In my previous professional life as a teacher I was required to approach inquiry-based learning in two very different contexts. The first was as a Cycle 3 Montessori directress, where the entire educational philosophy and all associated pedagogy are grounded in the idea of learning being student-centred, and then as a mainstream Year 3/4 teacher in a seven-class team at a school at the start of its whole-school approach to integrating inquiry-based learning into classroom practice via projects undertaken with assessable items from the cross-curricular priorities.
Both situations established during the planning and preparation stages of these units that explicit teaching still has a clear place and purpose within the context of inquiry-based learning. Taking part in that aspect reinforced the social constructivist pedagogical underpinnings of the approach, especially as regards the differentiation of appropriate scaffolds provided to students.
In neither situation were we encouraged or approached to collaborate with the staff in the library. Admittedly, in the first instance we had a library technician and not a teacher librarian, and in the second context, the library was used as a classroom space for specialist teachers, so the time we had allocated for our class in the library was sufficient only for returning and borrowing books, and the teacher librarian was solely tasked with collection management.
Retrospectively, I am a little dismayed about my practice in both situations. Given the many studies that have shown collaboration in inquiry-based learning to be of benefit to a range of stakeholders (students, teachers, teacher librarians, administrators, and parents, variously) it is a pity that none of us initiated this as I think students missed out on a prime chance to develop their information literacy skills in a personally meaningful context.
I am not inclined to let that opportunity pass by again. Armed with the knowledge I have gleaned from this subject, and with another decade of experience behind me as an educator, I am confident that as a teacher librarian I could justify and initiate collaboration with classroom and specialist teachers, and I would be comfortable articulating the proven value that the collaboration would have for staff and for students as well as achievement levels over time.
My understanding of information literacy has grown exponentially this semester. Ashamedly, it began in my mind as a superficial entity – a fuzzy area where access of and creation with available ICT tools took place. It has evolved to be so much more than that (since last time I was in the classroom full-time)! Now, I understand that the management and operation of ICT tools and creation with them are bracketed by expectations that have developed in sophistication and expanded in their scope with the most recent iteration of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2024). It has become increasingly clear how these learning outcomes play a role in preparing students for a rapidly transforming future.
My growth in conceptualising the role of the teacher librarian in the 21st Century encompasses these understandings, as well as continuing to add to my knowledge of digital and physical collection management.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Association (2024). General Capabilities: ICT Capability. ACARA. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/