Samuel talks about collaboration more in a business place but i think it is always relevant. He believes that online collaboration should compliment face to face collaboration and meeting. He promotes online  collaboration and seems to have many benefits for this.

• it allows creative power of spontaneous interaction. Meaning that you can interact with colleagues at any given time not just within a certain meeting time. I’m sure we have all had those middle of the night thought or ideas. Online communication allows us to get these off our mind, share them with colleagues then and there and then hopefully get back to sleep.
• There is less waiting. You can search for the answers your self when not being locked into the meeting time
• It allows greater diversity of talent and knowledge with your team. You are not limited to working with the people in your office or school but people in your community or even globally.

Online collaboration definitely has its benefits but for me there is nothing better than personal contact. Online and in person collaboration can work intertwined to get the best results out of everyone.

Tracey Ezards video presentation was very interesting and straight to the point. I found it clear to understand and easy to follow. In order to be a leader you need to collaborate with a variety of people and build, develop and maintain trust. Ezard states that scientifically the brain releases and sparks happy feel good chemical s to allow us to learn, grow, trust, problem solve and be rational, building positive relationships.

Ezard states that there are 5 steps to build trust in someone therefore build positive relationship and work collaboratively whilst being a good leader.

1. Discover – be curious and interested in people. this makes them trust you and feel important and valued.
2. Admit – admit mistakes, flaws, mistakes. own where you went wrong, fix your problems and sometimes be a little vulnerable. It makes you more human therefore easier to trust.
3. Appreciate – Appreciate the people around you, their skills, knowledge, ideas.
4. Evolve – be accountable, learn from your mistakes.
5. align – align what you say with what you do. Be authentic. I think actions speak louder than words. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.

Plotinsky claims that there are 6 main traits to be an effective school leader. An effective school leader

1. listens
2. collaborate
3. relates ( as they are or were a teachers themselves)
4. has clear, transparent and achievable goals
5. don’t monopolise attention
6. genuinely cares.

Everything i am reading comes back to leaders being human, authentic and relatable and genuine.

Samuel, A. (2015, April 1). Collaborating online is sometimes better than face-to-face. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2015/04/collaborating-online-is-sometimes-better-than-face-to-face

Ezard, T. [BastowInstitute]. (2015, July 27). Building trust and collaboration – Tracey Ezard [Video]. https://youtu.be/kUkseAdKyek

Plotinsky, M. (2021, July 12). Leading by Example: Six Traits of Effective School Leaders .Education World. https://www.educationworld.com/teachers/leading-example-six-traits-effective-school-leaders

People have a preconceived idea of what a teacher librarian is, including myself. When i told many of my friends that i was moving to work in the library I got many surprised looks, giggles, uncomfortable pauses followed by questions about is it really the path i want to take. Not feeling very supported by my friends. When i questioned their reaction, many said that it was funny as i am really not a quiet person and libraries are supposed to be quiet. They said things like…..how much do you really read? So you’re not teaching anymore? I got “funny” pictures through my social media pages and texts of woman with a tight bun in their hair, plaid box pleat skirts, glasses resting on their nose and comfortable shoes reading books. I realised that my gorgeous friends were not laughing at me but that they didn’t see me as this woman they saw in their head of a librarian. Then it was just funny.

Teacher librarians should be the hub of  a school. Their role should be to provide better opportunities for staff, students and community. The role of the TL is an information role, to support, be current and ease the workload of staff whilst providing resources and information.  Mark Ray in his TED talk mentioned that TL’s should be “future ready”.

TL’s should have the knowledge, understanding and skills to change the conversation to meet the needs of staff students and community. They should be part of the strategic directions of the school and add value and meaning to the community. TL’s are encouragers, listeners, facilitators. inspirors, communicators but i have never really seen them as leaders. I think because TL’s see how things can be improved and do it, they create safe, happy and lively spaces that promotes equality and peace. They collaborate, learn, teach and share. These are all great trait of a leader.

I feel like i have always done these things. Tried to be positive, supportive but have been told that i am not leader. I hope this perception will change from me and my friends.

Looking around the library that I am currently working in, I find myself asking how and why did all these resources get here? I never really thought about the process that is involved in selecting resources to enhance the teaching and learning programs of the staff and students and for pure entertainment and enjoyment. I started the reading looking for a starting point and how to move into future selections.

After reading the first few modules I questioned the presence of library policies in our school. I was struggling with the difference between collection management and development and needed an example. I didn’t find any policies in my school that related to the library so I had to read on through the modules so I could develop this area myself.

Starting the reading, I soon realised that step one was discovering the difference between collection development and collection management. I’d never really given it much thought until now. I struggled to make sense of the definitions and as I looked through the discussion page many of my colleagues did too. I found that collection management is about the process required to acquire, retain and provide information sources and resources to support teaching and learning programs. (Gregory, 2011). However, according to ALIA (2007), a collection development policy is an open-access document which contains the vision and values of the school library.  It provides a rationale for the library, which links closely to the overall school vision and values, and describes the process by which resources will be added to or removed from the library collection.  It provides a set of strategies for acquiring and evaluating new materials, to ensure that the collection meets the specific needs of the school community (Gregory, 2011). Looking in to Mona Kerby’s book which states “Every aspect of our school library profession builds on a quality school library collection. You can’t be a stellar school librarian without access to quality school library materials”. This made me question if I have a quality collection that allows all staff members to ‘teach lessons that help learners successfully meet  the six shared foundations of inquire, include, collaborate, curate, explore and engage in order for them to strive in a digital world’. (Kerby. n.d )

Moving through the modules made me question and evaluate my own library. Now I was aware of the difference between management and development, I needed to look further into my own physical and digital collections. I understand the importance of library policies and procedures and am aware of the enormity of the task.  Within my own library role I have followed what I assumed the procedure was previously and after the module reading I understand that creating policies and procedures within the school give me, as the teacher librarian, and the staff clear overall guideline’s and steps to support the staff, students and community. I feel it would increase the value of the library and the teacher librarian role to work collaboratively with students and staff members to manage and maintain the printed and digital resources in the library. Having a clear selection criteria when purchasing resources is crucial in developing and maintaining a collection. ALA (n.d) states that the criteria should be a blend of general, specific, and technical to enable library staff to select materials in all subject areas and formats. In addition to criteria such as appropriateness to the age and level of the user, librarians must also consider creating a collection that reflects diversity of ideas and authors as well as being reflective of the population the library serves. Selection criteria should be clear and relevant to the school’s needs, community and budget. I find the pressure of making selection decisions by myself pressure filled and stressful. Even though the final decision is placed on me as the teacher librarian, working collaboratively with staff member to the selection of resources is helpful. Students can also help in the selection process.

Once procedures are in place and selection criteria is determined reading about evaluation, reviewing and analysing a collection really resonated with me. I am forever asking myself if resources, digital or printed should stay or go. To weed or not to weed is a constant question. I have found that purchasing is easier than weeding resources. Weeding is often frowned upon and I find myself forever justifying why resources need to be weeded. There is always someone on staff taking resources out of the dumpster that they deem as fit. Having clear criteria and guidelines justifies decisions and enables staff and students to help with the weeding process. Just like selection criteria, weeding criteria is equally as important. Reading La Guardes (2013) F.R.E.S.H criteria and Bambach’s C.R.E.W criteria (2006) highlighted to me the importance of policies and procedures. I feel it is important to involve the staff, students and the community in this process and even create a checklist to solidify decisions.

Reading the module on legal and ethical issues of collections reinforced the need for policies and procedures even further in managing and developing our collection. I was quick to realise that most staff and students were not aware of the enormity of copyright and the use of creative commons. How much of these legal reforms are relative to the primary school setting. Making staff and students aware of the smartcopy website and techniques to insure used items are covered by creative commons and copyright law is a lifelong skill to have.

In order for staff to create and students to become 21^st century learners we need to supply them the quality resources and advanced skills in all subject areas. We need to provide quality literature for all students to learn, grow, explore, imagine and be intelligent global citizens.  The modules in this unit opened my eyes to the enormity of the role of the teacher librarian. Has made me realise the impact on the school and greater community the teacher librarian has and the importance of never ending development and management.

REFERENCES

Kerby, M. (2019). An Introduction to Collection Development for School Librarians, Second  Edition. ALA editions. https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/introduction-collection-development-school-librarians-second-edition

Gregory, V. L. (2011). Collection development and management for 21st century library collections: an introduction: Neal-Schuman Publishers New York, NY.

Arthur, M.A, Fitzgerald, SA. (2020). Rethinking collection development: improving access and increasing efficiency through demand driven acquisition. The journal of academic librarianship, 2020-01, V. 46 (1) p.102017.

Australian School Library Association. (2000). Policy statement – school library bill of  rights. Retrieved from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/bill-of-rights.aspx

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2015). School library  guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/school-libraries- resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Oberg, D., & Schultz-Jones, B. (eds.). (2015). 4.3.1 Collection management policies       and procedures. In IFLA School Library Guidelines, (2nd ed.), (pp. 33-34). Den            Haag, Netherlands: IFLA.

National Libray NZ. (2014). Weeding your library Weeding your School Library 

 LaGarde, J. (2013) Keeping your library collection feeling F.R.E.S.H! [blog post]. The      adventures of Library Girl. https://www.librarygirl.net/post/keeping-your-library-collection-smelling-f-r-e-s-h

 Bambach, D.J & Miller, L.L (2006). Weeding Criteria by topic and Dewey number. In       Less is more: A practical guide to weeding school library collections, pp. 24-167)    Weeding criteria by topic and Dewey number.

Australian Library and Information Association. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. 2^nd edition.https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/policies-procedures-manual_ed2.pdf

National Copyright Unit. (2016). Smartcopying. www.smartcopying.edu.au

Creative commons kiwi. (n.d) https://creativecommons.org/about/videos/creative-commons-kiwi/

 American Library Association. (2017). Selection Criteria. http://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/selectionpolicytoolkit/criteria

Delving head first into the land of information and literacy has become a very daunting yet exciting task. I very quickly abandoned my prior believe of a teacher librarian being a fluffy job filled with pretty pictures and calm voices to adopt the concept of the real life teacher librarian as being a, passionate, multi-skilled, innovative,  sharer and creator who juggles information and tasks whilst seeking, sharing and using information. (Mentimeter 2021) The teacher librarian is someone who is a busy mentor, leader and facilitator making connections with everyone in the school, greater community and the global community. It was clear by the fast entering words flashing on my screen in our first lecture that everyone else was very aware. I had (have) a lot to learn.

So as I embark on this journey I am faced with the numerous definitions of information and start questioning myself and my knowledge. What is information? I find myself turning to my 6 year who I knew would give me an amazingly simple, yet well thought out answer to the question, What is information? I was met with the answer of ‘information is something you use to know things about lots of stuff’. The same question was asked of the older member of my house who deliberated quite a lot more but added ‘making the stuff relevant to you at the time. These both fit into the information hierocracy that Wideman set in 2008. So I now have a clear understanding of information literacy – knowing stuff and using it. As a teacher librarian we cannot merely teach to know but to be literate in our knowledge, to create wisdom from it and use it to be an activity, intelligent and creative 21^st century thinker.

So how can we create these wonderful 21^st century learners? We as teachers and teacher librarians just throw information at them and expect them to learn it. When I first stepped into the teacher librarian role I made a window display: in this library we learn, create, explore, imagine. Working through this course I think I need a bigger window; I need to add question and collaborate. We need to teach students to use scaffolds to find purpose in their learning, teach them to locate relevant and useful information, use it effectively and evaluate their learning, skills and knowledge. (Herring n.d).

I thought that inquiry based learning was tedious and difficult to use. However after watching Spencers you tube clip and relating inquiry based learning back to the much loved Harry Potter,  I realised that even though there are many models, scaffolds and frameworks, inquiry based learning is guiding the students to investigate, solve problems and investigate topics of interest. Guido clearly outlines benefits of Inquiry based learning

• extending and reinforcing  curriculum content
• “warms up’ the brain for learning
• promotes a deeper understanding of content
• helps make learning rewards
• Builds initiative and self confidence
• works in most learning environments
• offers differentiated instruction

Looking at all these frameworks raises the import role of the teacher librarian. A teacher librarian is wealth of knowledge, skill and information as many of my online colleagues’ state. But we all came to a fast realise that we, teacher librarians cannot implement this leaning and guide students into the 21^st century alone. I referred to myself in discussions as an island, a standalone entity which some staff members find very difficult to get to or have no desire to. I feel it’s important to really work together as a team with colleagues and community members. We really encourage students to work collaboratively and now I have to work collaboratively with all staff member. The AITLS has very clear standards to work together and to create personal goals. By sharing these with staff members, they may be more willing to work more collaboratively. Inquiry based learning is a whole school initiative to benefit the students and the staff. The teacher librarian should initiate the use of a learning inquiry framework that can be implemented across the school in many areas. New frameworks and teaching skills need to be introduced gradually and be easy to use. Through extensive reading I have realised that it is important to obtain the support from the principal and the executive team to ensure the students have the very best learning opportunities you can give them.

Even though I find this all very overwhelming with so much information to absorb, I realise the very exciting role of the teacher librarian is one of the most important and should be the heart, the brain and the soul of any school.

References

Mentimeter. (2021). https://www.mentimeter.com/

 Shearer, A. (2021). https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/nosila/2021/03/07/the-world-of-information/

Wideman, R.M. (2008). The Information Hierarchy. [Powerpoint slides]

Herring, J.E. (n.d) james Herrings Plus model. https://farrer.csu.edu.au/PLUS/

Spencer, J (2017) What is Inquiry based learning? (Video) YouTube.

            https://youtu.be/QlwkerwaV2E

Shearer, A (2021) https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/nosila/2021/05/02/guided-inquiry/

Guido, M (2017). What Is Inquiry-Based Learning: 7 Benefits & Strategies You Need to Know. Prodigy.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/inquiry-based-learning-definition-benefits-strategies/

Aitsl (2017). Australian Professional Standards for teachers

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

It’s been a huge question on my mind, one that  i often find myself asking when  rocking in the corner ( mostly figuratively but sometimes literally). How can i keep all the balls in the air? I used to be so good at managing my time. I was always on time if not early to work and events and knew exactly where i had to be not only today but every day from today to christmas. Then i became a solo mum, picked up looking after my sick elderly wonderful mother, decided to take on a new role which included study and work full time. Is there any time for me? wilson poses the question, What should we be giving 100% to in our lives? Am i  still effective as a mother, daughter, carer, teacher, TL, colleague, student, friend, sister if i don’t give 100% to everything. I think i have shown in this course maybe not so effective .  Wilson refers splitting your time in to distinct zones. These zones should be efficient and effective for the time given and the left behind when the next zone is entred.   Zone 1 – structured work time

Zone 2 – unstructured work time

zone 3  – me time

I find it difficult at the moment to make these zones very separate, i really feel like they should not overlap.

Colleagues who i see who appear unstressed and relaxed seem to be able compartmentalise their day,. Allocated zones in their mind and switch off at the end of each zone. Oh such a talent.

Moving from classroom teacher to TL  with the school i have been in for over a decade i have been viewed in many lights. I am now an island and not part of a stage group. Staff members have always viewed the TL as an island and not the information expertise that they should be with a wealth of knowledge, leadership skills and support.

Gilman in the 4 habits of a good librarian states that the 4 qualities that are essential to be a good TL is to be 1. open to staff, students and community. To always have an open door and welcome all people and ideas. 2, responsive to new ideas, research , resources and all members of staff student body and community. 3. It is important to work collaboratively to enhance, develop and expand the teaching learning programs across the school, showing continuity and unity. 4. A high level of communication with all staff, students, executive and community is imperative to effective in the library. However it is important to have strong communication across the school to, once again show continuity and unity not to mention wellbeing for all involved. To be a greater TL i could enhance these elements and getting off my island everyday.

I could also show staff that i have a skills that enhance the teaching and learning programs and the students skills and knowledge.

Pewhairangi states in ‘How to boost your digital literacy confidence’ that we have 6 super powers. She refers to having these powers in the digital world but i feel they apply to all areas of my teaching . Having confidence in my own abilities, to take risks and make decisions allows me to utilse my time more effectively in the all areas of TL world. She states that our exiting super powers are  adaptability, critical thinking, curiosity, empathy, patience, and problem-solving – I am  already 21st Century learners and digital citizens. I need to allow myself to believe in myself and in my own abilities to be the very best TL. The students, staff and community with then believe it to.  I can do anything.

I think i went off track a little .

REFERENCES

https://www.time-management-success.com/time-management-for-teachers.html

https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-106/how-to-boost-your-digital-literacy-confidence/

https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-four-habits-of-highly-effective-librarians/

Inquiry based learning was once used predominantly in subjects such as science and maths. subjects where distinct question could be asked and  hypothesis could be made.  Science inquiry Teaching and learning progresses through five phases: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. The 5 E’s ( as seen above) are an engaging way for students to learn and teachers to teach. This framework, even though it has been around for may decades has extended into the language arts, history and geography using the following elements.  The framework allows students and teachers to work through the elements listed below: Open, Immerse, Explore, Identify, Gather, Crreate, Share and Evaluate.Using the guided inquiry framework has distinct advantages and disadvantages

ADVANTAGES ‘

• collaboration is encourages and developed for Classroom teacher and teacher librarian
• encourages high expectations and high engagement from studetns
• allows students to make meaning from the world to suit them, their interests and learning abilities
• Students can work at their own pace
• encourages students to remain curious

Marus Guido (2017) in What Is Inquiry-Based Learning: 7 Benefits & Strategies You Need to Know benefits extend to

Inquiry based learning

• extending and reinforcing  curriculum content
• “warms up’ the brain for learning
• promotes a deeper understanding of content
• helps make learning rewards
• Builds initiative and self confidence
• works in most learning environments
• offers differentiated instruction

DISADVANTAGES

• students need an element of background knowledge prior to create key questions. Background knowledge on the subject, how to work independently and how to create questions to expand their learning and knowledge.
• the whole school ideally needs to be on board for students to obtain the most out of the framework.
• if students are not immerse and skills are developed slowly then they may not benefit from the framework.

Guided inquiry is a great framework and should create a more engage classroom, curious and enthusiastic students who are more willing to strives toward high expectations set.

REFERENCES

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1360/lutheran-education-queensland-inquiry-based-learning.pdf

https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180206-AASL-framework-for-learners-2.pdf

https://primaryconnections.org.au/resources-and-pedagogies/pedagogies/5e-model-framework-guided-inquiry

https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-inquiry-based-learning-and-how-does-it-help-prepare-children-for-the-real-world-115299

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/inquiry-based-learning-definition-benefits-strategies/

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-38–2019/a-conversation-about-guided-inquiry

Going through primary school in the 70’s was a wonderful experience. We had classrooms that were underwater worlds, outerspace and rainforests. we were immersed in the whole language of any subject and had neat yet creative book work with neat handwriting, facts and creative writing. However, even though the basic full stops and capital letters were taught i do not recall any extended language or grammar rules being taught to me.

Misty Adoniou refers in her article ‘Grammar matters should be taught – differently’ that researches decided at the time that learning the fundamentals of language and grammar alone did not have any implact on how children learnt to read.

So as a result a whole language approach was adopted and i, amongst many missed on a stand alone, grammar lessons and language rules.

Moving in to the 80’s researchers and teachers decided that grammar was a useful tool to embed into the curriculum, into reading and writing and so we enter the decade of Metalanguage, rules and formal grammar lesson with teachers being trained to benefit the students.

I however was in high school by this stage and the high school teachers assumed prior knowledge from us about spelling rules and grammar. We unfortunately had very little knowledge but we could create a great word wall with an under the sea theme.

Hitting University to study teaching in the 90’s the trend had once again changed and grammar was no longer cool and the whole language approach hit trend again. Soooooo us 70’s children missed out again and have to teach ourselves.

As i move into this course i find myself checking and dsouble checking capital letters, when should they be used and when should they be avoided. there is always an exception to any rule which is great when the rule is straightforward to begin with.

so

to capitalise of not to capitalise?

According to White, job title should only be capitalised when “it comes immediately before the person’s name, in a formal context, in a direct address, in a resume heading, or as part of a signature line’. In this instance the term teacher librarian fits none of these criteria.

https://theconversation.com/grammar-matters-and-should-be-taught-differently-25604

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-are-australians-linguistically-lost

https://www.instructionalsolutions.com/blog/bulleted-list-punctuation

 https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/capitalization-of-job-titles.html

http://www.editoraustralia.com/styleguide_capitals.html

Are we important if we do not have physical evidence that we have taught something, students have learnt something, school community has been helped. I think yes as the evidence is usually in increased borrowing, increased engagement, student confidence and enjoyment in your learning environment. However we need something tangible, something to discuss, something to refer back to, something to proof that our role of the TL and our learning spaces in needed and important. We need to be accountable for turning up every day.

Valeza outlines some simple ways to prove the validity of the Tl and the library space. she gives digital suggestions like exit tickets, flipgrids and digital surveys. these are great ideas but is difficult to  implement some with out digital technology access and or knowledge of the tool by the students. A work sample is equally valid or photographs of students working, engaging and producing.

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1643157720?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Developing standards for teachers is an amazing concepts. Everyone working towards a common goal providing domains in professional knowledge, practice and engagement.

Using these standards is a great way to develop a wonderful teaching and learning program that is  unique to the teacher librarian role. It can be used to guide you through your planning making sure that you are covering all learning areas. It is a great guide to achieve personal goals  in PDPS and assess my teaching and learning program ensuring that i meet all criteria and domains. I have never used the assessment tool but I think i will in the future to keep me on track . The overview is a very helpful document as it is very lengthy. I like the focus area , practice and evidence set out out very clearly to highlight or tick off as you go along. All teachers are always time poor so this document an can draw my teaching and planning back. It allows me to cover all areas of the library learning and information landscape whilst seeing how i fit into the school community.

Curating a resource collection in a primary school should definitely be a collaborative exercise. The teacher librarian has expertise and knowledge of quality texts and has access to to variety of sources.  I would like to think that the teacher librarian would have knowledge of current collection and how new resources can add quality to the collection rather than just quantity. In my case i teach over 500 students which make it difficult to know the individual needs and interests of all students and teachers. This is where the teachers knowledge comes in. Once given a variety of sources teachers would be able to make collection selections to suit the needs of their teaching, curriculum and  their students.

I do find the term of resource collection interesting in the fact that i feel that this term always refers to non fiction collections  and even online collections rather than fiction, graphic novels, picture books. In a growing borrowing environment that i am creating i feel like have a greater knowledge and expertise in fiction, picture books and graphic novels. I am very aware of what most students are reading and interested in. Collections to take to classes to support all KLA’s the teachers know what they want.

In the busy world of a school,  where do we find the time, energy, effort and  desire to get together to actively talk about a resource selection to suit enough classes to justify the cost. Catalogues in general areas, general chats over sandwiches and playground duties and constant communication and sharing over emails is all we have at the moment. As i become more able with my google drives and online forms, I can send out request forms to staff and event the greater community ( if i dare). This should allow us to share our ideas, needs and wants as a staff to continually expand our ever changing information and entertainment collections.

Our resource collection should be ultimately driven by the students ( those using the collection and reading the books), sourced and selected by the teaching staff as a whole ( facilitating, guiding and utilising)  but largely it comes down to budget. Can we afford these subscriptions and resources in the school? So the final say i feel is the all mighty dollar.