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A Favourite source of resources and inspiration!

"Teacher-librarians play three critical roles in the learning community: teacher, information specialist and administrator. In each of these roles they empower students and teachers to meet higher standards." -Ken Haycock The Crisis in Canada's School Libraries (2003) These modules explore components critical to the role of teacher-librarians as instructional leaders in Saskatchewan schools. Each module contains information, examples of best practices, resources, and learning opportunities. Together, they will assist in developing the skills required by teacher-librarians to support student learning.

2006 Recipient of The Angela Thacker Memorial Award Canadian Association for School Libraries

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Last Update: 07-Jun-2010 2:43 PM From: http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/teachlib/index.htm

Assessing the School Library Program

I found the following information in Week 3 when researching RBL. I loved the website and found the following in particular to be a useful checklist for evaluating a school library program.

Taken from http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/teachlib/coll/keys/principal.htm

These topics can be topics for discussion with the principal or for self reflection by the teacher-librarian. It can be completed independently then used as the basic for a discussion.
1. Is the library in your school visible and promoted adequately?
2. Is the library always available for students?
3. How do you communicate with the teacher-librarian or administrator about the progress of school library programs?
4. Would it be valuable to provide a log of some of the activities that are collaboratively planned and facilitated by the teacher-librarian and teachers?
5. How do you find out if the library is actively serving staff and students?
6. Does the school library program promote reading and literature?
7. How is the library program adequately covering all areas of the curriculum?
8. Are library materials and services adequately promoted throughout the school?
9. Does the teacher-librarian adequately use monies given to the library program to purchase materials that meet the needs and objectives outlined by the school's goals?
10. Is the school library program an integral part of the school's educational program?
11. Does the school library program extend the school's educational program?
12. Does the teacher-librarian balance the use of electronic resources and print resources?
13. Does the school library have a professional area where staff can find adequate information to meet professional needs?
14. Does the teacher-librarian recognize the role the information process plays in education?
15. Does the teacher-librarian work collaboratively with staff in an attempt to integrate the information process into the curriculum?

Principal Support

Principal's play a major role in defining the culture of a school. However, they do not do this exclusively. I believe that all the different members of a school (staff, students, parents and community) define and inspire the culture of a school. Having worked in one school where the parents and wider community did not value education and also in one in which the principal did not have the support of the staff, I know that whilst it is possible to limit collaboration it is not possible to eradicate it! Some members of a school community may oppose collaboration but this does not mean that others will...and it is after all from small things, that big things grow!

Anyway I guess what I am trying to say is that in my experience if you are passionate about what you are doing, you will (ultimately) inspire others to join you in your quest. Having a principal that supports you and who you support does make life easier - but if you don't have this at the school where you work it simply increases the challenge, which in turns increases the delight you feel over the smallest of successes. And success breeds success. One term's collaboration with one teacher may grow to another term's collaboration with one year group of teachers, to collaborating each year with all stages! To end with another saying - actions speak louder than words - sometimes it's best not to argue and confront but to get on with the job in a way that your are proud of and happy with and trust in the evidence that will result from your own good work and effort.

The teacher librarian: Role statements and standards

In comparing the international, national and state-based statements highlighted in this week's readings regarding the role of TL, it is clear that all the statements recognise that TLs are 'uniquely qualified' to fulfil a range of roles and services within a school community. Arguably, everything that defines and characterises the position of a TL develops from the fact that TLs have responsibilities and opportunities within their school community as both teachers and information specialists.

As all the role statements agreed, by being inherently teacher AND librarian, the role of TL becomes a multifaceted one - TLs have a role to play in teaching and learning, leadership, curriculum involvement, management, literature promotion and services (see SLASA statement). The mere fact the the ASLA statement uses TWELVE standards in their attempt to encapsulate the work of the TL highlights just how complex and multifaceted that role is.

Given the multifaceted nature of the TL role, to be effective TLs must engage collaboratively with the other members of the school community. Once again all the statements highlighted the integrated and collaborative nature of the TL's role as they work to "support and implement the vision of their school communities" (ASLA Policy Statement). No matter how the different statements were worded and structured, it was clear all agreed that TLs must be committed to collaborative practices - both to fulfil the standards of professional excellence and to be meaningful in their school communities. Schools after all are social institutions and it is only by interacting with, talking and listening with, collaborating with the different members of those institutions (staff, students, parents and community) that they can succeed.

Reflections on RBL

I believe wholeheartedly that resource based learning is a viable model of learning. While perhaps the effective practice of RBL is currently less pervasive than we would wish I am confident that both the frequency and success of RBL will continue to increase as both classrooms and school libraries around the world reinvent themselves for the students of the 21st century.

As a primary school teacher I have spent a number of years designing and implementing such student centred, inquiry based units of work and have found that using units which are designed in this way, both maximises student engagement and readily supports differentiation in the classroom.

I am excited that in the move towards RBL, the role of TL (and indeed of the teacher) is moving “away from an overemphasis on ‘how to find stuff’ and place greater emphasis on how to extract, process and use information” (Haycock 1991, p20) - i.e. critical thinking skills - and I believe that there are a growing number of schools which embrace this vision.

Whilst it is true that throughout my teaching and indeed even in my early years as a teacher it was more common than not to encounter classroom teachers who taught ‘front and centre’ and TLs who worked in isolation to the classroom program and who repeated the same lessons on how to borrow and return a book, the majority of my 10 years teaching has been spent in schools that have been committed to a RBL approach. These schools have been more exciting, dynamic and intrinsically motivated learning environments than those clinging to out-dated, teacher centred practices and I know that with continuing professional development and the ongoing injection of newly trained teachers and TLs such ‘last century’ institutions will slowly but surely fade away.

In the same way that the advent of the internet has dramatically broadened the scope of RBL, so too has it accelerated the evolution of RBL in schools. Fueled by access to other technologies in schools such as smartboards and digital cameras, learning experiences are readily made interesting and relevant to real world experiences. They become characterised by RBL values - experiential and student centred - placing the teacher in the exciting role of facilitator and guide.

In today’s ‘global, hi-tech, diverse and information saturated society’ (Library of Congress video), information in a variety of forms such as podcasts, interactive webpages, animations and online videos can be immediately accessed and responded to - thus allowing our teaching focus to shift solely from the mastery of content (Bloom’s Knowledge, Comprehension and Application) to actively include (rather than merely address if we have time or gifted learners!) the higher order processing of that content by all learners (Bloom’s Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation). The discourse created simply by the immediacy with which we can access and begin to process information, invites collaboration and cooperation (be it face to face or digital) both between students, between staff and between students and staff and in this way education becomes ‘repackaged’ (Library of Congress video) and the school library evolves to become “a learning laboratory” (Haycock 1991 p20) within the RBL culture of the whole school.

Let the fun begin

Hi there,

This is my best effort at getting organised for the start of Uni on Monday. Surprisingly, things seem to be going quite smoothly in relation to the whole distance education situation. I'm a bit nervous about studying again - I thought I had written my last essay 10 years ago and I'm worried that I will find the lack of face to face contact challenging. At the same time, I'm optimistic that I will enjoy my teacher librarianship training - I just hope I don't end up with eye strain and glued to my computer in the process!

:)K