In my first year of studying for my Masters of Teaching Librarianship I took two subjects, ETL401 and ETL501. These subjects provided an overview of the role of the teacher librarian and their effect on the school community.
To begin with the role of the teacher librarian was seen “first and foremost as a facilitator of books” (Mackenzie, July 2010). There were many reasons for thinking this way, one of which was the schooling system in which I was raised. I was originally from England and the attended primary school did not have a school library. Instead we had a mobile van appear every 2 weeks from which we could borrow books. When I arrived in Australia I was already in secondary school and there was no set library time. Another reason for thinking this was because I am a firm believer in the importance of reading. Guthrie and Wigfield state that students who read outside of classrooms had a higher reading comprehension and knowledge based then students who didn’t (1997, p 420). It then surprised me to read Herring’s article which stated that some researchers “argued that reading for pleasure is given unnecessary prominence in some school library mission statements” (Mackenzie, August, 2010, Herring, 2007, p 29). If research has shown that students who read outside the classroom have a higher reading comprehension then the importance of reading should be recognised in all mission statements pertaining to the library and schools in general.
Another facet of the role of the teacher librarian was the teaching of research skills. Whilst I briefly thought that teacher librarians should assist in teaching students how to research (Mackenzie, July 2010) due to lack of knowledge and access to teacher librarian resources I was unaware of just how involved they should be. Haycock states that a decline in school libraries is “almost certainly linked to the erosion of research skills among students at the post secondary level” (2003, p 11). Through completion of this course I have been made aware of information literacy skills and their importance to students in their studies. Information skills, which cover the finding, using, synthesising and evaluation of data, are key skills which must be taught to students if they are to become successful learners. Plotnick states that “information literacy skills instruction must be integrated with the curriculum and reinforced both within and outside of the educational setting” (1999, p 2) and the teacher librarian plays a key role in the implementation of these programs. However, as stated on the ETL401 forum, one of the main difficulties faced by teacher librarians is that there is not a single definitive definition of information literacy. Snavely and Cooper discuss how the many definitions have caused “ambiguity” and that it is “a phrase in quest of meaning” (1997).
Before I started this course I had never heard of an information literate school community. Whilst this connects to the above paragraph about information literacy the definition that I prefer is a school community which is dedicated to work together to achieve the goal “of becoming informed” (Boyd, Eyre & Henri, 2002, p 2). I realised that my lack of knowledge about this subject came from the inability to access many of the journals and through not realising that the concept existed. It is interesting to note that information literate school communities are not taught in undergraduate degrees for early childhood teaching despite being an important topic of discussion. Now that I understand the meaning of an information literate school community I can see that the teacher librarian has a very specific role to play in its creation and development. As stated in ‘The Library Edition’ teacher librarians need to become leaders within their school community and expand their role to becoming advocates to creating an information literate school (Mackenzie, September 2010).
The final point to make is about the Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians. Previously I had believed that teacher librarians had the same standards as every other teacher. However now I realise that teacher librarians have their own specific discipline and therefore their own specific standards. Park states that “without professional standards how are new teachers expected to know what characterises quality teaching, given the vast array of teaching styles and practices that currently exist within schools?” (Park, 2001, p 19) and this rings true for teacher librarians as well. By knowing the Standards and working towards them, teacher librarians can improve their teaching and the outcomes for students in their care.
To conclude this discussion my first year at Charles Sturt University has taught me a lot about the role of the teacher librarian. It has shown me that there is a lot more work involved then looking after books and covering other teacher’s relief from face to face time, and hopefully my knowledge base will continue to grown throughout the rest of my years at university.
Reference:
Australian Library and Information Association & Australian Schoolslibrary Association. (2005). Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. Available from http://www.asla.org.au/docs/TLstandards.pdf
Cooper, N. & Snavely, L. (1997). The information literacy debate. The Journal Of Academic Librarianship 1 9-14.
Guthrie, J. & Wigfield, A. (1997). Relations of children’s motivation for reading to the amount and breadth of their reading. Journal of educational psychology 89(3) 420-432.
Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada’s school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 1 October 2010 from: http://www.cla.ca/slip/final_haycock_report.pdf
Henri, J., Boyd, S., & Eyre, G. (2002). Sculpting and Information Literacy School Community: Looking for Touchstones. In D. Singh, A. Fonseka & B. De Rosario (Eds.). School Libraries for a Knowledge Society: Proceedings of the 31sr Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship (pp. 121-140). Seattle: IASL.
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.
Park, R. (2001). The impact of standards on a beginning teacher. Unicorn 27(3) 18-20
Plotnick, E. (1999). Information literacy. eDigest 98(7) 1-5. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 3 October 2010 from: http://www.planetfreebook.com/Classic_collection/classic_books_author_PQ_PDF_edited_filenames/Plotnick.Eric%20!Information%20Literacy.pdf
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Topic 3 (Forum Post moved here)
I have always found the concept of Resource Based Learning interesting, especially from an early childhood perspective. Going right back in preschools there has always been resource based learning and little teacher directed, whole group activities. Yet schools seem to be the complete opposite. In some ways I can understand that as schools often have less time and more concepts to teach. There is also the need for explicit teaching of subjects (e.g reading) that are difficult to learn through RBL. To be honest I think there should be a mixture of teacher directed and resource based learning. We are often told that students learning differently so we cannot say that one teaching approach/ style is better then the other when we should be using a variety.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Information Literacy/ Literate School Communities
Ok so the temptation to just copy and paste paragraphs of my assignment into this post was high but I shall resist. Mostly.
To me literacy itself seems to be a complicated topic. It's gone from basic reading and writing to just about anything. I did my TRP (newcastle students will know) on Visual Arts and literacy and ended up having paragraphs on multiliteracies. So I don't actually think that there can be just one definition for literacy and certainly not for information literacy.
What I did find interesting was reading Credaro (2006) who listed some available literacies (visual, scientific, mathematical) and then stated that information literacy was the umbrella term for these. I found that it began to make more sense when looked at like that.
Someone else in the forum commented on the difficulties faced by teachers who can't implement information literacy strategies in the schools because they are unsure of what it is. Supporting this view is Snavely and Cooper who discuss how the many definitions have caused “ambiguity” and that it is “a phrase in quest of a meaning” (1997).
For information literate school communities I am going to do a copy/ paste thing. ILSC - It is a school community which is dedicated to work together to achieve the goal “of becoming informed” (Boyd, Eyre & Henri, 2002, p 2). This means instead of information literacy being the responsibility of the individual, it is the responsibility of the school as a whole, the teachers, principals, librarians, supporting staff and students, and should been seen within all aspects of the school. Jamie McKenzie provides an extensive list of characteristics that are found in information literate school communties including: problem solving, decision making, exploration and creation of new ideas, teachers using an array of instructional roles and strategies, support for learners, ability to select reliable sources, ability to interpret information and a commitment which shows in curriculum documents and policies (McKenzie, 1998, p 1, 2).
After doing this assignment I find the idea of ILSC interesting if a bit tricky. Most of the problem would be in first being able to define it for other teachers and then convincing them that its a good thing to be. It goes back to teacher librarians needing to be leaders within the school. It involves teacher librarians expanding their role and looking at it as being fluid and able to change when needed.
Any other thoughts on this?
Lizz
To me literacy itself seems to be a complicated topic. It's gone from basic reading and writing to just about anything. I did my TRP (newcastle students will know) on Visual Arts and literacy and ended up having paragraphs on multiliteracies. So I don't actually think that there can be just one definition for literacy and certainly not for information literacy.
What I did find interesting was reading Credaro (2006) who listed some available literacies (visual, scientific, mathematical) and then stated that information literacy was the umbrella term for these. I found that it began to make more sense when looked at like that.
Someone else in the forum commented on the difficulties faced by teachers who can't implement information literacy strategies in the schools because they are unsure of what it is. Supporting this view is Snavely and Cooper who discuss how the many definitions have caused “ambiguity” and that it is “a phrase in quest of a meaning” (1997).
For information literate school communities I am going to do a copy/ paste thing. ILSC - It is a school community which is dedicated to work together to achieve the goal “of becoming informed” (Boyd, Eyre & Henri, 2002, p 2). This means instead of information literacy being the responsibility of the individual, it is the responsibility of the school as a whole, the teachers, principals, librarians, supporting staff and students, and should been seen within all aspects of the school. Jamie McKenzie provides an extensive list of characteristics that are found in information literate school communties including: problem solving, decision making, exploration and creation of new ideas, teachers using an array of instructional roles and strategies, support for learners, ability to select reliable sources, ability to interpret information and a commitment which shows in curriculum documents and policies (McKenzie, 1998, p 1, 2).
After doing this assignment I find the idea of ILSC interesting if a bit tricky. Most of the problem would be in first being able to define it for other teachers and then convincing them that its a good thing to be. It goes back to teacher librarians needing to be leaders within the school. It involves teacher librarians expanding their role and looking at it as being fluid and able to change when needed.
Any other thoughts on this?
Lizz
Resource Based Learning
I have always found the concept of Resource Based Learning interesting, especially from an early childhood perspective. Going right back in preschools there has always been resource based learning and little teacher directed, whole group activities. Yet schools seem to be the complete opposite. In some ways I can understand that as schools often have less time and more concepts to teach. There is also the need for explicit teaching of subjects (e.g reading) that are difficult to learn through RBL. To be honest I think there should be a mixture of teacher directed and resource based learning. We are often told that students learning differently so we cannot say that one teaching approach/ style is better then the other when we should be using a variety.
I also think that the constraints of time and access to good resources can be difficult to manoeuvre around and when faced with opposition some people will go back to what has worked before. Not all teachers btw just some. There are days when going back to things that have worked before can be the best for the class as a whole.
Any other ideas?
Lizz
I also think that the constraints of time and access to good resources can be difficult to manoeuvre around and when faced with opposition some people will go back to what has worked before. Not all teachers btw just some. There are days when going back to things that have worked before can be the best for the class as a whole.
Any other ideas?
Lizz
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Standards...Anyone Else Freaked Out?
So finally on to topic 2. A bit late but better then never doing it at all. Anyways I just finished reading the ASLA Standards. May I point out for the record I hate reading standards. I know that they are there as something for teachers to work towards but whenever I read standards related to teaching it alternates between being particularly scary and making me feel completely inadequate. And they never seem to use people friendly language. Its always long terms and fashionable phrases, although to be fair the ASLA standards are more user friendly then others.
To be honest at this point in time I have only managed to read the ASLA standards and the actual module. I am so behind. However what I have gained from these is that the role of a teacher librarian is extremely complicated with many parts to it. To accomplish this role mainlining caffeine and reducing sleep seems to be the only way I can see at this point. Any TL's out there who manage this role with ease? I would love to know how.
To be honest at this point in time I have only managed to read the ASLA standards and the actual module. I am so behind. However what I have gained from these is that the role of a teacher librarian is extremely complicated with many parts to it. To accomplish this role mainlining caffeine and reducing sleep seems to be the only way I can see at this point. Any TL's out there who manage this role with ease? I would love to know how.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Reading For The Sake Of Reading
Ok so yes I'm still on Topic 1 however there is a key point that needs to be addressed in Herring's reading. The was a statement in there that just rubbed me the wrong way. To paraphrase - it can be argued that reading for pleasure is given unnecessary prominence in some school library mission statements.
As a personal opinion I have to wonder why this should not be at the top of every mission statement. Day after day we are bombarded with statements about the decline in children's literacy abilities. Surely having children reading for the sake of reading can only be a good thing. Whilst I agree that there are many things that a librarian needs to teach/ do/ inspire I do think that fun reading should be right up in the top importance. The more you can get children to read for fun, the better their literacy skills. Once their literacy skills have improved they will be more willing to read to gain meaning and develop research skills. Teaching students technology skills is going to be a lot easier if they can read the instructions and spell the words correctly. This is just a personal opinion and I currently have no research to back this up but I would be interested to know what other people think of prioritizing reading?
Lizz
As a personal opinion I have to wonder why this should not be at the top of every mission statement. Day after day we are bombarded with statements about the decline in children's literacy abilities. Surely having children reading for the sake of reading can only be a good thing. Whilst I agree that there are many things that a librarian needs to teach/ do/ inspire I do think that fun reading should be right up in the top importance. The more you can get children to read for fun, the better their literacy skills. Once their literacy skills have improved they will be more willing to read to gain meaning and develop research skills. Teaching students technology skills is going to be a lot easier if they can read the instructions and spell the words correctly. This is just a personal opinion and I currently have no research to back this up but I would be interested to know what other people think of prioritizing reading?
Lizz
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Canadian Report
So I have just finished reading the Canadian report by Haycock. It's a long read! But it did raise some interesting points about teacher librarians. Also had a bit on the role of so good assignment material too.
Anyway one of the first quotes that really jumped out at me was about how the decline in school libraries is "almost certainly linked to the erosion of research skills among students at the post secondary level" (Haycock, 2003, pg 11). The reason I found that interesting is I am a student who never had library time. My primary school didn't have a library (but it only had 50 students) and my secondary schools didn't seem to think library time was in any way important. And when I got to uni and had to research and find my own information I floundered. It took me a while to develop some skills and strategies and even now I struggle with researching. So whether the two had any correlation with each other would be interesting to know.
Another point raised was "school libraries expose children from low income neighbourhoods to reading materials they may not otherwise had access to" (2003, pg 15). Whilst I am not refuting this statement I would also point out that whilst exposure is good for all students its often more of a problem with motivation levels. Such as the phrase 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink', librarians need to focus on how to make accessing the materials more interesting then just pointing in the direction of books on a dusty shelf.
The last point that confused me a little bit was the one about flexible learning. Whilst it would be ideal to have only small groups of a class come in for lessons you have to wonder about the practicalities of it. In a school of 500 is there time? And would you separate the groups by ability level? And if there is no fixed day and time then how would the teacher know when to send them down. I very much doubt a classroom teacher is going to appreciate having to change around lessons and catch students up because they were at the library. Plus that would mean less RFF for the teacher as that is often what library is used for. Does anyone work in a school where this sort of learning happens?
Anyways I shall stop my rambling as 'short and succinct' has turned to long and waffly. Hopefully random discussions of other readings shall appear soon :)
Lizz
Anyway one of the first quotes that really jumped out at me was about how the decline in school libraries is "almost certainly linked to the erosion of research skills among students at the post secondary level" (Haycock, 2003, pg 11). The reason I found that interesting is I am a student who never had library time. My primary school didn't have a library (but it only had 50 students) and my secondary schools didn't seem to think library time was in any way important. And when I got to uni and had to research and find my own information I floundered. It took me a while to develop some skills and strategies and even now I struggle with researching. So whether the two had any correlation with each other would be interesting to know.
Another point raised was "school libraries expose children from low income neighbourhoods to reading materials they may not otherwise had access to" (2003, pg 15). Whilst I am not refuting this statement I would also point out that whilst exposure is good for all students its often more of a problem with motivation levels. Such as the phrase 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink', librarians need to focus on how to make accessing the materials more interesting then just pointing in the direction of books on a dusty shelf.
The last point that confused me a little bit was the one about flexible learning. Whilst it would be ideal to have only small groups of a class come in for lessons you have to wonder about the practicalities of it. In a school of 500 is there time? And would you separate the groups by ability level? And if there is no fixed day and time then how would the teacher know when to send them down. I very much doubt a classroom teacher is going to appreciate having to change around lessons and catch students up because they were at the library. Plus that would mean less RFF for the teacher as that is often what library is used for. Does anyone work in a school where this sort of learning happens?
Anyways I shall stop my rambling as 'short and succinct' has turned to long and waffly. Hopefully random discussions of other readings shall appear soon :)
Lizz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)