ETL401 Assessment 3 Part C: Reflective Practice

A Thoroughly Enjoyable and Invaluable Introduction to Teacher Librarianship!

I have been in my current role in a secondary school library and learning on the job for just over a year now. Having started out initially with barely any knowledge of what the term teacher librarian even meant, I feel that my understanding of the role of the teacher librarian in inquiry learning and the teaching of information literacy expanded drastically within only the first three weeks or so of this subject, let alone the entire thirteen weeks!

 

I had attempted to use the NSW DEC Information Search Process model to structure my first sessions around information literacy, although I was operating almost exclusively on my own knowledge and found that this model did not fit particularly well with the needs of our students; they were far too emotionally driven and were confused by the terminology used in the model (although this could also easily be put down to my lack of knowledge of the process). I resolved to gain a better understanding of information literacy and the methods through which it could be taught before trying my hand at it again.

 

As I mentioned in a previous forum post (4.1 b: Inquiry learning), I have also had some experience with GID in the past. This was not a ‘traditional’ GID program, it was run by an external professional learning organisation and focused far more on the classroom teacher’s role in the process than the TL’s. Unsurprisingly it was not an overly successful program, as students did not have enough freedom over their own inquiry, staffing turnover caused direction to be lost, and what I only now understand and recognise after completing this subject to be a complete underutilisation of the TL role in the inquiry process. Although I was included as the extended information expert in the inquiry process (Kuhlthau et al., 2012, p.13), I was working in classrooms, not the library space, and using themed scaffolds that had been created by the company running our professional development. This meant essentially that the teachers were in charge of the content and the information process, I was merely acting in an additional support role, and although still guiding students I was nowhere near as effective as I could have been. After connecting with the module content and the forum posts within the subject and reading the research of Kuhlthau extensively, it has become clear to me that the TL should form an essential part of the core learning team (Kuhlthau & Maniotes, 2010, 2014; Kuhtlthau et al., 2012, 2015). The TL is the information literacy and resource expert best suited to guide student-led inquiry and in both my experience and the research, classroom teachers cannot teach essential inquiry skills on their own (ALIA & ASLA, 2009; Garrison & FitzGerald, 2016; Kuhlthau, 2010). Additionally, by giving students more freedom of their inquiry process they will be far more likely to reach the ‘third space’, in which they can make deeper connections between content and the real world and build ownership and expertise (Heinstrom & Sormunen, 2019; Kuhlthau, 2010).

 

One of the major positives from this subject for me is that I have been reinvigorated to give GID another try (particularly after writing the outline for a GID unit as part of this assessment)! As I mentioned in another of my blog posts it has been refreshing to see the concepts I am learning in action and to be able to put the theory into practice, and I hope to implement a similar GID to the one I have designed for this unit some time in the future when learning has returned to some semblance of ‘normality’. Finally, although I now possess a far greater understanding of my place in the process and far more insight into the value and finer details of guided inquiry, it is extremely important to remember that there are considerable barriers to implementing a successful GID. Particularly time constraints, pressure to teach curriculum content and effective collaboration between all members of the learning team (Garrison et al., 2018; Heinström & Sormunen, 2019) present significant challenges, and no individual level of understanding or expertise will be able to overcome these alone.

 

 

References

Australian Library and Information Association  & Australian School Libraries Association. (2009). ALIA/ASLA policy on guided inquiry and the curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/aliaasla-policy-guided-inquiry-and-curriculum

Garrison, K. L., & FitzGerald, L. (2016). “It’s like stickers in your brain”: Using the Guided Inquiry Process to Support Lifelong Learning Skills in an Australian School Library. In Proceedings of the 45th International Association of School Librarians’ Annual Conference Incorporating the 20th International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved from https://www.iasl-online.org/resources/Pictures/RP15_GarrisonFitzgerald_2016IASLTokyo.pdf

Garrison, K. L., FitzGerald, L., & Sheerman, A. (2018). “Just Let Me Go at It”: Exploring Students’ Use and Perceptions of Guided Inquiry. School Library Research, 21, 1-37. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182159.pdf

Heinström, J., & Sormunen, E. (2019). Structure to the unstructured – Guided Inquiry Design as a pedagogical practice for teaching inquiry and information literacy skills. In Proceedings of ISIC, The Information Behaviour Conference, Krakow, Poland, 9-11 October: Part 2. Information Research, 24(1). Retrieved from http://informationr.net/ir/24-1/isic2018/isic1824.html

Johnson, T. (2020a, March 9). The Start of a Long, Arduous Journey to Become a Teacher Librarian. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/tomthetl/2020/03/09/the-start-of-a-long-arduous-journey-to-become-a-teacher-librarian/

Johnson, T. (2020b, April 29). Inquiry Learning [Online discussion comment]. Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Johnson, T. (2020c, April 29). The Journey So Far. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/tomthetl/2020/04/29/the-journey-so-far/

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2012). Guided Inquiry Design: A framework for inquiry in your school. CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century (2nd ed.). CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Kuhlthau, C. C., & Maniotes, L. K. (2010). Building Guided Inquiry Teams for 21st-Century Learners. School Library Monthly, 26(5), 18-21.

Kuhlthau, C. C., & Maniotes, L. K. (2014). Making the Shift. Knowledge Quest , 43(2), 8-17.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2010). Guided Inquiry: School Libraries in the 21st Century. School Libraries Worldwide, 16(1), 17-28.

North Sydney Public School. (2020). Information Search. Retrieved from https://nthsyddem-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/library/information-process.html