Unlike many teacher librarians in schools, I wasn’t a teacher but a librarian working in public libraries for over ten years before becoming a Teacher Librarian. I studied the teaching degree by distance mode while I was working in public libraries. Last year I became a Teacher Librarian in a high school in Sydney. I am a beginner teacher when it comes to teaching but I am an experienced librarian when it comes to managing the library.
The ultimate role of Teacher Librarian is to help students explore the pathway of how they understand and process the raw data of information and transfer the information into knowledge which will benefit their lifelong learning journey (AEW 2008). Working in public libraries for over ten years has enabled me to learn about the importance of understanding the information users’ needs regardless of their ages, backgrounds and academic levels. As teachers, we all know about differentiation teaching when we teach the curriculum. This practice also applies to teaching students how to find and use information.
The Teacher Librarian has an important role of becoming an expert in analysing students’ information behaviour so as to use the appropriate teaching methods to help them improve their information skills. Classroom management is often the biggest challenge for teachers. We often wonder why students don’t behave in our classroom but behave well in other teachers’ classrooms. Their behaviour is the tip of the iceberg and we need to understand the invisible part immersed under the water. As Teacher Librarians, we need to be equipped with knowledge and skills in analysing and researching students’ information behavior so as to identify their strengths and weaknesses and help them overcome challenges in finding and using information. We cannot rely on our often over-generalized observation to make up conclusions that support our belief when it comes to study students’ information behaviour (Case 2006). We often find that students tend to access information through channels from which they can quickly get information. For example, they go on Google or the internet in general or ask questions on their social networking sites to get quick answers for the complex questions for their study. We are often surprised by the fact that even the senior high school students do not understand what reliable information and information with credential look like and how to find high quality information they need. As Teacher librarians, our role is to find out what is hindering them from using the appropriate information research methods to find information and what we can offer to help the students.
The Australian Professional Standards for Teaching stipulates two standards that are directly relevant to the Teacher Librarian’s roles. These two standards are: “use effective teaching strategies to integrate ICT into learning and teaching programs to make selected content relevant and meaningful” (standard 2.6); and “select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning” (standard 4.5) (AITSL 2019). On the other hand, the Australian School Library Association states the three major roles of Teacher Librarians, i.e. Teacher Librarians as the curriculum leaders, the information specialists and the services managers (ASLA 2019) . In order to fulfill these roles, a Teacher Librarian needs to work effectively with the school community including students, teachers and school leaders to advocate and build effective library and information services and programmes that contribute to the development of the students’ well-being and becoming lifelong learners.
References:
AEW. (2008). Community of practice: Part B. The Information Hierarchy. Retrieved from: http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons/iac1013d/sld004.htm
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)(2019). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from: https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
Australian School Library Association (ASLA) (2019). What is a Teacher Librarian. Retrieved from: https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
Case, D (2006). Chapter 3. The concept of information. In Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs and behaviour, pp. 40-65. 2nd ed. Burlingham: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Retrieved from CSU Library ebook.
What a wonderful background and wealth of experience you bring to the role of teacher librarian. For those that were first librarians they do have a great depth of knowledge of information organisation and systems, as well as copyright, cataloguing and much more. Now with your teaching experience you will gradually become a powerhouse of knowledge and innovation for your teachers and students. I hope you enjoy the study and are able to keep up regular blogging and reflecting as you study. Welcome!