Assessment 5: Critical Reflection

Part B Critical Reflection on the Subject and myself as a TL.

Many things throughout this semester led to my personal views of the role of a TL changing, developing and synthesizing into a comprehensive idea of what an excellent TL should look like. The main areas of change in my thinking were collaboration; information literacy, and the development of an information literate school community; and the importance of having principal support. These changes occurred as a result of reading, research, my own work in the library, and comments made by other students on the forums.

The final blog assessment and the course modules helped synthesize my ideas on information literacy and information literate school communities. The OLJ Blog task made me (and others) think about what our view on Information Literacy actually was. After involving myself with online discussion and readings I formed a view based on the fact that Information literacy has been described as a core literacy for the 21st century, it helps students form opinions and develop skills (Lloyd & Williamson, 2008). Pretorius (2013) gave a valid opinion on the forum that most authors mention that Information Literacy is a process, and is constantly changing much like the process we take as teachers. I know that my knowledge on all topics in this subject will constantly evolve.

Before I began this subject I had not considered the importance of collaboration with classroom teachers with TL’s to plan and create units that enable students to learn and practice information literacy skills. As I researched and completed sections of the subject, collaboration appeared more and more. Whilst researching an idea for assignment item 2, I became aware that collaboration was not occurring in many school situations that I have observed and the Standards of Professional Excellence are much harder to attain with lack of teacher and TL collaboration. I made note of this in my blog entry, entitled “Week Four” on 25^th November 2012. In a student correspondence on the Forum, Palmer (2013) gave a great opinion about the lack of support in topic 5 and Tipadalo (2012) about the specific roles of a TL in topic 2. An article that reinforces Palmer’s view is Todd (2008), which discusses how collaboration in a school can work, even with obstacles such as time and unwillingness of classroom teachers. Many entries on the ‘Topic 5 forum’ discussed collaboration as being an obstacle, however it was refreshing to see that most of them are still willing to try and collaborate with classroom teachers.

Early on I decided that principal support is crucial to a TL. Evidence of this learning is found in my blog entitled “Week Three” on the 20^th of November 2012 (TLs within the School Community). Principals play a big part in what a TL is able to achieve within the school. It was helpful to see that others agree with the idea of the principal being critical to library success as indicated in comments on the “Topic 5 Forum”. My awareness of why collaboration was so important in the role of TL became more concrete after reading an entry on the Topic Forum 5. In a personal communication by a fellow student on the forum, Pretorius, (2013) stated “The Principal should be treated a little differently as there is the expectation that she/he will be well-read, and that his/her job involves analysis of current educational trends and theories. I’d invest more time presenting literature to them whilst simultaneously letting positive comments from staff filter through.”

My understanding now, after completing relevant readings, is that it is up to the TL to influence and create change. They can do this through constant promotion of the value of their role, and by showing the principal how they can contribute to students learning and achievement.

ETL401 has been instrumental in my knowledge of the role of a teacher librarian. Although I have mainly discussed collaboration, information literacy and principal support in this blog entry, I have gained understanding and knowledge in all aspects of the TLs role. Through completion of blog entries and participation in subject forums, I have been able to articulate and see other views about the TLs role, then form my own opinion. Finally, and most importantly, my learning has inspired me to become an excellent TL. As I currently have limited experience in the library, I try to use things I have learnt whenever possible. In terms of my learning, it is being able to practice and experience what I have learnt that makes it all worthwhile for me in terms of my ability to become an excellent TL.

References

Lloyd, A., and Williamson, K. (2008) Working towards an understanding of information literacy in context: Implications for research, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol 40(1), 3-12. SAGE Journals, UK. Retrieved January 13th, 2013 from http://lis.sagepub.com/content/40/1/3.abstract

Palmer, A. (2013, January 23). [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL401_201290_W_D/page/714197e0-4a89-42e0-0095-562a37d6f3a2

Pretorius, T. (2013, January 22). [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL401_201290_W_D/page/714197e0-4a89-42e0-0095-562a37d6f3a2

Tipaldo, M. (2012, November 30). [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL401_201290_W_D/page/4cf5bbd9-3e78-4ecd-00e6-01cc20907fa8

Todd, R. J. (2008). The dynamics of classroom teacher and teacher librarian instructional collaborations. Scan, 27(2), 19-28. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au

Information Literacy is more than a set of skills.

“Information literacy is more than a set of skills”

Information literacy has been described as a core literacy for the 21st century. (Lloyd & Williamson, 2008). There are many ways that we currently share and process information, yet this will evolve and change as we move into the future. (Armstrong, 2008). Valenza states that searching is a “life skill”. Information will help us make wise choices, reach conclusions and communicate well. (Valenza, 2005). Information literacy is important for those who are living and learning in this century, but is it more than a checklist of skills that help us and our students?

Information literacy skills help people recognise when information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the information. (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2012). It is certainly essential for academic success. (Macpherson, 2004). We live in an incredible age, where the facts we need or want are only a click away. The internet has become an important and wonderful tool for use in education, yet it has become a challenge for many teachers and teacher librarians to give students the skills needed to test “reliability, currency and relevance” for the information they encounter. (Breivik, 2010).

Macpherson (2004) states that perhaps our aim should not be to teach skills but to develop “theoretical frameworks” for twenty-first century literacy. This flexibility might lead to new perspectives to explore? We also bring a level of bias to our learning. There is certainly a broad range of individual differences, and variability within performance. Teacher librarians need to consider relevant learning strategies while being aware of this. (Macpherson, 2004). Not all square students will fit into the round information literacy shape we try to put them in? There are so many different variables we work with. What does information literacy look like on the other side of the world? Surely it has different characteristics in different contexts and cultures? (Lloyd & Williamson, 2008). We learn and teach in and about an environment in constant flux. (Valenza, 2005). The world is in a state of continual change and we struggle to keep up with what is current. What will information literacy look like in ten or twenty years time? 

We are trying to help students participate in emerging information landscapes. (Valenza, 2005). There are important skills to develop, but a searching attitude is also required, as are the habits and behaviours involved. (Valenza, 2005) The “info-fluent” student has a sense of inquiry, thinks creatively about words, manages time effectively and is persistent - just to name a few extra skills. (Valenza, 2005) Kuhlthau has described the cognitive and affective stages that students follow during research as a process of becoming information literate. (Bishop, 2003). This becoming is a continuing journey. In our information-overloaded world there is a need for better thinkers, problem solvers and inquirers. Those who are information literate are indeed a precious commodity. (ACRL, 2012., Breivik, 2005). Yet this involves more than a checklist of skills. For some information literacy is a definite group of skills and when you can tick off those abilities you are classed as "literate". However, it also involves a mindset and an attitude that continues to change and grow throughout our lives as change continues around us. It is an evolving process where students and adults learn how they learn. (FitzGerald, 2011).

References:

Association of College & Research Libraries (2012). Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Retrieved Janaury 13^th, from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

Armstrong, S. (2008) Information Literacy: Navigating and Evaluating Today’s Media. Shell Education. Retrieved January 13^th, 2012 2-12, from http://csuau.eblib.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=408103

Bishop, K. (2003) What in the world is happening with information literacy? Knowledge Quest, 31(5), 14-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194726687?accountid=10344

Breivik, P. (2005). 21st century learning and information literacy. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. 37:2, 21-27. Retrieved January 13, 2013, from http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/CHNG.37.2.21-27

FitzGerald, L. (2011). The twin purposes of Guided Inquiry: guiding student inquiry and evidence based practice. Scan, 30(1), 26-41. Retrieved January 13th, 2013 from http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/fitzgerald-l.pdf

Lloyd, A., and Williamson, K. (2008) Towards an understanding of information literacy in context: Implications for research, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol 40(1), 3-12. SAGE Journals, UK. Retrieved January 13th, 2013 from http://lis.sagepub.com/content/40/1/3.abstract

Macpherson, K (2004). Undergraduate Information Literacy: A Teaching Framework. alia publishing, Australia, 238-240. Retrieved January 13th, 2013, from http://www.alia.org.au/publishing/aarl/35.3/macpherson.pdf

Valenza, J. (2005) Super Searchers Go To School: Sharing Online Stategies with K-12 Students, Teachers, and Librarians, Vol.35. Medford, NJ: CyberAge Book. Retrieved January 13th, 2013, from Google Books ‪http://bit.ly/OOdmHo 

Blog Task Two.

Demonstrate your understanding of the role of the teacher librarian with regards to the convergence of literacies in the 21st century.

There is consensus among experts that the role of a teacher librarian or library media specialist (Harvey, 2009) is multi-faceted.  According to Purcell (2010) and Cooper and Bray (2011) the four key roles of the school library media specialist are defined in Information Power (1998) as teacher, instructional partner, information specialist and program administrator.  According to Lamb (2011) the role is more diverse than this and also incorporates the roles of promoting school volunteerism, curriculum director and government and grant officer.

The clearest depiction of the role of a school librarian is seen in the circle diagram of Herring (2007).  Relying heavily on the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), the Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) Standards of Professional Excellence (2011) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) School Library Manifesto Herring incorporates “budget manager” and “staff manager” into the role of teacher librarian.  He also adds “website developer” to the role which goes above and beyond the position of website administrator or contributor offered by other authors.

In all of these role descriptors the teacher librarian is expected to “have the state-of-the-art technical and pedagogical expertise to engage 21st century learners” (Gaver, n.d., p.3) while also providing students with the ability to “develop critical thinking skills”, “evaluate and analyze (sic) the information at hand” and perform the mental process required to “change knowledge from information to concept” (Bomar, 2010, p 72).

When looking at the word “Transliteracy”  we understand it to mean that teacher librarians are responsible for the relationship between people, technology and the social meaning of literacy in past, present and future modalities (Ipri, 2010).  They are also responsible for bringing together the old and the new in an establishment where they and their colleagues never experienced the sort of school library program the profession advocates today (Lance, 2010).

The school library media centre has drastically changed over the last decade and so has the school library media program. Concurrently, the role of the school library media specialist has evolved in significant ways (Farmer, 2005). The twenty-first century teacher-librarian now has electronic and digital resources, Internet and web-based resources, as well as a considerable number of technologies that serve as purposeful tools, not just entertaining add-ons. LCD projectors, document cameras, video- conferencing units, interactive whiteboards, assistive technology devices, and scanners give “more credibility and seriousness to the library’s technology-enhanced program”. Not only are today’s teacher-librarians information generalists, but also information media specialists (Murray, 2000)

In short, I understand my role as a teacher librarian to be varied and diverse. ) As a Teacher Librarian I will be responsible for crafting challenging learning opportunities for my students while helping them to use the virtual world, as well as traditional information sources so that the students of today are prepared for living, working and learning in the world of tomorrow. (Gaver, n.d).

References:

Bomar, S. (2010). A school-wide instructional framework for evaluating sources. Knowledge Quest, 38(3), 72-75.

de Groot, J.; & Branch, J. L (2011). Looking toward the future: competences for 21st-century teacher librarians. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 57(3), 288-297.

Farmer, L. (2005). Technology-infused instruction for the educational community: A guide for school library specialists. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc

Gaver, M. (n.d.) School libraries, now more than ever: A position paper of the center for international scholarship in school libraries. Retrieved from www.nmm.net/TheImportanceofSchoolLibraries.pdf

Harvey, C. (2009). Hands on handout: What should an administrator expect a school library media specialist to be? Library Media Connection, October, 45.

Ipri T. (2010) Introducing transliteracy. College & Research Libraries News, 71(10), 532–567.

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.), Libraries in the twenty-first century : Charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42). Wagga Wagga, NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Lamb, A (2011). Bursting with potential: Mixing media specialist’s palette. TechTrends, 55(4), 27 – 35.

Lance, K.C. (2010). The Mind of a Researcher. Teacher Librarian, 37(4), 81-82.

Mackey, T.P., & Jacobson, T.E. (2011). Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy. College & Research Libraries, 72(1), 62–78.

Murray, J. (2000). Librarians evolving into cybrarians. MultiMedia Schools, 7(2), 26-30.

O’Connell, J. (2012) Learning without frontiers: School libraries and meta-literacy in actionAccess, 26(1), 4-7.

Purcell, M. (2010) All librarians do is check out books, right? A look at the role of a school library media specialist. Library Media Connection, November/December, 30 – 33

Week Five

Inquiry and Project based learning, I agree with both styles of learning. Inquiry is a style I have used whilst being on my practical experience and found that the students were very involved throughout. To think that TL's should be excluded from curriculum development sounds ridiculous to me as they are the people that gain the most information from new technology, new resources and information as they are surrounded by it everyday. The TL can locate this new information, present it to the school and the staff and together they can create interesting and engaging UOW for the students to learn and gain from. As TLs they use Inquiry and Project based learning in their own study into new information. Its part of everyday life for them.

Till next time...

Week Four

Oberg's topic involving TL's and the thought of invisability really hit home to me, so I went to my local TL at my old primary school (and my mothers current work) to have a chat to her and see if she disagreed/agreed with any of my findings after being involved with the forums and readings. 

She told me that in her time as a TL, views upon her job have improved with teachers of my generation being much more understanding and aware of the role in which she has and the impact upon the children. That she is a essential part of literacy development for the children and that if students are struggling, she can be a asset to help them along. It is noted within schools that roles such as the TL or the SLOS (Student Learning Support Officer) can be brushed under the rug and see as not important. I think it would be interesting to see how the school would run without these people, maybe they would get a bit more respect!

Till next week!

Week Three.

This week has gotten me thinking about the role in which TL's are placed within the school community, and if they are properly respected as teaching professionals (as they should be)

On the forum discussions have risen regarding the fact that at some schools the interest of other staff members in the library is pretty much zero, then at other school the staff and principal have a high amount of respect and regard for the library and librarian.

At most schools I have undertaken my practical experience at the staff and principal have had a large amount of interest in the library and enjoy making sure the students use the space to its full potential.

After reading the various readings regarding this topic online the guidelines of what essentially is a TL shows how much work they actually do and not what some other teaching professionals see as a "easy" job!

Till next time...

Blog Task One: Guided Inquiry Approach.

This blog entry will look at John Dewey’s pedagogical practice of ask, investigate, create, discuss and reflect.  Using the term “guided inquiry” (GI) it will explore the role of the teacher librarian and how we as teachers can implement this method into the library setting.

Guided Inquiry (GI), involves teacher librarians guiding, instructing and coaching students in how to learn to think for themselves, make good decisions and create and find meaning from multiple information sources. (Kuhlthau, 2010). Guided Inquiry has been very popular in many classroom and library settings.

The progressive education movement began in the late nineteeth century and persisted in various forms to the present day educational system. Originally publicised by the works of John Dewey and Jerome Bruner the philosophical school of pragmatism was responsible for shaping the progressive education movement (Inquiry Learning, 2011). 

In an ideal school situation the teacher librarian would work with other staff to design authentic learning experiences for students which were relevant, motivational and challenging (Scheffers, 2008). Once taught, the teachers involved would then meet to reflect on how well the GI engaged students and whether what was produced met their expectations (Shore, Chichekian; Syer; Aulls, & Frederiksen, 2012).

For students, being given an opportunity to follow a self determined, real world, line of inquiry to answer an open-ended question is an empowering experience (Boss and Krauss, 2007). By working in pairs and small groups students are also aided in their intellectual and personal development (Levy & Petrulis, 2012).  In particular, when supported by technology, GI can develop significantly improved higher order thinking skills.  (Littleton, Scanlon & Sharples, 2011).

The link between GI and information literacy is well reported based on their mutual use of question formulation, evaluating information and building new knowledge.  Web based resources are particularly suited to GI as they allow students to find multiple sources of information which they can sort, organize and analyse (Boss and Krauss, 2007).

According to the ALIA and ASLA’s Statement of Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians the teacher librarian is also expected to assist individual learners to develop independence in their learning.  GI is a perfect way to achieve this because it is a collaborative process in which teachers and students work together to negotiate various aspects of the curriculum (Sebas, 2012).

For all teachers, and not just teacher librarians, GI is a very valuable learning tool.  It is a form of learning in which students are assessed on how well they develop experimental and analytical skills rather than how much knowledge they can memorise and regurgitate (Takaya, 2008).  GI allows students to take control of their own educational wheel and learn in a supportive and beneficial way.

References

Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Power of the mashup: Combining essential learning with new technology tools. Learning & Leading with Technology, 35(1), 12-17.

Boss, S.,& Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age. International Society for Technology in Education.

Fitzgerald, L. (2011). The twin purposes of guided inquiry: Guiding student inquiry and evidence based practice. Scan, 30(1), 26-41.

Inquiry Learning (2011). Retrieved from www.sebas.vic.edu.au/cb…/Inquiry%20Learning%20Information.pdf

Inquiry Page. (2012). Who was John Dewey? Retrieved from http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/inquiry/johndewey.html

Kuhlthau, C. K. (2010). Building guided inquiry teams for 21st-century learners. School Library Monthly, 26(5), 18.

Levy, P., & Petrulis, R. (2012). How do first-year university students experience inquiry and research, and what are the Implications for the practice of inquiry-based learning? Studies in Higher Education, 37(1), 85-101.

Littleton, K., Scanlon, E., & Sharples, M. (2011) Orchestrating Inquiry Learning Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.

Scheffers, J. (2008). Guided inquiry: A learning journey. Scan, 27(4), 34-42.

Shore, B., Chichekian, T., Syer, C., Aulls, M., & Frederiksen, C. (2012). Planning, enactment, and reflection in inquiry-based learning: Validating the McGill strategic demands of inquiry questionnaire. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10(2), 315-337.

Takaya, K. (2008). Jerome Bruner’s theory of education: From early Bruner to later Bruner. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 39(1), 1-19.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) statement of standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. Retrieved from http://www.alia.org.au/policies/teacher-librarian.standards.html.