Category: ETL401 Introduction to Teacher Librarianship

Task:

Provide a critical reflection of how your understanding of IL, IL models and the TL role in inquiry learning has expanded through this subject. 

In my understanding, information literacy refers to an array of complex skills and competence, ideas and understandings. The major components of information literacy are firstly, the people’s abilities of knowing when they don’t know and how they can find the knowledge and secondly, skills in working and managing information. The term digital literacy is often used interchangeably with information literacy because technology has affected the concept of literacy to be more ICT oriented. Digital literacy includes a range of competency required to navigate the online environment. Although the definition of information literacy is diverse, it is a measurable set of skills TLs can teach to prepare students to enter the work place in the information society (my blog post Module 5).

Understanding of information landscape is important for teacher librarians (TLs) because they have the key role of teaching information literacy to students (my blog post 2.3). Information landscape has become extremely complex, dynamic and evolving because the formats of information and the modes of information delivery have become multiple.  The online part of the landscape is constantly changing as the new technology become available at an alarming speed. Digital literacy has become the interchangeable term for information literacy. It is contextualised depending on the mode of access students use to access information and the purpose of their information searching. As my understanding of information literacy develops, I noticed the inter-relationship between technology tools (such as artificial intelligence) and the users utilising the tools (my blog post 2.2). The tools are directing the users; and on the other hand, the users are directing the development of the tools.

Schools have applied a range of information literacy models to teach students a process by which they can follow to gain understanding of a topic when they are involved in an inquiry task. The advantage of applying a literacy model is to break down the inquiry task into steps, providing a scaffolding to help student make sense of each step.

TLs have the dual role as the curriculum leaders and information specialists (my blog post on 14 March 2019). This requires TLs to work with teachers to teach inquiry based lessons embedded with information literacy skills. ASLA evidence guide for teacher librarian provides a lot of examples of practice which TLs can adopt in order to meet the AITSL teaching standards (my forum post 3.1).  TLs are to use literacy module suitable for the school’s context and teach the Australian curriculum and the General Capabilities (my forum post 5.3a). Guided Inquiry model can be used to plan a curriculum based inquiry unit to guide students to build deep knowledge and deep understanding of a curriculum topic. However, TLs need to decide what model is suitable based on the staffing and resources available in their own school (my forum post 5.3b).

TLs need to have an overall understanding of the inquiry learning element presented in the Australian Curriculum in order to work with classroom teachers to teach the curriculum. Inquiry learning is lacking consistently across all subjects in the Australian Curriculum. For example, in the subjects traditionally taught as teacher-centred (for example, languages), or the experiment based subjects (for example, science), the student-centred inquiry process is lacking or weak in the curriculum. The development of information literacy skills required for inquiry based learning are omitted in these subjects too (my forum posts 5.3a).

The way inquiry is portrayed in the Australian Curriculum provides challenges and opportunities for TLs to work with classroom teachers to design units of inquiry learning. The advantage for TLs is that they have a whole-of-curriculum responsibility. They are in the position to point out the similarities and differences in the inquiry skills sequence across the subjects so that information literacy can be extensively taught across key learning areas.

Teacher librarians also have the role to make connection between inquiry skills and information literacy. General Caapabilities in the Australian Curriculum all have strong elements of information literacy embedded in them. Therefore, as the whole-of-curriculum specialist, TLs also have the opportunities to apply general capabilities in the inquiry based learning.

Planning and teaching inquiry-based learning lessons by using Guided Inquiry model demonstrates TL’s ability to meet the requirements for quality teaching. On one hand, TLs and subject teachers are under pressure to help students develop skills for the 21^st Century as evidenced in the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum Priorities; on the other hand, TLs also need to support teachers to fulfil requirement of accountability where students must perform on the state and Australian levels, i.e. participating in school tests, NAPLAN, and HSC. Nevertheless, the priorities of acquiring 21^st Century skills and achieving good marks are mutually connected. Students can acquire information literacy skills for the 21^st century through inquiry-based learning. These skills will help them achieve good marks for the exams across key learning areas (my blog post module 4.1, 4.1b).

As score tests such as HSC and NAPLAN do not explicitly indicate the level of information literacy skills of the students, TLs need to come up with meaningful ways of assessing students’ information literacy skills acquired from the inquiry-based learning and library literacy programmes. TLs are accountable for the effectiveness of the library programmes and services provided to the school community. There are assessment and survey tools TLs can use (my blog post 3.4, forum post 3.4). I have concluded a few key considerations for choosing tools for assessment which are ease of use, time required from the TLs and teachers to run the assessment and the reliability of the data collection.

TLs have many competitive priorities. Therefore they need to develop good organisational and time management skills. Effective collaboration and communication with teachers and library staff is the key to achieve desired outcomes and overcome the constrains of staffing and resources. Gaining the Principal’s support is definitely on the top of the priority list for TLs (my forum post 3.3, 6.2b)

Discussion of information literacy in this module are diverse and interesting. In your journal, reflect on what you can take from the discussion of information literacy to your TL role in school.

We need to take the behaviourist and the sociological perspectives to understand the definition of information literacy. The behaviourist perspective supports the idea that information literacy is a set of learned skills-based, where individual achieves competence in the development and execution of certain skills. The sociological perspective emphasizes on the collaborative aspects of meaning making and information exchange necessary for participatory work.

Information and technology literacy is clearly the basic skills set of the 21st century. Information and technology affects people in all settings – education, public service, work and every day life in the information society. TLs should aim at preparing students to equip with a set of skills and competencies which will enables them to enter the workplace. 

TLs are the leaders of information literacy instruction. TLs need to have a good understanding of information literacy closely linked to the learning environment and teaching. Although the concept of information literacy can be diverse, we can always measure the learners’ information literacy by using a more skills-based approach (Herring, 2009). The skill set for information literacy can be taught explicitly in the inquiry based learning which TLs and teachers can work and plan collaboratively in school (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2015).

Reference:

Herring, J. (2009).  A grounded analysis of Year 8 students’ reflections on information lieracyskills and techniques. School Libraries Worldwide, 15/1, 1-13

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Assessing and evaluating. In Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. 2nd edition (pp. 149-161)  Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited

 

3.4 Reflection

Accountability in practice

Consider these simple ways suggested by Valenza for gathering and analysing data in your daily practice, which are accompanied by some of her suggestions for technology to help with data collection.

Which of Valenza’s data collection ideas you are likely to use in your own library?

TLs are required to provide evidence for their work practice each year as part of the accountability requirement. Our school requires TLs to complete Professional Development Plan (PDP) each year. The PDP is the combination of employee performance appraisal and evidence to demonstrate that the TLs’ practice aligns with the AITSL teaching standards. Goals for the PDP are set in Term 1.  Evidence of practice aligning with the goals are collected throughout the year and submitted in Term 4. I can use some of the methods recommended by Valenza (2015) to collect and analyse data as strong evidence for my PDP. The data analysis and survey results can also be used for the budget proposal for the library each year in order to advocate appropriate funding to the library.

Using Survey Monkey is an effective and quick way to collect data from the teachers and students for their feedbacks and to find out what their needs are regarding library service. The survey can be designed to focus on different aspects of the service. It is better to do short surveys, each focusing on one aspect at a time rather than a long and comprehensive survey because teachers and students are on the go all the time.

Exist surveys using Survey Monkey can be easily carried out because my school already has an existing procedure for Year 12 students in Term 2 and 3 when the students are preparing to leave the school in Term 4. The survey can be included as part of the existing procedure. Exist interviews with selective Year 12 students can provide valuable results that can be considered for use in the library planning. The advantage of interviews is that TL can get first-hand feedbacks from the students during the conversations, which can be achieved through online survey. Students at various levels of academic capabilities should be chosen to get an extensive understanding about students’ different needs.

The Accelerated Reader programme provided by Renaissance is a useful tool to assess students’ reading and literacy levels and guide them to read books that suit their respective levels. Students can be assessed for their reading levels a few times a year so that their selected reading materials can be adjusted if their reading levels have improved. My school has had an intake of about two hundred refugee students each year in recent years. Reading and literacy ability is always a hinderance for these students to learn. The School provides additional support for these students by offering them literacy lessons. One of the biggest challenges faced by the teachers is the difficulty of gauging individual reading levels and providing them with the appropriate books to read. The TLs in my school have worked with literacy teachers to use the Accelerated Reader to meet the needs of these students with success.

In my school, the reading level of each student assessed by the Accelerated Reader programme is recorded on Sentral. Teachers or TLs can retrieve a statistical records of all reading levels of a class so as to teach the class by using the appropriate level of English materials. In my school, Accelerated Reader programme has not only be used for the EALD students, but other mainstream classes upon requests of the teachers. However, TL is expected to spend considerable amount of time to manage the administrative tasks in relation to use the programme. Staff time has always been a concern for managing the programme.

Reference:

Valenza, J. (2015). Evolving with evidence: Leveraging new tool for EBP. Knowledge Quest. 43/3, 36 – 43.

4.1. Think and reflect

How do the dimensions of quality teaching relate to inquiry learning and project-based learning approaches?

Examine this same question from the pedagogical perspective your school or education system is currently employing.

After reading the Quality Teaching to Support the NSW Professional Teaching Standards, I can see that inquiry learning and project-based learning lesson planning can ensure TL’s teaching practice would align with the requirements for quality teaching.

In the dimension of intellectual quality, inquiry learning and project-based learning enable students to come up with the original questions for their topic and they can also carry out research and activities to investigate the topic and solve related problems. This helps students develop higher-order thinking, deep knowledge and metalanguage.

In the dimension of quality learning environment, project-based learning and inquiry learning encourage students to interact socially and engage discussions within the student-directed learning environment.

Project-based learning and inquiry based learning enhance the connectivity and inclusiveness of the learning environment.

My school is actively pushing for project-based learning in the STEM program. Year 7 to 9 have STEM lessons every week during which students create a science product they initiate around a topic. The most recent project created by Year 9 was amusement parks using renewable energies. The end products are on display in the school library. I am teaching in the language faculty. We have not emphasised on inquiry learning or project-based learning. However, we have tried to make language learning practical and useful for students. For example, each language teacher has done a unit of study on celebrating New Year in the county where the targeted language is spoken. Students were required to make a craft in relation to the New Year culture of the county. The lesson plans can be expanded and adapted to inquiry learning. The inquiry unit of study can have a focus on research information about the New Year culture in a county where the targeted language is spoken.

Reference:

Quality teaching to support the NSW professional teaching standards. Retrieved from: http://currentreforms.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/9/9/26999857/quality_teaching_to_support_nsw_professional_teaching_standards.pdf

4.1 b Discussion and reflection

The present K-12 education climate has some opposing drivers. On the one hand, there is the move to 21st century skills, evident in the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum Priorities; on the other, there is the requirement of accountability where students must perform on the local, state, Australian and International levels (school tests, NAPLAN, HSC and PISA, for example).

This can be a hot topic of discussion. What do you think?

• Are the acquisition of 21st century skills and the focus on accountability mutually exclusive?

You may wish to consider what problems and barriers teachers and TLs may face in schools which adopt inquiry learning.

• What issues might stand in the way of inquiry learning in the school?
• What issues might stand in the way of collaboration between teachers and teacher librarians to carry out inquiry learning?

Bonanno (2015) explicitly demonstrated how the core skills required in the Australian Curriculum, the General Capabilities and inquiry skills can be integrated in the unit of learning for students.  This proves that the acquisition of 21 century skills and requirements for students to do the various tests are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the acquisition of the skills and passing the tests are inter-related. The skills are essential for students to do the tests well. On the other hand, students who do not do well on the tests would normally have poor skills in literacy and General Capabilities.

Inquiry learning is a method which TLs can apply to their teaching of the library lessons. While it can be effective, it takes a lot of planning and organisation to implement. It can be also challenging for TLs and the subject teachers to have time together to organise the lesson plans and discuss suitable topics of study. Subject teachers are under pressure to enable students to achieve outcomes required by the syllabus. They also plan their teaching around the assessments required for each term. Marking the assessments and writing the reports are the priorities with non-negotiable deadlines. They may not have the time to plan the extra library lessons with TLs. Therefore, TLs need to take the initiative to discuss with the teachers what they think might help their subject teaching and how the inquiry learning in information literacy, literacy and General Capabilities skills can be integrated into the lessons. TLs also need to have an overall understanding about the subject contents in order to plan the lessons effectively. Perseverance is important in the implementation of inquiry learning and collaborative work between TLs and teachers. The improvement of students’ information literacy skills and General Capabilities skills takes time to show up.  It also takes time to develop the culture of collaborative work in the school community.

Reference:

Bonanno, K. (2015).  F-10 Inquiry skills scope and sequence and F-10 core skills and tools, Eduwebinar Pty Ltd, Zillmere, Queensland. Retrieved from:  https://s3.amazonaws.com/scope-sequence/Bonanno-curriculum_mapping_v1.pdf 

 

 

 

Module 2. The Information Environment

2.2 Think and reflect

Think about the ramifications of having ready access to information at all times. For example, how does this aspect affect you and your capacity to study this subject? What are 3 benefits and 3 negatives?

Mosbergen (2016) reported that 1 out of 10 employees in France experienced burnout from their work. One of the causes for this was being constantly connected to work by email communications after work. The French legislation suggested employees deserved the right to disconnect after hours. The right to disconnect isn’t necessarily an obligation, but it’s an opportunity to claim a little breathing room. The real problem for this situation is the culture of having to do more and work more constantly to compete with others.

In relation to the online study for my TL degree, there are advantages and disadvantages of having ready access to course information at all times.

The 3 benefits are:

• Information is available24/7. Students can get fast and timely response and feedback from lecturers and share information with their peers instantly.
• Information is portable and available at anywhere. Students can study wherever they can access the Internet and do study at times that suit their own schedules.
• Access a large volume of information in a short time. Students can immediately locate multiple versions of the same information or various information on the same topic with different viewpoints.

The 3 negatives are:

• Stress in relation to the study can be overwhelming because students never disconnect from the information sources. This stress could be related to the competition spirit which drives every student to do better.
• When searching on the Internet, it is a very dense landscape to navigate. It is easy to get lost and lose focus on the most important information needed for the topic.
• Studying online courses need excellent time management and organisational skills. It can be difficult to keep up with the pace of the study because it heavily relies on self- motivation and self-initiative. Students can feel isolated as well without face-to-face communications with the lecturers and their

The advantages and disadvantages mentioned above can be applied to many workplaces in today’s information society. We are heavily relying on technology to provide us with quick access to information. The technology is rapidly developing to meet the users’ needs. However, it can be overwhelming for users to catch up with the technology and deal with the stress caused by the technology.

As TLs, we need to teach young people to use technology wisely so that we are not driven by the technology but become smart users of the technology.

Reference:

Mosbergen, D. (2016). French legislation suggests employees deserve the right to disconnect. The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 2016.

 

Explain what you think the phrase – the tool is directing the user – means? How do you think embedded AI affects how people use technology in the digital environment?

A major issue relating to this technological perspective of the Information Society is the question of determinism. Who/what is driving technological change? Is it the inhabitants of the landscape or the technology? Has it reached a point where the technology itself drives the agenda or is society in control? Does society determine the rate of change, or is society still trying to catch up?

In the current information society it is very true that “the tool is directing the user”. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is applied to many services and devices we use every day. Google is one of the most common powerful AIs used on the Android phones, computers and tablets. Google records places the user has been to, the websites he/she has visited and online activities which have occurred on the device. The user has to sign up for Google in order to access Google Map, which is the most common GPS system used for driving. The Android phone system relies heavily on Google apps to operate without which the user would not be able to use many apps on their phones. While the Google system empowers the user in today’s digital society, it also forces them to lose their privacy while accessing Google. Hackers can break into the user’s device system to obtain personal information.

Technology itself drives the agenda of what the user should use in order to survive in the digital society. On the other hand, the society is trying to catch up with all the changes technology has brought. Users are learning as much technology knowledge as they can in order to make decisions on what degree of technology or functions they want to use on their devices. Ongoing discussions on the overuse of technology and protection of privacy are indications of how society is catching up with the advances of technology. Users’ demands for higher level of security and protection of privacy have influenced the design of past and future technological devices which would increasingly be embedded with suitable softwares to meet those demands.

 

2.3 Think and reflect

Are your ideas developing about the information society?

• What do you think this term means?
• Why is it important for the teacher librarian to have an understanding of the information landscape?

Information society refers to a society where information related to the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity. The definition of information society can be found on a report written by IBM Community Development Foundation in 1997. It says information society is “the result of social inclusion of national working party” (Rouse 2005). This definition forecasted the changes technology would bring in the next decades. Technology has become part of our lives in the 21 century. Its importance will increase as users require more advanced technology to meet the needs of cultural, work, business and communication activities. The concept of information society is also related to social equity. All people living in the information society have the right to access information through technologies including the Internet, phones and computers, etc.

Teacher Librarians need to have an understanding of the information landscape. The dynamic information landscape means that students can access information via many channels and in many forms. Students need to be taught how to find the information they need and make judgement on what type of information is of good quality for their study. The dynamic information landscape also has an impact on the nature of work and composition of the workforce. Teacher librarians as educators need to prepare students to face these future changes.

Reference:

Rouse, M. (2005). What is Information Society? Whatis. Retrieved Nov. 2016

The role of Teacher Librarian

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.

This is my first time to put a new post on this reflective blog. I am navigating the blog by trying different things. Nowadays students in schools are the frequent users of computer technology and most of them are bloggers and connected to social media almost on daily basis. As adults we seldom have time for blogging. I think this reflective blogging activity will help me get a feeling of using a blog and connecting with people through blogging.