Leading from the Middle

ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader
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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/

Change is it always good?

ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader
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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

Important attributes for a Teacher Librarian

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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

Starting to understand the Change in Classifying Resources

ETL505 Describing and Analysing Education Resources
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I have certainly been learning more about the cataloguing process for all manner of resources that can be sourced all around the world in these first couple of weeks while studying in ETL505: Describing and Analysing Education Resources. I hope to post every now and then about interesting information that I’ve been learning in this subject. I’m already familiar with a number of website links that have been presented in the modules as I have used them outside of school time. Although some of the links still manage to surprise me as I never realised you could drag photos into the search bar of Google Images to get results instantly on a chosen topic. I thought it was incredible to think that a website I use daily can have hidden features like this that we don’t even know about until we talk to someone that would find it incredibly useful (perhaps a student doing a research topic or a couple researching for a trip could drag photos into that search bar to get more results and discover new knowledge!).

I’m absolutely sure that I will have even more to learn about, particularly involving the process of classifying resources throughout this course. It’s been interesting to read the chapters in our prescribed text and start to develop my own perception of how physical resources WERE sorted in the past, in comparison to NOW when accessing a lot of resources can be done online or digitally. I found it fascinating to think that each resource can have a specific ISBN (International Standard Book Number) to identify the type of resource it is and also be able to search for that resource in a short amount of time. Hider (2018) has been discussing the idea of sharing and collaborating with other library databases around the world, which saves time in identifying resources as an online catalogue can be downloaded and shared to recognise whether a particular resource is available to access. When thinking about how vast particular databases are, the variety of museums and libraries that use certain protocols (like Z39.50) to allow metadata communication to take place effectively when accessing resources from remote information systems (especially considering a lot of these systems are often overseas).

Overall I’m keen to explore more in depth detail involving the classifying, searching and retrieval process that occurs when looking for particular resources all around the world. I still find it interesting that all these resources can be found in physical form but as the world changes the way we access information will this impact the environments that encourage learning for students (like libraries and museums)?

 

Reference

Hider, P. (2018). Information Resource Description : Creating and Managing Metadata (Vol. Second edition). (6), 112-17. London: Facet Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1817135&site=ehost-live

Technology and How it Contributes to Success

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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/

Environments filled with trust and collaboration

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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

Reflecting on Library Collections and Development Policies

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The library collection is constantly expanding and the Teacher Librarian (TL) has the important role of managing all the resources in the library collection. Continually maintaining this collection is an immense task, as each library resource can be viewed in multiple formats. This means that as technology is continually being improved, school libraries are able to focus on different areas of the curriculum either being accessed in a digital format or accessed online. Throughout this subject I have learnt that the school library has become a central hub of information that staff and students can access and interact with during research based learning. Processing each resource can be quite a time consuming task and even though it takes a while, checking the copyright of these resources is extremely important (Johnson, 2009). This results in resources being verified both for their quality and relevance in the library collection. An example of this process is testing the information relevance for those users, including the idea that primary aged-students will have access to resources aimed at their age group. I have learnt that the Smartcopying website ensures that every TL thoroughly checks the resources that they are including in the library collection. This can be referred to as fair dealing as the TL needs to further research associated restrictions before obtaining permission to use these resources in this learning environment (Smartcopying, n.d).

I have previously addressed the three different key roles that affects how the TL manages the library budget. Each of these roles explores how the TL can interact with their colleagues, assess the way that resources are used in the library and determine appropriate methods of developing the resources in the collection (Lamb & Johnson, 2012). The Collection Development Policy (CDP) is an incredibly important document that allows for changes to be made throughout the library collection. The policy highlights the importance of maintaining relevant and sustainable resources throughout the year and encourages the TL to evaluate different sections of the collection. Throughout this course I have learnt that a constant interaction with students and other staff members is important to gain insight about specific subject relevant resources that the TL can obtain (Grigg, 2012, p. 130). I have further expanded my knowledge of developing the library collection through the focus group interaction as this encourages the TL to investigate the best offers provided from book companies and online distributors. The year round process of weeding, focuses on evaluating resources based on their relevance. This process is necessary in maintaining subject specific content as well as encouraging the TL to interact with texts that are appropriate for their students (Grigg, 2012).

A CDP is an incredibly crucial factor to the creation of a library collection. Each TL is tasked with sourcing resources that will be able to correspond with areas of the curriculum. This means that each resource needs to be proofed before it is included as well as having strong links and multiple uses in the library. I have discussed policy issues previously as the TL needs to consider current grant situations, the population of the school, equity and updating resources within the library collection. Accessibility is constantly changing as more online texts are being included through digital service providers which can cut into the library budget. This means that physical texts are still incredibly relevant as they are cheaper to source in comparison to online services, which the TL can consider when purchasing new resources for the library collection (Scherlen & McAllister, 2019).

The TL needs to be constantly interacting with various resources to demonstrate their understanding concerning how the resource will link with the curriculum. Collection reviews are vital to keeping the library collection relevant and updated, so that less essential resources can be culled from the collection. A resource can be culled from the collection due to irrelevance in a particular subject, the age of the text or there may be a more updated, better version. Each of these factors highlights that the TL should be constantly observing the resources students have access to and understanding where improvements can be made (Johnson, 2009). I have explored the different methods of weeding a library collection in a previous post but the main thought I developed was the idea that despite these resources being removed, they still have a use and purpose. For example once a resource has been taken off the shelf it may be included in a book fair to raise money for the school, which can once again go back into the school’s budget.

*Hyperlinked text refers to previous discussion or blog posts.

 

References:

Grigg, K. (2012). Assessment and evaluation of e-book collections. In Kaplan, R. (Eds.), Building and managing e-book collections: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians (pp. 127-138). American Library Association. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of collection development and management. American Library Association, 4, 103-150. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d4eb044f-08ee-4fe9-a13f-3198f84a46e6%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d

Lamb, A., & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html.

Scherlen, A., & McAllister, A. D. (2019). Voices versus Visions: A Commentary on Academic Library Collections and New Directions. Collection Management, 1-7. Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/01462679.2018.1547999?needAccess=true

Smartcopying. (n.d). Text works. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/copyright-guidelines/what-can-i-copy-communicate-/2-1-text-works

Reflection of Information Literacy, IL models and Inquiry Learning

ETL401 Introduction to Teacher Librarianship
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The interactions we have with the people around us can be an incredibly impactful experience as we strive to improve our literacy and critical thinking skills on a daily basis. Students are constantly working to improve their thinking skills but struggle to adapt and improve new research skills as they prefer to interact with skills that they already know (Gerrity, 2018, p.455). However, during inquiry based learning, the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL) changes to encourage students to question and interact with learning activities in different settings then they’ve previously done. The school library is a great environment to view information in many ways as well as interacting with each other to enhance our learning experiences. Information Literacy (IL) and Guided Inquiry (GI) focus on constructive methods of developing new critical thinking skills. Both of these methods strive to encourage students to work together, whether it be in a classroom or a real world scenario.

There are multiple frames that source information as they all contribute towards how students can collaborate effectively when working in different teaching and learning settings across the curriculum (Bruce, Edwards & Lupton, 2006, p.3). All of these frames highlight the importance of processing information particularly as IL can be different when the learning environment changes. This environment can vary and change according to the way that students interact with IL as working in a flexible classroom setting is vastly different to completing an assessment task at home (Farrell & Badke, 2015, p.333). Many of these frames overlap as they assist in situations that require students to problem solve which is something that can be constantly improved. During those early years of school, students can be introduced to problem solving skills as they continuously challenge the learner’s thinking when faced with different learning settings, whether it be as an individual or in a group setting (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014, p.14). Students are being provided with more opportunities to interact with each other and use the resources that are available to them to solve problems together. Technology is often a big contributor in this interaction as it assists in understanding how to use and improve a new skill.

The TL has several important connections to different aspects of the library environment, including the teaching and learning aspect of the school library. Challenging the way that students think is a fantastic method of inquiry based learning which can be viewed through more creative methods of teaching. The change in the physical library setting is continually demonstrating that schools are adapting more 21st Century based classrooms that can assist with enhancing students’ creativity and collaboration (FitzGerald, 2015, p.20). However, standardised testing conditions often reduce the ability to accommodate for more flexible evaluations of student learning at the end of an inquiry unit. This means that TL and CT need to be aware of how individual students learn during these flexible settings and encourage group interaction when expressing their thoughts about a particular inquiry based question. Different group activities can be beneficial for students that are continuing to harness their higher-order thinking skills particularly when focusing on a social framework (Lupton, 2012, p.16). At an early age students are able to commence interacting with these thinking skills, particularly when included in GI units.

Inquiry based learning also presents new opportunities for students to be in charge of self-directed activities that the TL can monitor when interacting with new questions. I have previously thought about different IL models and how they can be adapted to suit the needs of the TL. The Guided Inquiry Design (GID) model encourages students to work and think abstractly through eight stages of critical thinking as well as provide collaborative group based activities. However, as technology changes so does the way that students think, which forces the TL to implement new ways to question and share their research based learning with others (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014, p.11). Technology has become an increasing influence in students’ lives as screens are predominantly how they view new information. The video ‘What does it mean to be literate in the 21st Century?’ was released over a decade ago and just goes to show that teachers were able to understand that technology will assist in displaying new knowledge to benefit the student’s learning. Students are reaching a stage where they are able to experiment and become more aware of how certain programs work even before the teachers do. Therefore the TL has the onerous obligation to develop new learning tasks that cater for using this technology in a way that students can become more innovative in these problem solving activities.

 

References:

Bruce, C., Edwards, S., & Lupton, M. (2006). Six Frames for Information literacy Education: a conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships between theory and practice. Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 5(1), 1-18. doi: 10.11120/ital.2006.05010002

Farrell, R., & Badke, W. (2015). Situating information literacy in the disciplines: A practical and systematic approach for academic librarians. Reference Services Review, 43(2), 319-340. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1725782993?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=10344

FitzGerald, L. (2015). Guided Inquiry in practice. Scan. 34(4), 16-27. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=211651;res=AEIPT

Gerrity, C. (2018). The New National School Library Standards: Implications for Information Literacy Instruction in Higher Education. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 44, 455–458. Retrieved from https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/search/advanced?docId=10.1016/j.acalib.2018.05.005

Lupton, M. (2012). Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum. Access. 26(2), 12-18. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=584040093322031;res=IELAPA

Maniotes, L. K., & Kuhlthau, C. (2014). Making the shift. Knowledge Quest. 43(2), 8-17. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1620878836?accountid=10344&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Comparing Collection Development Policies

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Each collection development policy (CDP) is different and changes according to the setting of the library; whether it be in a government public system or a school establishment. Every policy unpacks the relevance and process of managing the library collection for a particular area or region. The CDP aims to focus on one or numerous library branches that needs to be continually updated in order for efficiency to take place. The difference between policies can vary according to the money provided for each centre (also known as a grant), the general population, stock take of items and accommodating to the community’s needs. Each of these contributions and changes allows the dynamic of the library collection to constantly evolve:

Grants– the amount of new resources that are able to be obtained can be significantly different depending how much funding a state public library or even a school library has access to. The state library in particular can look at the including donations from the community in order to gain access to new material (SLQ, 2013). Whereas the school library depends on the overall school budget that the principal and teacher librarian (TL) can organise and evaluate during throughout the year.

Population– I found it interesting that local library size can vary depending on the population of a particular place (whether it be a whole region of NSW or a local library in one of the suburbs). This point encouraged the exchanging of resources particularly if the library has connections throughout regions of the community. The fact that so much of the collection depends on where the library is located makes it interesting to think about what types of resources might be cut back due to a lack of physical space.

Equity– making all of the library centres easily accessible for all users was an interesting point that was discussed in the reading by VCTL & ALIA (2017). Allowing the community to contribute their thoughts to the library staff through reconsideration forms pinpoints some of the problems or issues citizens might have with particular resources. These forms also provide more opportunities for the citizens to participate in discussing their likes or dislikes when using the resources in their local library. Ensuring that the library collection stocks a variety of resources, whether it be in physical or digital form, will hopefully encourage more people to return on a regular basis.

Updating resources– the TL has a huge task of selecting which resources will be included a library’s collection; particularly as new volumes become more easily accessible on a topic of interest. This task can often be incredibly difficult as the librarian needs to decide if the resource is going to be readily used or borrowed out of the collection. The new texts might be incredibly similar to the old resources and the librarian’s job is to make an informed decision about the resources that they keep in stock and the ones that they update or replace. This can happen when books are damaged as well and the TL might seek further advice from their principal if they want to discuss the status of the library budget before obtaining these new resources.

Maintaining a constant mindfulness as well as continually evaluating the collection, the librarian has an enormous task ahead of them but I’m sure many of their colleagues will be willing to help in this process.

 

References:

State Library of Queensland – SLQ (2013). Queensland Public Library standards and guidelines: Library collections standards. Retrieved from http://www.plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/146261/Library_Collections_Standard_2013.pdf

VCTL & ALIA (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf

Managing Father Time…

ETL401 Introduction to Teacher Librarianship
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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.

  1. 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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