Monday, May 24, 2010

Critical Synthesis



PART C

A reflection on how my view of the role of the teacher librarian has changed over the course of this subject.



When I thought about career change for the third time in my life, I wondered what I could do that utilised my degrees I already had. I had always loved going to the library when I was at school and I love literacy and children's books and aspire to one day writing a children's picture book. So put all that together and I came up with a Masters in Teacher Librarianship. I never dreamed the role of the TL was so expansive and the course would be so in depth. I must admit my idea of the TL's role was reading stories, coordinating research projects, organising author visits and running book week. I was so wrong and so are many people, the TL might be one of the most underrated professions (second to that of the nurse) in our society. Speaking to a friend who told me this course was a lot of work just to learn how to say SHH made me want to stick the poster "What your Teacher Librarian can do for you" on her head. See blog post 15/5/10. When reading the Australian Library Information Association policies I came across the core knowledge, skills and attributes that a TL should have (blog post 16/3/10). I really had no idea where they would fit into my knowledge base at the time they were just a bunch of skills I did not posses. It was until I continued reading and completing assignment one that the penny dropped and everything fell into place. The library is so much more than a place with books, it really is a learning hub and technology is in the centre of it. Being information literate is crucial in today's society. According to the ALIA, TL’s “have the knowledge and expertise to design, plan, develop, manage and evaluate the delivery of library and information services to meet the information needs of their clients and assist them to become information literate. Through professional education, librarians and information managers will have the ability to analyse, evaluate, organise and synthesis information and to develop programs that will encourage their clients to acquire the sills necessary to effectively acquire the skills necessary to effectively seek, locate and use the information they need” (www.alia.org.au/policies/core.knowledge.html 2005).

Research confirms that it is the TL that is the link in creating information literate school communities and information literate students. The role of the TL and the library is to allow students to develop skills necessary to become life long learners by enquiry, decision making, and analysing, recognising and evaluating information. These are some attributes and skills of an information literate person according to one definition that Herring gives in A Critical Investigation of Students and Teachers Views of the Use of Information Literacy Skills in School Assignments. (Blog entry 13/5/10).
Information literacy models have been developed to improve students learning and help them become information literate. In assignment 2 I researched 3 models and how they compared to each other. This task reiterated the TL’s role and put it into context for me. I could see that the idea of being information literate was only possible if you were taught to be so. The models are a tool that TL’s use to help students learn and develop problem solving strategies. The standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians were also critically evaluated, the following are a summary of the 3 standards, which encompass 12 elements. Within the standards of a TL according to the ASLA the TL will possess: 1-Professional Knowledge which will encompass the principles and understanding of lifelong learners, have knowledge of teaching and learning across curriculum areas, understand the school community and curriculum and have a solid foundation of information, resources, technology used in library management. 2- Professional Practice where the TL creates information rich learning environments, access to information resources, collaborates and plans units of work with other teachers to ensure that programs are accessible to the needs of the learners and monitor and evaluate learning to improve outcomes. 3- Professional Commitment outlines the TL’s ability to empower the school community to become life long learners, show a commitment to promoting the profession and literate community, show leadership by collaboration and sharing of knowledge and information services. Choosing three of these standards that enhanced student learning outcomes was an easy task compared to finding their strengths and weaknesses. I can almost say that I can tick one element of the standard 1.1 knowledge of the principle of lifelong learning- well informed about information literacy theory and practice. Looking back on my blogs I noticed that in First Achievement 24/4/10 I discuss the standards in relation to assignment one and the teachers role. I also say I hope I am on the right track, I know now that I was not quite their and I would not have been ticking off one of the standards. I would not say that I was at a standard of excellence but I did learn something.

My greatest challenge in this subject was participating in chat rooms and forums. I would access the forums and read the posts but most of the time I would get confused with different points of view. I managed to supply my blog address, introduce myself and ask a question, which no one replied to. I thought maybe the chat rooms would be more my style of learning, although these sessions would frustrate me. The pace was extremely fast, my queries were not answered and when I was confused about a topic or question people would start talking about Neighbours or Roy's biscuits. I am not an interactive learner, I like to be face to face, sit around in tutorial groups and discuss the issues.

Now the course is coming to an end, I must make some decisions of where to now- do I defer, continue or change topics. Time is something I need and at the moment it is limited, I think I need to read Covey one more time.

References

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