It’s one of the main skills that every teacher let alone every working adult needs to practise: time management!
Time has been a significant aspect of the readings in module 6 and I thought there were two key questions being asked in these readings.
- What practical strategies can an information specialist/teacher librarian (TL) use during their day-to-day activities?
I thought it was quite interesting that part of the notes this week even mentioned the idea of keeping tea, coffee and biscuits in the library office as an incentive for the managerial staff members (so that they come back I suppose…). This idea allows the to TL gain an additional task of making all the people who visit the school library feel incredibly welcomed, which I also think is really important. The creation of guide sheets was one of the points that jumped out at me as the continual use of these templates saves time for the TL and also classroom teachers (CT) too. Each of these templates could vary from a newsletter being printed or included on the school’s website every week as well as creating program evaluations which focus on keeping all of the student work samples together in one place. I also thought that it was incredibly important to highlight that the TL is also worthy of having a break in their home/social life rather than bombarding themselves with more work to organise and plan while they’re at home. In short, taking time for yourself once you’ve achieved the small goals for the day.
2. How can the TL be more open and inclusive with their colleagues in a school environment?
I believe it’s incredibly important for the TL to be constantly communicating with other members of staff in particular CT in order to further understand the literacy skills of their students. We are all constantly improving our personal skills and learning new ones, I for one am not musically talented but wanted to expand my knowledge so started learning the ukulele so I can include it in my teaching practice. However some of these skills can tricky to change particularly if we’re set in a certain frame of mind and so criticism can be difficult to handle. Taking criticism can be a tricky task to include in our work, particularly if we aren’t good at taking on those suggestions made by other people (Gilman, 2007). The best thing that we can understand and learn from in these situations is that everyone is different. Providing new ways of addressing a content area can often be a good thing as you view how others might display that knowledge to their class. Having multiple members of staff with similar key ideas is important, particularly when assessing or evaluating students, however each of those staff members may want to gain information on a weekly basis as well as at the end of a unit. For example providing students with the opportunity to present PowerPoint or Smartboard slides as an oral and visual assessment about a relevant topic. Ensuring that we become more open to suggestions that colleagues provide will allow us to view new content in different ways that can assist in our teaching.
Reference:
Gilman, T. (2007). The four habits of highly effective librarians. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved Nov. 2016.
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