Time for the Aspiring TL to Grow Up!

I noticed in our “Introduction” chat that fellow classmates were scoffed at for beginning a teacher librarianship program. I vented in my first submitted blog post and the feedback from Lee Fitzgerald encouraged me to focus on the positive aspects of my work environment and attempt to win over those who are cynical about the role. I was beginning to view the TL role as one that could initiate a philosophical change in my school.

With a renewed attitude I excitedly posted about the IFLA trends report recognising the need for TLs in a time when more digital content has been created in three years than all of history combined (IFLA 2015). My reality check came in the form of Module 2, when I was required to work through a variety of tasks centred on exploring the nuances of a variety of databases.

Oh my goodness! Memories of being a student came flooding back to me and the frustrations of researching for hours and, sometimes, having nothing to show for it were remerging before my eyes. The feeling of being overwhelmed made me realise that a large part of my role as a TL was going to be helping learners with the exact same frustrations I was experiencing. In my “Hug your Librarian” post I reflected on how difficult the process was, but also how rewarding uncovering quality information can be.  In the experience of navigating databases I discovered the exciting potential the TL has to unlock the enigma of information gathering and evaluation for learners.

Additionally, Lee Fitzgerald’s video (2014) on the role of the TL highlighted that the management part of information services is the “underpinning for all the library does”. This helped me recognise that not only students, but also colleagues will look to me as the information specialist and will be more likely to collaborate if I can guide them and their students through the information search process.   The excitement of maker spaces, tweeting student creations, designing collaborative environments, and other “glamorous” ideas I had about being a TL all rely on my ability to manage and facilitate the information sciences. Mastering information retrieval and evaluation will better equip me to aid others and be a more desirable collaborative partner.

One of my more illuminating moments took place during Jennie’s Assessment 3 online discussion in which she highlighted the notion that TLs are key to scaffolding inquiry learning. In past attempts at IL, I encouraged students to research and produce what they think is important.   Only three or four students had the motivation and know how to do so. I blamed the students, when in fact the problem was that I did not know how to facilitate inquiry. Likewise, in reviewing the ISP/GID model (Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari 2012) I realised that true inquiry learning was not a solo effort, that CPT teams, including TLs, are needed in order to specialise our skills and best aid in moving through the inquiry process.

Now, as an aspiring TL I’m taking the understanding I’ve gained and am trying to build my own learning community with a positives approach and modelling my own thoughts on inquiry learning. If Leslie Maniotes is replying to an aspiring TL on Twitter, the possibilities are endless…

References:

Fitzgerald, Lee. 2014. Role of Teacher Librarian Week 3. Retrieved from:             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQlE1o7zqns

IFLA Trend Report. (2015). Retrieved from: http://trends.ifla.org/

Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L., Caspari, A. (2012). Guided Inquiry Design : A  Framework for Inquiry in Your School. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

Image References: Thanks to Flickr Creative Commons images attributions below
“Hugs”. Peter Murphy. Retrieved via this link
“Scaffolding”. Jo. Retrieved via this link