Category Archives: Module Reflections

What attributes makes a good leader?

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I have been fortunate in my professional life to have worked with some amazing and inspiring leaders. They each have their unique abilities and characteristics and have been effective in different areas and roles within the school and with different types of tasks.

I worked with Margaret in my first years of teaching. As AP, She provided a positive model of how to run a class to me as a very new teacher. She offered feedback that was timely, useful and within my zone of proximal development. She encouraged teamwork and facilitated collaborative planning and preparation, encouraging each member of the team to rely on the others, ultimately showing that each member was reliable, capable and trusted to do their job well. Her special skill lay in servant leadership and team dynamics.

A few years later I worked for AP and later DP, Rae. She had a way of keeping the workload and expectations manageable. In her everyday, get the job done, arrive at the end of the week, task oriented leadership, she kept the team on track by setting realistic goals, providing plenty of notice about work that needed doing and taking care to keep student learning at the forefront of all discussions and decision making. She developed positive relationships with all members of the school community and was proactive in dealing with issues as they arose. This meant that students, parents, teachers and the school leadership all felt a sense of shared direction and support and that she had their best interests at heart.

Currently I am working with a teacher leader who, although relatively new to teaching, brings a wealth of experience in other industries with her as well as experience bringing her own two boys through the special education sector. Jo has a way of listening and getting to the heart of a problem quickly and succinctly. She is intelligent as well as intensely practical and identifies problems before they begin, allowing her to be proactive and avoid potential pitfalls. Jo asks questions and really considers the answers. She identifies those people who know about topics she is investigating and asks for help as needed. Similarly, she offers advice and counsel to others as needed and people listen. She is a reflective practitioner and skilled communicator.

In thinking about the leadership qualities demonstrated by these leaders, I see that the attributes that make a good leader are:

great communicator
reflective practitioner
excellent listener
proactive
considered, thoughtful and measured
collaborative
a model of best practice

Leadership and Advocacy

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This evening I read two readings for module 6.1:Kachel, DelGuidice & Luna (2012) and Bonanno & Moore (2009). In considering how my perceptions of the leadership role of teacher librarians has changed, it struck me that I had only been considering ways in which the teacher librarian could lead programs that influence teaching and learning activities, programs that serve and assist the faculty, leadership and community. I had not considered the importance of recruiting and leading members of the school community: students, teachers, leaders, parents and others, in support of the library program itself. I had missed the seemingly subtle but actually vital difference between promotion and advocacy. Of course, if the school library program is not successful, lacks the resources to be effective or is invisible in the school, it can not possibly have any influence at all on student learning regardless of leadership style. Advocacy for the school library program must, therefore, be seen as essential in the role of the teacher librarian, not for the self-serving reason of keeping our jobs, but because of the advantages the skilled execution of that job provides student learning (the central business of schools).

In assignment 1 I wrote about teacher librarians using both servant leadership and instructional leadership to influence student learning. I had an inkling that there was more to the idea of teachers and teacher librarians being leaders from the middle and this module has solidified that view, fleshed it out and given it a name: teacher leadership. A subject to which I hope to return.

Bonanno, K. & Moore, R. (2009).  Advocacy: Reason, responsibility and rhetoric.  https://kb.com.au/content/uploads/2014/08/Keynote-Advocacy.pdf

Kachel, D. e., DelGuidice, M. & Luna R. (2012). Building champions in the school community. In D. Levitov (Ed.), Activism and the school librarian: Tools for advocacy and survival. (pp. 85-98). ABC_CLIO, LLC.

 

The Pointy End

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What does it mean to be “at the heart of the school”? This is a phrase I have heard quite a bit over the last few years as I have undertaken the study in this course. We want libraries and teacher librarians to be at the centre, the heart learning and the school. But what does that actually look like? Today I had a thought. And it is this:

21st Century Learning is about problems. Defining them, investigating them, seeking, proposing and testing possible solutions, communicating and then applying new knowledge. The 21st Century education is not about memorising lots and lots of facts. It is about learning to find, evaluate, use and think about facts and information. This is the specialist area of teacher librarians. Knowledge management, fact finding, fact connection and evaluating is our schtick – our bread and butter. Teacher librarians, then, are at the pointy end of 21st Century education. Far from being a dying breed, relegated to the dusty innards of a book shed, armed with an RFF roster, a date stamp and supply of unfortunately coloured twin sets, teacher librarians need to be leading, modelling, reflecting on and investigating 21st Century learning in our schools, sharing our skills and new knowledge with our colleagues as well as our students.

My focus now needs to be on how we actually go about this. 40 minutes a week with 2 classes in the room on a fixed schedule 7 periods a day 5 days a week poses a challenge in terms of practicality – actually having the time during each lesson to accomplish all that is needed and give students time to participate, explore and partake in hands on learning as well as manage borrowing time requires exquisite time and classroom management skills. I am not sure it is actually possible and so a new way of thinking about the problem is needed – an opportunity to engage in some problem based learning myself!

Module 3.2: Conflict resolution

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I was struck in this module by the TED Talk given by Campbell ad Clarke (2015) in which the presenters discuss the desirability of using conflict to promote creativity and innovation by looking at situations from other perspectives. I think this is a skill that can work in an educational setting, given the right people involved. Both parties would need to come to the discussion prepared to hear the perspectives of the other before any progress could be made. This is a skill that can be modelled, taught and expected by leaders both of teachers and students. Most people do not go into situations of conflict just to be oppositional (though, it must be acknowledged that some people are bull-headed). I take the view that perhaps the other party in the conflict knows or feels something I don’t know about. If I take the time to investigate why they think or feel the way they do, I can understand their perspective more clearly. Perhaps they may have a point. And perhaps not. I will admit, though, that I am more likely to spend time and effort on these issues if the person I am in conflict with is someone who’s opinion I usually respect. This I have the luxury to indulge because I am not currently their leader. If I were to become their leader, I would need to change this. Taking the self-assessment, results show that I am relatively good at compromise and collaboration, but also score above half-way for avoidance, competing and accommodating. I believe this is probably true and reflects my tendency to approach conflicts differently with different people. I would like to improve my skills in turning conflict into an opportunity to grow by exploring other perspectives. I think this could be a very powerful tool in the right hands.

 

Campbell, C.M & Clarke, S. [TEDx Talks ]. (2015).  Conflict – Use it, don’t defuse it [Video]. YouTube.  https://youtu.be/o97fVGTjE4w

Distribution of leadership

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What strategies to take you from TL, the keeper and stamper of the books and the quiet space (library) (how many of our colleagues perceive TLs), to become something different?

The role of the TL is so much more complex than many of our colleagues realise. We are the keeper of the books, though scanning has taken the place of stamping in most schools. We are the keepers of the (sometimes) quiet space, but we also are leaders in our learning communities. Among our colleagues, we form communities of practise and learning. Through collaboration we can both model and learn new teaching approaches, we can pose questions and encourage ways of thinking that previously lurked unrecognised in a TR cupboard. We can collaborate on curriculum development, integration of technology and information skills into the wider curriculum, attaching a genuine purpose to the skills students must learn in these areas.

The space we keep is not just quiet. It is a cone of silence. We listen to peoples’ troubles, concerns, frustrations and annoyances and provide a prodigious amount of chocolate and bickies to keep them coming back. By listening to our colleagues both individually and as a group, by keeping our ears to the ground we can start to recognise patterns and point them in the direction of assistance. We can recognise and celebrate the achievements of our colleagues and are in a position to communicate and promote various initiatives within the school and from the leadership that aim to address the frustrations. In an ideal world, the principal is in a position to provide visionary leadership – to develop transformational goals and map the pathways to success (Ingram, 2017). They motivate and inspire their staff to keep them on the paths set out. The DPs provide the transactional leadership – they keep the wheels in motion, putting out the spot fires and dealing with the day to day operations of the school, keeping the big picture in mind. The APs also provide transactional leadership, keeping the ball rolling and dealing with the everyday smooth running of their stage. The TL provides the servant leadership – focusing on trust, collaboration, empathy and ethics (Burkus, 2010). The TL works to promote the best interests of colleagues, students and the community.

Each leader has role to play in the success of the school. In this way, leadership in the school is often actually a type of distributed leadership – not because some leaders are responsible for different key learning areas, or certain initiatives, but because they are responsible for providing the very different types of leadership needed to keep the school both ticking over and reaching for the next milestone in their improvement journey.

References

Ingram, D. (2019, Fevruary 4). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. David Burkus. http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

CSU Library

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Go to the CSU Library and explore the library site. How does this library change information sources to information resources? Record 5 items in your notes and consider relevance in the school library context.

 

I am unable to access the physical CSU library due to location, so i evaluated the library website. As CSU is a university with a special interest and skill in distance education, I feel that this is an appropriate method of observing the services offered to distance students like myself. I have grouped my observations into 5 groups:

  1. organisation of information sources by subject
  2. educational offerings such as tutorials and workshops
  3. book-based and digital resource lending
  4. Ask A Librarian service
  5. community services such as access for high schools and alumni

The CSU library offers students studying particular subjects curated readings that are searchable by subject as well as by topic, author and keywords. This service includes reserve and e-reserve, reading lists, industry specific database access, but also includes teams of librarians dedicated to particular disciplines. The CSU library employs:

These teams are responsible for selection and deselection and curation of discipline-specific resources. Employing focused teams of specialist librarians allows the library to ensure it is providing the most comprehensive, up-to-date, relevant resources for students and academic staff. These teams can collaborate with teaching staff on course development and resource provision to ensure the collection is as relevant and current as possible and meets the needs of students and academic staff alike. In school libraries, this is done on a much smaller scale. Usually the teacher librarian collaborates with class teachers or subject teams to do the same job as the faculty teams at CSU library: ensuring teachers and students have access to current, relevant resources.

The CSU library offers students workshops, tutorials and recorded webinars on aspects of information literacy, including assignment writing advice, research assistance, digital citizenship advice etc. Students can access this information at point of need or can peruse more general subjects at their leisure. In the school library, these skills are often taught in library lessons or during one-on-one student assistance or booked classes. In high schools, it may be appropriate to include some similar resources on the library website.

The print and digital collection is made available to students and staff of the university through the Primo interface. Using authorised access points along with browsing options, library users can discover resources that suit their needs and can request these resources be posted or digitised for distance students. Providing access to a variety of databases as well as interlibrary loans provides access to a greater variety of resources than would be available in a traditional print-based lending library. Teacher librarians can work to form community partnerships with local public libraries as well as specialist collections such as the Henry Parkes Equity Centre Library in order to increase the offerings for the school community.

The Ask A Librarian service assists students and staff by providing research assistance and providing help to intellectually access the information resources available through the library. By responding to requests for information not only with the answer to the question, but with an explanation as to how that answer was obtained, librarians can model for patrons how information seeking can be undertaken. Teacher librarians do this in schools everyday, though usually in person. Recently the Softlink team added an “Ask the library” button to the LMS Oliver, allowing students to ask questions remotely, which may be particularly useful for students who wish to investigate sensitive or personal subjects.

The CSU library offers access to its collections and services for alumni and high school students, increasing the information opportunities for students and, simultaneously raising the profile of the university and university library in the community.

ETL504 Hopes and Dreams

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This subject advertises that it will be about leadership for teacher librarians. It is my hope that I will learn techniques that I can use to help my teacher colleagues engage in meaningful collaboration with me and my information colleagues, as well as some that may help me to work productively with the school leadership to ensure that the library program contributes to and helps to steer the strategic directions of the school as a whole. I hope I will come to recognise and more fully understand the needs of the school leadership and how I and my colleagues can contribute to the success of the whole school community.

Previous subjects have pointed out the importance of the role of the teacher librarian in curriculum leadership and I am looking forward to learning and implemented techniques to accomplish this. I wonder if I will learn more about the system-wide “bigger picture” and where the school library fits in. I wonder if there will be techniques considered for leading and managing other staff in the library setting, as this is an area I feel I could develop quite a bit.

Expanding free reading ETL402

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Today I read some really very interesting articles about recreational reading. Krashen (2011) lays out the results of a variety of studies that, taken together, indicate that regular sustained, silent reading (SSR) results in better vocabulary, spelling, comprehension, writing, test performance, general knowledge and increased reading outside of the classroom. Fisher & Frey (2018) point out the advantages that are to be had from increasing the volume of reading students engage in outside of school They suggest that access to books – which should ideally be on a 7 books/student ratio in the classroom and 20/student in the school library – is not sufficient on its own to increase reading volume and must be backed up with teaching choosing strategies and book recommendations from people close to the students – teachers, peers, parents etc. They discuss two strategies I had not been able to articulate previously:

  • Golden lines – students share the best line from what they are reading at the moment
  • Blessed books – teachers share a short recommendation multiple times per week, including title, plot summary, character descriptions and general thoughts on the book, then place the book front facing on a special shelf. Students are invited to contribute to the blessed books also. I think these strategies could translate to the school library program well. Students could write brief recommendations for books, placing them in pride of place.

Fisher and Frey (2018) also describe the use of mini book clubs for students reading the same text by choice. I think this could be used in library lessons by having pairs of students work together to select books for the other to read, ones that they themselves have read  (or we have multiple copies so they can read it together) in the hope of prompting discussion about what they are reading.

 

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2018). Raise reading volume through access, choice, discussion, and book talks. The Reading Teacher. 72 (1) 89–97

Krashen, Stephen D. (2011). Free voluntary reading. ABC-CLIO, LLC.

 

Transliteracy

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Kalogeras (2014) describes media convergence as the flow of content across multiple media platforms. Transliteracy is the ability to combine information from these multiple platforms into an integrated whole. My school library has done this well in the non-fiction domain, offering platforms such as the print collection, internet access, subscriptions to World Book Online and the creation of digital pathfinders for various units of work that incorporate primary sources, video and audio content, artwork etc for use by students and class teachers in their studies, mainly within HSIE.

The same, however, can not be said for the fiction collection. The only offering, aside from the print collection, is a subscription to Storybox Library. There are currently no audiobooks, ebooks, DVDs, games or websites included in the collection. This is an area which I would like to learn more about. I need to develop my knowledge of strategies to be leveraged, resources to be sought out and the best methods of making these available to the school community. Many of our students have ereaders – I have seen them use them for silent reading activities. I think we are missing an opportunity here. I hope that this module will provide some of the answers and suggest areas for further investigation in order to pitch to the TL and the school leadership.

 

Kalogeras, S. (2014)Transmedia storytelling and the new era of media convergence in higher education. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1057/9781137388377

Book Apps and Ebooks

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How much do these define the story? How does this impact on my practise?

Book apps are constantly changing, needing updating, require available technology to use them and are of mixed quality. But they are available 24/7, multiple copies can be sought relatively cheaply and they can be highly engaging for students. So, how much does the format dictate the story? I would say that it is very much dependent on the story and the app producers working together. There is no doubt that the potential exists for book apps to be very high quality and there are criteria available (eg. Yokota & William, 2014) that teacher librarians can use to ensure quality is maintained and the resource adds value to the collection. In order for these to be used regularly in classrooms in my school, they would have to offer something valuable that is not available from print books. The appeal I can see would be mainly in the younger years, a time at which actually accessing and logging into devices available is such a phaff that it would be a fairly painful exercise. As such, the pay-off would have to be LARGE. I can definitely see appeal in these apps for reading for pleasure and I would love to be able to offer them to families for use after school and at weekends, but I am fairly confident that this is not possible as far as apps go, and sharing of the individually purchased copies of books within those apps. In fact, thinking about how that would logistically work given the constraints of the ET4L environment, using Windows only (not iOS or Android) one would have to be very careful about what one signed up for.

Ebooks, on the other hand, hold much more realistic value. For students to be able to download these in a browser based way to be read on a tablet/desktop/ereader depending on what they have access to, is a much more do-able proposition. One would have to be very careful about whether the ebooks available were worth the cost, and added something to the text that traditional print does not. Access to books, be they fiction or non-fiction, 24 hours/day and from any device would certain be an advantage. I can’t see it ever overtaking the print collection, but it could certainly augment it. This is something I would really like to look into further for my library.

 

Yokota, J. & William, H. T. (2014). Picture books in the digital world. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577-585. http://www.readingteacher.com/