Category: ETL 503 Resourcing the Curriculum

Resourcing the Curriculum

Assessment 2 Part B: Final Reflections on Collections

At the beginning of this subject, ‘Resourcing the Curriculum,’ I was unsure what the subject content entailed. It has been challenging because I have never worked within a school context. Consequently, I never used the Australian Curriculum or any other curriculum relating to children’s formal learning. Therefore, I hadn’t anticipated how comprehensive the process of resourcing the curriculum could be.

As I complete my first session in this degree, I reflect upon how my perceptions of the role have changed from a few months ago. Referring to my first Thinkspace blog post for subject ETL 401, ‘Little Did I Know.’ (Gonye, 2022, March 20) I hadn’t considered the three specific aspects of the Teacher Librarian’s role according to the  Australian School Library Association (ASLA):

  • As a curriculum leader.
  • As an information specialist.
  • As an information manager.

This subject explored in detail many facets of the ‘curriculum leader’. As the Teacher Librarian is a qualified professional who supports the delivery of the curriculum. The Teacher Librarian is not the ‘custodian’ of the books and all knowledge housed within the library. The Teacher Librarian is responsible for curating a collection beyond printed books and journals and includes up-to-date digital materials such as eBooks, movies, websites, apps, music, and other resources accessible on the school network.

Referring to my blog entry titled, ‘My First Annotated Resource List’ (Gonye, 2022, April 26) I was able to research and compile a selection of ten resources relating directly to the Cross Curriculum Priority of Sustainability. The practical application of this first assessment gave me some insight into the depth and breadth of a school library collection.

As with the Annotated Bibliography for Assessment One, the school library collection as a whole needs to be presented as a balanced collection, this is achieved by reviewing the school’s context and acknowledging the needs of the learners in collaboration with other teachers to meet curriculum outcomes successfully.

Building and maintaining a balanced collection is not the same for each school. A one size fits all approach does not apply. The school philosophy, governing curriculum, teaching requirements and students’ learning needs must be considered.

As I read through the entries for Forum 6.1, ‘Editing a Collection Development Policy,’ (CDP), I was surprised to find that many students who worked in a school library could not locate or did not have a written CDP. Cassandra Wall (2022, May 5) pointed out that the obligations, expectations and responsibilities of the Teacher Librarian and the transparency of the library should be documented. Wall was preparing to draft a CDP in collaboration with the school principal and previous Teacher Librarian. Shauna Pollard (2022, May 6) also commented on the lack of CDP but has taken the opportunity to draft and develop a policy that will ‘bring the school library in question into the heart of the school’.

Lauren Halse (2022, May 6) noted that the school library she worked in has a CDP that needed updating to address digital content, selection criteria, selection aids, subscription management, licensing issues, budgeting, access to digital collections and the addition of STEM resources. Halse’s list was comprehensive, as a well-documented CDP should be.

I had never contemplated the CDP as a strategic document. However, according to Braxton (2018) it provides the Teacher Librarian with a blueprint of the vision and mission of the school library. It is a living document that outlines a plan for the Teacher Librarian to implement and manage a course of action for the library collection.

The information provided becomes the basis on which a CDP is written. It is a document that underpins the practices and decisions made concerning the library collection. According to Johnson (2009) the CDP is a multipurpose document that outlines details for planning, allocation of resources, and information for professional training and administration (p.73).

Valenza (2019) promotes using the CDP for strategic planning as it provides a criterion and evidence of how you follow and apply specific library practices. In addition, it relates directly to the school’s mission statement, vision and goals and articulates that the library is part of its overall strategic improvement plan.

It is a document that is made available to the public; it is to be referred to not just by the Teacher Librarian but made available to advise others about how the library and its collection are an integral part of the school’s learning culture. With informed, collaborative decision making as part of the review process for the CDP, the ability to future proof the school library collection will become part of the process of continual growth. Acknowledgment of the continual, rapid changes in the digital information landscape requires various resources to be available within the library. With the infinite expansion of electronic resources available such as eBooks, web-based information and online subscriptions, considerations must be made for accessibility, censorship and copyright restrictions.

In my blog post ‘Referencing Smartcopying for Music Related Copyright Clarification’ (Gonye, 2022, April 26) I was able to refer to the Smartcopy website as the authority for school copyright concerns. However, I was unaware that a specific site was developed for such situations. With these resources documented within the CDP, the Teacher Librarian can refer to the appropriate information when challenged with uncertain copyright protocol.

As the collection grows, it often is physically and digitally located in multiple areas. It is rare for the Twenty-first-century school library to house all of their collection under one roof. The amalgamation of all available resources needs to be viewed as one coherent collection that can be applied for current and future students’ varied learning methods, information seeking and reading for pleasure.

For the collection to flourish in the future, the CDP, as stated by Johnson (2009, p.72) dedicated planning will measure some degree of control over the future. Collaborative, ongoing reviews, assessment, evaluation and implementation of the collection will provide strong measures to safeguard the appropriateness and validity for future teaching and learning scenarios.

During my first semester of this degree, the challenge was conceptualising how I would resource the curriculum as a future Teacher Librarian.

I look forward to implementing my knowledge of collection development practically as a Teacher Librarian working collaboratively with teachers, executives, and other Teacher Librarians to enrich the school’s teaching and learning programs to meet the student population’s needs now and for many more years to come.

 

References

Australian School Library Association. (2014). What is a Teacher Librarian? https://www.asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Braxton, B. (n.d). 500 Hats: The teacher librarian in the 21st Century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/

Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of collection development and management. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI2Nzc1Nl9fQU41?sid=4d39e7f7-b706-462b-9424-fe228ffc284b@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

Valenza, J. (2019, December 31). The case for strategic planning. [Blog comment]. School Library Journal.    The case for strategic planning (slj.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Referencing Smartcopying for Music Related Copyright Clarification

The Smartcopying website is the official guide designed to provide copyright information for schools and TAFE in Australia.

Did you know? Copying activities include:

Scanning, Downloading, Printing, Saving to another device such as a tablet, USB, mobile or hard drive, Photocopying, Taking a digital photo, Performance activities such as playing music and films, Singing songs, Playing instruments, Acting out a play, Reading a book or Reciting a poem to the class.

I searched two subsections of the Smartcopying website to gain insight into what copyright is relevant to the Music strand of the Creative Arts key learning area. Not only do music teachers need to be aware of specific AMCOSm (Australian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society)  and APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) education licences, but all teachers should be able to reference the “Do’s and Don’t’s.”  Any teacher may decide to include aspects of music such as using sheet music and sound recordings etc into their teaching or other educational experiences.

Under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 section 28, teachers and students can:

  • Sing songs and play instruments
  • Play sound recordings using a tape/CD/DVD player, electronic reticulation system, learning management system, interactive whiteboard or virtual classroom software
  • Play a film (VHS, DVD or online film) that contains music using a DVD player, electronic reticulation system or learning management system

Copying Sheet Music in Schools

My daughter is in the senior school band. It is interesting to note that a teacher can copy up to 10% of a music resources book, according to the Australian Copyright Act. That is the same as for any other printed resource. Schools have an agreement with AMCOS to allow schools to make multiple copies. This is beneficial for practising and performing musical pieces of work, for example in a school assembly or musical where multiple groups or classes of students may be working together on the performance. There are, of course, limits depending according to the type of print music, the number of originals and whether the school is Primary or Secondary.

Sound Recordings

Sound Recordings are recorded versions of musical works.  Examples include Apple or Spotify tracks, MP3 files, vinyl, CDs, audio cassettes, reel to reel tapes and any other method for storing sounds. The copyright associated with sound recordings is important because many times audio can be played throughout the school day.  Teachers can upload sound recordings to a school intranet in order to play them in class, but they should remove them, or disable student access to the sounds recordings, as soon as the class is over.

For more clarification on music copyright for school use visit:

 https://smartcopying.edu.au/music-copyright-guide-for-schools/

My First Annotated Resource List

Assessment one for this subject was to compile an annotated bibliography for a Cross Curriculum Priority Area of the Australian Curriculum. No easy task for this student. I have never used the Australian Curriculum or have had the opportunity to integrate a Cross Curriculum Priority into my teaching. So my first step was to read about the three CCPs. I selected Sustainability as I am passionate about creating awareness of caring for our environment and embedding sustainable practices within the classroom and family life.

Next, I was to compile a series of ten resources relating to Sustainability that could be used for students and teachers in Stage One classrooms. The annotated bibliography was more than just a list of ‘favourite’ resources. For high quality, carefully curated school library collection to successfully deliver teaching programs and meet the learning needs of the students, O’Connell (2017) suggests resources are selected for the school community’s needs, goals, mission and priorities. When these are addressed, the result will be a collection of appropriate, high-quality print and digital resources (p.384).

I selected a wide range of formats and delivery modes, including:

Physical: Big Book- Non -Fiction, Games and Picture books.

Digital: Music Video, Television Series and Websites.

I know that I will use my annotated bibliography with future students to cover the broad concepts of Systems, World Views and Futures within the Sustainability Cross Curriculum Priority area.

Reference

O’Connell, J. (2017). School Libraries. In I. Abdullahi (Ed). Global library and information science: A textbook for students and educators. De Gruyter Saur.

 

 

 

The beginnings of Collection Development and Collection Management

 

I have a confession to make. I have never worked in a school library or any library for that matter. So the concepts of collection development and collection management seemed overwhelming. I knew it was a mammoth task to keep any library’s physical and digital resources current and relevant. The Teacher Librarian is responsible for developing and managing the growing collection of resources. Pentland (2022) claims, “Collection development is a science and an art that certified school librarians are specifically trained for” (para.1).

It takes qualified and experienced Teacher Librarians to support the information access and management of the school library. However, it is not just the expertise alone that can keep the collection in check.

Teacher Librarians are guided by their understanding of the unique school context, needs of their students and the curriculum framework. With this knowledge, the Teacher Librarian can participate in the constant practice of keeping the school collection alive. After all, the library is not a book warehouse. Instead, it is a vibrant place of learning for the whole school community.

Developing a school library collection is a continual cycle in which the Teacher Librarian actively participates in the “collection of and access to resources that will meet the instructional requirements as well as the cultural and recreational needs of the community” (Pierce College, 2022, p.2).

The perpetual process is not to be confused with a ‘hamster wheel’ approach where it feels like the task of collection development and management is insurmountable. As the collection grows, any new resources added must be thoughtfully selected and evaluated for the needs of the learners within the school community. The Teacher Librarian is first and foremost a teacher; they interpret the learner’s needs against the curriculum framework that guides their learning, curating content and creating suggestions and applications for their school’s teaching and learning programs.

 

References

Pentland, C. [Knowledge Quest] (2022, January 11). The art and science of collection development. Collection Development. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/the-art-and-science-of-collection-development/

Pierce College. (2022) Library – collection development and materials policy. Pierce College. https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/library-collection-development-policy

 

I am ready to join the GLAM squad

 

I am ready to join the GLAM squad…

I know GLAM is a sector, but it sounds so cool to say, GLAM squad!

GLAM is an acronym for ‘Galleries, libraries, archives and museums.’

The term GLAM is used to refer to the preservation or promotion of culture by providing access to knowledge.

As I start my journey on becoming a qualified Teacher Librarian, I am excited to be part of GLAM.

Not only will I be able to support students with their learning, collaborate with teachers by resourcing the curriculum within a Primary school, I will also be part of something bigger, the GLAM squad.