Month: March 2019

21.3.19 – Week 3 503 Post!

paige.bernard95 2019, 503, Academic, Collection, Learning, Thoughts&Feelings , , , , 1 Comment

2.1 Decision-making model – it’s for consideration rather than a yes or no answer. Does it fit with:

2.2 Mosle is responding to a particular issue related to change in the US Common Core curriculum where literary non-fiction is receiving attention. Is tension between fiction and non-fiction a trend you have seen in your workplace?

2.2 Think of an occasion when you have witnessed tension between what a teacher or student is looking for and what a library collection holds.

  • To respond to the think activities in Module 2, Section 2.2 I would have to be in a position to witness such events within the workplace, since I am a casual with little experience and mainly focus at a school that does not have a librarian and hasn’t for the past 3 years it is hard to comment on whether there is tension or not, since the use of the library is a space meant for students to calm down rather than a kingpin within the school community.

2.3 Locate a library curating on Scoop.it, Pinterest, LibGuides or another tool and write a short review of this curation channel and the content that has been curated.

Radford College Secondary Library on Scoop.it

  • Exploration of Scoop.it has opened my eyes to a new method of organisation and a way to promote topics that are of high value to myself and the school community. Whilst Radford College’s Scoop.it hasn’t been curated for a few years, the topics they did cover show a very interesting and connective school community.
  • The curators have incorporated sections for students and teachers presenting learning topics, professional development, relatable text lists and important areas of health, such as wellbeing for both teachers and students to access. They have covered numerous key areas of learning and present it in a straightforward and visual way for their users. Their scoops were current for the times and focus on the ‘hot’ topics. The topics and scoops that they follow also provide numerous avenues for students and teachers to explore.

I feel my professional knowledge is going to benefit from Scoop.it provided I can find the most recent and up-to-date content.

21.3.19 – Weekly Feelings.

paige.bernard95 2019, Experiences, Thoughts&Feelings , , , , 0 Comment

Even with the best of intentions, this blogging business is a challenge to wrap my mind around. My intention is to have a weekly post on my experiences of the past week as well as summation posts of the week in both 503 and of 401. I find that I’m so overwhelmed in the content though that I might need to figure a way to condense my learning. I’m taking one bite at a time but can I bite fast enough to keep up? Blog posts, forums, a lot of readings and working on the assignment. How do people manage with children and a full-time job? I’ve only managed to get my head up to speed since I’ve forgone posting on the Forums for the moment and I’ve been sick and had 3 days to dedicate to getting back up to where I need to be.

Positive thoughts from here on out! I’ve got my weekly breakdown, now to tackle the terminology! Step by step. Breath by breath.

This is worth it.

Also; keep your planner up to date, even when busy at school! It’s so much easier keeping track of what I want to do this week when it’s pre-planned and ready for me to tackle. I want to use this space as a way to vent my frustrations and then reframe my mind in a positive light; motivate myself!

13.3.19 – My Understanding of the Role of TLs

paige.bernard95 401, Assignment 1 , , , , , 4 Comments

Reflecting on your experiences as a teacher before you became interested in working in a school library, write a 500 word piece about your understandings of the role of the TL in schools

It is a curious thing to reflect on experiences that are limited and think of a time before I became interested in working in a school library. As a student, I was passionate about the library and maintained its abilities to provide a safe haven to a bibliophile like myself. I saw the TL’s role as a “secret keeper”, one who created and maintained this place that helped students find new adventures, worlds and friends.

Reflecting, I believed the role of the TL to hold 3 crucial tasks.

  1. To be the keeper and protector of the books.
  2. To instigate, kindle and grow a love and passion for books within students.
  3. To create an environment that allows students to feel safe.

Nowadays as a teacher, I see that the role of the TL is more expansive and supportive. There is a shift in focus to being an informant and collector to assist in community projects, a place for teachers to gather necessary resources and to supply new technologies and the information necessary to access these resources.

NSW Department of Education, Teach.NSW (2019) (hyperlink) prescribe teacher librarians attributes as

Extremely organised;

 

Resource managers;

 

Information specialists;

 

Quality literacy contributors;

 

Comprehensive technological knowledge to engage and enhance learning experiences.

Similarly Australian School Library Association (2019) segment the role of TLs into three major components:

Curriculum leaders;

 

Information specialists;

 

Information service managers.

Throughout these definitions my current understanding of the role of TLs has a lot of room to grow. My previous conceptions were ignorant of the knowledge and information that TLs present to the libraries. I now understand that TLs role is heavily dependent on providing, interpreting and developing assistance in the transference of information, whether to teachers, students, administrators or the larger school community. The information connected to teachers and students is no longer solely focused on reading, rather evolving resources that shape into the current curriculum and provide learning support for all needs of students.

Another surprising aspect of the TLs role is still relating to space, however, the extent to which the library space is used and the TLs accommodate for various clubs, activities, events and the teaching of collaborative spaces for learning experiences. The learning experiences themselves are focused on inquiry, research and investigation, leading to creation and the TLs role with the students is acting as a guide, skill builder, information supplier and technological developer.

I have a long way to go developing my skills as a teacher and the learning progression of the role I hope to emerge into. The importance of having a clear direction of your dream role cannot be understated and this learning experience will be engaging and challenging. I am beginning from what I feel is the very bottom but I will work my way to fulfilling the invaluable role of TL.

 

Reference

Australian School Library Association (2019). Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

NSW Department of Education (2019). Retrieved from https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/exploreteaching/types-of-teachers/specialist-teachers/teacher-librarian

12.3.19 – Fresh Out and Back In Again….

paige.bernard95 401, Thoughts&Feelings , , , 1 Comment

Here we go again,

After studying for 6 years to gain my Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education I finally graduated last year. I knew my progression was longer than most but given my circumstances I’ve forgiven myself and I told myself, one day Paige you can jump back in and study to be the best school librarian out there. You’ve got the passion, you just need to get your drive for learning and studying again, but you’ll do it one day.

After discussion with all the important people in my life, I realised there was no time like the present. If I don’t do it now whilst I have more time, I’ll never do it, but I am scared. I have very limited teaching experience fueling my understanding of the school world, only theoretical knowledge about the practices in play and I’ve worked in a school library once. However, I’m gaining experience every day as a casual and have the opportunity to take the time to get to know all aspects and volunteer in the library alongside a mentor with a brain I can pick!

One interesting component of this blogging experience will be shaping my blogs into an academic text rather than the stream of consciousness you’ve just read. I did do limited life-blogging over the past few years and definitely in the stream of conscious from of writing but I’m sure taking the time to sit down and think things through and plan, it’ll be alright in the end. The idea of referencing a blog post is still foreign to me, at least I am very familiar with APA referencing and should be able to fall into the swing of things.

A reminder to myself; take it 1 day at a time. 1 step at a time. Keep up your to-do list, as detailed as you can possibility make it, so every step is an achievement. You’ve got this! Deep breath, now go write what you think a TL is.

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