A critical synthesis of your reflection on how your view of the role of the TL may have changed during the subject.

My views on the role of the TL at the start of this course were quite rudimentary and unformed. I had only a superficial understanding of the TLs role within a school and an idealised view of the position. In forum 2 I describe my frustration at not being a TL and also of being a casual teacher and therefore having little real experience of the TL role. (Howells, 2011, December 2) Having read numerous articles and completed two assignments I believe I have now gained a more comprehensive view of the TL role.

At the beginning of this subject I had a mediocre understanding of IL and what it meant. I had heard the term before but not learnt about IL in any detail. In my blog I describe the way that my conception of IL is forming, it is a slow and vague process. (Howells, 2011, December 1) I describe feeling daunted by the responsibilities of the TL. In recalling my Masters degree, which I completed in 2008, I was not sure whether IL was mentioned. As Shenton (2007) states ‘although producing information literate students is likely to meet with universal support, rarely do information skills form a significant component in teacher training programs.’ (Shenton, 2007, p 14) This could explain why I was not well informed. This is perplexing when, with hindsight, I consider the importance of IL in education.

At the start of this course I didn’t know about the various information process models available. Now I know that there is a whole series of possible methods for students to use while accessing and using information. I have reflected on quite a number of classes that have taken and where students had been researching on the internet, but I had been unaware that there were processes or steps that might be being followed (Howells, 2012, January 17). I have assumed that students would know how to research, without my thinking about how they would know that. I believe I had also assumed that in some way this sort of activity was intuitive.

Researching information process models also reminded me of the importance of meta-cognition in learning. During my masters degree in teaching we learnt about the importance of meta-cognition to some extent, and now that knowledge has been reinforced. Meta-cognition is an important skill for students to learn and one that can be facilitated by the TL in conjunction with other teachers. ‘Studies suggest that information-seeking behaviors yield more positive results when the students performing them possess strong meta-cognitive skills’ (Hill as cited in Wolf, Brush and Saye, 2003, para 16). It is also interesting to think about meta-cognition in regard to ones own studying habits.

It has become clear to me during this unit, that the TL must be a leader in their field. This means that the TL has to be the advocate for their role in the school and for promoting the value of the Library program. They need to make sure they are able to communicate effectively with the principal to ensure that the principal supports the agreed role of the library within the school. Developing IL across the school, collaborating with teachers, presenting PD programs, are all a part of the role of the TL as leader. I did not realise that TLs need to be creative in thinking about ways to raise the profile of the library program, and that they also need to gather evidence that the program is improving students’ achievement and learning. As Haycock says, TLs are required ‘to act as change agents, innovators, opinion leaders and monitors’ (Haycock, 1999).

Another area of which I had an unformed view was the role of TL as technologist. Before undertaking this unit I had an idea that librarians had a lot to do with computers and technology but now I realise just how much they need to know.  During my Masters degree there was a class devoted to ICT, but I recall that the class mainly looked at Powerpoint presentations and Smartboards. I now know that the more a TL knows about new forms of technology and communication the better. The use of smart phones and Ipads, the rise of social networking, especially amongst students, means that TLs need to stay abreast of all these technologies. Knowing how to use these technologies and knowing how they can be utilised in educational ways is very important. I can now see that social networking sites have further uses as forums for groups interested in sharing information about specific subjects. I was inspired to read Lorenzo’s (2007) article about new ways that technology can be used in the library and classroom context. 

References

Haycock, K. (1999). Fostering Collaboration, Leadership And Information Literacy: Common Behaviors of Uncommon Principals and Faculties. NASSP Bulletin, 83(605), 82 - 88.

Howells, A. (2011, December 2). Webmail has been discontinued  (Online forum comment) Retrieved from http://forums.csu.edu.au/perl/forums.pl?forum_id=ETL401_201190_W_D_Sub4_forum

Howells, A. (2011, December 1). The Role of The Teacher Librarian. Retrieved 24 January 2012, from http://ahowells.blogspot.com/

Howells, A. (2012, January 17). Webmail has been discontinued  (Online forum comment) Retrieved from

http://forums.csu.edu.au/perl/forums.pl?forum_id=ETL401_201190_W_D_Sub6_forum

Lorenzo, G. (2007). Catalysts for change, Information fluency, Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and The New Education Culture. Clarence Center, NY: Lorenzo Associates, Inc., March.

Shenton, A. (2007). The Paradoxical World of Young People’s Information Behaviour. School Libraries Worldwide.13,(2), 1-17.

Slack Blogger

Hello - I haven't posted for over a month  - what happened ? Well, there was Christmas, then south coast holidays with my two boys, a new puppy and trying to finish Assignment 1 ! I am finding fitting everything in to be a struggle, I'm afraid I cannot do this course justice, I just don't have the time and energy. Still, I hate to quit so I aim to pass this unit and then reconsider....

On to the juicy subject of Information Literacy - Is it just me or is all this stuff just word salad ? I think I am getting a grip on IL and then it slips away...I am getting bogged down in how to define skills, habits, practice etc. etc. It seems to me that IL is really all about how to study or how to learn, breaking down the process of learning, indeed meta-cognition, to use one of those fancy words.

I am thinking about assignment 2 and how to approach it, and yes, I am getting those affective feelings that have been mentioned by famous IL experts and other students on their blogs and forums. Yes, despair and confusion, and DOUBT too. Can I do it ? Can I ever become a Teacher librarian - It certainly seems harder than I ever imagined, the whole weight of the schools Information Literacy program on the shoulders of the TL. The leadership aspect, that terrifies me,  I think I had imagined quietly sitting in the library, not this HUGE RESPONSIBILITY that I see looming now. Is it ever fun to be a TL ?

Sorry, getting a bit negative now, please excuse me, and anyway I must go and see what the puppy is chewing now....