Working with a group

The thought of a group assignment sent shivers up my spine.... I know a lot about running a school library and am quite good at solving  practical, every day problems which may occur at school. I am called upon quite often to act as a mentor for people in new tl positions and get quite a lot of help emails which I confidently answer or find answers for.... but to hold my own in an academic group  and sound good via email or chat sites is not my strong point. I cant even type very fast... so yes I am worried about my contribution to this assignment. I did tell the others that you are only as strong as your weakest link which was pointed out at the orientation day and hey thats me... To make matters worse our group was to be only 4 people... so I couldnt even hide.... Well my first encounter with my group confirmed my fears... they could all talk the talk,,, they are all confident and busy young people who wanted to get this Powerpoint done quickly and efficiently.... oh dear what did they think of having this old stone age ... tl on their team...
Our first 'neat chat' confirmed my fears.....

Late night blogger

It has been a long time between blogs.... but I have my library program done and a bookfair nearly complete and of course the other things life throws our way. It seems like a decade ago that I was lucky enough to attend the Syba signs seminar in Sydney... I had such ambitions of coming back and tackling all of those wonderful things that Dr Joyce showed us and showing them to the staff and being haled library super hero.... that was on the train on the way home.... but I am going to conquer one thing at a time and become an expert on its use before I show anyone... I have done that with storybird. The kindergarten storybirds have been running on the whiteboard during the bookfair ... is an amazing backdrop and showcases just what some of the children do in the library.... so little steps ... this is truly an exciting time to be a teacher librarian!!! Thankyou Joyce!!!

Changes

This year I have turned 50, I have won a teacher librarian position at a gorgeous little coastal school in NSW, and I have begun studying again for the first time in a very long time (see previous blog entries).

The one thing that has not really changed is my belief in and passion for being a teacher librarian in a primary school. My studies in this course have reinforced and strengthened what I already believed to be the role of an excellent teacher librarian.

I have always believed that the teacher librarians’ role is constantly evolving and changing to keep up with the increase and introduction of new technologies, taking library collections outside the walls of the library itself. Hazell, (2002). ‘The role extends beyond simply borrowing and returning books for students and staff in the school’

I believe that an excellent teacher librarian is responsible for improvements in student information skills but; Hazell, (1990) states, ‘that in the past, school libraries were seen as irrelevant to student learning’. Through active participation and reading postings on OZTL net, I feel that to some extent this is still true in today’s education system in particular high schools.

Also, I have always felt that my library lessons – (a major component of the RFF timetable) whilst are fun, (I give out’ borrowing beans’ to students who have no overdue books) and the students love being in the library they have little actual influence on improving student outcomes because the learning is done in isolation from the rest of the school community. This fact was reinforced through participation in this subject.

Improving on student outcomes should be the major focus of the teacher librarian and so I found the exploration of the (ASLA/ALIA) Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians (2004), a very valuable part of my learning journey. It gave me, as a teacher librarian a benchmark to aim for and in doing so the confidence to promote my role in the school to my principal, colleagues and the wider school community. (Herring 2007; Haycock 2003; Foley & Hay 2009), ‘the library actually is seen as a vital and essential resource that, in fact, does impact on student learning experiences’. Over all of my years as a teacher librarian the most valuable teacher and student learning experiences have always stemmed from the many successful CPPT (Co-operative, programming, planning and teaching) programs that were run in the library. With principal and staff support CPPT works, and now that I have done this course and have read a lot of the discussions on collaboration and principal support, I can discuss it in academic terms King, (2010) states ‘The TL is a specialist in their area of information technology and literacy so can be passing this knowledge onto teachers through collaboration on units of work and pedagogical frameworks.’ I see this also applies to university course run forums.

Now I know that I see the role of a teacher librarian as a combination of’ information specialist’, ‘curriculum leader’ and ‘information service provider’ but not all principals do and as a result teacher librarians are used to teach RFF in the majority of cases. Principals play a big part in what a teacher librarian is able to achieve within the school. The principal’s view on having an information literate school community is critical to its success. Haycock, (1999) states that ‘If principals encourage joint planning, it won’t happen. If they insist, it will happen’.
ETL401 has been instrumental in defining but not changing my knowledge of the role of a teacher librarian. Although I have mainly discussed CPPT, and principal support in this blog entry, I have gained a deeper understanding and knowledge of all aspects of the role of the teacher librarian. Through completion of blog entries and participation (through reading mainly), in subject forums, I feel that I can now articulate and express my opinions on the role of the teacher librarian with more confidence. The modules were an excellent source of learning which I was able to utilize and incorporate into my assignments, hopefully, a little more successfully this time around. That in itself would be a very pleasing change.

References

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) & Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2004). Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians. Retrieved from: http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm

Foley, C. & Hay, L. (2007). Shaping Our Profession: Teacher Librarianship into the Future. SCAN, 26(3), 21-26.

Hazell, A. (1990). School library and information services in Australia. In M. Nimon & A. Hazell (Eds.), Promoting learning: Challenges in teacher librarianship (pp. 17-22). Adelaide: Ausilb Press.

Henri, J. (2005). Understanding the information literate school community. In J. Henri & M. Asselin (Eds.), The Information Literate School Community 2: Issues of Leadership (pp. 11-26). Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

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: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Swartz, G (2011). Changes. message posted at: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4133707511061037050&postID=8569794271874172299

 

Late night thoughts ...

Today I was teaching the first of a series of CPPT lessons with 2 stage 1 classes where the only C - co operative or collaborative aspect was the teachers telling me what they wanted their classes to learn and me doing all of the preparation ... come to think of it that is how Cppt always seems to work unless you have a supportive executive staff who see the value of the programme and timetable planning blocks for you all. At the end of these first lessons the teachers commented on how good it was and that they learned stuff as well... isnt that the point share the brain power, the expertise the workload, learn from each other and improve student outcomes?? Phew!
Then there was a member of staff who actually gave up her recess time to come into the library to learn more about 'storybird' and discuss how we could implement its use with stage 2 during the term ... it really is quite stimulating/refreshing to share/bounce ideas of each other ....  and then my next assignment came back ... bing bong ... back to reality!

Kick in the Butt!

Well I got back my results for my first assignment in over 30 years and was really quite shocked at how badly I have done. This is the assignment I felt confident that I had done well. So look out number 2. I have been a Teacher Librarian for quite a while and have just won a position because of my experience and expertise and I thought up until today that I was quite good at my job. I have yet to see the comments to see where exactly I went wrong but I know and I have always known that I am perhaps not an academic type TL but more of a practical hands on .. do the job type. It is such a shame because I know that now more than I was at teacher's college or when I have tried to further my studies before that I am ready to do this now .. I thought my mind is in the right place and I get what I am reading and can relate to it. But obviously that is not enough .. I need to really let go of everything else and focus...

The Role of the TL

I was doing some reading on this complex question. What is expected of a TL. What makes a good TL? I was asking myself the question am I a good TL and getting right into the swing of things when bam I was brought back to reality... What is the point of deciding what is a good TL and what we should be doing when on both library listservs that I read each day I constantly read about Teacher Librarians being asked to do little extras such as supervise students or have their library staff do some laminating or counting money for the front office or could you mind a class while this teacher attends a meeting ...  or have students in the library who do not fit in the playground etc... it is ongoing and it seems no one has the answer. Hey and none of mind helping out..... but
The role of the TL surely needs to be clarified and supported by the leaders in our schools. How do we and our role in the school become respected and valued? Is it not the job of the TL to sell ourselves and what we do ... I think until we sort out those social responsibilties that come with the position all of those other expectations and roles will always take a back seat...
It is a definate cry for help? Clarification? Recognition? It is there everyday.. take a look...

contemplation

I suppose it is different to people studying all the time and used to thinking as an Academic. I am used to thinking from the ground level as a TL or from the classroom and find that I know what to say and what I want to say and could back up a lot of it with loads of experience but it wouldn't be referenced properly or  sound right. I am finding these subjects very interesting and I really want to get stuck into it but the amount of support materials and background readings that you get these days is quite overwhelming I feel that I really need to write a masterpiece to at least pay some respect to the preparation and scaffolding that is put in place for students of today... wow this is big!