Today is my brothers birthday.
Hope you had a great day!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Information literate school community
This blog will be the death of me.
I'm finding it harder to keep this up to date than I am at keeping up to date with my readings.
I'm not really sure how I will be able to reflect on my growth at the end of this subject because I am so confused at the moment and everything is such a jumble I am not sure I am making any real progress.
Henri, J. 2005, 'Understanding the information literate school Community', in The Information literate school community 2, J Henri and M Asselin (eds.), Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Australia, pp.135-145.
As I reflected on the schools I have worked in while I was reading this I found it interesting that none of the schools could be described as information literate schools.
I think it would be possible though for my current school to work at building a learning community as they are part way there already and they are very open to change as is reflected in the way that they appear to be leading all of the other schools in the area in technology.
I believe that they are already operating within the 6 actions that Watkins and Marsick (1993) suggest. However, even though the principal encourages collaboration and team learning there is still a number of staff who are reluctant to fully collaborate in all areas and try to be better than their colleagues in many areas.
I guess with these actions already occurring within the school it should make it a fairly easy transition to becoming an information literate community.
Unfortunately this is where things get a bit tricky because library lessons are seen as an add on to the classroom by the teachers and not fully integrated into the classroom curriculum. The school also has fixed-length timetables which are not conducive to change according to Rosenholtz (1989). He also goes on to suggest that Characteristics of information literate schools include: emphasis on policy development, authentic process-driven assessment, integrated and flexible curriculum, and a strong role for specialists such as the curriculum coordinator and the teacher librarian.
I'm not really sure how any NSW school can have process driven assessment when the whole focus in schools is on the NAPLAN results, especially now that all schools are rated against each other.
I love the way that Henri has given suggestions for how the TL can be a catalyst for change. Mind you at the moment while I am doing this study, working in the library and running my family, I'm not really sure that I have the energy to try and make those changes within my school which I guess is like many other schools, extremely busy and reluctant to add too many more new things to their already busy schedules.
Oh well it's food for thought and gives me something to aim for.
I'm not really sure how I will be able to reflect on my growth at the end of this subject because I am so confused at the moment and everything is such a jumble I am not sure I am making any real progress.
Henri, J. 2005, 'Understanding the information literate school Community', in The Information literate school community 2, J Henri and M Asselin (eds.), Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Australia, pp.135-145.
As I reflected on the schools I have worked in while I was reading this I found it interesting that none of the schools could be described as information literate schools.
I think it would be possible though for my current school to work at building a learning community as they are part way there already and they are very open to change as is reflected in the way that they appear to be leading all of the other schools in the area in technology.
I believe that they are already operating within the 6 actions that Watkins and Marsick (1993) suggest. However, even though the principal encourages collaboration and team learning there is still a number of staff who are reluctant to fully collaborate in all areas and try to be better than their colleagues in many areas.
I guess with these actions already occurring within the school it should make it a fairly easy transition to becoming an information literate community.
Unfortunately this is where things get a bit tricky because library lessons are seen as an add on to the classroom by the teachers and not fully integrated into the classroom curriculum. The school also has fixed-length timetables which are not conducive to change according to Rosenholtz (1989). He also goes on to suggest that Characteristics of information literate schools include: emphasis on policy development, authentic process-driven assessment, integrated and flexible curriculum, and a strong role for specialists such as the curriculum coordinator and the teacher librarian.
I'm not really sure how any NSW school can have process driven assessment when the whole focus in schools is on the NAPLAN results, especially now that all schools are rated against each other.
I love the way that Henri has given suggestions for how the TL can be a catalyst for change. Mind you at the moment while I am doing this study, working in the library and running my family, I'm not really sure that I have the energy to try and make those changes within my school which I guess is like many other schools, extremely busy and reluctant to add too many more new things to their already busy schedules.
Oh well it's food for thought and gives me something to aim for.
Great handout for teacher librarians
I was just reading the forum and discovered this gem from Patricia. I hope she doesn't mind me adding it to my blog but it is very easy to read and simple to follow.
http://www.abc-clio.com/mark/pdf/LMC_Oct09_HandsOnHandout_102209.pdf
http://www.abc-clio.com/mark/pdf/LMC_Oct09_HandsOnHandout_102209.pdf
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Standards of professional excellence for TL's
Topic 2: The role of the teacher librarian
Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2004). Library standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians.
Wow how amazing is this document?
Until I read this I was unaware there were any standards for TL's to aspire to. I kind of thought we were left out on our own a little bit.
Although this gives me something to aspire to it is also a little bit confronting when I see all of the qualities an excellent TL possesses, and all of the qualities that I don't possess. Oh well yet more goals I can add to my list of things to do.
This is what it says.....
Excellent teacher librarians.......................................
Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2004). Library standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians.
Wow how amazing is this document?
Until I read this I was unaware there were any standards for TL's to aspire to. I kind of thought we were left out on our own a little bit.
Although this gives me something to aspire to it is also a little bit confronting when I see all of the qualities an excellent TL possesses, and all of the qualities that I don't possess. Oh well yet more goals I can add to my list of things to do.
This is what it says.....
Excellent teacher librarians.......................................
- understand the principles of lifelong learning
- know about learning and teaching across curriculum areas and development levels
- have a rich understanding of the school community and curriculum
- have a specialist knowledge of information, resources, technology and library management
- engage and challenge learners within a supportive, information rich learning environment
- collaboratively plan and resource curriculum programs which incorporate transferable information literacy and literature outcomes
- provide exemplary library and information services consistent with national standards
- evaluate student learning and library programs and services to inform professional practice
- model and promote lifelong learning
- commit to the principles of education and librarianship
- demonstrate leadership within school and professional communities
- actively participate in education and library professional networks
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Final reading of module 1....
Well I am now back from a wonderful few days at 'COLOUR'. On a bit of a high until I walked through the door of my house and realised that I still have lots of uni work to do before my assignments are due at Easter, so thought I should get straight back into it and finish off module 1.
Hay, L., Foley, C. School libraries building capacity for student learning in 21C, Scan 28(2), 17-26.
This reading was good in that it considered the vision of school libraries and the way in which TL's, resources and technology are able to come together and create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for everyone.
This article presented a comprehensive framework that could be used to assess and build a library's capacity for short term as well as long term planning, complete with many examples of what capacity building should look like in practice.
Hay, L., Foley, C. School libraries building capacity for student learning in 21C, Scan 28(2), 17-26.
This reading was good in that it considered the vision of school libraries and the way in which TL's, resources and technology are able to come together and create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for everyone.
This article presented a comprehensive framework that could be used to assess and build a library's capacity for short term as well as long term planning, complete with many examples of what capacity building should look like in practice.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Teacher Librarians and the school Library
Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.)Libraries in the twenty-first century: charting new directions in information (pp27-42) Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.
School mission statements
Many school libraries include reading for enjoyment as well as for information in their mission statements.
Mission Statements for school libraries should be brief statements that encapsulate the ethos of both the school and the library.
The role of the TL
The role of the TL is a multi-faceted one.
Information literacy in schools
Developing information literate students is the key role of the TL.
Students need to be taught how to avoid plagiarism.
Collection Management
Collection management focuses on the organisation of the collection and in some cases is interpreted as managing a collection for access, and includes aspects of cataloguing, classification and circulation.
The materials chosen need to be relevant to the needs of the school.
The school library website and school intranet
School library websites can be used for a range of purposes.
....Teacher librarians have a key role in the education of students....
School mission statements
Many school libraries include reading for enjoyment as well as for information in their mission statements.
Mission Statements for school libraries should be brief statements that encapsulate the ethos of both the school and the library.
The role of the TL
The role of the TL is a multi-faceted one.
Information literacy in schools
Developing information literate students is the key role of the TL.
Students need to be taught how to avoid plagiarism.
Collection Management
Collection management focuses on the organisation of the collection and in some cases is interpreted as managing a collection for access, and includes aspects of cataloguing, classification and circulation.
The materials chosen need to be relevant to the needs of the school.
The school library website and school intranet
School library websites can be used for a range of purposes.
- promotion of library
- links to digital and print resources and to the local community
- specific learning resources in curricular areas
- provision of information literacy guidelines that students can access at anytime and from anywhere.
....Teacher librarians have a key role in the education of students....
Quadrant 4 here I am!!!
Before I start on this reading, I think that it is interesting that I proved yet again that I mostly operate in the 4th quadrant of Covey's time management matrix.
Yesterday when I should have been doing uni work I spent the day phoning builders, looking up different building companies on the Internet, looking up plans for our house, then phoning friends and telling them that we were going to demolish our house and rebuild. Of course these were all time wasters. Not to mention the biggest time waster of all was writing out my resume for a job interview that I don't have any hope of getting and then going to visit staff at a school I used to work at so that they could 'help' me with my resume. Yep all quadrant 4 and all time wasters.
This term my goal is to allow myself to fall into this quadrant less frequently than I am currently doing.
As a result of my extremely poor time management skills I got absolutely no uni work done on my allocated uni day and I am off to 'COLOUR' a women's conference tomorrow for the weekend so things aren't looking that great work wise.
Oh well here I go writing some stuff before I have to get dinner tonight.
Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada's school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment
This was an absolutely fascinating article to read in the wake of what's occurring at Loftus public school. The Principal there has deemed that a TL is unnecessary and so has not employed on this year in an effort to try and save money in his budget. After reading this he is doing exactly what they are doing in Canada.I feel like going up to the school and presenting him with all of the research to show him why he is doing the children such a huge disservice.
1. School libraries are more than rooms dedicated to storing books.
2. Well stocked, well equipped libraries with motivated professional TL's can expect to have * capable and avid readers;
* learners who are information literate;
* teachers who are partnering with the TL to create high quality learning experiences.
* standardised tests tend to be 10-20% higher than in schools without this investment.
3. High achieving schools place a high priority on the library.
4. Teachers' quality of teaching is seriously hampered when there is no library support.
5. School libraries and TL's have a positive effect on student achievement.
6. Collaboration between the Tl and the class teacher is essential to maximise student achievement.
7. TL's have a positive impact on student proficiency in information skills and research strategies.
8. Students learn more and produce better research products following planned, integrated information skills instruction by the teacher and TL together (Haycock, 1997) Therefore it is not a great idea to use library as release from face to face teaching.
9. Students often lack a clear search focus and need to develop search strategies when searching for information on the Internet.
10. If students are to become independent, efficient readers, they need a rich supply of books. (Allington, 2002)
11. Flexible library scheduling helps to increase student motivation and library use.
Developing a culture of collaboration is not easy.
Yesterday when I should have been doing uni work I spent the day phoning builders, looking up different building companies on the Internet, looking up plans for our house, then phoning friends and telling them that we were going to demolish our house and rebuild. Of course these were all time wasters. Not to mention the biggest time waster of all was writing out my resume for a job interview that I don't have any hope of getting and then going to visit staff at a school I used to work at so that they could 'help' me with my resume. Yep all quadrant 4 and all time wasters.
This term my goal is to allow myself to fall into this quadrant less frequently than I am currently doing.
As a result of my extremely poor time management skills I got absolutely no uni work done on my allocated uni day and I am off to 'COLOUR' a women's conference tomorrow for the weekend so things aren't looking that great work wise.
Oh well here I go writing some stuff before I have to get dinner tonight.
Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada's school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment
This was an absolutely fascinating article to read in the wake of what's occurring at Loftus public school. The Principal there has deemed that a TL is unnecessary and so has not employed on this year in an effort to try and save money in his budget. After reading this he is doing exactly what they are doing in Canada.I feel like going up to the school and presenting him with all of the research to show him why he is doing the children such a huge disservice.
1. School libraries are more than rooms dedicated to storing books.
2. Well stocked, well equipped libraries with motivated professional TL's can expect to have * capable and avid readers;
* learners who are information literate;
* teachers who are partnering with the TL to create high quality learning experiences.
* standardised tests tend to be 10-20% higher than in schools without this investment.
3. High achieving schools place a high priority on the library.
4. Teachers' quality of teaching is seriously hampered when there is no library support.
5. School libraries and TL's have a positive effect on student achievement.
6. Collaboration between the Tl and the class teacher is essential to maximise student achievement.
7. TL's have a positive impact on student proficiency in information skills and research strategies.
8. Students learn more and produce better research products following planned, integrated information skills instruction by the teacher and TL together (Haycock, 1997) Therefore it is not a great idea to use library as release from face to face teaching.
9. Students often lack a clear search focus and need to develop search strategies when searching for information on the Internet.
10. If students are to become independent, efficient readers, they need a rich supply of books. (Allington, 2002)
11. Flexible library scheduling helps to increase student motivation and library use.
Developing a culture of collaboration is not easy.
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