Publish for ETL401 Profile Assessment - CRITICAL SYNTHESIS & REFLECTION OF TL ROLE.

My professional learning journey has been an ongoing process of integrating professional practice at school with the professional standards and constructs learnt through this course and through professional training and collaboration with colleagues. I began this year full of optimism and eagerness to learn new skills in the library. My initial view of the Teacher Librarian role was a stereotypic one - a person who assisted students to find and borrow books, who helped to develop a love of reading and choose quality reading books and someone who created a great place to come to for quiet reading and other activities.

I began to see the role of the teacher librarian as a multi-faceted one after reading Herring (2007); Learning for the future (2001) and looking at other models. The Teacher Librarian role expanded to include - an information media specialist, an information services manager and an information literacy leader - a teacher librarian could hold up an information umbrella for the whole school community to utilise!!! The teacher librarian became the hub of the information wheel and could hold up an information umbrella as well. My image of a Teacher Librarian was changing – a visual analogy was developing - the TL could drive a big wheel from the hub and hold up a big umbrella!! The information could spin out into the school community as the spokes (resources) of the wheel were turning and the teacher librarian could use the umbrella (ISP) to control information overload through the information search process. After doing the second assignment my analogy was making more sense - the umbrella would need six parts to represent the 6 stages of an ISP. The rain would represent the anarchic storm of 21st century global information and with the protection of the umbrella, the teacher librarian could access, navigate, discriminate, share and disseminate this information to the school community. This is my visual way of synthesising what I have learnt about the role of the teacher librarian - it represents important understanding gained, essential learning along the way and a critical AHHA moment!


My engagement with subject forums, blogs and interactions with others within and beyond the subject have been another learning curve. Distance education has changed since the 1980s. When I did my teaching degree by correspondence there was no on - line communication and interaction. So this has been an extra element to consider in terms of input and time. The demand of the course in regards readings and assignments was more of a priority. However, I have been getting more familiar with forums, blogging and chatting on line and can see some value when there is time. There is value in the sharing of ideas and sometimes there is some good advice when a problem is encountered such as how to deal with technological glitches. Some blogs have been readable - others have been too wordy for me but I have had little time to engage with them. Interactions with others beyond the subject have had more practical and critical value for me. Dealing with the everyday running of a library was new and the supports of the school, especially the clerical staff and assistant principals, have been invaluable. There were many things I was learning about as administrator, manager and service provider.

I have gained a better understanding of Teacher and Librarian Collaboration (Montiel-Overall, 2005). There needs to be time set aside so that planning units of work can meet specific student outcomes. It was good to read Professor's Hartzell's(2003) comment about the two key assets to a great library - a skilled and enterprising librarian and a principal who gives "the librarian time, resources, and encouragement to collaborate with other teachers, attend curriculum committees, and provide staff development" (Hartzell, G. 2003 ,p. 5).

Other turning points came when I read Moore’s (1997) description of us untrained librarians as Teachers with Librarian responsibilities (TLR) and looking at other research on evidence based data (Hay, 2005 & 2006; Todd, 2007) ). The librarian is not just a resource provider for resource based learning (Haycock, 1991) but can gather evidence - gathering data about the impact of library programs on student learning outcomes. The focus of school librarianship is more to do with student learning outcomes rather than “information infrastructure” (Todd, 2007).

My recent readings on Kulthau(1995) and Information Process systems (Eisenberg, 2008) have been most helpful in seeing the teacher librarian’s role as developing information literacy skills through process. Kulthau, in particular, has impressed me with the acknowledgement of the affective domain as this is very evident in students but often just not acknowledged.

In conclusion, there have been many insights and much knowledge gained from numerous sources – too many to acknowledge here – consequently, my skills and understandings have been developing in my future role as Teacher Librarian.

REFERENCES

Australian School Library Association (ASLA) & Australian Library and Information
Association (ALIA). (2001). Learning for the Future: Developing Information
Services in Schools (2nd ed.) Carlton Sth, Vic., Curriculum Corporation.

Eisenberg, M.B. (2008). “Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information
Age”. In DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology,
Vol. 28, No. 2, March 2008, pp39-47


Hartzell, G. (2003). “The Essential Link”: In NW Education- Nexus of Knowledge:
The School Library in the 21st century, no.1


Hay, L. (2006). “Student learning through Australian school libraries. Part 2: What students
define and value as school library support.” Synergy, 4(2), 27-38

Hay, L (2005). “Student learning through Australian school libraries. Part 1: A statistical
analysis of student perceptions?” , Synergy, 3(2), 17-30.

Haycock, Carol-Ann. “Resource-Based Learning: A Shift in the Roles of Teacher, Learner”
NASSP Bulletin, May 1991.


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


Kuhlthau, C. (1995). The Process of Learning from Information. In School Libraries
Worldwide. Volume 1, Number 1, pp1-12.
Kuhlthau, C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and
Information Services. Westport, London: Libraries Unlimited.


Moore, P. (1997) “Teaching Information Problem solving in primary schools:
an information literacy survey”, IFLANET retrieved from
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63moop,htm

Todd, R.J. (2007). “Evidence-based practice and school libraries: from advocacy
to action”. In S. Hughes-Hassell & V.H. Harada School reform
and the school library media specialist (pp.57-78). Westport,CY:
Libraries Unlimited.

IL and the affective element

Am very impressed with Kuhlthau's ISP model's consideration of the affective domain. In myself I experience a continuum of emotions as i deal with the information seeking process - just in relation to these assignment tasks. However - i don't see a linear progression but a continuum that is dynamic and can move you forward or backward or nowhere depending on how this emotional energy is utilised. The uncertainty of what is expected of me at postgraduate level and what the markers want to see is there constantly - playing at the back of my mind propelling me to ask questions and constantly referring to the prescriptors for clarification. Optimism with a sense of anticipation and hope keeps me writing and seeking the required information. Confusion and frustration and doubt keeps me re-reading, analysing, selecting the pieces of the puzzle that may fit to give me some sense of clarity. Confidence is experienced as the assignment seems to come together but i may go through the whole gamut of emotions again and again as i evaluate, proofread and re read prescriptors. I have experienced disappointment in the evaluation of my assignment by the marker - maybe my own sense of satisfaction at trying to do this difficult course and getting through to the best of my ability and learning the ropes of academic writing as i go - the satisfaction of applying some of this knowledge to the practical tasks of teaching etc should be acknowledged if we were able to self evaluate before handing in the assignment. The disappointment element has tempted me to ditch the course but it is the satisfaction element that keeps me going - i hang on to that to see me through this semester and depending on my results- to keep me going into the next semester. The satisfaction element comes from the hope within myself that i will improve and get the academic side of things sorted out. I haven't had much positive feedback from my assignments yet just critical thinking. I live in hope!!! The affective domain is important to consider that's why we are taught to encourage children's efforts but focusing on the positive as much as possible to keep them inspired to keep going.

assignment writing & TLC

At last i found an example of a High Distinction assignment from a work colleague - a different masters degree to this one - so i can't plagiarise. I think it is important to see models of writing that is expected at post graduate level otherwise i feel like i've been floundering and not getting anywhere but not getting help to get on track with academic writing. This sink or swim attitude of some is not fair to the older novice. Now i realise that i have to do more in text referencing and acknowledge as much as i can from the sources - even though i have said it my way. Academic writing doesn't come easily to me - apparently it comes easily to some! It is not like getting on a bike again and riding to success. I have had to learn a different style of writing and also juggling this with forums, blogs and on line communication - on top of all the readings - impossible if you work 5 days a week for 2 subjects. I am now looking forward to easing my load next semester.

Just read about TLC (Montiel-Overall) - Teacher Librarian Collaboration - much of the success for this depends on the Principal giving teachers time to make this happen on a regular basis. At our school teachers are so busy - it's hard to get them aside to talk about planning a unit of work together. Some teachers are happy that they can send their class away to a competent teacher who can organise library related activities without too much input on their part. The ideal is to have a collaborative culture where social interaction is creating educational experiences but this is not easy in an hierarchical culture where power play and authority games become the order of the day. "Collaboration is a trusting, working relationship between two or more equal participants involved in shared thinking, shared planning and shared creation of innovative integrated instruction" - this can happen if time is allocated by the Principal - so much hinges on the Principal's support due to the hierarchical nature of schools.

reflecting so far

my role as teacher with library responsibilities has been changing as i learn the ropes of practical, everyday tasks - dealing with different age groups and different classes - working out what they like to do and read in the library - how they would like to develop information skills. This course has been helping me go into the role in more depth - looking at all the elements of my role as future trained librarian ( if i can pass the enormous mountain of work and high expectations of our beloved academics). Speaking to an IT advisor on Oasis today said it all - most librarians don't have time for all this collection evaluation - us csu students are giving them more work in demanding certain reports to help with our evaluation. No wonder librarians value their qualifications when they finally get it - it's blood, sweat and tears to pass! Anyway - am still trying finish 503 assignment - so must go!

neglected blogs

Thought I had better do a blog to keep up with the expectations of my co-ordinators. Have been working very hard on my Collection Development Policy assignment - as trying to make up for the poor result i got for the first assignment. It has been incredibly time consuming - at work and at home. Just collecting some policies from some schools has not been as easy as collecting them from public libraries. Am wondering why schools are so possessive about them - they are supposed to be public policies and it would be wonderful if a central format was to be developed by the department then the schools would just need to individualise them and make them relevant to their school environment. Policy writing can be very tedious and technical - they need not be so difficult to write if schools were more willing to share rather than invent the wheel over and over again. Anyway - i am now trying to get this out of the way so i can go onto the other assignment for TL - am tired and looking forward to a good sleep. Should really be planning for my classes but have not had time. Looking forward to the light at the end of this academic tunnel!!

my reading recovery students

I have been very worried about my reading recovery students as i need to be reading up on strategies to help them move forward and progress but have put it on the backburner due to the demands of this course. So was glad to spend a night reading on this area and meeting my tutor to find out that i'm on the right track and can move them forward. Now i am back to the collection development policy - frantically looking through internet sites and wondering if i should pay a visit to a nearby school tomorrow to look at theirs. Surprised to find some schools very possessive of their policies - they are supposed to be public policies so i can't understand the reticence in allowing others to read them. Some TLs have expressed the painstaking effort they have put into them and suggested that I need to be doing the same thing or have expressed a concern that their policies will be copied. I am in the process of doing a survey with some of my classes to determine their needs and wants in relation to the collection of our library. However, I want to get back to the basic enjoyment of books with my students and i am worried that all this academic stuff is stressing me out and rubbing off onto my students. I love reading with the younger children and i need to work out ways to enjoy reading with the older students - too much emphasise on research, computers, non fiction books to support classroom units of work can be too prescriptive.

assignments looming

Struggling to keep up with the demands of two subjects and my reading recovery course readings. A little overwhelmed by all these learning curves at my age! Arrived at school this morning to form a Collection Development Policy committee - we perused Oasis to seek out information on collection issues - areas of Oasis none of us have been to before - interesting! Now what to do with the information - make a collection map or graph or table? It was suggested that I do a survey to assess the popular reading areas of my users. The idea of having an independent body to analyse a collection seems very appealing at this stage as learning to access the data is one thing - but then analysing it is another. Wondering when I will find more time as my reading recovery tutor is coming on Thursday and this is another area of my learning that requires immediate attention. Then there is the TL subject - and preparing lessons for my library classes! When it feels like overload I switch off as any appliance would do - to stop from burn out!

Let's get serious - performance descriptors!

Well - my reflections now need to be "excellent critical and honest reflection". I need to show that i can "articulate critical incidents & essential learnings" that have contributed to my "professional learning journey" - OOPS! Looks like my blogs "need more work"!! I think I may need to edit some areas now that my blog is turning into my academic assignment!.. Anyway - online learning is a whole new ball game for this old sheila! - is that too descriptive? OK - just read Lorenzo - "Catalysts for Change: Information Fluency ........" - found it very relevant to my professional learning journey as I am not a "netgener" ( young person who has grown up with the Internet) but a Baby Boomer whose IQ is 15 to 20 points lower than a netgener. It may mean that I need to team up with a netgener to pass this course!! My brother is a casual teacher who went into a High School class to teach only to be told that their work was on Moodle - he hadn't a clue what they were talking about(he's a baby boomer)! However, thanks to this course I am now becoming more digitalised - i blog, i facebook, i wikispace, i wetpaint, i email, i forum - my information fluency skills are taking on another dimension! I am now using web 2.0 tools in my library space and i am becoming more dependent on the computer, more so than the phone, to communicate with most people at home. This course demands I go on the computer once a day for hours at a time. So I am now an "active participant" in the "participant economy". Or am i a virtual participant in a virtual world? - science fiction or fact?
I still have the cynicism of a Baby Boomer about technology takeover - however, i am a more willing participant these days. Fascinating to read about Wikipedia as "error-ridden, narrow minded, uninformative" as well as "highly informative", "valid" and "timely". So - critical literacy is paramount in discerning the truths, half truths and untruths. This seems a vital role for the TL - to help discriminate between the world of fact and fiction; virtual and real; reputable and disreputable; friend and foe etc. It is also interesting to read about Netgeners as "visual - based learners" rather than "text - based learners". Visual literacy is another area to be looked at carefully when designing our courses for our students!

not a tl but a tlr!!

After another reading - Penny Moore's "Teaching Information Problem Solving......" I realise i can't call myself a TL yet as i'm not qualified but i can call myself a TLR - a "teacher with library responsibilities" - that makes sense to me at this stage as i'm still learning so much. Learning how to divide my time between 2 subjects, 2 future assignments, forums, blogs , and my real life at school. Haven't been able to put the energy into school work yet as this course dominates my whole mental space and struggling to keep up with all you academics! Yes- i have thought about dropping out but trying to hold in this semester - i need some positive feedback from my next assignment to keep me going!!

Modules starting to blend.

Rather than specify responses to each module which seems like a routine like chore. I have decided just to comment when i can get a spare moment. I'm about to hit the sack with some more readings. Sometimes i feel that i am up against some tough academic competition out there when i go to other people's blogs and forum responses - don't know where they find the time - do they have a life other than this course? I enjoy finding out more about the importance of my new role as TL but feel daunted when I realise how vital it is and how much more work i need to do. The collection management side is very technical but practical - not good with technical stuff but will need to get into it. I'm about to read on topic 4 stuff for TL - theories about learning i think and info.literacy - am slowly getting back into it after the setback with my first assignment. I wish that Roy had something positive to say about my efforts - but it was very negative feedback and still feel like the recalcitrate child who missed the point. Really i am paying to learn and i always tell my kids that mistakes are our friends because we learn from them.

the life of a library nerd

Need to do more blogging etc but I have been busy juggling assignments, readings and catching up on forums. Blogging is new to me so I am trying to find a blog that feels right to write on. So far - this seems easy enough. I am enjoying reading up on the roles and responsibilities of teacher librarianship and relating all this new material to my new job as teacher librarian. I am also learning about reading recovery so there is much learning, reading, writing and sharing to go on in the next few years. My first assignment for Collection Management was a little awkward as I had not done any academic writing for over 20 years!! Anyway - i know that I made some mistakes in the first presentation and I am hoping to learn from those mistakes. The 2nd assignment for TL was easier in that it was less prescriptive in content and more open in structure. I think that I may have rectified some mistakes done during the first assignment in terms of layout and presentation. However - i am not confident yet in this form of on-line study - but am getting there. I had real problems using endnote - so gave up and went to the old school of manually doing things. Hopefully these hiccups will gradually disappear as I progress during the year!