I have been writing my first assignment for this subject and whilst reading one phrase keeps appearing: life long learning! My first month working as a TL has certainly involved A LOT of learning.  I have had to learn many of the basics first before I leap into even deeper learning. So far I have learned how to use Destiny, our library management system, about our collection, how the Junior School operates, who all the relevant people are to ask questions of, how the library budget works, how to place orders, how to timetable 31 classes to use our fabulous library space, how to plan induction lessons for students to use the library… and the list could go on and on and on!  I feel like my learning so far has been covering the library management essentials and that there is a lot of deep learning that I have to undertake to move forward.  A lot of my future learning will involve the curriculum and how I can support teachers and students to create deeper learning opportunities for our students, so this blog is going to reflect on the concept of the TL being a lifelong learner.

Excellent TLs must be committed to lifelong learning so that they can embrace change in education, curriculum and technology and be ready to empower other people in the school community. The ALIA and ASLA standards for professional excellence for TLs (2004) highlight the importance of understanding the principles of lifelong learning and modelling and promoting this in practice. TLs should be working collaboratively with school staff to improve teaching and learning, ensuring that the curriculum is appropriate and relevant and to be integrating relevant technology. They should be creating and fostering professional development for staff and also seeking it out for themselves (ASLA, 2013, p7; (Combes, 2006).

The learning that occurs in a school library will influence how students learn in the whole school, and TLs should work with teachers to develop learning opportunities that are challenging for students.  It is true that “Schools are now moving away from behaviourist theories, which tended to view school students as children who would learn best through passively listening to a teacher and repeating tasks to ensure reinforcement of learning, to more cognitive and constructivist theories.” (Herring, 2007, p2)  Therefore, TLs should be well informed about information literacy and be demonstrating best practice and constructivist learning. Two examples of constructivist learning are inquiry learning and project based learning. TLs should be guiding students to undertake research, which involves information literacy skills being integrated into the curriculum, and not taught as a separate subject. In a library and school that promotes inquiry, librarians should be guiding students to be collaborators, researchers, communicators, critical and creative thinkers and self-managers (Herring, 2007; Murdoch, 2015; Purcell, 2010).

Boss and Krauss in Reinventing Project Based Learning (2008) discuss the importance of recognising that digital tools are an essential part of students’ lives and how some teachers have reinvented a project approach to meet the needs of digital-age learners. There is a danger of not keeping up with these opportunities because students are ready to take advantage of technology and will become disengaged if it is not incorporated into their learning. Projects that use technology to immerse students in real-world learning will motive and engage them and make learning more personalised.

The day a TL stops learning is that day they cease to remain relevant. Part of this lifelong learning involves seeking out opportunities for themselves to develop professionally. Undertaking action research in the library is important, as is networking with other TLs, reading blogs, journals and other relevant literature and attending conferences and other professional development.  I am looking forward to my first International Schools Librarian Network (ISLN) meeting in September and also a librarian conference in October as I know these experiences will provide many learning opportunities for me.

References

Australian School Library Association (2013), Future learning and school libraries. ASLA, Canberra, ACT.

Australian Schools Library Association (ASLA) and Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) 2004, Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians, Retrieved July 25, 2016 from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.aspx

Boss, S., Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing Project Based Learning: International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved August 19, 2016, from http://www.iste.org/images/excerpts/REINVT-excerpt.pdf

Combes, B. (2006). Challenges for teacher librarians in the 21st century: Connections. Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_66/challenges_for_teacher_librarianship_pt1.html

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S.Ferguson (Ed.), Libraries in the twenty-first century : charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42): Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.