Tag: transference

The Library: A Leader in Professional Development

noniharrison on

To assist teachers in their PD and to overcomes these barriers (particularly in terms of limited budgets), we in the library have offered afternoon PD sessions usually for ICTs, and we’re including links to professional reading and journals in our monthly e-news for staff. We could also present short sessions during department meetings related to pedagogy, literacy instruction or research skills for current needs. We are also putting our hand up to support the implementation of our new LMS in 2019 by providing staff support and PD. Through our network meetings, we can also bring back to the school valuable insight to share with the wider staff group. In this way, we can tip Cole’s (2012) funnel of professional learning transference on its head. We can dissect what is delivered during external PD, make it applicable to our school setting, assist staff in resource curation and creation to apply and trail the new practice, assist staff in reflection and feedback, help those early-adopters to add the high-quality practice to their arsenal, help others to adopt the practice also, all the while garnering support and participation along the way.

 

Reference

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. Retrieved from http://ptrconsulting.com.au/sites/default/files/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

 

[Forum Reflection: Module 4.2]

Information literacy transfer

noniharrison on

Herring (2011) found that a small minority of students identified as non-transferrers, in that they did not transfer knowledge or skills from one subject to another (p. 13). The majority of students believed in transfer in principle but were reluctant to transfer without the guidance and/or encouragement of teachers (Herring, 2011, p. 13). I have definitely experienced this in my teaching as a classroom teacher and as a teacher librarian. My students often do not clearly (or vocally) transfer their skills and knowledge from one subject to another. When I’m teaching, I explicitly make those connections for my students and ask them to tap into their prior knowledge and what they are studying or skills they are using in other subject areas. Herring (2011) also noted that teachers and teacher librarians are often found expecting that transfer just happens or is inevitable; however, this is not the case. As with most effective teaching, these strategies must be explicitly taught and practiced. I think transfer can be supported and encouraged by ensuring consistent literacy language and protocols are used school-wide. There needs to be a common approach and common terminology across all departments and with all teachers, so that students may clearly see the similarities and connections. Students should also be explicitly encouraged to transfer through best teaching practice, which highlights when skills or knowledge intersect between areas. By the sounds of it, most of us agree that consistent language and a common approach to transfer is a practical way of encouraging students to transfer information literacy skills and practices from one subject to another.

 

Reference

Herring, J. E. (2011).  Year 7 students, information literacy, and transfer: a grounded theory. School Library Research, 14, 1-31. Retrieved from http://bilby.unilinc.edu.au/

[Forum Reflection: Module 5.4_2]