(Created by me using Bitmoji Stickers, 2022)
THE TIME HAS COME… the semester is over! Although this IS a time of celebration… I am feeling a little nostalgic. You know that feeling when you are finding a book REALLY hard to comprehend and then finally you begin to understand it and it just ends… as long as it’s a better ending then it was for poor Alice and her Wonderland. The last thing I need is to wake up realising it was all a dream (yeah, nah* having that thought… I’m definitely ready for it the end!).
*currently the new slang I am trying to supportively direct my students away from.
WHAT A SEMESTER IT HAS BEEN!
As I reflect back on the teacher librarian I was 10 weeks ago, I can honestly see a shift. The more that I engaged with the course and readings over the semester, I realised the degree of difference between the old me and the new, that being Mrs Piggott the classroom teacher verses Mrs Piggott the teacher librarian. Not only to I thorough enjoy the it’s jazzy name ‘the TL’, I am now beginning to feel special and very honored about the weight my position holds within the school community and I do feel ready now more than ever to support the teaching staff within my school.
During the semester, I was inspired by readings and presentations presented by our lecturer, Kay, and therefore made slight changes to my current program plans over the time. Particularly after learning more about the information environment and the way in which data can be used to connect and draw conclusions to make meaning, I was excited to begin this work with my Stage 1 students.
(Bellinger, G., Castro & D., Mills, A., 2004)
Bellinger, Castro and Mills, discuss the importance of differentiating knowledge from data, information and wisdom to create understanding within the classroom (Bellinger, G., Castro & D., Mills, A., 2004).
By simply completing data pattern exercises, with guidance from the above, the following week I began to see how without students connecting the pattern their understanding will never be fully developed. The entire process reminded me of my first year teaching. I was (blessed) with a K-1 class my very first year out of university. My strongest memory from that time is sitting on the carpeted floor of the classroom every afternoon, with a green pen in hand… NOT red of course, trying to decipher the text of a 5 year old… not something I miss terribly much!
As I continued through the semester, my understanding and knowledge of processes used by other teacher librarians to support and guide their teaching and management skills only grew stronger. In Week 9, not long after exploring the teacher librarian and the curriculum with Kay, I was blessed with a personal development day led by a fellow colleague and mentor, Lynette Barker. I discuss this further in my previous blog; It’s Assessment Time… again!. Lynette has worked within our Diocese for many years and brings such wonderful insight and experience to our vocation. It was at this point, I really saw a turn in my own teaching. Mrs H, my share job partner and I, used the day with Lynette to explore the Information Fluency Framework (NSW Department of Education, n.a.) and how an information processing model, such as the one implemented by our school that was originally developed by Barker, Bennett and Gittin in 2015 called the (Original) Library Learning Path (Barker, 2015) , can support the teaching of the teacher and the learning of the learners. THAT’S RIGHT PEOPLE… I KNOW A FAMOUS MODEL MAKER… hmmm is that a thing???
(NSW Department of Education, n.a.)
Since, Barker has used her knowledge of inquiry based learning, collaborative work with fellow colleagues and her years of teaching experience to develop the recent model of the process, the (New) Library Learning Path (Barker, 2019). Being relatively new to the inquiry based teaching approach, at first the concept seemed quite… well for lack of the better word… difficult. Although Kuhlthau, Maniotes and Caspari (2007), through their book Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century, gave me the guidance of the initial concepts, it wasn’t until my meeting with Barker that I gained enough confidence to implement the process while programming and teaching.
While completing this assignment I was able to extend my knowledge further by exploring the activities that would work to fit alongside the model to enhance the students learning environment. I created the Library Learning Path PowerPoint, that helps students gain an understanding of the approach on a visual level. I believe that the simplicity of the wording and and framework of Barker’s (2019) new model allows for the young learner to feel more engaged and responsible for their own learning throughout the process. I am excited to be able to implement and explore this with my students in the future confidently.
From my first post (Piggott, 2022) through to the now, I have most definitely aged… but I also believe my own personal development within the profession has grown immensely. Through the support provided by Kay during the course (ELT 401) I kept on track… most of the time… and her words regularly inspired me to continue the learning process. Her personal insight into both teaching and study allowed me to feel at ease during times of doubt. I have also learned to stop and remember that I am new to this “library stuff” and that is OK! I will be forever grateful for the support and guidance I have received from those I will always remember as the ones who guided me along the way!
For now… I am done… until the next one!
Cas x
References
Barker, L. (2019). The New Library Learning Path. WordPress. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from: The New Library Learning Path – Welcome to Mrs Barker’s Tea Room (mrsbarkerstearoom.com)
Barker, L., Bennett, B., Gittins, K. (2015). The Original Library Learning Path Inquiry Model. WordPress. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from: The Original Library Learning Path Inquiry Model – Welcome to Mrs Barker’s Tea Room (mrsbarkerstearoom.com)
Bellinger, G., Castro & D., Mills, A. (2004). Systems Thinking. Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom. Gene Bellinger. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from: https://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm)
Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. M., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.
NSW Department of Education. (n.a). Information Fluency Framework. (Version 1.1). NSW Government Australia. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from: Information_fluency_framework.pdf (nsw.gov.au)
Piggott, C. (2022). It’s Assessment Time… again!. WordPress. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mrspiggott/2022/09/16/its-assessment-time-again/
Piggott, C. (2022). Who is the teacher librarian?. WordPress. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mrspiggott/2022/07/30/who-is-the-teacher-librarian/