I'm really sorry that it has been a while but my educational research assignment has been taking all of my time. My poor deprived children and husband - I haven't been much fun at all. Also, not quite as prepared as usual for returning to work today. Anyway, for those who haven't done this subject yet, wow!! I found that I had to do so much research and noting to get my head around the subject before I could even attempt the assignments. While time-consuming, it has been very interesting but now I need to get onto the TL side of things.
Anyway, I'm off to finish preparing my handout for staff tomorrow and other work stuff that HAS to be done, and then will do some reading for TL. Hopefully, will be able to blog some thoughts later.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Sunday, 8 January 2012
TL and the curriculum - my thoughts
Argh!! Can I just say that my mind is exploding as I try to get my head around educational research -- there are way too many "...isms", "...ates", "...igms" and "...ologies"!!! Well to take a break, I thought I'd jot down some of my thoughts about the teacher librarian's role with curriculum change.
I really liked one article I read from Bales in a 2002 Access - she talked about herself as a leader in not only information literacy, but also changing pedagogy. I think that this is a very important role and I certainly work towards this goal.
Teacher Librarians are often at the forefront and are well positioned to support other teachers to embrace change. We have whole site perspectives and so can support whole school initiatives and consistency in approach when necessary. Initiatives can come from international, federal, state, local or even the individual school level. For example, last year, our school had a whole site focus on comprehension strategies. This was identified by teachers as an area of need for our students. I took a very strong leadership role in this in a couple of ways. Firstly, as there wasn't a lot of Australian resources at the time, I did a lot of research and shared with my colleagues some fantastic work that has been done in the US - eg. Fountas & Pinnell, Harvey and Goudvis and The2sisters - Gail and Joan - (Google Daily Cafe) etc. I also offered to team-teach the comprehension strategies and 1 inquiry unit, instead of my usual 2 inquiry learning units over the year. I worked with teachers in introducing the different strategies - explicitly modelling them, guided practice etc - very much based on Pearson and Gallagher's (1983) gradual resease of responsibility model. Half of the classes (interestingly the teachers who I have greater affinity with in terms of teaching style) took up my offer in term 1 and the others said they would go it alone. After the success of term 1, however, the other half of the classes then asked to work with mein Term 2 on comprehension. The benefits of this were that there were consistent understandings of the terms, strategies etc. Also, common language and approaches were used. Our school was involved in a literacy audit in Term 3 and one thing they really commended was this process and its results. A key aspect was that teachers could decide if they wanted to work with me. I don't think teachers should be forced to work with the teacher librarian. It should be encouraged but ultimately, teachers should be able to choose. I believe it is up to the teacher librarian to make their programs exciting, innovative and really responsive to the students' needs, so that teachers want to work with the teacher librarian. I agree with Cooper and Bray's stance on this.(see Cooper and Bray article about collaboration in TechTrends, July/Aug 2011)
I think that teacher librarians being involved in curriculum development is critical at the moment also with the introduction of the new Australian Curriculum. Many teachers are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and even fed up - some are thinking - here we go again! I must admit, this is the third whole curriculum change that I have seen. (In actual fact, if you can see the consistency between them all, so the change isn't so drastic or scary!) Classroom teachers have a lot to come to terms with in terms of having to cope with different structure etc for all curriculum areas. This is particularly difficult in SA where we have composite classes and Year 7 still in Primary school. Teachers also have a lot to deal with in terms of other issues such as behaviour, other priorities within a school etc etc. I can help teachers become familiar with just one aspect or area of the curriculum when I co-teach inquiry units. By me taking the lead, I can take the pressure off them a bit, show them one way of implementing the curriculum, give them direction and show them that they aren't so scary, and therefore make it altogether more manageable - the 'two heads are better than one' and 'togehter we can achieve more' mentality. Again, I'm not sure if I have explained this clearly. This is very much what I did in my SACSA leadership position as I have explained in an earlier post. The only difference is I am working with my own staff, and am being paid less!!
Well back to educational research! Argh!!!
I really liked one article I read from Bales in a 2002 Access - she talked about herself as a leader in not only information literacy, but also changing pedagogy. I think that this is a very important role and I certainly work towards this goal.
Teacher Librarians are often at the forefront and are well positioned to support other teachers to embrace change. We have whole site perspectives and so can support whole school initiatives and consistency in approach when necessary. Initiatives can come from international, federal, state, local or even the individual school level. For example, last year, our school had a whole site focus on comprehension strategies. This was identified by teachers as an area of need for our students. I took a very strong leadership role in this in a couple of ways. Firstly, as there wasn't a lot of Australian resources at the time, I did a lot of research and shared with my colleagues some fantastic work that has been done in the US - eg. Fountas & Pinnell, Harvey and Goudvis and The2sisters - Gail and Joan - (Google Daily Cafe) etc. I also offered to team-teach the comprehension strategies and 1 inquiry unit, instead of my usual 2 inquiry learning units over the year. I worked with teachers in introducing the different strategies - explicitly modelling them, guided practice etc - very much based on Pearson and Gallagher's (1983) gradual resease of responsibility model. Half of the classes (interestingly the teachers who I have greater affinity with in terms of teaching style) took up my offer in term 1 and the others said they would go it alone. After the success of term 1, however, the other half of the classes then asked to work with mein Term 2 on comprehension. The benefits of this were that there were consistent understandings of the terms, strategies etc. Also, common language and approaches were used. Our school was involved in a literacy audit in Term 3 and one thing they really commended was this process and its results. A key aspect was that teachers could decide if they wanted to work with me. I don't think teachers should be forced to work with the teacher librarian. It should be encouraged but ultimately, teachers should be able to choose. I believe it is up to the teacher librarian to make their programs exciting, innovative and really responsive to the students' needs, so that teachers want to work with the teacher librarian. I agree with Cooper and Bray's stance on this.(see Cooper and Bray article about collaboration in TechTrends, July/Aug 2011)
I think that teacher librarians being involved in curriculum development is critical at the moment also with the introduction of the new Australian Curriculum. Many teachers are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and even fed up - some are thinking - here we go again! I must admit, this is the third whole curriculum change that I have seen. (In actual fact, if you can see the consistency between them all, so the change isn't so drastic or scary!) Classroom teachers have a lot to come to terms with in terms of having to cope with different structure etc for all curriculum areas. This is particularly difficult in SA where we have composite classes and Year 7 still in Primary school. Teachers also have a lot to deal with in terms of other issues such as behaviour, other priorities within a school etc etc. I can help teachers become familiar with just one aspect or area of the curriculum when I co-teach inquiry units. By me taking the lead, I can take the pressure off them a bit, show them one way of implementing the curriculum, give them direction and show them that they aren't so scary, and therefore make it altogether more manageable - the 'two heads are better than one' and 'togehter we can achieve more' mentality. Again, I'm not sure if I have explained this clearly. This is very much what I did in my SACSA leadership position as I have explained in an earlier post. The only difference is I am working with my own staff, and am being paid less!!
Well back to educational research! Argh!!!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Some thoughts from doing Assignment 1
Well, submitted assignment 1 earlier today and can I say that referencing was doing my head in! I'm used to Harvard Style and had to keep checking the reference notes. Anyway, now I need to start concentrating on my next assignment for the other subject. I wish I had heeded Roy's advice and only took on 1 subject as finishing the school year, having Christmas and all the other catching up with family and friends, being a wife and mum to two young kids and doing uni is hard work. I'm glad I'll only be doing 1 subject next semester as I will also be returning to work full time!
When researching for the assignment and doing weekly work, it struck me how many different hats I wear as a teacher librarian. One hat that I don't wear so well is that of advocate for the profession - though I am a member of SLASA and attend some T&D. When I thought about it, I acknowledged that time was what was stopping me from being more involved as well as not wanting to make a fuss. Though when I thought about it some more, I realised that I do promote what happens in the library through whole-school participation in events like Book Week, Simultaneous Storytime, reading to local kindies, involvement in PRC - but also through the other roles.
Another area that I thought was important but I couldn't quite work into my assignment was the importance of people skills. Herring and Purcell didn't really discuss this aspect but I did read about it in an article by Cooper and Bray which talked about collaboration. I think that for a teacher librarian to work effectively with all students and teachers across the school, you actually have to be confident in your own teaching abilities and have a clear understanding of what is good teaching practice so that you can let go of some of the control. You also have to be very patient, an excellent listener, and sometimes sneaky so that the teacher thinks it your suggestions were their idea! I'm not sure if I am explaining this very well. I know from experience that the teachers I work with are all very different - some of which I am on the same line, some the same page, some the same book, and others I'm not really sure which book they are in! Despite this, I have to work out a way of us working together to get the best possible learning and outcomes for the students. (I currently work with each teacher and class at least twice a year.) Cooper and Bray also refer to relationships - this is critical. Teachers need to respect and have confidence in me and the teacher librarian role. I also be able to read how far I can push the teacher in terms of challenging them to try something different or new. It is important to note that this can take time and that little steps are still ok if they are in the right direction. The following example I think demonstrates how important people skills are and the importance of taking time.
The first time I worked with one teacher he wanted to do a "Country Project" which was basically here's a country, read this and write the answer. (He was and still can be very traditional in his teaching style.) He then handed me what he had done the last I don't know how many years and said we didn't need planning time. He was reluctant to change it as it had worked before. It was only by taking time to sit and plan with him, that I was able to throw in a few suggestions and get an inquiry unit that required higher levels of thinking. The following year I wasn't able to move him from another country study but was able to add a few more different and challenging dimensions. Finally this year, while he suggested another country study, was happy to go with a student initiated inquiry unit on myths and legends that was very process based and with less focus on the end product. It was interesting that he said near the end of this unit how pleased he was with how it had gone but owned up to the fact that he hadn't known if it would work but that he was confident in me, and so was willing to give it a go. This trust in me was very gratifying. I guess it was also lucky that the unit worked really well!
When researching for the assignment and doing weekly work, it struck me how many different hats I wear as a teacher librarian. One hat that I don't wear so well is that of advocate for the profession - though I am a member of SLASA and attend some T&D. When I thought about it, I acknowledged that time was what was stopping me from being more involved as well as not wanting to make a fuss. Though when I thought about it some more, I realised that I do promote what happens in the library through whole-school participation in events like Book Week, Simultaneous Storytime, reading to local kindies, involvement in PRC - but also through the other roles.
Another area that I thought was important but I couldn't quite work into my assignment was the importance of people skills. Herring and Purcell didn't really discuss this aspect but I did read about it in an article by Cooper and Bray which talked about collaboration. I think that for a teacher librarian to work effectively with all students and teachers across the school, you actually have to be confident in your own teaching abilities and have a clear understanding of what is good teaching practice so that you can let go of some of the control. You also have to be very patient, an excellent listener, and sometimes sneaky so that the teacher thinks it your suggestions were their idea! I'm not sure if I am explaining this very well. I know from experience that the teachers I work with are all very different - some of which I am on the same line, some the same page, some the same book, and others I'm not really sure which book they are in! Despite this, I have to work out a way of us working together to get the best possible learning and outcomes for the students. (I currently work with each teacher and class at least twice a year.) Cooper and Bray also refer to relationships - this is critical. Teachers need to respect and have confidence in me and the teacher librarian role. I also be able to read how far I can push the teacher in terms of challenging them to try something different or new. It is important to note that this can take time and that little steps are still ok if they are in the right direction. The following example I think demonstrates how important people skills are and the importance of taking time.
The first time I worked with one teacher he wanted to do a "Country Project" which was basically here's a country, read this and write the answer. (He was and still can be very traditional in his teaching style.) He then handed me what he had done the last I don't know how many years and said we didn't need planning time. He was reluctant to change it as it had worked before. It was only by taking time to sit and plan with him, that I was able to throw in a few suggestions and get an inquiry unit that required higher levels of thinking. The following year I wasn't able to move him from another country study but was able to add a few more different and challenging dimensions. Finally this year, while he suggested another country study, was happy to go with a student initiated inquiry unit on myths and legends that was very process based and with less focus on the end product. It was interesting that he said near the end of this unit how pleased he was with how it had gone but owned up to the fact that he hadn't known if it would work but that he was confident in me, and so was willing to give it a go. This trust in me was very gratifying. I guess it was also lucky that the unit worked really well!
Monday, 2 January 2012
Let's get a wriggle on!!
Gee, I'm really not very good at the blogging part of things. I do spend a lot of time doing professional reading, thinking and talking about things, but am not in the habit of writing my thoughts down unless I'm sharing my ideas and learning with others - obviously something I need do start doing more.
Firstly, in reponse to Alice - (sorry this blog is connected to my work address and I hadn't checked it as I'm on holidays) - I have wanted to be a teacher librarian for a while - ever since I did an external leadership position that had me running PD and working with individual and groups of teachers in how to use SACSA in programming and planning. I loved the collaboration of this job but was frustrated that I only got to plan and never implement the learning units - they were generally based on inquiry learning. This was the impetus for me to start studying at UniSA so I would have a TL qualification and be able to apply for positions in the future. Then I was lucky enough to be offered to fill in the position at school. I had been frustrated as a classroom teacher as the previous TL seemed to have lost her passion and the library was no longer a vibrant place, and having worked with an excellent TL previously, and from my own ideas, I already had images in my mind of what it could be like. So in a long winded way of answering, I was aware of the role and what it could entail, but also what I wanted to bring to it and my school. In the time since I have had the role, I must admit there have been a lot of changes, but this has been based on negotiation, collaboration, chatting to other TLs and my own research. It is certainly a much busier and I would like to think a more exciting and vibrant place to learn, my staff tell me it is.
Firstly, in reponse to Alice - (sorry this blog is connected to my work address and I hadn't checked it as I'm on holidays) - I have wanted to be a teacher librarian for a while - ever since I did an external leadership position that had me running PD and working with individual and groups of teachers in how to use SACSA in programming and planning. I loved the collaboration of this job but was frustrated that I only got to plan and never implement the learning units - they were generally based on inquiry learning. This was the impetus for me to start studying at UniSA so I would have a TL qualification and be able to apply for positions in the future. Then I was lucky enough to be offered to fill in the position at school. I had been frustrated as a classroom teacher as the previous TL seemed to have lost her passion and the library was no longer a vibrant place, and having worked with an excellent TL previously, and from my own ideas, I already had images in my mind of what it could be like. So in a long winded way of answering, I was aware of the role and what it could entail, but also what I wanted to bring to it and my school. In the time since I have had the role, I must admit there have been a lot of changes, but this has been based on negotiation, collaboration, chatting to other TLs and my own research. It is certainly a much busier and I would like to think a more exciting and vibrant place to learn, my staff tell me it is.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Assessment 2 ~ pre-thoughts on the role of a teacher librarian
I thought I better have a closer look at the requirements of Assessment 2 - that way I hopefully won't get myself behind and in a fluster. Anyway, I figured that if I am to demonstrate how my thoughts about the teacher librarian role have changed as a result of the subject, I really should record what they are now before I continue much further in my reading etc.
Unlike some others in the course, I am currently working as a teacher librarian in a Government school. This means that to some degree, I have an understanding of the role because that is what I do 4 days a week. I have also already seen some of the role statements (from Topic 1 reading) as a part of my study at UniSA, have attended T&D facilitated by SLASA and receive emails through SLASANET. I was also extremely fortunate as I attended a full day conference this year in July with Joyce Valenza. (Wow! What an amazing person!)
From all of this, off the top of my head and based on what I currently do, my belief about the role of the TL is that I:
I do want to say though that some of these aspects are becoming harder with the new school funding model. I am lucky in my school that I am supported by leadership in my TL role, but I do know that there is pressure for change. For example, TLs are no longer funded separately and I am just in the general teaching pool - as a result, some schools are not having TLs or they are used as NIT providers. I have heard of a principal being told that TLs teaching a unit collaboratively with teachers is not good use of money!
It is also is more difficult to get the library budget to cover the needs and interests of students and teachers, particularly in the area of ICT, as well as ensuring we have the resources to meet departmental priorities. The Deparment also does not fund enough time for IT technicians.
Another thing is that the TL (when there is one) is seen as a leader in the school but are not given time for administrative work and are not paid as leaders.
From TL network discussions, these seem to be common problems for many. From talking with other TLs, the private schools seem to acknowledge the importance of TLs and fund accordingly, more than Department schools - unfortunately for me! Enough griping for one day though!
Unlike some others in the course, I am currently working as a teacher librarian in a Government school. This means that to some degree, I have an understanding of the role because that is what I do 4 days a week. I have also already seen some of the role statements (from Topic 1 reading) as a part of my study at UniSA, have attended T&D facilitated by SLASA and receive emails through SLASANET. I was also extremely fortunate as I attended a full day conference this year in July with Joyce Valenza. (Wow! What an amazing person!)
From all of this, off the top of my head and based on what I currently do, my belief about the role of the TL is that I:
- support students and provide learning programs that enable them to become lifelong learners who can access, analyse, combine and use, share information from a wide and varied range of sources;
- support and encourage students to read for recreation - ensure they have access to books that they want to read (while making sure they are appropriate), promote and support students and families in the Premier's Reading Challenge etc;
- collaborate with and support my colleagues - team teach inquiry learning units of work and reading programs, support them with resourcing their learning programs, provide leadership and challenge them and myself to try new things (ie Web 2.0 tools and other ICTs) and incorporate these in an authentic way into learning programs;
- ensure the library and curriculum learning areas are resourced within budget and that resources (both print and digital) meet the needs of students, teachers and the departmental initiatives;
- maintain the cataloguing system - ensure the resources are easily accessed and well organised as well as the physical layout of the library itself;
- maintain my own personal development through professional reading, participation in TL networks, online courses and conferences;
- promote the library as an integral part of the school and an inviting and exciting learning hub.
I do want to say though that some of these aspects are becoming harder with the new school funding model. I am lucky in my school that I am supported by leadership in my TL role, but I do know that there is pressure for change. For example, TLs are no longer funded separately and I am just in the general teaching pool - as a result, some schools are not having TLs or they are used as NIT providers. I have heard of a principal being told that TLs teaching a unit collaboratively with teachers is not good use of money!
It is also is more difficult to get the library budget to cover the needs and interests of students and teachers, particularly in the area of ICT, as well as ensuring we have the resources to meet departmental priorities. The Deparment also does not fund enough time for IT technicians.
Another thing is that the TL (when there is one) is seen as a leader in the school but are not given time for administrative work and are not paid as leaders.
From TL network discussions, these seem to be common problems for many. From talking with other TLs, the private schools seem to acknowledge the importance of TLs and fund accordingly, more than Department schools - unfortunately for me! Enough griping for one day though!
Sunday, 27 November 2011
I begin - again!
Wow, what a hectic 2 weeks. CSU is really well organised with online learning but very different from UniSA. I admit that I am feeling a little overwhelmed! After not studying for 12 months I am a bit rusty. Also, juggling 2 subjects instead of just 1 will take a bit of getting used to. Anyway, I have adjusted this blog to record my thoughts and have posted the first part of assignment 1 for EER500 onto the Wiki. Now I better go mark some kids work before tomorrow!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
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