michaela/2022/05/23/sophisticated-picturebooks-in-upper-primary-classrooms/

 Rundell, K. (2019). Why you should read children’s books, even though you are so old and wise. Bloomsbury Publishing.

The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards/highly-accomplished

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Gardening

Good gardening involves a fair amount of weeding. As straightforward as this might be to many a good gardener, I have never quite realized what this really means for the library. Weeding has often been a task pushed aside for two reasons: one of them is the painful feeling one gets when decreasing the size of a collection built up so carefully. But the main reason for me has been that I considered the weeds as just an extra that does not add much value to the collection anymore, but equally does no harm. However, that is not quite how it works. Just like in a garden, every single weed takes up space and attention from the beauty of the flowers, i.e. our useful and quality resources in the collection. And it is not just about making the garden look nice; the way resources are presented has a big impact on whether they are used effectively (Beilharz, 2007).

It appears to me that are two types of weeding. There is the one that I perform almost daily, whenever a book is damaged beyond repair. Similarly, as I come across material that is outdated or irrelevant, I weed straight away. That might be the reason I never really gave weeding any more thought than that. Then there is another kind: proper, focused weeding, whereby one goes through each section and evaluates each item carefully, against a set of criteria.

Some years ago, our school library used to close down for business three weeks before the school holidays in order to complete the inventory process. That was a very generous time-frame and it included tasks like collection evaluation and weeding. Those three weeks then became two, then one and now I am requested that the library is fully operational till the very end of school year. Inventory is now conducted throughout the year with circulation ongoing and a thorough weeding has not taken place for a few years now.

As I got to fully understand the importance of the weeding process, it is now the matter of finding the time for it. It all goes comes down to how important it is to have a collection development policy. That is the tool that is missing in my library – a tool that would validate my request for having time (and staff) allocated for a regular weeding practice. A weeding policy and procedure, as a part of the collection development policy, would guide and justify the weeding of items from the collection, based on a set of relevant criteria.

References:

Beilharz, R. (2007). Secret library business – part 2. SCIS Connections 63.

National Library of New Zealand Services to Schools. (n.d.). Weeding your school library collection.