Professional+Knowledge

= = = = =1 Professional knowledge=
 * =Home = || =Professional Practice = || =Professional Commitment= || =Professional Learning Plan = || =References= ||

// Excellent teacher librarians… //

//1.1 understand the principles of lifelong learning //

//1.2 know about learning and teaching across curriculum areas and developmental levels //

//1.3 have a rich understanding of the school community and curriculum //

//1.4 have a specialist knowledge of information, resources, technology and library management //

Excellent teacher librarians: • are well-informed about information literacy theory and practice

See Standard 1.2 for information about Information Literacy

• thoroughly understand how all learners develop and apply • have a sound understanding of how children and young adults become independent readers

At Site 5 EP the Teacher-Librarian has been using literature circles to develop students’ reading skills. The teacher-librarian credits the work of Harvey Daniels as informing his use of literature circles in the library program. A group of upper primary students is given a book for study, often this book selection is done in collaboration with the students themselves. Each student is then allocated a role such as Discussion Director, Illuminator, Illustrator, Connector, Word Watcher and Summarizer (Daniels, 1994).The students then read to book together and engage in discussions and activities in response to what they have read. The Teacher-Librarian at site 5 EP has found literature circles to be very beneficial to not only develop students’ reading fluency but also provoke students to engage with the material they are reading. The Teacher-Librarian commented that these literature circles are often more beneficial that in-class reading groups as the students are reading and engaging with literature that is of interest to them. I plan to add Literature Circles to my future library program.

• comprehensively understand the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in lifelong learning

Technology has become a vital aspect of the school and library as ‘m ultiple literacies, including digital, visual, textual, and technological, have now joined information literacy as crucial skills for this century’ (AASL, 2007 pp. 3). The nature of literacy is evolving and traditional pedagogies needs to evolve as well in order to prepare students for their futures in a constantly changing, technological world. Whilst traditional literacy focused on textbooks and teacher-centred lessons; 21st century literacy involves a broader skill set. Today’s students need to communicate effectively with peers and at times a wider community, use a variety of technologies, collect information from a variety of mediums and use that information in new ways that shows deep understanding and learning (Brown, 2005, p.3). As a result the role of the Teacher Librarian is ‘changing in an increasingly digital age and teachers must be adept at facilitating learning through the new technologies’ (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 3).

The Teacher Librarian at Site 1 engages a number of ICT’s in her program such as PowerPoint and Wordle, as well as a Virtual Classroom. The Virtual Classroom, created through The Learning Place, was used with a year 5 class engaged with a unit on Ancient Egypt. This learning experience allowed the students to connect with the unit in an engaging and motivating manner. ‘Students in classrooms nationwide are growing up in the digital age. They are naturally motivated through the use of technology’ (Nelson, 2008 pp. 1). The Teacher Librarian was able to tap into this motivational potential to assist the students to reach academic goals and outcomes.

The introduction of Web 2.0 holds great potential for Teacher-Librarians and students. Social networking sites, blogs, tagging tools, special interest forums and personal library tools such as Diigo can enrich teaching and learning opportunities by engaging students in learning and allowing them to take control and ownership over their learning. This encourages students to become life-long learners as they no longer need to be lead by a teacher, they are able to direct their own learning. However, despite the great benefits that can come from Web 2.0 there are negative aspects that educators must consider. These negative aspects should not mean that we ignore Web 2.0 in schools but rather embrace the responsibilities and manage the risks in order to benefit from these tools. Students need careful guidance in using Web 2.0 tools in order to protect their personal rights and safety as well as respect the rights and safety of others.

As ‘school libraries have the potential to be ‘flexible, dynamic, high tech 21st century learning centres’ that are the hub of the learning environment of a school’ (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 53), upon appointment in the Teacher-Librarian role I will strive to engage a wide range of relevant and engaging technology tools to assist students to reach their potential. Parallel to this is my commitment to maintaining current knowledge and skills. I have discovered a number of blogs especially for teachers that give regular updates on good resources. These blogs do much of the ground work for busy teachers and provide a concise description of the tool or site. I will continue to use these blogs to develop my knowledge of tools available to teachers and students.

A further key aspect of the Teacher-Librarian role is providing resources to teachers to enrich teaching and learning programs. It is essential to evaluate any potential resource before it is included in educational programs. ICT and Web 2.0 are no different and thus require careful evaluation in order to determine the strengths and weakness of the resource as well as the appropriate audience, prior knowledge and skills required and relevance to the curriculum. All resources regardless of format must be carefully evaluated and as a professional educator it is essential for me to possess highly developed skills in evaluation. I also believe that an effective teacher-librarian should strive to become a leader for staff in regards to ICT. In order to fulfil this role I plan to continually develop my knowledge of and skills in using ICT. In addition I will seek quality, relevant resources to provide teaching staff with resources to enrich their teaching and learning programs, fulfil curriculum requirements and assist students to develop skills and knowledge relevant to their current and future lives. I also plan on providing support to teachers as they implement new technologies into their classrooms. I believe this will encourage teachers to be more willing to adopt new technologies.

I believe that teachers, schools, teacher-librarians and libraries need to cater for 21st century learners by providing high quality, relevant and engaging learning opportunities that allow them to develop skills and knowledge needed in their lives. In my future role as a teacher-librarian I will endeavour to draw on relevant technologies to assist students meet learning goals and achieve their personal and academic potential.

Information Literacy and ICT Literacy is also discusses in Standard 1.2 Standard 2.2 and Standard 2.4

1.2 Knowledge of learning and teaching
Excellent teacher librarians:

• have a detailed knowledge of current educational pedagogy

**•** are thoroughly familiar with the information literacy and information needs, skills and interests of learners

• fully understand the need to cater for the social, cultural and developmental backgrounds of learners in program implementation and curriculum resourcing

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Information literacy can be defined as;


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">‘ //**//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The ability to search efficiently through such information, and the ability to effectively sort out that which is not relevant, that which is misleading, and that which is confusing, have become essential literacy skills in our modern electronic society’ (Callison, 2006 p.4). //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Inquiry-based learning, or Guided Inquiry (Kuhlthau et al, 2008) allow students to develop their information literacy. Guided Inquiry encourages students to move past simply collecting information towards ‘synthesize and [assimilation of] facts to construct new ideas and deep understanding (Kuhlthau et al, 2008:22). This engages higher order thought processes and promotes deep student engagement with information as they are not only able to understand the information they have gathered but are also able to use that information in new ways.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">During my study I came across a model for Information Literacy that I feel clearly illustrates the relationship between the many types of literacy. Information literacy is not separate from traditional conceptions of literacy but rather is an expansion of literacy as a result of the rapid evolution of technology. As what it means to be literate changes so too does the overarching concept of literacy. This has pedagogical implications for educators as traditional teaching must be expanded to include the new literacies and prepare students for their future lives.



<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Durham District School Board. (n.d) Information Literacy Skills Continuum. Accessed from

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[]


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Models for Inquiry-based learning/information learning //**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A large number of models for Inquiry-based learning/information learning exist to offer the teacher, teacher-librarian and student slightly differing pathways to knowledge. Many of the models are similar and it really depends on the needs and styles of the teacher and their students as to which model is adopted. [|www.ictnz.com/infolitmodels.htm] offers an overview of a number of models. Common to a number of these models is that the information learning process is cyclical in nature. The [|SAUCE] model, [|Digital Information Fluency (DIF)] and the [|Research Cycle]present visually cyclic models, however, by looking closely at most other models it is evident that any model for information learning could be represented cyclically. I personally like the idea that the process is cyclic as it is my pedagogical belief that learning is a continuous process and information learning often leads to new questions to be explored through subsequent search processes. Learning is not finite, as humans we are always asking why and answers to questions often produce new questions. I believe that the Information learning models included on the Infolitmodels website vary in quality and different models appeal to me personally more than others.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Teacher-Librarian at Site 1’s pedagogical practices are underpinned by the belief that students need to become information literate, independent, life-long learners, capable of interacting with ever changing technologies of the future. Her lessons are structured around an Information Literacy Process Overview, designed through collaboration between all teachers at this school and based on educational theory that utilises a range of information and communication technologies. ‘Literacy in the modern age is about so much more than just reading and writing. Today our technological society requires students to have information and communications technology skills (sometimes referred to as digital literacy skills) as well’ (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 44). The Teacher-Librarian at Site 1strongly believes technology, and an understanding of it, to be imperative to students’ learning. As a result she guides students through lessons using such tools as Wordle, Photostory, ZooBurst, Scratch and even uses a virtual classroom with one group to develop competence in the Information Literacy Process whilst developing ICT skills. This practice is justified by the Senate Inquiry which states that ‘literacy outcomes are enhanced by teacher librarians who provide curriculum support and design resource-based learning programs’ (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 44). In my future role as a Teacher-Librarian I will strive to echo the Information Literacy education standards displayed by the Teacher-Librarian at Site One.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have decided to adopt the [|Information Literacy Scope and Sequence] model to guide my future inquiry-based teaching and learning experiences. I feel that this model provides a simplistic and user-friendly framework to full support and guide the inquiry process. I would, however change the model to make it cyclical. I believe that authentic inquiry-based learning is cyclical and an initial question usually initiates further learning questions. Humans are inquisitive by nature. Therefore any truly authentic learning strategy must reflect that.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">From the Information Literacy Scope and Sequence I have created the following model which I plan to add to my professional toolkit. This model has been slightly adapted from the Information Literacy Scope and Sequence created by the ONC Boces. (n.d). and found at [].



Information Literacy and ICT Literacy is also discusses in Standard 1.1 Standard 2.2 and Standard 2.4

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1.3 Knowledge of curriculum
<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Excellent teacher librarians:

<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• have a comprehensive understanding of literacy, literature for children and young adults, curriculum and specific programs in their schools


 * <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• **<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">have a detailed knowledge of how to promote and foster reading

• have a sound understanding of current assessment theory and processes

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One of the core aspects of the role of a Teacher-Librarian centres on reading and literature. ‘ <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reading is a foundational skill for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment’ (AASL, 2007 pp. 2). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Senate Inquiry refers to data to show that ‘students who enjoy reading the most perform significantly better than students who enjoy reading the least (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 3). Reading for both pleasure and learning is central to every aspect of the school library and the Teacher-Librarian’s role. Clark and Rumbold refer to a number of studies to reveal that reading and the development of a love of reading have positive effects on students’ vocabulary, self-confidence, attitudes towards reading and reading and writing in class, particularly in comprehension and grammar. Students who read for pleasure also have a greater general knowledge, better understandings of other cultures, substantial community participation and decision-making skills (2006, pp 9-10).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">During both my study and SPP I have encountered a number of fantastic initiatives employed by Teacher-Librarians to foster a love of reading in the school community. The Teacher-Librarian at Site One has implemented two reading incentive schemes to encourage students to borrow books and read for pleasure. Students in Prep – Year 3 are involved in a ‘Library Borrowers Passport Scheme’, in which they earn points for each borrowed book. In grades 4-7 a ‘House’ points scheme is used. In Term 3 the Teacher-Librarian at Site One’s role focus moves from information literacy to explicit promotion of reading. The Teacher Librarian conducts lessons with all classes in the school to coincide with Book Week. Students engage with literature through individual and group reading activities. The Teacher-Librarian feels that this time of the year is very important to foster a love of literature in students and keep those students not participating in regular library lessons connected with the library (TL interview, 2011).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Teacher-Librarian at Site 2 has set up the following displays to advertise popular books and series as well as recently released material. By putting these books in front of the students in this way the Teacher-Librarian has found that students borrow these books more regularly and readily.







<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As mentioned in Standard 1.1 the Teacher-Librarian at Site 5 has been using literature circles to develop students’ reading skills. These literature circles allow students to engage with reading material that is interesting and relevant to them. Often the books selected are the first of a series and the students are frequently then motivated to read the rest of the series.

Although I have not yet seen a book club in action I have been reading a little about them, predominately on the OZ_TL listserv. I am very keen to incorporate book clubs into my future library’s services. The introduction of books clubs allows students ‘opportunities to interact socially with others’ (Gambrell, 1996. pp 22) and ‘opportunities to become familiar with lots of books’ (Gambrell, 1996. pp 22). These opportunities are essential in developing a love of reading in children. I am also keen to include book clubs and book reviews in some form on my future library website, possibly through a blog or links to book raps. Book raps are a type of online book club where individuals can go to discuss a particular book. A blog format is used for discussions surrounding a text and often classroom activities are encouraged. The website [] provides book rap opportunities frequently. I would also like to include book reviews written by library staff, teaching staff and students both on my future library website and through cards on library shelves, as is commonly seen in book shops.

Book Trailers are another tool I have explored through this course that would be highly beneficial in the promotion of reading. The Teacher-Librarian at Site 7 is using book trailers with a group of year 7 students and has thus far found that students are very engaged and motivated to complete their trailers. I plan to go back and have a look at the finished products towards the end of this term. Book trailers are like a movie trailer but made to promote a book. Recently the OZ_TL listserv [|http://**listserv**.**csu.edu.au**/mailman/listinfo/**oztl_net**] contained a post about creating book trailers and provided a number of resources that would be useful in their creation. The following web resources are very useful:

[|http://booktrailersforall.com]

[]

http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/home

I have also had the opportunity to create my own book trailer for Jeannie Baker’s book //Mirror// media type="file" key="Mirror.wmv" width="525" height="438"

See Standard 3.2 for more information on promotion of reading

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1.4 Knowledge of library and information management
<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Excellent teacher librarians: <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• understand that professionally managed and resourced school libraries are crucial to the achievements of the school community <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• have a rich professional knowledge of national standards for library and information management • have a comprehensive understanding of national standards for information retrieval

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Collection Management is concerned with providing access of library facilities and resources to the school community. Several studies referred to by Dianne Oberg (School Libraries make a positive difference – A review of six research studies, 2002) found that there was a direct link between student achievement and the presence of a well-equipped library with ‘rich, relevant collection[s] and staffed with qualified Teacher-Librarians’ (Oberg, 2002:9). This provides the rationale for ensuring school libraries are well resourced, appropriately staffed and connected to the whole school community. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Over the duration of the Information Organisation unit I have grown in my understandings of information organisation, database design and use, cataloguing and other related concepts. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have explored database design, resource description including rules and standards such as AACR2, controlled vocabulary and classification applying this knowledge through the database design assignment. I discovered that these aspects of information organisation are essential in order for effective, user-friendly database design. Through my exploration of classification I looked at the Dewy and Library of Congress schemes exploring the benefits and disadvantages of the two schemes. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Throughout the entire unit I considered the user’s role in all aspects of information organisation. This, I believe, is a key part of information organisation as any system of information organisation is created to assist the user, thus their needs and capabilities must always be considered. In addition it is important to remember that how individuals use databases is predominately dependant on their own competence and knowledge of both the search process and the resource they are seeking to find. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Many school library catalogues in Australia, including the SPP sites I have visited, are populated using SCIS (School Catalogue Information Services) records. The SCIS database is comprehensive and adheres to the international standards of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 2nd ed (AACR2) (//SCIS,// 2010 p. 2). ‘AACR2 is the most widely-used standard for descriptive cataloguing in the English-speaking world’ (Kiorgaard, n.d p.1). SCIS also utilises the Dewy Decimal Classification Scheme and SCIS Subject Headings Online (//SCIS,// 2010 p.3). This type of cataloguing is very common due to ‘the cost savings which can occur, and the benefits of sharing data created to the same standards for improving the service which the information centre offers’ (Hider and Harvey, 2008 p.25). Hider and Harvey (2008) discuss the many benefits of cataloguing consistency across libraries worldwide. If consistency was to be achieved records could be easily shared, accessed and understood. This would significantly increase ‘efficiency in organising information, for cataloguing is a time-consuming, skilled and therefore expensive process’ (Hider and Harvey, 2008 p.26). In addition to the benefits for the cataloguer this consistency would also provide great benefit to the users of information retrieval systems. Users would be able to easily ‘access and understand bibliographic records in the information retrieval systems of other libraries’ (Hider and Harvey, 2008 p.26). Although this is an effective strategy to use for cataloguing in a busy library it is also essential for the cataloguer to use their own professional knowledge to evaluate records before they are accepted. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Technological developments such as Web 2.0 hold great potential for the organisation and use of information. Users and LIS professionals are able to become co-creators and managers of information systems. I believe that this may increase library database use as patrons develop ownership and familiarity with the systems. However, along with the privileges offered by these technologies come responsibilities and potential dangers. During the final week I explored the ethical issues of security that impact on library systems as a result of technological development such as Web 2.0. Library professionals must provide patrons with safe secure access to information as well as protection of any personal information patrons may enter into library systems. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Teacher-Librarians’ primary role at all my SPP sites is to oversee all management activities within the library. Management activities are predominately carried out by the Library Aide, however many aides do not work full-time and as a result the Teacher-Librarian must also carry out management activities. ‘Good management principles must be developed when working with the staff to ensure that they have direction, and that they understand their responsibilities, for the tasks to be performed and the level of performance expected’ (Morris, 2004 pp. 198). The Teacher-Librarian’s supervise the Library Aides who are responsible for maintaining the Alice database and circulation management. Activities such as borrowing, returns and teacher’s bulk loans are also predominately handled by the Aides. Under the supervision and direction of the Teacher-Librarian at Site One, student monitors undertake a number of tasks such as reshelving and assisting with lunchtime activities. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">At Site 2 I had the opportunity to work with the library aide and gain experience with their Alice database. I was able to use SCIS to enter new resources into the collection as well as spend time checking record information such as subject headings to ensure the items will be easily found by the library users. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Upon appointment as a Teacher-Librarian I will seek to continue the team environments I have observed during my SPP. I will strive to maintain a leadership role as ‘leadership is a key function that is essential to keep the staff motivated to accomplish established goals’ (Morris, 2004 pp. 198). In addition I will ensure all staff roles are carefully planned, defined and evaluated in order to become an efficient team as ‘effective management of the staff is crucial to the smooth operation of the school media program (Morris, 2004 pp. 199). See Standard 2.3 for information on Collection Management in relation to policy