A Critical Synthesis

Part C
Critical Synthesis

I was full of confidence and vim and vigour when I started this ETL 401 course just weeks after starting my first TL position where I teach two infants classes once a week. After the first few readings however, my lack of knowledge raised feelings of overwhelming doubt and there went my confidence. So began my travels on the road of transformation of my view of the role of teacher librarian. Who knew there would be so many potholes on this road? And then I learn that there is no final destination anyway! Thank you Mr Senge (2007).

Reflecting on whether I should have known more about the role of TL before starting this course, I answer no. It would have taken a much longer time to learn about these than by just learning on the TL job. This course has taught me so much – from the fact that TLs in some countries refer to themselves as Library Media Specialists to learning about all the roles of a TL (Herring, 2007, Lamb & Johnson, 2008 and Purcell, 2010). My 7th March blog entry
http://http//thecarmichael.blogspot.com/2011/03/topic-2-role-of-teacher-librarian.html reveals my shock about the list of roles for TLs. How confused and frustrated I would be juggling lots of duties/jobs/tasks within the library now if I could not classify each one into a role. Admittedly, I am stuck in a pothole of having trouble classifying each task as many them fit into more than one role. My naivety is evident in my blog post http://http://thecarmichael.blogspot.com/2011/03/principal-support.html where I wondered if I would have to divide every library lesson of fifty minutes into ten minutes sections to fulfil every role. To be fair though, no work place, no classroom, no staff room or yard duty discussion, no professional development over the last twenty years of my career in teaching, have provided me with much opportunity to learn just what it is that teacher librarians do. This seems very wrong.

I have asked myself if I should have known more about the roles of a TL before I was hired as a one. Definitely, but then I might not have been confident enough to apply for the job. I was asked during my interview what I believed was the role of the TL. I answered confidently (see para 1) that I saw the role of the TL being part teacher and part instructional partner (IP). Though limited, I have had some positive experience working collaboratively on a class project with a TL so I could at least name the IP role. Obviously, the interview panel, which was made up of the three executive members of the school, liked my response enough and offered me the job with the proviso that I start my study in TL. Today, armed with some TL experience and information from literature from this subject’s modules and readings from the forum, I now question whether school principals should be more aware of what the TL does and thus their expectations for my job been higher? (/2011/03/principal-support.html. Hiring me, a good teacher with twenty years of classroom experience but without TL qualifications implies not a great deal of expectations. Has it become my job to educate the executive about what I do? Shouldn’t this be an executive’s responsibility as leader to know what I do or is it mine as teacher librarian in the role of leader?

The TL’s role of leadership has caused the most anxieties for me- big pothole in this road of transformation. Before this course, I associated the term leadership with administration and I have never wanted to be or hold an administrative/executive position. Reading Purcell (2010) and Stripling (2010) and reflecting on the standards of professional excellence for TLs (ALIA/ASLA, 2002) have certainly helped me to better understand the TL’s role of leadership. With time and experience, I will be more confident in using instructional leadership to guide administrators, my fellow teachers, and my students to a 21st-century style of learning. Yet this leadership role still proves daunting. Perhaps I am being too critical of my anxieties…it’s a new job and a new area of study for me. These feelings are surely part of the transformation process. It has been reassuring to read such forum posts as Maticevski (24th March 1:43pm) who cites Herring (2007) that we need to remember that no TL could possibly fulfil all roles at the same time.

Powerful readings from Warlick (2007), Senge (2007) and Dickinson (2009) have led to some serious reflection on my learning this past few months. I have learned so much but as I posted in a forum for Topic 5, 1 May, I am still very aware of my own ignorance with the more I learn about teacher librarianship. I feel stronger knowing that life long learning is about practicing a discipline. We will never arrive at our destination but will spend our lives mastering disciplines (Senge, 2007). And so this road of TL learning continues with no finish line or destination point in sight. More potholes to swerve but surely some fine driving in sight.

Topic 3

So project-based learning (PBL) is outcomes based and empowers the learning cycle (O'Connell). I get the idea that it is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real world problems and challenges. I like and I can see it working in the KLAs of HSIE and Science. I also like that projects form the centrepiece of the curriculum - they are not add-on or extra at the end of a "real unit" (Boss and Krauss, 2007, p.12). I must admit I am one of those traditional primary teachers where the projects I have assigned my students have been that extra bit at the end of teaching a unit. However, students have always looked forward to these projects and it was a reward or treat I suppose for them after we had covered all the content. Now working part time as a classroom teacher and part time TL, I am rethinking how my TL role can help me with PBL. I would love to read Chapter 4 "Strategies for Discover" of Boss and Krauss' book as it explains how to begin designing a project. I suppose in the past with my teaching of the content -giving the students the information - I have not allowed for critical thinking which leads to collaboration and then communication. Wait a minute, I think I am being too hard on myself. I have encouraged collaboration in past group work and of course, communication with the presenting of their projects ensued. But, yes, I am pretty sure not a lot of critical thinking was happening with the students. So how to go about this PBL as a TL? I am looking forward to learning more.

A Change for Autumn

I know!! I'ts even later but I wasn't loving the look of my blog - all those birds were distracting me and I suddenly remembered, I hate birds. I mean, have you seen Hitchcock's movie The Birds? Exactly. So, I went with an autumn theme...leaves falling...missing my Canadian home today. Now, really off to bed.

Reading

Goodness, it's late and I seem to have lost the post I was trying to post...hmmm...running out of words which is funny because my assignment is too wordy and I am taking a break from editing and procrastinating by posting. Anyway, loving EBSCO database and have found some amazing relevant and not so relevant resources to include in my assignment. Did come across this article tonight and thought I'd share as it does fit it with how my view of the role of TL is changing since this course has started. I agree with this Bently author when she says
“No where in my Master’s program were courses includ[ing] the instruction of reading. It did prepare me to manage the library, select and purchase materials, share those materials with patrons, teach information skills and research
strategies” (Bentley).
Hudak, T. (2008). Are Librarians Reading Teachers, Too?. Library Media Connection, 26(5), 10-14. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
This is only my first course in the Masters but I am wowed - is that a word? that there is not much about reading and TL but so much about information literacy, technology and TL. Anyway, off to bed to read my book.

Principal Support

As mentioned in earlier posts, I teach only .1 in the Library - 2 classes once a week and we have another super TL teaching the remainder of the 7 classes. So, having just started in the role of TL at my primary school, I feel fortunate to have the support of my principal. Support being, anwering ICT questions that arise, signing off for release teaching time for future TL inservices I want to attend and basically leaving me alone! However, after reading Oberg's article(2006) I am now looking at my principal in a different light. Oberg talks about the four key roles of the principal. These being: 1. Supervisor working directly with teachers 2. Model demonstrating personal commitment. 3. Manager enabling the program 4. Mentor providing visibility and importance. In the supervisory role, my principal does allow time at Staff meetings for discussion relating to programs. He does not require evidence of collaboratively planned projects. This is of course,in our programs. Is that the same thing? As a model demonstrating personal commitment, my principal is not exactly "visible" in the library but frankly, I don't feel he need be that visible. I do not hear him spouting the importance of the library program to teachers and parents, but he doesn't do that for Music, PE or Drama either. As a manager, my principal does support the budget for materials and information technology. We have a brand new library with adjoining computer lab hosting 30 computers. Though my principal supports team planning time at stage meetings during staff meetings, I have never known him to use his admin time to release teachers for planning time with the TL. And as a mentor providing visibility and importance for the TL, I have not yet been encouraged to take time for personal and professional development. Hey, it's only week 9 and I'm not complaining yet at all. While still cheering that I got the job, I am also slightly freaked out by the enormous roles I must fill. I do feel my principal supports me. Oberg has made me think about the respect bit of it!

Just a quick note before bed about Haycock (2007) and his article on collaboration. I like his definition stating collaboration depends on trust, shared vision and communication. And I completetly agree that time is always an issue with collaboration. Yes, I trust the two classroom teachers I am collaborating with this year and yes, we have a shared vision to provide a positive and worthwhile learning experience for these students. Just need to finetune the communication bit...working against the time all the time.

It's week 3 of this course and I am feeling overwhelmed by not so much the new information I have read and learned but about how much I still have to read. Every time I go back to the topic - this week being The Role of the Teacher Librarian and read the essential readings, I then see all of the "suggested" further readings. I am not so great at reading online...funny that I should be doing an online Masters! so I find myself printing a few of these articles off. I am using the back of scrap paper from my husband's office so I am not using up any extra paper...just using up a lot of ink. Anyway, I am in the midst of rethinking my role of TL. When I started doing some casual work in the Library, I thought it was the best job mainly due to the fact that you only have these children for 50 minutes/week. How in the world can you not be a happy, positive person for that small amount of time that you teach these children? I have done executive relief teaching - still am - for over 10years and was getting a bit bored with it and thought the library would be a great move. I had never thought about the other roles of the TL. Purcell's five roles of SLMS nearly knocked me over. Yes,I agree with Purcell's role of teacher, instructional partner and information specialist and even the program administrator but the role of leader had never entered my thinking about a TL. Now, that 50 minutes might need to be divided into ten minute slots for each of the 5 roles. Talk about juggling...and I cannot even juggle oranges or balls or anything. I know the other TL at my school - she is 2 days full time and I am only .1 - teach 2 classes once a week is amazing. I am fortunate to be able to work with her and yes, I see her carry out all but the role of leader but frankly she is busy juggling everything else - me a rookie TL included! Aren't there other people in our school that get paid a lot more than us to carry out the role of leader?

Memory Lane

Please allow me to back track to a little history about me. I grew up in rural Prince Edward Island...you know Anne of Green Gables country. Come on you TLs out there! Surely you know who that redheaded girl is! The book mobile was a highlight that my 7 siblings and I looked forward to every week during our Canadian summer holidays. Every Wednesday in July and August, we would walk the 3km to the church where the book mobile would park for a few hours. My sister who is eleven months younger than me and I would borrow the maximum number of books - three I think and with the approval of the other books we each had borrowed, we went happily home. I can still smell that old bus and all the books in it. And I still remember that Librarian...always in a skirt and always helpful and happy to see all of my brother sand sisters. Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon, The Hardy Boys were all borrowed from there as were many Enid Blyton books. We didn't have a lot of money growing up so the purchase of new books was a pretty rare thing...but that book mobile provided us with such a wealth of entertainment, knowledge and happiness during all my childhood years on PEI. I am sure this is where the seed of wanting to be a TL was planted...on that old book mobile in rural PEI. Now its all about media specialists and program leaders...and I cannot help but feel a bit nostalgic about her role on the book mobile. I wonder if there are any book mobiles still around.

Topic 2 - The Role of the Teacher Librarian

Have just watched the Youtube video attached to Topic 2- The Role of the Teacher Librarian. Being Canadian Australian - lived in Canada for the first 32 of my 44 years before moving down under - I didn't mind the strong American accents. I found it really informative and helpful in looking at the many roles TL's fulfill. Teacher, instructional partner, information specialist and program leader are the four roles these Americans believe their Library Media Specialists are. This is week 6 of my TL role in the primary school where I am employed on Wednesday mornings for two infant classes. Teacher and instructional partner are two roles I feel comfortable with as I teach and work with these two classes. I feel a strong collaboration is happening between me and the two classroom teachers I am working with. I am supporting both of these teachers in their HSIE topics - families past and present. The activities I have completed with the students have been specialist information tasks but I'm not quite comfortable with putting that label on me just yet. Maybe by the end of this term? year? MEd in TL? certainly but not just yet. And program leader...geez that is going to take me a while to be comfortable with that role...I'm a work in progress and I can honestly say, I have not helped one student sign out a book yet!! Luckily, we have a terrific Librarian Technican or as they say in USA, clerical staff.

Have spent most of the last hour reading fellow student's blogs and came away thinking mine was a bit too pink!! So have redesigned the look and adopted a new template and colour scheme. Feeling ready to hit the readings for this week or certainly add more readings to the pile I seem to be accumulating. A coffee first.

EBSCO

Have just been on Ebsco again trying to find some more articles using the words role, teacher librarian and support. I have saved a few of them to my folders and will attempt to get back on there later to read them. I wonder if I can put a shortcut to EBSCO on my desktop. Must try. Off now to be a mum and drive our children off to sport training.

Hello - it's been almost 12 months since I last blogged. I have just started an M.Ed in Teacher Librarianship at CSU through distance education and one of our tasks it to create a blog. It seems to make sense to add to the blog I created last year so here we go again! Today I tried to navigate around the CSU library data bases and though I was able to follow the prompts and enjoyed the tutorials, I still feel overwhelmed about how much information is "out there"! Think I said the same thing on one of my postings from last year. Wish me luck!