“Its the Skills that matter” – 401 – Task 3 – Part C

The ability to seek, use and create information successfully is an imperative in this modern world.  I have previously discussed this societal change and I have spent an inordinate amount of words prophesying the importance of fluency in information literacy (IL) to the point where I even wrote an essay on digital literacy, its impact on pedagogy and the role of a teacher librarian.

I thought I had exhausted this topic, but then it occurred to me that I have not reflected upon my own understanding of information literacy and how that impacts the role of a Teacher librarian.

…….Eh… What? More words?

 

Let us review what I have learned this semester… (briefly, I promise!)

  1. Society has evolved from product based to information based (Ricaurte, 2016) and people are not coping with this information overload (Thomas et al. 2016).   Check out my amazing ‘Porridge pot’ analogy in Module 2.1
  2. Literacy levels are reducing (Lanning & Mallek, 2017).
  3. IL is poorly articulated and not embedded across national curriculum (Farmer, 2014; Lupton, 2014)
  4. …an attempt was made (Bonanno & Fitzgerald, 2014) but it was poorly planned and executed (Why not review my review of Lupton’s review 2014?).
  5. IL needs to be explicitly taught and assessed so that students see its value (Jacobson et al. 2018; Qayyum & Smith, 2018, p257; McGrew et al. 2018)… and please don’t say just do a research task and the skills will be accidentally learned.  It won’t (McGrew et al. 2018).
  6. Evidence shows that Inquiry learning improves information literacy (Kuhlthau et al, 2012) as well as boosting…
  7. student motivation and self-regulation (Buchanan et al. 2016).
  1. Curriculum embedding of IL is important (McGrew et al. 2018; Berg, 2018)  and
  2. classroom integration of IL boosts IL competency (Kong, 2014)
  3. Lack of IL leads to poor decision making skills and life outcomes  (Berg, 2018; Wood, 2017; Kachel, 2016)

The lightbulb moment came about…. NOW!

Donna did phrase it better when that light switched on.  BUT I do digress…

Anywhoo… back to the task.

So from  the readings and modules in this semester I can deduce:

  1. There is a need for a IL framework in schools.
  2. IL needs to be a planned learning experience
  3. that allows students to build new IL skills upon prior knowledge.  (Christy reckons from kindy and I agree!)
  4. Therefore, IL needs to be embedded across the curriculum and year levels,
  5. As  IL is cumulative (Carolien explains this far better). 

BASICALLY – Schools and education departments need to have a  framework that addresses IL and implement a school-wide approach for the best outcome… on an aside, I find it amusing that P E Island on the Canadian east coast has such a policy. Anne Shirley would have been so proud!!

There are numerous ways that IL can be implemented in schools but for the sake of efficiency and word count, I am going to fast track the the conversation to what matters to TL in schools.

Inquiry learning is a method of increasing information literacy and promoting soft skills.  There are several models of inquiry learning available, and I could spend another inordinate number of words describing and analysing these different models but Yvette has ‘taken one for the team’ with her analysis of the various models.   So read hers.

My preference is the Guided Inquiry Design (GID).  Why?

  1. It is based upon extensive research.  As a practicing scientist for many years, I am a great believer in basing my practice on research and evidence.  GID is considered the GOLD standard, which is AMAZING for my neurotic brain!
  2. GID  places equal importance on the cognitive and affective aspects of the ISP.  Affect plays a strong role in student (and my) motivation.  So by understanding when students are having low affect, guidance and mediation can help them overcome this hurdle successfully
  3. Naturally,  there are difficulties in implementing Inquiry learning in schools.  The presence of standardised testing, is a big prevention of authentic teaching and learning within schools (… there is an elephant in the room…).  And unless ACARA and government bodies realise this, then inquiry learning may always struggle to gain a strong presence in all the KLAs.

Oh look – The elephant’s name is NAPLAN!

So what does this mean for me?

A TL role in schools is no longer just about books, referencing and plagiarism lessons (Lanning & Mallek, 2017).  Rather, the role has become more dynamic in nature, much to my surprise.

 

The role of a TL has evolved from

TL can affect IL by:

  1. Creating and implementing  an IL framework that executes ACARA’s general capabilities across the curriculum (working on one now at work!!)
  2. Co create and or collaborate to create: (see my GID task – NAILED IT!)
    1. Units with embedded IL
    2. Inquiry units  IL with skills
      1. Embedded within
      2. Taught explicitly
  3. Providing resources that
    1. Support content
    2. Support inquiry skills
      1. Connecting students to resources
  4. Explicitly teach information literacy skills  ie referencing, bibliographies, search terms. (Ntuli, 2016)

Trombetta (2017)

As you can see, a TL does more for IL than just occasionally teach a class about referencing.  Rather, a TL  implements a framework that embeds important literacy skills into and across the curriculum.  This makes the role of a TL extremely important to students, schools and the wider community.

(Now guess who is feeling smug?)

What’s your skill? This is mine.

 

References

Berg, C., Malvey, D., and Donohue, M. (2018). Without foundations, we can’t build: Information literacy and the need for strong library programs. In the Library with the Lead pipe.  Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/strong-school-library-programs/

Bonanno, K. with Fitzgerald, L. (2014). F-10 inquiry skills scope and sequence, and F-10 core skills and tools. Eduwebinar Pty Ltd.

Buchanan, S., Harlan, M., Bruce, Christine S., and Edwards, Sylvia L. (2016). Inquiry based learning models, information literacy, and student engagement: A literature review. School Libraries Worldwide. 22(2), pp. 23-39.

Garrison, K., and 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.  A school library built for the digital age. 45th IASL Annual conference. Japan.

Jacobsen, R., Halvorsen, A., Frasier, A., Schmitt, A., Crocco, M., and Segall, A. (2018). Thinking deeply, thinking emotionally; how high school students make sense of evidence. Theory & Research in Social Education. 46, 232-276. DOI 10.1080/00933104.2018.1425170

Kachel, D. (2015). The calamity of the disappearing school libraries. {Blog Post} Theconversation.com. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-calamity-of-the-disappearing-school-libraries-44498

Kong, S. (2014). Developing information literacy and critical thinking skills through domain knowledge learning in digital classrooms: An experience of practicing flipped classroom strategy. Computers & Education. 78, pp.160-173,  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.05.009

Kuhlthau, C., and Maniotes, L. (2010). Building guided inquiry teams for 21st century learners. ZZ School library monthly.  Volume 26: 5.

Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L. & Caspari, A. (2012). Guided inquiry design: A framework for inquiry in your school. Libraries Unlimited. USA.

Kuhthau, C., Maniotes, L., and Caspari, A. (2015). Guided inquiry: learning in the 21st century. 2nd Edition. Libraries unlimited, USA.

Lanning, S,. and Mallek, J. (2017). Factors influencing information literacy competency of college students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 43: 443-450.  DOI: 10.10.16/j.acalib.2017.07.005

Lupton, M. (2014).  Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6, Access, November

Lofton, J. (2016) Students are makers! Building information literacy skills through makerspace programs. CSLA Journal.  40 (2). Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-4305515741/students-are-makers-building-information-literacy

Maniotes, L., and Kuhlthau, C. (2014). Making the shift. 43:2. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1045936

McGrew, S., Breakstone, J., Ortega, T., Smith, M., and Wineburg, S. (2018). Can students evaluate online sources? Learning from assessments of civic online reasoning. Theory & Research in Social Education. 46, 165-193, DOI 10.1080/00933104.2017.1416320

Qayyum, M., &  Smith, David. (2018). Changing research behaviours of university students with progression through a course. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association. 67: 3 pp256-277 DOI: 10.1080/24750158.2018.1502243

Ricaurte, P. (2016). Pedagogies for the open knowledge society. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 13:32 DOI: 10.1186/s41239-016-0033-y

Thomas, J., Barraket, J., Wilson, C., Cook, K., Louie, Y., Holcombe-James, I., Ewing, S., and MacDonald, T. (2018). Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2018. RMIT University, Melbourne, DOI: https://doi.org/10.25916/5b594e4475a00

Trombetta, S. (2017). 17 quotes that prove librarians are the best. Bookbub. Retrieved from https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2017/01/19/quotes-about-how-much-we-love-librarians

 

 

“It is in the DNA” – Assessment 2 – Part B

Whats on the shelves?

 

School libraries (SL) are more than books on shelves.  To a fledgling teacher librarian (TL), libraries often imagine warehouses, where books awaits death and then reincarnation at Lifeline.   The reality is different; collections are not inert. SL are dynamic; they constantly evolve to suit the needs of their community.  

Framework = DNA

What makes a SL so dynamic?  Well, like any organism, it’s all in the DNA, or for SL, it’s in the Collection Development and Management Policy (CDMP).  The CDMP is the DNA of a SL and contains strategic data for growth in today’s splurge and is flexibliity in tomorrow’s freeze.  If the DNA of a SL is without clear direction and missing data, then its ability to thrive, or even survive is in jeopardy. Consequently, TL need to be aware of the duality of a CDMP that prepares the collection for today’s needs, and tomorrow’s growth.

Not faint hearted

A school CMDP exists primarily to address the curriculum, the teaching and learning needs of its community as well as provide well-being (IFLA, 2015; ASLA & VCTL, 2018).  Therefore, the policy needs to clearly reflect those needs when framing the purpose, selection principles, acquisition and censorship procedures. Along with other maintenance endeavours such as deselection and collection evaluation; all whilst staying within budget, bolstering literacy and well-being.  It is not a small task and definitely not for the faint hearted. But then TL are not faint hearted (Templeton, 2019a).

The development and management of a collection involves many facets.

Print or Digital?

  1. Understanding the information evolution and its implications on education and wider society is crucial.  TL need to be aware that previous resource acquisition has evolved now into information facilitation paradigm (Kelly, 2015). With publishers rapidly changing their delivery from print to digital formats (Templeton, 2019b), the repercussions on formats and licencing are momentous.
  2. Online Subscriptions – Cheaper? or Not?

  3. Being able to select resources using criteria to ensure the collection is balanced and addresses the needs of the community. (Templeton, 2019a)
  4. Knowledge of how resources may be packaged for cost efficiency, and evaluating that against the value of each of those titles is a challenging task (Templeton, 2019c; Templeton, 2019d.  (Module 2 – Online Access) (Module 2 – Bundling together)  
  5. Being able to manage collections thriftily is necessary when SL budgets are constantly squeezed (Softlink, 2018; Templeton, 2019e). 

    Shrinking Budgets

     

  6. Information literacy is an essential aspect of future focused learners (MCEETYA, 2008). The CDMP policy needs to make provision for information literacy to ensure that students have the skills to access and utilise the collection.  The inclusion of literacy programs only further strengthens a SL position within a school (Templeton, 2019l; Templeton, 2019f).  .  
  7. Awareness of censorship and its role in SL (Templeton, 2019g).

    Challenging the censors

  8. Linking budget to student population is an effective manner to secure funds that suit the growth/decline of the school community (IFLA, 2015, p.6) versus being dependent on yearly fixed sums.

Besides building a collection, a CDMP contains procedures that maintains its value and  its ability to service the needs of their community.  

  1. Measuring outputs and outcomes are useful in analysing the effectiveness and efficacy of a collection (Templeton, 2019h).
    1. Being able to link the collection value to qualitative and quantitative data validates the collection and program (Templeton, 2019i). A recent study by Sutton et al., (2017) show that altmetrics are useful in the evaluation of collections. Power (2019) suggests that both qualitative and quantitative methods are used.
    2. Linking educational outcomes to collections as evidence for continuing financial support for resources, especially digital subscriptions, is judicial.  Journal subscriptions are very expensive and a TL would need to prove value if there is insufficient evidence to indicate positive outcomes (Jubb et al., 2017). Journal databases, like many other electronic resources, may be economical up front, but often require long term subscription.

 Technology is rapidly changing and consequently now, the same information is available in multiple formats.  TL need to be aware of this paradigm when committing to subscription resources as it is more than just a commitment for the current cohort of students (Anderson, 2008).  It is a financial commitment for future generations.

A strong CDMP ensures that a library collection addresses the needs of their community, and the rewards are high resource outputs and user outcomes.  What TLs all over the world do not want are libraries with numerous books that are not utilised or under utilised. Tsundoku is the affliction of purchasing resources that no one uses (Templeton, 2019j).    

An unused collection is an ineffective collection.  It is very hard to justify a collection that has failed to prove their value their community.  It is even harder to justify the presence of TL with a collection that is not relevant.

 

REFERENCES for BLOG

Anderson, R. (2008). Future proofing the library; Strategies for acquisitions, cataloguing and collection development. The Serials Librarian. 55 (4). doi:10.1080/03615260802399908

ASLA & VCTL (2018). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resources centres 2nd Edition.  ALIA. Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/policies-procedures-manual_ed2.pdf

IFLA (2015). School library guidelines.  Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Jantti, M., and Cox, B. (2013). Measuring the value of library resources and student academic performance through relational datasets. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. 8 (2), 163-171. {Conference Paper}

Jubb, M., Rowlands, I., and Nicholas, D. (2013). Values of libraries: Relationships between provisions, usage, and research outcomes.  Evidence Based Library and Informative Practice. 8(2), 139-152 {Conference Paper}

Kelly, M. (2015). Collection development policies in public libraries in Australia: A qualitative content analysis. Public Library Quarterly. 34, 44-62

MCEETYA (2008) Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Curriculum Corporation. Australia. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/national_declaration_on_the_educational_goals_for_young_australians.pdf

Power, K (2019) Forum 5.1 – Methods of Collection Analysis. ETL503 Discussion Forum. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147540_1&message_id=_2304873_1

Softlink (2018) Australia and New Zealand school library survey. Retrieved from https://www.softlinkint.com/downloads/2018_Softlink_Australian_and_New_Zealand_School_Library_Survey_Report.pdf

Sutton, S., Miles, R., and Konkiel, S., (2017) Is what’s “Trending” whats worth purchasing? Insights from a national study of collection development librarians. The Serials Librarian. Vol 72 (1-4) pp.134-143. DOI 10.1080/0361526X.2017.1297593

Templeton, T. (2019a) Benign or Malignant. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/03/24/benign-or-malignant-how-do-you-diagnose/

Templeton, T. (2019b) Shatzins files – publishers to perish. Forum 1.1.  ETL 503 Discussion Forums. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147529_1&message_id=_2152285_1

Templeton, T. (2019c) Online access. Forum 2.3.  ETL 503 Discussion Forums. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147533_1&message_id=_2185290_1

Templeton, T. (2019d) Bundling resources. Forum 2.3.  ETL 503 Discussion Forums. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147533_1&message_id=_2185169_1

Templeton, T. (2019e) Module 3 – Managing collections thriftily. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/04/20/managing-collections-thriftily/

Templeton, T. (2019f) Module 5.3a– Information literacy. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/05/21/module-5-3a-information-literacy/

Templeton, T. (2019g) Modules 2 & 6 0 13 reasons why – censorship and selection. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/03/12/13-reasons-why-censorship-and-selection/

Templeton, T. (2019h) Forum 3.1.  ETL 503 Discussion Forums. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147536_1&message_id=_2249448_1

Templeton, T. (2019i) Module 5.1 – Evaluating the collection.- Keeping it real. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/04/29/evaluating-the-collection-keeping-it-real/

Templeton, T. (2019j) Module 1 – Library collections. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/03/11/library-collections/

Templeton, T. (2019k) Module 1 – Curriculum + information + access = Superhero. Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/03/13/curriculum-information-access-superhero/

Templeton, T. (2019l) Reluctant readers – would fact be better than fiction? Trish’s trek into bookspace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/trish/2019/03/11/reluctant-readers-would-facts-be-better-than-fiction/