Task C

What I knew about TL’s 3 months ago

My view of the role of the teacher librarian has changed over this semester of studying. Naively, when I enrolled in this course, I had no idea what teacher librarians can do in a school library and was unaware of the breadth of the role of teacher librarians (Norman, 22/7/11). My experience of teacher librarians has been very limited and other than overdue notes, basically involved an email once a semester with a list of resources that may fit the topic in the class I was teaching. How my view has changed and been challenged throughout this semester.

What I learnt this semester and why it is important

Role of Technology

The first aspect of the role of teacher librarians that has broadened and challenged my thinking is the role that technology plays in the Library environment. I am amazed at what good teacher librarians can do in the way of technology. In my third blog I discussed the challenge that I find technology (Norman, 2/8/11) and realise how much I have to learn to best assist my students. I have found throughout this course that slowly I am learning new skills. Being able to set up a blog was a big step and I look forward to learning many more skills in the future. Lamb and Johnson (2008) discuss that teacher librarians have a large and important task within their school community, including identifying the technology needs within the school, providing staff instruction and development and then supporting these technologies in learning. Although at the beginning of the course I was unaware of the impact technology has had on the role of the teacher librarians, my mind was quickly opened to the importance of technology and it uses in the classroom and library.

Collaborative nature of TL

Another aspect that I have found not only challenging but also very exciting and different from my experience is the collaborative nature of good teacher librarians. One of the readings that I found particularly interesting was the article by Fullan. He stated in his article that “collaborative schools are essential for success” (1999, p. 31). If teacher librarians and teachers collaborate effectively then their students will receive great benefits. The challenge, as I see it, is encouraging teachers to want to collaborate with their teacher librarians when developing the curriculum. I think that the more teachers and teacher librarians’ work together, the more ideas and therefore better outcomes for students can be achieved (Norman, 21/8/11). As teacher librarians we need to promote the importance of collaboration and celebrate successful collaborative partnerships (Johnson, 2002). If, we as teacher librarians (or potential teacher librarians), are proactive in promoting our professionalism then others will see our attitudes and want to be involved and also see the importance teacher librarians play in the school environment (Norman, 21/9/11).
Breadth of Experience

Teacher librarians are confronted with a much larger role that I initially thought. To be perfectly honest, I thought that they managed the resources and chased up overdue items. That has been my experience. I have been amazed at the breadth of the expertise required and how important they should be to the students learning. Joyce Valenza’s poem really challenged me and made me realise how much I need to learn to be an effective teacher librarian (Norman, 12/9/11). Valenza states that all learners “deserve a strong school library” (2010). I have also been challenged by the immense volume of tasks teacher librarians face and need to complete to effective in their school community.



Improvements I could have made this semester

Specific time

When I read the Effective Time Management article in week one, I thought that I managed my time effectively. By the time week ten came around, and I reread the article I realise many ways that I could improve. Although I am currently not in the classroom, I took the same principle suggested and applied them to my life at the moment. Upon reflection I realised that I have spent time wasted on unimportant tasks and then had to scramble to complete the important tasks. “Make some time to plan your day” (Wilson, 2009) is a statement that I could use more effectively. Although I love writing lists in my personal life, I have yet to transfer that effectively to my studying life (Norman, 21/9/11). Throughout the remainder of my studying life I aim to work on this and plan my study times more effectively.

Deeper Reflections

Through writing this task, I have realised that I need to delve more deeply into my readings and look at the way they practically affect teacher librarians practice. By structuring and planning my study time more effectively this should become easier. Another way to deepen my understanding of would be to be more up to date with current practice by attending Professional Development courses (Norman, 21/8/11). Another way to deepen my understanding and develop my thoughts would be more interaction in the forums. Although I read most posts, I was reluctant to offer my thoughts in case they were wrong.

Conclusion

Although I am unsure if I will end up as a teacher librarian, I am confident that the skills I am learning in this course will enhance my classroom teaching (Norman, 17/7/11) and therefore my students learning and I believe that the most important part our job as teachers and teacher librarians. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead as I complete my course over the next few years.



Bibliography – Task C

Fullan, M. (1999). Deep meaning of inside collaboration. Change forces : the sequel (pp. 31-41). London : Falmer Press. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/fullan.pdf



Lamb, A & Johnson, L. (2008). School library media specialist 2.0: a dynamic collaborator, teacher, and technologist., Teacher Librarian, 14811782, Dec2008, Vol. 36, Issue 2. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=229c8367-495f-495a-baea-edaf5d2869f8%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=43699030 on 29th September 20011



Johnson, D (2002). The Seven Most Critical Challenges Facing Our Profession. Teacher Librarian. Jun2002, Vol. 29 Issue 5, p21. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=6987799&site=ehost-live on 22nd September 2011.



Norman, K. (17th July 2011 – 21st September 2011, inclusive). Katie’s Journey. Retrieved from http://katien-katie.blogspot.com/



Valence, Joyce (2010). What librarians make. Or Why Should I be More than a Librarian? Retrieved from http://vieo.com/17247140 on 12th September 2011



Wilson, T.(2009) Effective Time Management for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.time-management-success.com/time-management-for-teachers.html