Carley Timmins TL in Training.

My Critical Reflection..

Let me be up front. What a steep learning curve this semester has been. I think I’ve felt every possible emotion towards my quest to return to study after finishing my undergraduate degree many, many moons ago. I think I felt pressure right from the get-go as I was accepted into the course on the day that the session commenced. To get my head around the student portal took an extra week and then I had to hit the ground running with the course content. Even then, I don’t know I felt confident in where to locate everything. I just had to spend the time getting to know my way around. I have enjoyed the Zoom sessions that have been facilitated by Liz and Lori. I am a real people’s person. I thrive on seeing faces and hearing other people share similar experiences or feelings. I didn’t feel like such an alien. I also valued that it was a safe space where no question was a silly question. That is so comforting when you have so much running through your mind. A real struggle for me over the subject is that I’ve not been able to connect with anyone in the course despite asking to be part of a study group and trying to create one myself and reaching out to a student local to me. Anyway, that in itself has been a real learning curve as I’ve had to ensure I am vigilantly reading through all the discussions to see what fellow students are querying.

I feel so empowered already about the knowledge I’ve acquired from the course material readings and the literature I’ve researched on the modules/topics. My understandings of Information Literacy, Inquiry Learning Models and the role of the TL in the Inquiry Learning (IL) process has most certainly evolved during this time. Looking back, I really knew little about any of these.

Information Literacy

In viewing the course content and discussion around Module 5, Information Literacy. I read Mandy Lupton’s article, Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum (2014). I found the article to be insightful and it deepen my knowledge around IL.

Lisa Gammel, responded to 5.3 Information Literacy Model which took you to her blog post. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/mastersmusings/2021/04/09/information-literacy-in-the-school-context/.“If teacher librarians see their role as curriculum innovators, then integrating the Australian Curriculum strands into a coherent inquiry learning framework that explicitly integrates information literacy may be one of the most significant ways we can contribute to the implementation of the Australian Curriculum” (Lupton, 2014, p. 18) was a quote on her blog that I found that could be a real opportunity for TL with the inconstancies that exist in the Australian Curriculum around Information Literacy.

Inquiry Learning Models

Through the subject I have learnt about several Inquiry Learning Models and found ones more suited to different contexts. Thinking personally about the school in which I work, I would like to see the Guided Inquiry Design model take shape in library inquiry lessons. Other models such as The Big Six, The Information Process (ISP), The PLUS model, The Model of Information Search Process and the I-Learn Model all have steps that are divided into achievable sized work processes. According to Laretive, J (2019), the article examines young learners and information learning models in the contexts of school environments. She observed that information seeking behaviour and the purposes around which children use the internet have a huge effect on the process in which students learn to organise information. For the TL, choosing the correct model for the students in front of you will determine whether the process is successful.

The role of the TL in Inquiry Learning

Before I worked in the Library, my understanding as a classroom teacher went so far as I knew the teacher librarian planned for the inquiry unit but I didn’t know much more than the topic that my class was studying as Library was always taken as Relief- from face-to-face teaching (RFF). My understanding has deepened now that I am aware of the effectiveness that Inquiry Learning (IL) has with both the teacher librarian (TL) and the classroom teacher (CT) being involved in the facilitation. The TL will ultimately plan for the IL unit after the CT has consulted them about goals for the topic. In viewing content in Module 4, The Teacher Librarian and Curriculum, a quote from Tucker states, “Schools and teachers are no longer the only source of knowledge. They have to assume new roles. Students should become active learners, teachers should become learning facilitators, technologies should help liberate learners and schools should become an environment conductive to genuine learning.” (2014, para.1) With the nature of education changing, it is imperative that TL’s are guiding students in these information skills around a Guided Inquiry model that is suited to their context.

REFERENCES

Module 4, The teacher Librarian and Curriculum, School of Information Studies, CSU

(Gammel, L, 2021)

Laretive, J., Infomration Literacy, Young Learners and the Role of the Teacher Librarian. (2019), 68, p225-235.

I am excited moving forward with my position as TL as I feel from the subject ETL 401 I am more equipped with that theoretical knowledge that I’ve not had prior. However, moving on towards future subjects, I will only feel better with more tools in my belt so to speak.

It’s a big deal sometimes practicing alone as the decision making solely rests on you. This is what I have in my school. I would LOVE to have another TL to bounce ideas off. I hope one day that can be the case for me. Even to just see their ideas and management styles etc. would be so beneficial for personal and professional growth.

Of course there are tensions with being the information specialist in the school and the demands of the teaching role of the TL. Sometimes I handle it better than other times. The reason being, is that if I feel better prepared for my teaching, then the other aspects I feel I can fit more easily in to my day-to-day practice.

Managing the physical space of the library, the resources- physical and electronic and learning the management system all takes time and practice. Just like managing your classroom, you get better at it with time.

Carley

I found an article that really resonated with me in my research on Guided Inquiry learning and also my teaching as a TL. Garrison, K., Fitzgerald, L. &  Sheerman, A.  (2019). They should be called guiders.” Teachers and tacher librarians developing inquiry learners. School Libraries Worldwide, 25 (2) p. 34-37. https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/43802268/29481684_published_article.pdf

With schools being no longer the only source that students gain knowledge from, they need to be a place where learning is being facilitated to foster 21st century learning skills. It did mention the pressure from governments to ‘appear to be doing well academically’ on an international scale. This is detrimental to this cause with so many standardized tests needing to be delivered to gain results to show this progress. Students want teacher guidance, however, understand the importance of have that autonomy while searching for information.

It also states how students felt empowered about Guided Inquiry as they have smaller and more achievable steps to work with to create an end product but are also learning along the way during the process. I find that this to be true when I ask students about GI and they too say they know what they need to do and it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. A really important factor when teaching our students is to set them up for success and facilitate them to engage in the process along the way. We can be demonstrating this by being active in the process but also pulling back just enough to allow for student growth and own work.

It is certainly difficult for teachers to make that shift where the learning environment is student-centered learning.

A few things to consider and weigh up with Guided Inquiry,

Carley

Forum Discussion 6.1

• Look at the influential teacher’s among your colleagues. What advanced skills do they have in these two areas?

As I reflect on what I think is influential and the why, certain teachers pop into my mind. I have thought prior to this question being asked ‘why do some teachers appear to just have it (naturally) and others have to work at it? To me, to become a teacher in the first place, you have to be a progressive thinker and someone who is good at learning (becuase that never stops). But then when I think of those particular colleagues that stand out, the skills they have are; confidence, passion, high organisation skills, assertive manner, love of learning, willingness to try new things and high interpersonal skills. Now that is some teacher!

• What will help you be more productive as a teacher librarian in your school community?

The budget given to sustain the Library with up-to-date resources and materials needs to be justified and spent wisely each academic year. I manage this by having different budgets for aspects like Standing Orders costs, teacher/student suggestions, furniture update expenses, professional development courses/conferences, staffing- SLSO assistance for stocktake etc. Each year if I have roughly what I ‘need’ for the year and then a little extra for what I ‘want’ to develop, is how I go forward. Perhaps in the future I could consult with the community as they are an integral stakeholder and would influence types of resources/programs that can be ran out of the library. Also, as I gain confidence with my newly built knowledge that I gain from my uni subjects, I can be stronger advocate for voicing the real importance of the TL in the school setting- being more assertive. Knowledge is power.

Before I became interested in working in a school library, my understandings of the role of the TL in schools was that they had the job to check books in and out of circulation, buy new resources for the school, run literacy events like Book Week and National Simultaneous Storytime and teach.

However, my understanding of the TL continues to broaden as my months and years in the role, roll on. I was at last minute thrust into the position as the TL obtained a permanent TL position in another school. I was literally given a 30minute quick lesson of how to use Oliver/ Orbit. That’s it! I literally barely had a clue of what it took to manage a library aside from how I return and loan books out. But I knew it was so much more than that.

It took me years to feel comfortable in the role and to feel like I could adequately be of good assistance to the teachers asking queries and the students requiring specific help. I attended conferences and local network meetings (when that was a thing pre-covid) where I started to gain a deeper understanding of what a TL does and not just my perception of what one does.

But prior to me just being plonked into the position (which now I am so grateful I was), I was a classroom primary school teacher. I had taken my classes into the Library where I would assist my students to select books and worked with students who required help in the lesson. I saw the Teacher Librarian do the “return/borrow” and then run an inquiry skills based/ IT lesson relating to the history syllabus.

I saw that the TL was a leader in the school and that they were someone who had excellent management skills to have so many classes in a day. I envied their ability to collaborate efficiently with a large volume of teaching staff to meet their resourcing requirements. And I admired their broad knowledge and skills about what suited readers- whether they were an avid reader or someone just at the beginning of their reading journey. I always noticed how much the students just loved visiting the school library. In that time, I began to gain a full appreciation about the diversity of the TL’s job and the importance the Library had in the school community. I started to understand that it was the job of the TL to be like the core of the school. And that’s exactly where I think the school library stands and the job of the TL.

I believe a TL is a teacher, a leader, a manager, a resourcer, a researcher, a consultant, an accountant, a detective, an IT facilitator and a much valued staff member in the school.

The Library is a place where all students and teachers belong. It’s a community space and that is invaluable and powerful. And this is when I realised this is the place I want to be.