Professional portfolio

Part A: Personal Philosophy

An effective teacher librarian is one who centres their teaching philosophy on fostering a lifelong love of learning along with the promotion of information literacy. I believe that the role extends beyond the curation of books and resources to one where the teacher librarian creates an environment of nurturing and inclusivity, encouraging exploration, inquiry, and critical thinking. The empowerment of students for navigating an information dense world, so they can become discerning consumers and creators of information is a key aspect of the role. They are inspirational and aspirational in their practice and are leaders by example and collaboration.

Part B: Thematic Reflections

The year was 2021, and with stars in my eyes and determination aplenty, I embarked on my first subject of my Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) (MEd (TL)) knowing that I would be learning and stretching myself beyond all my previous study. My understanding of the role of a Teacher Librarian (TL) focused on the information sources and skills which could be imparted (Marreiros, 2021b). Now at the other end of the degree, I can sit back and see the breadth and depth of learning in so many areas. For the purposes of this part of the reflection, I will be focusing on three key themes: Information Literacy, Leadership, and Information and Communication Technology in the School Library.

Information Literacy

Information literacy is a concept which has been an area of growth for me throughout my entire degree. As Laretive (2019) defines, information literacy revolves around the capabilities of identifying a need for information, the skills of locating, accessing, evaluating the information, along with managing and using the information in productive and ethical ways (p. 228). Throughout my first subject, Introduction to Teacher Librarianship (ETL401), I went from a basic understanding of what information literacy was, to how a teacher librarian can promote and disseminate it’s importance within a school context (Marreiros, 2021a). The promotion of information literacy from within the context of the school library was explored both within this initial subject through the lens of inquiry learning, but also into my own school setting. The unit of work which I designed in this subject was discussed and adapted to be explored and co-taught with the teacher librarian at my school, where I was teaching a class at the time. While COVID19 lockdowns unfortunately got in the way of executing the unit, it did provide me with a taste of the cooperative planning I dream of for the future.

My love of literature and the avenues which I could see it influencing all pathways of learning, had a major deciding factor in tackling the MEd (TL) (Marreiros, 2022f). Since studying Literature Across the Curriculum (ETL402), I began to see the role which information literacy played within literature as well. While my primary and preschool training has tended to create a tunnel of the earlier years focus for my avenues of research, research such as that by Aillerie (2019) and Julien et al (2018) along with a lived experience of a house currently full of teenagers navigating their own learning journeys has allowed me the opportunity to look to the teenage years and beyond. The concept of transliteracy, and 21^st century skills raised by Aillerie (2019), whereby people navigate information in all forms of media and tools at their disposal, allowed me to deeper understand the concept of information literacy. Indeed my understanding of information literacy through the lens of transliteracy, where the need for explicitly teaching the skills of being literate in a highly multisensory environment is needed now more than ever (Marreiros, 2022e).

Whilst knowledge of information literacy is essential in my role of teacher librarian, I have seen the change in focus in my state’s education department, the NSW Department of Education (DoE), as to how to effectively include this in teaching and planning. The Information Fluency Framework (IFF) (NSW Department of Education, 2021) was first published after I commenced this course and has been an eye opener as to the skills and ages where certain skills should be taught and expected. While the document states that information literacy has been a primary focus of Departmental schools since 1987 and is embedded across all curricula (NSW Department of Education, 2021, p. 4), my understanding and explicit teaching practices have been refined and honed with this teacher librarian specific document. For example, when planning for my library program, I now incorporate elements of innovative, critical and ethical thinking which are appropriate to certain ages of students, such as expecting 10 year olds to be able participate in a discussion around use of images in work, whereas 12 year olds will be able to acknowledge the consequences of unethical image use (NSW Department of Education, 2021, pp. 40-41).

As information literacy crosses the dimensions of information sources, this has implications for my role as a resourcer of the curriculum. Throughout the subject, Resourcing the Curriculum (ETL503), it became clear that in my role as a teacher librarian I needed to assist both students and staff by providing a curated and multi-modal collection. While this was not a surprise, the concept of weeding and refining the library collection which I reflected on in my blog (Marreiros, 2022h), is where I have now come to realise that in doing this task I am allowing primary aged students who do not have the same critical reasoning skills as those with fully developed brains a better opportunity to discover relevant information.

Leadership

In my professional life, before becoming a teacher librarian, I have had the privilege of taking on many different and varied roles, mostly in different education systems. At the ripe old age of 20, a preschool made the decision to hire me as co-director of the establishment, where I, along with an experienced preschool teacher, co-directed the preschool together. This meant that while I was honing my newly graduated teaching skills, I was needing to finetune leadership skills for both administrative tasks, and staff management. Was it a VERY steep learning curve?  – Absolutely! Do I wish I knew what I now know about effective leadership?  – Too right! I did, however learn about leadership needing to be relational for it to be meaningful for me, which is something I now have research to back up, since completing the subject, Teacher Librarian as Leader (ETL504).

Even with my previous experience of leadership positions in education, there has been immense growth in my understanding of leading from the middle. Upon my initial enrolment in ETL504 I was focusing on collaboration and walking alongside staff (Marreiros, 2022d). Since then, I have learnt about the different styles of leadership, such as transformational, distributive and servant (Bier, 2021; Bush & Glover, 2014). Using this knowledge in the creation of a leadership map as part of an assessment task, solidified my understanding of different leadership styles being suited to a variety of roles within a school. Theory knowledge does help inform practice, however, with the lens of servant leadership of leading from the middle, I have challenged myself as to how I can effectively assist my principal in his transformational style of leadership.

One way in which I have strived to accomplish this goal is in the implementation of new syllabi for NSW students. For all primary schools in NSW in 2023 new maths and English syllabi have come into place for the first 3 years of school, with years 3 to 10 to have new syllabi in place from 2024 (NSW Government, n.d.). This change is one which all schools need to grapple with, and a way which I have been looking to implement servant style leadership in my own practice is in the roll-out and learning around the new teaching requirements. The notion of change fatigue, as discussed in my blog post (Marreiros, 2022c), is one that clearly comes to mind with the current education reform. To help alleviate this fatigue, through this roll-out I have been working alongside my principal and assistant principals to see how best to supply teaching staff with resources which will make their teaching and understanding of the curriculum easier. It has also meant that I have kept abreast of upcoming changes, such as when units of work may be supplied by the department and have worked collaboratively with teachers in creating and refining work suitable for the new syllabi. Like Cox & Korodaj (2019) report, a teacher librarian is in a unique position to drive positive change for student outcomes and the school community and I believe that the example of leadership I am showing in the implementation of the new syllabi is just one way I am doing this in my role as a teacher librarian.

Conducting an environmental scan of my school’s digital learning environment (DLE), as part of my subject, Digital Citizenship in Schools (ETL523), allowed me to reflect upon my practice as a digital leader in my school (Marreiros, 2023a). In this scan, which was shared with school leadership, I was able to utilise the backward mapping, as discussed in Holmes et al (2013), which was a new concept to me in ETL504 (Marreiros, 2022c). Since using the tool of an environmental scan in ETL523, I have gone on to conduct one investigating how the school library (and the essential teacher librarian!) can support growth in every student, particularly in literacy and numeracy. While this is still a work in progress, very fruitful discussions have followed with my principal as to how to achieve this, including creating more opportunities to put quality literature in the hands of students and teachers, both at school and beyond.

While my school allocates specialist staff, such as myself, to specific grade level meetings, so not all meetings are needing to be attended, I have felt that it is necessary for me to attend as many grade level meetings within the school as possible, so that I can understand current needs and learn how to serve each grade. I have been particularly conscious of this with the newly founded support unit at my school, where students with additional needs are in these inclusive classrooms. Not only do I have the privilege of teaching these students, but I have been looking at how to reflect all students and families in the literature within the library, creating the mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors (Phillips, 2022) effect which supports the school’s strategic plan of inclusivity and growth for all.

Information and Communication Technology in the School Library

My understanding of the role of a teacher librarian and their involvement in information and communication technology (ICT) is one which has increased with every subject I have completed during my MEd (TL). As someone who is reasonably tech-savvy, and always willing to learn more, I have spent my teaching career utilising whatever technology was available to enhance and develop both my own and student learning. From the early adoption of digital cameras in a preschool for authentic documentation possibilities to teaching remotely through COVID19 lockdowns, I didn’t think I was biased against technology use. However, I have been astonished by the sheer number of moments when I have been surprised by the scope of ICT from studying a number of subjects in my MEd (TL).

Throughout this course I have come to a deeper understanding that literature, which is one of my loves, comes in many forms, including those using ICT capabilities. Indeed, it dawned on me during ETL402 that I had, even as a young child, interacted with several digital forms of literature (Marreiros, 2022a, 2022b, 2022g). While I still prefer a physical book, as do many others (CopyrightAgency, 2017), it has become clearer to me that I need to equip those I am teaching through the library how to make an informed decision in their own choice of information source. The challenge for me in my current role is how can I do this effectively when access to ICT in my school setting is fraught with problems. Apart from sharing recommendations stemming from the DLE environmental scan, which championed a computer lifecycle replacement plan (Marreiros, 2023b), I too have begun to offer more online sources from within the library, such as online databases and streaming programs. With budgetary considerations, it has been helpful to partner with the resources which public libraries offer in such instances too. The concept of change fatigue raised in leadership discussions elsewhere on this site has come into play a little with encouraging the other teachers to adopt some new variety in their literary sources, but leading by example is the approach I am currently taking in this.

The concept of digital citizenship was one which I tackled in ETL523 where my perception of the digital world was expanded and challenged. I had blithely thought that digital safety was the sole realm of my teaching around the digital world, so when I dove into true understanding of digital citizenship I came to understanding the definition of Heick (2021), where the quality of interactions, habits and patterns of consumption have the greatest impact on the interdependence of the natural and digital worlds. From here, resources such as those available at the Common Sense Education (n.d.), the Digital Technologies Hub (Education Services Australia, n.d.) and NSW Digital Citizenship webpages (NSW Department of Education, n.d.) have now become bookmarked and highly frequented from within my library and planning. I also chose to create a school specific resource hub in a website dedicated to the emotional learning framework which the school uses for the natural world and translated it into the digital world (Marreiros, 2023d). Beyond animation not being a long term career prospect for me, I reflected on the process versus product aspect of my own digital learning as a citizen of the hybrid worlds (Marreiros, 2023c); in this I am living up to the title of the blog which I created at the beginning of my Master’s – Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown, where the status quo is not acceptable.

Beyond what is being taught and showcased to students and colleagues in my role as a teacher librarian, how am I using and planning on continuing to use ICT in the library? One of my plans is to continue to adjust and create a more user-friendly library management system for school members to use, highlighting the skills which I have already taught both staff and students, and creating opportunities to find credible sources of information from this central location. I too plan on utilising and embedding the IFF into my teaching practice, where as it states on page 9 of the document (NSW Department of Education, 2021), digital literacy is a thread which runs through all elements of the information fluency continuum, so therefore must be present and championed from the library.

Part C: Professional Development

While I have been looking back on the journey made thus far, it is an opportune time to reflect on the future direction of my practice as a teacher librarian. The document produced by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) along with the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) clearly sets out twelve standards for professional excellence for teacher librarians (Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA),2004). This document, along with the AITSL standards for teacher librarian practice document (Australian Library and Information Association Schools, 2014) allows a clear pathway to be forged for the categories of professional knowledge, practice and commitment to be improved.

The first category of professional knowledge is one which looks at a broad range of knowledge, from how children and young adults become young readers, to understanding information literacy, ICTs impact on life-long learning and current knowledge of library and information practices (ALIA and ASLA, 2004, p. 2). Throughout this course, my growth in knowledge particularly surrounding information literacy and the national standards for library management has been significant. During the subject, Describing and Analysing Education Resources (ETL505), not only did I extend upon my previous user based knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system to one of detailed knowledge about cataloguing reasoning (even if it did permeate dreams!), but it also allowed me to experience the ebbs and flows which occur in life-long learning where challenges will occur (Marreiros, 2021c). Recent experience in my professional placement which involved creating original catalogue records once again made me realise how far I have come from the beginning of my Master’s, but also, how much more learning I could do in this field.

Throughout this course my capacity to engage and improve my professional practice has grown in a number of ways. Firstly, information covered throughout ETL503 allowed me to critically analyse and learn about library policies and procedures so that I have been able to start the process of creating or updating and ensuring that my school library has these in place reflecting my school community. This along with ways to strategically plan and budget for improvements for the library has meant that my ability to achieve standard 2.3 (ALIA and ASLA, 2004, p. 3) is now well within my growing capabilities.

One of the reasons why I took on the challenge of completing my MEd (TL) was my drive to be a lifelong learner myself. While the drive to encourage this aptitude in the students I teach and colleagues I work with has always been there, this course has offered me opportunities to now share newfound expertise, such as current literature knowledge, copyright knowledge or referencing skills with those around me. My school based professional goal of mentoring individual teachers in the use of ICT and the library effectively and authentically is one which was formulated after studies about leading from the middle in ETL504, showcasing growth in standard 3.4 (ALIA and ASLA, 2004, p. 4).

As a teacher librarian I strive to remain abreast of the current issues and research around best practice in both fields of learning. While this degree draws to a close, I know that the trajectory which it has led me on is an invaluable asset for my future learning, be it formal or informal.

References

Aillerie, K. (2019). Teenagers’ information practices in academic settings: What relevance for a transliteracy-based approach? Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(3), 737-745.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000617742463

Australian Library and Information Association and Australian School Library Association. (2004). Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-standards-professional-excellence-teacher-librarians

Australian Library and Information Association Schools. (2014). AITSL standards for teacher librarian practice.  Australian Library and Information Association. https://www.alia.org.au/common/Uploaded%20files/ALIA-Docs/Communities/ALIA%20Schools/AITSL-Standards-for-teacher-librarian-practice-2014.pdf

Bier, M. C. (2021). Servant leadership for schools. Journal of Character Education, 17(2), 27-46.

Bush, T., & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: what do we know? School Leadership & Management, 34(5), 553-571.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2014.928680

Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Everything you need to teach digital citizenship. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

CopyrightAgency. (2017, February 28). Most teens prefer print books. copyright.com.au. https://www.copyright.com.au/2017/02/teens-prefer-print-books/

Cox, E., & Korodaj, L. (2019). Leading from the sweet spot : Embedding the library and the teacher librarian in your school community. Access, 33(4), 14-25.

Education Services Australia. (n.d.). Digital Technologies Hub. https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/

Heick, T. (2021, December 13). The definition of digital citizenship. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/definition-digital-citizenship/

Holmes, K., Clement, J., & Albright, J. (2013). The complex task of leading educational change in schools. School Leadership & Management, 33(3), 270-283.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2013.800477

Julien, H., Gross, M., & Latham, D. (2018). Survey of information literacy instructional practices in U.S. Academic libraries. College & Research Libraries, 79(2), 179-199.  https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.79.2.179

Laretive, J. (2019). Information literacy, young learners and the role of the teacher librarian. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 68(3), 225-235.  https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2019.1649795

Marreiros, K. (2021a, May 21). Deeper and deeper. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2021/05/21/deeper-and-deeper/

Marreiros, K. (2021b, March 12). Reflective reckonings: Assessment 1. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2021/03/12/reflective-reckonings-assessment-1/

Marreiros, K. (2021c, September 27). So I had this dream… Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2021/09/27/so-i-had-this-dream/

Marreiros, K. (2022a, May 21). Engagement with stories. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/05/21/engagement-with-stories/

Marreiros, K. (2022b, March 5). Future of children’s literature – my vision. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/03/05/future-of-childrens-literature-my-vision/

Marreiros, K. (2022c, October 2). Learning and learning – a reflection of the journey thus far. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/10/02/leading-and-learning-a-reflection-of-the-journey-thus-far/

Marreiros, K. (2022d, July 2). The likelihood of leadership. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/07/02/the-likelihood-of-leadership/

Marreiros, K. (2022e, May 22). Logical literary learning. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/05/22/logical-literary-learning/

Marreiros, K. (2022f, February 26). Pre-subject ponderings. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/02/26/pre-subject-ponderings/

Marreiros, K. (2022g, May 2). Technology and reading – is there a synergy? Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/05/02/technology-and-reading-is-there-a-synergy/

Marreiros, K. (2022h, January 29). Weed it! Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2022/01/29/weed-it/

Marreiros, K. (2023a, May 6). Approach to teaching digital citizenship. Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2023/05/06/approach-to-teaching-digital-citizenship/

Marreiros, K. (2023b). ETL523 202330 environmental scan report & critical reflection post [Unpublished paper]. Charles Sturt University.

Marreiros, K. (2023c, April 2). A new career calling? Stepping Bravely Into the Unknown – This Teacher’s Journey to becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/sbitu/2023/04/02/a-new-career-calling/

Marreiros, K. (2023d). PBL in a digital world. https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/pbl-in-a-digital-world/home

NSW Department of Education. (2021). Information Fluency Framework. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/Information_fluency_framework.pdf

NSW Department of Education. (n.d.). Digital citizenship. https://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/

NSW Government. (n.d.). Curriculum reform timeline. https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/about/strategies-and-reforms/curriculum-reform/timeline

Phillips, J. (2022, August 16). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors: A metaphor for reading and life. Great Schools Partnership. https://www.greatschoolspartnership.org/mirrors-windows-and-sliding-glass-doors-a-metaphor-for-reading-and-life/