Finding it very difficult to find time lately - what with work issues, home issues and then find the time to study. It is hard to find quiet time with a 2 and 4 year old running around and needing to get ready for bed. No time to myself until they go to bed - at least 7.30pm (thank goodness for husbands who put sons to bed and read them a story!). By then after my day I find it very hard to sit at a computer screen and do readings and assignments!
Not to mention end of term time with work - new library assistants still learning the ropes, technology issues, teacher issues, planning for next term (even if it is by myself!). Actually have sent an email to try and encourage teachers to use my expertise - but also to make time to sit with me and COLLABORATE. Let's see if it happens (quietly pessimistic or should that be optimistic?) as there is very little time to do this, well no time in school hours. This lends to my assignment (which is all in my head at the moment) about principal support for collaboration as my obstacle.
Oh well, back to the readings - or dinner I think I hear the 'dinner's ready' call.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
TL priorities
One of the first things we have to do for the year is outline our goals under 6 headings associated with the role. We then use the goals and discuss them with our principal who signs off on them. Once this discussion has occured and both the principal and TL are on the same page then the real work begins.
The problem comes about in that all areas are interlinked - collaborating for lessons means having the technology to provide appropriate ICT lessons, which means that PD has occured for appropriate understanding. There also needs to be access to appropriate resources in the library which means time spent on resourcing the library to allow this whilst keeping abreast of current fiction/non-fiction that will cater to students personal reading leisure time. Then comes the planning time, teaching time and management of the system. All must be balanced appropriately to ensure the library is integral to all users. We must not become focused on the teachers alone or on the students' as lifelong learners but also still be aware that reading is an important part of life and if we can keep them reading this in itself is going to help them as a learner.
I think that staff meetings are an important tool of professional development - especially for the TL to inservice staff. Also working with teachers who are willing is a first step to prioritise - we cannot do everything at once. If we can work with the teachers willing to collaborate and then present this at meetings other staff members will be able to see the benefits and follow on. Explicit teaching examples are a benefit.
The problem comes about in that all areas are interlinked - collaborating for lessons means having the technology to provide appropriate ICT lessons, which means that PD has occured for appropriate understanding. There also needs to be access to appropriate resources in the library which means time spent on resourcing the library to allow this whilst keeping abreast of current fiction/non-fiction that will cater to students personal reading leisure time. Then comes the planning time, teaching time and management of the system. All must be balanced appropriately to ensure the library is integral to all users. We must not become focused on the teachers alone or on the students' as lifelong learners but also still be aware that reading is an important part of life and if we can keep them reading this in itself is going to help them as a learner.
I think that staff meetings are an important tool of professional development - especially for the TL to inservice staff. Also working with teachers who are willing is a first step to prioritise - we cannot do everything at once. If we can work with the teachers willing to collaborate and then present this at meetings other staff members will be able to see the benefits and follow on. Explicit teaching examples are a benefit.
Principals in Action
Reading the information about principals was very interesting as I work in three schools part time in the Catholic Diocese but have three different prinicpals with differing views about the TL. And in one school I have had two relieving prinicpals who again have different views about the TL. I remember having a discussion with one prinicpal upon starting who said, '...don't worry about planning with teachers as their non-contact is on different days so it will be too hard to manage'. A great start to 'collaborating with teachers on their planning! I was there to take their students for a 'library' lesson, with maybe some work on internet safety and websites but not tied directly to their units of work.
Hartzell's (2002) paper was straight forward and provided characteristics of effective library media services, concluding how principals can support libraries, especially as the principal is in control of everything within their school. I also thought it was interesting that Hartzell (2002) talked about the TL supporting the Principal in research collections, further to this was Haycock's (1999) view that the 'role of the principal is enhanced by...the teacher-librarian' (p.85) and Oberg's (2006) findings that 'teacher-librarians provided professional development for principals...' (p.15). This was a novel idea that the TL teaches the principal but I suppose it is true - we often have to inform the principal (and teachers) of what we are capable of doing and how we can do it.
All readings talk about the principal as the instigator of collaboration - that it is how the prinicpal models the role of TL collaborative planning to the teachers as to how effectively teachers take it up. That it is through 'active leadership of the principals and TL team' (Oberg, 2006) that affects the collaboration of planning in schools.
Hartzell's (2002) paper was straight forward and provided characteristics of effective library media services, concluding how principals can support libraries, especially as the principal is in control of everything within their school. I also thought it was interesting that Hartzell (2002) talked about the TL supporting the Principal in research collections, further to this was Haycock's (1999) view that the 'role of the principal is enhanced by...the teacher-librarian' (p.85) and Oberg's (2006) findings that 'teacher-librarians provided professional development for principals...' (p.15). This was a novel idea that the TL teaches the principal but I suppose it is true - we often have to inform the principal (and teachers) of what we are capable of doing and how we can do it.
All readings talk about the principal as the instigator of collaboration - that it is how the prinicpal models the role of TL collaborative planning to the teachers as to how effectively teachers take it up. That it is through 'active leadership of the principals and TL team' (Oberg, 2006) that affects the collaboration of planning in schools.
Henri vs. Reality
Reading the Henri article took some time and re-reading (mainly due to children demanding my attention a number of times or my thoughts drifting to my own TL experiences). The idea of collaboration seems to be a common thread that reverberates through my experiences and the article. Also the practice of integrated units which became a component of Qld teaching with the introduction of Outcomes. The idea of teaching across subjects and student groups has long been on the agenda of teaching but from what I have seen is still a limited practice. I have not seen the TL in discussions with the principal and teachers to effectively facilitate and develop programs. There is some collaboration between TLs and teachers but not always effectively. I think flexible teaching teams is a great idea, especially in primary schools where specialist teachers are not always a part of the teams when teaching areas e.g. science, art, ICTs and as such this is an area that could be looked at in more detail. In one of my schools the principal has started to look at this and we have a specialist science, art, music and p.e. teachers now giving specialist lessons, with the TL also being involved at various stages (as long as the teachers are willing to collaborate). I don't think it has been defined specifically enough yet as it is in its infancy but this could be a good start to the idea of flexible teaching, especially across student groups but I must say I don't think it will go this way. At my old school there was a push to group students according to ability levels for Maths and English but again it was not followed through - deemed to hard when moving into Year 8. Middle schooling was looked at for the same reason but again very few schools seem to have gone that way or done it effectively.
But anyway back on track now - Henri's views are significant but are they manageable without a rethink across the schools. If teachers are not on board with this view it might not happen.
But anyway back on track now - Henri's views are significant but are they manageable without a rethink across the schools. If teachers are not on board with this view it might not happen.
Own Role statement vs. National Role statement
As a TL in Catholic primary schools we have a scope of role document that outlines the roles and responsibilities of specialist teachers - teacher librarians that was developed from the roles and responsibilities section of our Enterprise Bargaining IV agreement. This was then unpacked for us in regards to the expertise and value to the educational package, though is not exhaustive.
The four areas are: TLs partner teachers to develop, implement and evaluate a curriculum which facilitates student learning; TLs work collaboratively to provide opportunities for students to become discerning users of information (critical and cultural literacy); TLs advocate reading, promote literature for children and young people and offer reader guidance and; TLs manage a school's information resources and services.
The first aspect I noticed when comparing the two standards was that my own role was quite focused on collaborative work with teachers, collaborative teaching of the students, especially in ICTs, inquiry processes and literature promotion and resourcing the curriculum. This was on top of managing the system and service in place. Whereas ASLA had 3 main areas, each broken down into 4 bite sized components of understanding the role, which is then further broken down into specific statements.
In the first area of Professional Knowledge (ASLA 1) I feel that my own scope of role fulfils 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4. Most of 1.1 is covered although I feel that the theory side of the knowledge is an area that is not fully covered in the scope but there is some implied aspect to some of the descriptors that we need to have it to perform the statement.
ASLA 2 - 2.1 appears to be covered through my descriptors of the learning environment, 2.2 is covered by ensuring we are collaborating and planning with teachers through the year and being involved with resource discussions and further ICT development. 2.3 is our system managment statements. 2.4 of Evaluation requires more descriptors in my role although we do have to provide audit statements of resources and spending, stocktake reports, budget proposal and collection development plans and bring planning and lessons along to inservice/cluster days. The evidence side of student learning is not formally outlined in my role.
ASLA 3 - 3.1 lifelong learning is not directly referred to but the concept is apparent in our role, research is not detailed in our role, educational issues is not specifically an aspect although we are expected to be involved in our moderation processes; 3.2 Commitment is covered in our role; 3.3 Leadership - in certain areas we are meant to be leaders and it is often talked about at our cluster days. 3.4 Community repsonsiblities all are aspects that are expected from us as TLs and is often discussed through conferences and workshop days.
Looking at the IASL aspects of TLs I feel that my scope of role does fulfil the areas outlined the majority of the time. There may be a few areas that are not always maintained through the year such as cultural but this could be due to the lack of time that is give to TLs as it is linked to school size.
Overall I think that the scope fulfils those aspects outlined in other documents and it was great to be able to see that when comparing them. It was always daunting looking at ASLA's document as there are so many high level objectives but seeing them broken down for our role specifically was a great opportunity to match them up. Although it is still overwhelming how much a TL is meant to do in a school situation, especially as I am only there one day a week with an extra day every four weeks.
The four areas are: TLs partner teachers to develop, implement and evaluate a curriculum which facilitates student learning; TLs work collaboratively to provide opportunities for students to become discerning users of information (critical and cultural literacy); TLs advocate reading, promote literature for children and young people and offer reader guidance and; TLs manage a school's information resources and services.
The first aspect I noticed when comparing the two standards was that my own role was quite focused on collaborative work with teachers, collaborative teaching of the students, especially in ICTs, inquiry processes and literature promotion and resourcing the curriculum. This was on top of managing the system and service in place. Whereas ASLA had 3 main areas, each broken down into 4 bite sized components of understanding the role, which is then further broken down into specific statements.
In the first area of Professional Knowledge (ASLA 1) I feel that my own scope of role fulfils 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4. Most of 1.1 is covered although I feel that the theory side of the knowledge is an area that is not fully covered in the scope but there is some implied aspect to some of the descriptors that we need to have it to perform the statement.
ASLA 2 - 2.1 appears to be covered through my descriptors of the learning environment, 2.2 is covered by ensuring we are collaborating and planning with teachers through the year and being involved with resource discussions and further ICT development. 2.3 is our system managment statements. 2.4 of Evaluation requires more descriptors in my role although we do have to provide audit statements of resources and spending, stocktake reports, budget proposal and collection development plans and bring planning and lessons along to inservice/cluster days. The evidence side of student learning is not formally outlined in my role.
ASLA 3 - 3.1 lifelong learning is not directly referred to but the concept is apparent in our role, research is not detailed in our role, educational issues is not specifically an aspect although we are expected to be involved in our moderation processes; 3.2 Commitment is covered in our role; 3.3 Leadership - in certain areas we are meant to be leaders and it is often talked about at our cluster days. 3.4 Community repsonsiblities all are aspects that are expected from us as TLs and is often discussed through conferences and workshop days.
Looking at the IASL aspects of TLs I feel that my scope of role does fulfil the areas outlined the majority of the time. There may be a few areas that are not always maintained through the year such as cultural but this could be due to the lack of time that is give to TLs as it is linked to school size.
Overall I think that the scope fulfils those aspects outlined in other documents and it was great to be able to see that when comparing them. It was always daunting looking at ASLA's document as there are so many high level objectives but seeing them broken down for our role specifically was a great opportunity to match them up. Although it is still overwhelming how much a TL is meant to do in a school situation, especially as I am only there one day a week with an extra day every four weeks.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thoughts on being a TL
Before I get involved in finding out what I am supposed to be doing as a TL I want to put my own thoughts about how I perceive the role.
I must admit before working in a school as a TL I didn't give too much thought to the TL in the library - I didn't think they impacted upon my teaching in any way and I definitely didn't think they were involved in my planning. I thought a TL was a Librarian - someone the students could ask to find something in the library or maybe help with a search on the internet. I thought they could teach the students how to search the catalogue but didn't give much thought to the application of this in a wider capacity, such as boolean searches or advanced searches on Google as an example (I know, we always use Google, Google is God!! but at least everyone knows it). Maybe some of this was the fault of the TL in not promoting their role and what they can offer to a T, maybe of my own education as a T, not being informed about the use of TLs in planning and teaching. It could also be that as a secondary teacher I tried to keep up with new developments in my subjects and not across the curriculum.
It was not until I took a part time position as a TL that I started to realise there was more to the role, in fact sometimes more than our roles were supposed to be, especially in technology. There were still the basics that I thought a TL did, trying to promote reading, buying resources, managing the database and teaching students to use the catalogue but then came the ICTs. Integrating ICTs into lessons, collaborating with teachers, planning, developing resources, promoting ourselves and our service. Even after a year I am still trying to work out the actual boundaries of the TL position as I have and still do work across three schools and each school has a different view of the TL and their place in the school and not really one of them is using the TL as more than a resource stop for their own planning, if there is even time to do planning with teachers, which is a no go in a couple of the schools I know.
I'll leave it at that for the moment - I might have a think about what I have written and add (or subtract) thoughts or ideas. Signing off for the moment...
I must admit before working in a school as a TL I didn't give too much thought to the TL in the library - I didn't think they impacted upon my teaching in any way and I definitely didn't think they were involved in my planning. I thought a TL was a Librarian - someone the students could ask to find something in the library or maybe help with a search on the internet. I thought they could teach the students how to search the catalogue but didn't give much thought to the application of this in a wider capacity, such as boolean searches or advanced searches on Google as an example (I know, we always use Google, Google is God!! but at least everyone knows it). Maybe some of this was the fault of the TL in not promoting their role and what they can offer to a T, maybe of my own education as a T, not being informed about the use of TLs in planning and teaching. It could also be that as a secondary teacher I tried to keep up with new developments in my subjects and not across the curriculum.
It was not until I took a part time position as a TL that I started to realise there was more to the role, in fact sometimes more than our roles were supposed to be, especially in technology. There were still the basics that I thought a TL did, trying to promote reading, buying resources, managing the database and teaching students to use the catalogue but then came the ICTs. Integrating ICTs into lessons, collaborating with teachers, planning, developing resources, promoting ourselves and our service. Even after a year I am still trying to work out the actual boundaries of the TL position as I have and still do work across three schools and each school has a different view of the TL and their place in the school and not really one of them is using the TL as more than a resource stop for their own planning, if there is even time to do planning with teachers, which is a no go in a couple of the schools I know.
I'll leave it at that for the moment - I might have a think about what I have written and add (or subtract) thoughts or ideas. Signing off for the moment...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Flexible scheduling, is it realistic?
A comment about TL's and flexible scheduling introduced the concept of our duty of care. In a time where the TL has limited resources (including time in the school) to then have groups of students dropping in to do their research or discussion without any scheduling, where does that leave the TL? As a babysitter for some teachers I am sure, and this is not fulfilling our duty of care to the students, or the school. I can see it now, the teacher is trying to cope with their class of 29 students and think to themselves - some students not focused in class? Send them to the TL to do some group work. Also you could end up with over 30 students at one time if they don't have to schedule - as was stated by Tamara 'a logistical nightmare'.
In theory a great idea, students able to utilise the library to its full potential, but in a time where RBL and RBT are still unclear to a large percentage of teachers, where inquiry driven assignments are in their infancy, flexible scheduling is something to strive for, where all students and teachers are aware of its purpose and role in the curriculum.
In theory a great idea, students able to utilise the library to its full potential, but in a time where RBL and RBT are still unclear to a large percentage of teachers, where inquiry driven assignments are in their infancy, flexible scheduling is something to strive for, where all students and teachers are aware of its purpose and role in the curriculum.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
In the beginning...
With teaching as my background and coming into the TL position I always felt behind the eight ball with the expectations in my new role. Starting this course is a step in the right direction and after some of the readings I feel that I am not on my own.
It is interesting to read information from other countries about the role of the TL and the decline of it in schools due to (largely) a lack of understanding of the role and a lack of utilisation of the person in the role.
Another thing that strikes me is the diversity of the position - yes I am a teacher, yes I manage the library, yes I promote reading, yes I work with technology to ensure it is up to date and related to the work being done, yes I plan with teachers. Yet we still get people thinking we read books all the time! A lot of the issues that are coming up are ones that I have thought about during my time as a TL. And I must admit - as a teacher I did not see the role of the TL as being integral in my teaching - (a lack of education both from the TL and from the school!). I understand that the TL might not feel it is their place to promote their role as all other roles are fairly self explanatory but as they are the specialist in their field just as a LST might take a session during a staff meeting or an ESL teacher so must a TL - there must be someone fighting our fight and if not the only person qualifed to do so then who?
It is interesting to read information from other countries about the role of the TL and the decline of it in schools due to (largely) a lack of understanding of the role and a lack of utilisation of the person in the role.
Another thing that strikes me is the diversity of the position - yes I am a teacher, yes I manage the library, yes I promote reading, yes I work with technology to ensure it is up to date and related to the work being done, yes I plan with teachers. Yet we still get people thinking we read books all the time! A lot of the issues that are coming up are ones that I have thought about during my time as a TL. And I must admit - as a teacher I did not see the role of the TL as being integral in my teaching - (a lack of education both from the TL and from the school!). I understand that the TL might not feel it is their place to promote their role as all other roles are fairly self explanatory but as they are the specialist in their field just as a LST might take a session during a staff meeting or an ESL teacher so must a TL - there must be someone fighting our fight and if not the only person qualifed to do so then who?
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