ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader

Contributing to my Thinkspace blog throughout this session has allowed me to develop a further understanding of the different leadership styles that Teacher Librarians (TL) display in their school community. When commencing this course I wanted to identify the other tasks that a TL undertakes as part of their job in the school library (Burns, 2019a). For example, at the start of the course my main interaction with the TL involved being part of weekly professional development sessions that they would run. I now have a better understanding that the TL is an individual who collaborates with so many people as they strive to become a transformational leader and support staff when changes are being made to 21^st century classrooms and the school library (Burns, 2019d).

I have always appreciated the TL for being driven and passionate to assist teachers and students in their school community. I really enjoyed learning about the important qualities that these leaders are able to possess. Some of these qualities include vision, courage, judgement and resilience which encourages the TL to be constantly collaborating with their colleagues (Burns, 2019b). It also means that the TL is seeking to extend their connections to leaders in other areas of the school community, including the technology team, and how they can contribute to making the school library relevant for the 21^st century.

While working on case study scenarios, I found it incredibly useful to communicate through the use of emailing and the discussion board in our group forum (Group 13, 2019). Judith in our group demonstrated great instructional leadership at the start and throughout our case studies. Most of the contributions that I made can be viewed through a servant leadership perspective as I always made sure to contribute continuously to our group discussions and provide my individual thoughts when creating the final responses.

Our group agreed to take turns in organising and submitting the final response for each case study. I always strived to be organised and respond efficiently to whole group messages. I found it incredibly useful to have everyone contribute their own thoughts and often first-hand experiences, as we worked together to come up with a constructive response.

I appreciated that the case studies could allow for a more practical application to many of the tasks that a school librarian has to perform as part of their leadership role. Following the submission of our group response for case study 3, I documented my thoughts on my Thinkspace blog to evaluate the qualities that every group member was able to display (Burns, 2019c). Unfortunately one of our group members didn’t contribute in our discussion, although I understood that we all work in an incredibly busy profession and sometimes we can’t attempt everything.

Overall, I enjoyed hearing the different perspectives that were brought forward from each group member throughout the case studies and appreciated the range of literacy articles that were depicted throughout the module readings. I’ve been able to develop a new understanding for how the TL can lead throughout a variety of roles as well as knowing that it’s okay to ask for help from colleagues and students too.

References

Burns, S. (2019a, July 18). Re: Introductions [Online discussion comment]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42385_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78888_1&forum_id=_164193_1&message_id=_2359025_1

Burns, S. (2019b, August 4). Important attributes for a teacher librarian [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2019/08/04/important-attributes-for-a-teacher-librarian/

Burns, S. (2019c, August 16). New online experience [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2019/08/16/new-online-experience/

Burns, S. (2019d, September 5). Changing the library environment in the 21^st century [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2019/09/05/changing-the-library-environment-in-the-21st-century/

Group 13. (2019, September) Case Study 4 [Online discussion forum]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/forum?action=list_threads&course_id=_42385_1&nav=group_forum&group_id=_49723_1&conf_id=_87669_1&forum_id=_170446_1

Becoming an innovative planner doesn’t just happen over night, a lot of understanding and determination is practised to allow Teacher Librarians (TL) to succeed in all events and learning in the school library. Throughout this course, I have been further developing my understanding of what it means to lead and innovate not only people that work in the library but also what the library can look like when focusing on new things that can purchased and included in the library collection in the near future.

The TL has the enormous task of providing news creative ways of displaying learning in their library as well as being realistic with the amount of new resources that can be purchased with the yearly library budget. The real life example provided in our readings this week, got the local community library involved to assist with new ways of thinking as well as understanding that other services can be beneficial to student learning. Another way the TL can involve their students is by providing them with display areas for the work they have been completing in class. These displays can be situated all around the library, particularly near entrances or walkways so that visitors can admire the creative and hard work that students have been doing in the school library. I think building these relationships with students can be incredibly beneficial for the TL as they can also have personal discussions about what they would like to see when organising new displays or learning areas particularly for events such as book week.

I also certainly appreciated the notes provided by the Western Australian School Library Association (2009) newsletter as it encourages staff members to notice the early warning signs of any issues with building structure. Fixing these small issues can most definitely allow the TL to put in place any disaster plans in order to understand methods of salvaging any resources that have been impacted by floods so that they don’t have to come back to their school libraries with little to nothing in the collection.

Reference:

Western Australian School Library Association. (2009). Preparing for the end of the world: Are you ready for a library disaster? WASLA Newsletter. Retrieved from http://wasla.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/WASLA-Term-2-NewsletterE.pdf

Makerspaces, I have seen them done before in classrooms and I really would like to see first hand what these learning areas look like. They contribute to this new level of collaboration, not to mention allowing for so much interaction to begin to occur in these learning environments. This learning space was definitely the most interactive area that was discussed in my readings this week and I definitely appreciate the new levels of interactive practice that are taking place in 21st Century libraries.

The Alliance for Excellent Education (2016) looks at all these levels as different methods of preparing the Teacher Librarian (TL) to be prepared to the best of their ability so they can encourage collaboration. This collaboration includes multiple ways of readiness:

• Designs collaborative spaces
• Builds instructional partnerships
• Empowers students as creators
• Curates digital resources and tools
• Facilitates professional learning
• Ensures equitable digital access
• Invests strategically in digital resources
• Cultivates community partnerships
• Advocates for students privacy
• Leads beyond the library

Each of the collaborative ways facilitates a new way of interacting with other users of the library, whether they are students, teachers or parent visitors. Everyone who is continually accessing this library environment has this opportunity to learn and develop skills, both new and old, with the cooperation of the TL in the school library. Maintaining this tie to work together will encourage more staff or students to gain essential research skills and communicate with the TL in order to build upon their existing knowledge.

Reference:

Alliance for Excellent Education (2016). Future ready librarians. Future Ready Schools. Retrieved from http://1gu04j2l2i9n1b0wor2zmgua.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Library_flyer_download.pdf.

The Teacher Librarian (TL) has this incredibly important job of maintaining constant connections with both their library team and also the Classroom Teachers (CT) that they are able to work with. Working together with these colleagues provides more opportunities to collaborate and work together in enhancing learning, particularly so that it can benefit the students and their learning experiences too. It’s not just the students that we teach that are constantly learning, both TL and CT are able to “bounce ideas” off each other. This allows further ideas to be developed as they can often involve how a new unit of work can implement the use of more technology or even how more inquiry based learning can be used in teaching.

Collay (2011, p. 84) notices that leadership is not only found from someone who carries out ideas, but is someone that has a visionary that can be implemented and planned “behind the scenes.” Allowing this plan to slowly build over time demonstrates that the TL can work with their colleagues to improve and work together in demonstrating new ways to present information, whether that be in programming or in teaching lessons.

Watanabe-Crockett (2018) also identifies that good learners make knowledge their own, particularly when poorly constructed visions need to be worked on in order to finish what’s only partially built. In this process, the TL is able to build a bigger and better knowledge structure by working with their colleagues. Having the opportunity to plan and organise times throughout the school term will allow for individuals to start working together in teams and communicating more effectively with each other. Once a team is built they can then strive to work on building new formal and informal learning experiences together. These experiences can range from whole staff Professional Learning time to discussing with stage teams on how to use new applications on class iPads.

References:

Collay, M. (2011). Everyday teacher leadership: Taking action where you are. John Wiley & Sons, 75-108. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018, December 12). The 7 top characteristics that define good learners [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/7-characteristics-define-good-learners

It certainly was interesting to interact and collaborate to give a response to case study 3 this week. I definitely could notice the different thoughts that each person was able to contribute (apart from one of our group members who hasn’t commented on any of our discussions which is a bit sad). This way of interacting in an online discussion setting certainly is very interesting and a new concept that I have never used during my studies. It definitely allowed for group members to provide their personal thoughts as well as being willing to contribute and make decisions together as a whole group. I certainly thought I contributed as much as I could, making sure to do my own personal research on our issue; the poisonous work environment that was presented in the case study scenario. We started communicating through email but I definitely thought it wasn’t as reliable and coherent as the wiki format that was provided in our group space.

Overall I am looking forward to the next one as it created a new source of online interaction (particularly for study) and allowed for presenting multiple perspectives or views to be discussed.

Managing and leading part of the school library (or any part of the school environment for that matter) is vastly different; which can be a good thing and also a bad thing. The idea that a Teacher Librarian (TL) has the ability to lead from the middle is an interesting recurring concept from the last couple of weeks. This ability continues to build my own thinking of someone who is constantly observing the different areas of a school library, or whole school community, in order to understand the learning areas that may need further attention. However managing and leading are two vastly different terms; management focuses on maintaining a specific environment (like a school library) in comparison to a leader who has a vision or the ability to inspire others to develop multiple levels of problem solving.

Gottlieb (2012) states that “when you lead from the middle you are leading by example” which can be an incredibly powerful influence for those individuals that work with you in any environment. Once you set a certain standard, the colleagues you work with will be pushed to do the best that they can in order to build trust with one another before being able to work together. Building some form of relationship with all colleagues is vital in encouraging this leadership as well as slowly implementing new changes that others may be able to comment on once a strong working environment has been established. If the working environment is not treated well, the innovation for change by the TL will not be well received which can impact how people work together. This means that communication and appreciation for one another should be further developed to maintain a continual rapport with one another that enhances this teaching environment. Therefore having the TL lead from the middle can create this sense of team building and example setting that encourages others to do the same when working in the school library environment.

Reference:

Gottlieb, H. (2012). Leading from the middle: Bringing out the best in everyone [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://creatingthefuture.org/leading-from-the-middle-bringing-out-the-best-in-everyone/

I’m sure we’re all quite familiar with the “change is always good” line that we constantly hear from people in our lives or even from characters in films and television shows. Does this mean that change will impact how a person feels when it happens to them? A lot of the time, yes that is the case. During my time as a primary school teacher, I have learnt to adapt to change when faced with working in a new environment. This might simply be the change in bell times or how a literacy or numeracy session is planned for a particular class. I know I’m always striving to learn new skills, often through technology, that will improve the way I view teaching content in elaborate ways. For example, during my last session at CSU I learnt about the idea of introducing students to guided inquiry learning which to me sounds incredibly open-ended and expansive for the way we think.

However there are people, yes I have seen them in schools before, that struggle or refuse to learn a new technological skill because it seems like a foreign language to them. The concept I thought was essential for open-ended learning is the concept of transformation leaders that encourage and support classroom teaching in order to ensure new ways that knowledge can be portrayed for the students. Ideally it is the students who will use this new or existing technology to enhance their knowledge and vocabulary as well as think creatively in different learning scenarios. If the Teacher Librarian (TL) makes themselves readily available for questioning and making their presence known throughout the school community then confidence will build when it comes to inquiry based learning or new technology being introduced in teaching. I for one have observed a range of TL that either stress over small things that could be completed by others or know when to take a step back and understand where they should prioritise their work. I thought it was interesting that Bailey (2013) mentions the idea of seeing our thoughts as events or clouds which can be completed and move on so that we can then experience new and exciting learning. Having the TL available to communicate with their colleagues is an incredibly beneficial skill to have as they can ensure new programs and applications are being used in classrooms. A great example I have seen in schools is the implementation of Stick-Bots in order to create new stories and insight students to use their imagination. If we’re able to encourage this technology then we can encourage each other to use it effectively and understand how these programs can work. This ensures that staff members are aware of where it fits into their students’ learning.

Reference:

Bailey, A. (2013). 10 ideas to help teachers beat stress. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/nov/06/teachers-beat-stress-10-ideas

Becoming a successful school leader must take a lot of hard work as there seems to be SO MANY attributes that go into this important role. The amount of communication that a school leader has with their colleagues definitely is demonstrated both constantly over a short period of time and also building long term relationships with others. Each school leader can change depending on the role that they are currently working in; for example a classroom teacher might be currently striving to work up to becoming a stage executive after several continuous years at a school. However an individual school leader might just be hoping to improve their teaching qualifications so they can become more involved with groups in the school community (i.e. extra-curricular courses for students or part of the library body). No matter the amount of experience or level of qualification, if an individual doesn’t work together with their colleagues there is no way a team can be properly motivated to improve and be the best they can be.

Sutcliffe (2013) highlighted the importance of key qualities that schools look for in a leader. These include:

1. Vision – formulating and shaping future events based on ideas and purpose.
2. Courage – leaders that show determination, willpower and patience to complete tasks.
3. Passion – having motivation to take personal interest in student’s learning through teaching.
4. Emotional intelligence – empowering staff and students to demonstrate great empathy for each other.
5. Judgement – making wise decisions or the right call.
6. Resilience – striving to do their best and never being afraid to ask for help where needed.
7. Persuasion – confident communicators and storytellers that motivate others to do their best.
8. Curiosity – looking to the current situations that need attending and looking to the future.

Each of these qualities is vital in expanding the level of involvement and cooperation a group of colleagues can obtain from each other by learning together with the assistance of the school leader. The Teacher Librarian (TL) can have numerous roles and responsibilities in their position as they aim to ensure teaching and learning is relevant to their students’ needs. Digital transformation is becoming even more influential in maintaining real world learning scenarios, which encourages both the TL and students to work together in enhancing learning experiences through new frameworks (Digital Promise, 2016). When technology programs become updated, the need for more training and updates of knowledge is vital, which results in the TL becoming the middle leader that encourages other team members to learning these professional technological skills that can enhance teaching. Having the TL as the middle leader ensures that they are visible within the school community and constantly communicating with the entire school cohort.

References:

Digital Promise (2016). The new librarian: Leaders in the digital age. In SCIS Connections. Retrieved from https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-96/the-new-librarian-leaders-in-the-digital-age/

Sutcliffe, J. (2013). The eight qualities of successful school leaders. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/sep/24/eight-qualities-successful-school-leaders

Every school is constantly encouraging teachers and training staff to improve the level of interaction students have with their learning, particularly when it focuses on a real world example. I was amazed with some of the new Virutal/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) technology that is being introduced to NSW schools this past week in Professional Learning (PL). The technology is now providing so many opportunities for students to interact both with each other and with applications that encourage creativity through imaginative thinking skills. One of the examples that was provided during PL was for students to take 360 degree photos of classrooms or open playground areas so they can create their own augmented reality environment. Students have been able to alter these environments using Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) skills to reflect creativity and provide working samples for creative story writing or during research project time.

I have been reflecting over the following question (particularly in regards to how technology is now enabling students to create their own learning environments): How does the school library contribute to success in the school? This question can open up so many opportunities for students to learn whether it be in a physical setting or online. Having the opportunity to overlap multiple curriculum areas into lessons allows for students to demonstrate not only literacy skills when they enter the library but also interactive ICT skills. The Teacher Librarian (TL) can therefore encourage students to strive for success particularly when focusing on project based learning that harnesses the use of ICT programs to achieve a variety of solutions to open-ended learning. The library can be an important place for students to be encouraged to generate ideas, plan and process their learning through technology (ACARA, n.d). This learning process can be guided by the TL so that succinct communication can be made to the Classroom Teacher (CT) in order to identify where each student is progressing in a particular unit of work. Encouraging students to be practical in real-world situations allows the TL to provide digital links that can assist them in broadening their understanding of a particular topic. By doing this the students are able to continually reflect on new information that is being taught by the CT and then followed up by the TL as one of their roles is to assist students with new ways to think and learn particularly when using ICT programs.

Having students striving for success in the school library means that they are able to broaden personal ways in which they think both during school time and outside of the school environment.

Reference:

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (n.d). Information Communication and Technology Capability. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/

With the commencement of a second session of librarianship study I can’t help but think back to the areas of the library that have encouraged me to pursue this area of learning. I’ve thought about the idea that reading literary texts can encourage students or staff members to become more involved in accessing the library (either for personal enjoyment or to pursue new areas of learning); as well as delving into new learning environments, including new school environments, can be a daunting if you’re not familiar with how particular colleagues teach certain subject areas.

I have had the opportunity to work in different schools as part of my casual teaching experience (including working in some school libraries) and I always notice that staff that are able to collaborate and work together to create a more enjoyable work environment in comparison to teachers that just want to be an individual teacher. Having this trust and motivation to be open with one another (especially when someone has done something wrong) can create more opportunities for classes and teachers to participate in open ended learning activities. I really enjoyed watching the video by Bastow Institute (2015) this week as it highlighted some areas that I’ve already seen first hand, both in the school library and also in classrooms. The video encouraged staff to discover, admit, appreciate, evolve and align personal views to encourage everyone working in this learning environment to build trust and collaborate across different areas of the school community. I especially liked the idea of not only the Classroom Teacher (CT) but also the Teacher Librarian (TL) taking on more opportunities to work with colleagues and evolve how they work together in different areas of the school library and community.

I can’t wait to discover what other areas the TL can be involved in across the school environment and community when taking on leadership roles that encourage collaboration between one another.

Reference:

Bastow Institute. (2015, July 27). Building Trust and Collaboration – Tracey Ezard [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/kUkseAdKyek