Category: ETL401

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

The Journey So Far

Having submitted and received my marks for my first two major assessments I think it’s time to stop, breathe and reflect on the journey so far!

In between teaching two geography classes, coordinating online senior learning support, completing an entire library stock take and everything else, I really look forward to the opportunity to sit down and do some study or work that is extremely relevant to what I am currently doing. I have to say that I am absolutely loving this course. Compared to my first teaching degree that I received back in 2017 it is a whole other world in which the readings make sense, I can see the value in what I’m doing and I am actually able to put content into practice. It’s that last part that really gets me though, being able to put what I am studying into practice and constantly developing my understanding of this role that I’m enjoying so much.

My Discussion Essay for ETL401 explored the use of BYOD Programs in schooling environments and what impact on school libraries and teacher librarians these might have. I chose this topic primarily because one of the first things I was asked to do when starting my current role was to assist with the facilitation of a BYOD program in our school of students in Year 7-10. It is something I have worked a lot on over the past year but had never really put it in specifically a library perspective, I had seen the program more from a student or whole school perspective. The research I conducted for this assessment and my own experiences over the past year have allowed me to further develop our BYOD policy and the ways in which we support our students technologically, especially given the current circumstances of online education! I also have to say that this unit in particular (ETL401) has been great for me in terms of placing my own individual role in the wider context of school libraries and school environments.

I found creating the Annotated Bibliography for ETL503 had a similar effect on me. I found the process incredibly useful for my own practice of selecting resources for my collection, as well as using tools and resources to assist with the collection process. In fact, I actively used the selection criteria I created as a part of this assignment to assist with my stock take, weeding and collection evaluation process, something that I would never have thought to do before! It is a slow process of learning, understanding and changing but it is one that I can feel happening already. It makes me very happy to be putting the concepts into action and to see the theory in practice, as well as to improve my own practice as a professional and the library space in general for all its users!

The Start of a Long, Arduous Journey to Become a Teacher Librarian

When I graduated from Macquarie University in 2017 with a BADipEd in secondary history teaching I hadn’t even heard the term teacher librarian, let alone developed an understanding of the role. Working in the library was never something I had really considered, instead I spent the first few years of my teaching career jumping between temporary positions in various primary and secondary schools.

My first few experiences with the library in a working context were delivering primary library lessons as a casual teacher and taking classes to the library for ‘information studies’ lessons. I thoroughly enjoyed these lessons in the library space, it seemed almost like another world when compared with the regular classroom environment. However, my few experiences in secondary school libraries were far different; I encountered several teacher librarians with little motivation and school cultures that tended to avoid the library at all costs. This included my current school. I was offered the position of ‘acting TL’ in Term 2 of 2019 after working casually there for a few months, as the resident teacher librarian had received a transfer. Initially I was apprehensive, but now more than ever I am so glad that I made the leap and accepted the position. I immediately fell in love with the role and the environment I was in, although it was a very steep learning curve (and still is!) and far different to any other role I had taken on previously.

After an initial discussion about my role and duties, it became clear that there was a lot to being a teacher librarian. To understand my place in the school better I first consulted the NSW DET Policy Library and looked in detail at the ‘Handbook for School Libraries’. From these documents I gathered that the role of a TL was predominantly to be the information specialist, someone who is responsible for providing resources and services for the school teaching and learning community, identifying the information needs of the community, encouraging reading and viewing and of course managing library systems and policies. ASLA’s definition of a teacher librarian similarly helped me to build my understanding, that being a teacher librarian has three main roles as curriculum leaders, information specialists and information service managers. I used these definitions as my starting point, building on the roles described and learning along the way.

Just in the first week of this course, my understanding of the role of the TL in schools has developed dramatically. Amongst my additional readings about the challenges facing libraries in a digital age, Horava (2010) states: “the challenge lies in how to balance libraries’ finite resources of money, time, and energy… No single approach will suffice because each will be important for addressing the library community’s diverse information needs and educational goals.” I think this sums up our roles as teacher librarians perfectly. There are no two learning environments the same, just as there is no one overarching approach to being a teacher librarian. The role itself is adaptive and requires us to look deeper at the needs of our specific teaching and learning community and the best ways that we can meet those needs, whether that be providing information services, collaborating with teachers on learning programs or providing specialist assistance to students and staff alike.

References

Horava, T. (2010). Challenges and Possibilities for Collection Management in a Digital Age. Library Resources & Technical Services, 54(3), 142-152. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.54n3.142

NSW Department of Education. (2020). Library Policy – Schools | Policy library. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://policies.education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/library-policy-schools.

What is a Teacher Librarian?. Asla.org.au. (2020). Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian.