The case study group activities have advantages and disadvantages for learning. The online group space provides the flexibility for the group members to learn through collaboration and communication online 24/7. This relieves the feeling of isolation the students experience when doing an online course. The major drawback is the fact that the quality of learning is largely dependent on the commitments of the team members which may be adversely affected by their family lives and work commitments. Online learning is also heavily dependent on the learners’ self-motivation and initiatives.
The exercise of online group work allows team members to assume our leadership role while no one is assigned as the authoritative leader but each of us can become a leader at some point of the learning journey. This leadership role was evident in our Group 12 work when team members facilitated learning by proposing directions or processes for the work. Some members provided guidance and suggestions as responses to other’s posted comments. Distributive and instructional leadership was evident when team members supported one another and took the lead in the learning journey.
The collaborative learning experience was rewarding as we all benefited from the different responses from our members who possess knowledge and skills gained from their various work experience. The issues studied in the six case studies covered a wide range of areas including communication, dealing with conflicts, strategic and operational planning and work and life balance. It was great that we could pool our various knowledge and expertise together from which each member could draw upon to enhance learning.
Delivering professional knowledge and expertise that are beneficial to the teaching and learning in the school is an important role of teacher librarians. A Teacher librarian sits as the middle leader in the school hierarchy. It is not often that they are present in the appointed senior executive team. Yet teacher librarians take on the important role of being curriculum leaders and information specialists when they run the information services for the whole school community. Teacher librarians need to proactively advocate what they can offer to the teachers and be perceived and valued as leaders who share knowledge and skills which teachers need for teaching information literacy. This can be achieved by delivering professional learning programmes.
Cole (2012) illustrated a model for implementing effective professional development programme. In the model, reflecting and seeking feedback to improve practice mastery is an integral part of a PD programme. Considering the workload and time constraints of the teachers, it may be challenging for them to meet up face-to-face for collaborative learning. On the other hand, teachers often feel isolated working within their own faculty. A Teacher librarian is in the perfect position to become the leader of the learning hub in the school community to bring all teachers together for professional learning. An online platform for teachers to share their thoughts to enhance learning can help overcome those challenges. However, the online platform is an effective assistance to the learning process only after explicit instructions in relation to the skills have been given to the learners (Semadeni, 2009). Therefore, an initial face-to-face training workshop will be needed to provide instructions before teachers could participate in the online learning. In addition, some face-to-face discussion workshops are needed after the initial workshop to summarize the learning contents generated from the online platform discussions and to add depth to the discussions.
I am planning to purchase subscriptions for online databases for student information research and assignments. The usage of online databases is heavily dependent on the users’ knowledge and skills in using the databases. Training the teachers to use the database is as important as training the students because the teachers have the vital role as the instructional leaders to guide students in every lesson. I have found that giving a couple of information research lessons to each class isn’t enough to teach them the skills of using the databases. The teachers have to be trained to become capable users of the databases so that they can help the students in the lessons. I will provide face-to-face training sessions to teachers as well as starting an online space on Google classroom where teachers can discuss and share their experience of using the database and ask questions in relation to it. I will act as an active facilitator to monitor and help the teachers on the online discussion. The online space is a perfect venue for teachers to share their experience of using the database because sharing a link or information can be achieved quickly with a click on the link. This feature makes the online space a time saver for the learners.
References:
Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. Retrieved from https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf
Semadeni, J. H. (2009). Taking charge of professional development: A practical model for your school. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.