ASLA Webinar – Creating Internal Wide Reading Challenges

On Wednesday Night, I presented my first (solo) professional learning session for the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) as part of their monthly webinar series. I had set myself a challenge for 2022 which was to lead a professional development session through a non-school provider. It has been five years since I presented my first professional learning session, but it was at a school level. I knew who my audience was at the time and was not daunting. 

Late last year, I attended one of the ASLA webinars and a question was asked in the feedback form if attendees were interested in presenting monthly webinars. I expressed my interest and it went from there. I decided to focus on Creating Internal Wide Reading Challenges as I felt that I owed a debt to those who provided their ideas to help me organise the Cover 2 Cover wide reading challenge for Bethany College Hurstville in 2019. 

I believe that there were people out there who wanted to create one and why not lend them a hand and share my experience and give them ideas. Even in 2019, I remember one teacher librarian on the OZTL-NET Forum who was looking to do the same and for me to share their ideas with them. 

I felt it was a “dry topic” when it came to school libraries and wide reading, again raising opportunities to share. It also encouraged me that one of my fellow members of the Management Committee from the School Library Association of NSW was present along with others within my professional network, some of whom contacted me to ask about the webinar before the evening. 

As for the presentation itself, presenting it online was not scary at all even for a virtual audience. If it were face to face, I would have had a few nerves, but as I was able to organise the presentation and reinforce it with my experiences, it was straightforward. The feedback is positive so far from the attendees, but will need to post a little more in an upcoming post.

Representation Matters: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion - SLANSW Summit

The School Library Association of NSW (SLANSW) held the first of its biannual summits for 2022 which was provided online on Saturday.

The focus was on embracing diversity and inclusion and attending on Saturday was a must given that in a secondary setting, students are indicating a preference for literature that reflects the world around them.

Two items stood out on Saturday

Firstly, I enjoyed listing to keynote speaker - Will Kostakis (Author), who provided a wonderful overview of his writing career, and the challenges that he has faced in writing literature as his novels such as The First Third and Sidekicks have been inspired by his experience growing up as gay. He had been told that he had to "de gay" the storyline for The First Third. I have read both of those titles and are very well written.

Secondly, Pooja Mathur (Teacher Librarian, The Kings School & ) presented a workshop that helped us to identify suitable literature that can be representative of all students within your school including authors. In our resource acquistion, we had to consider the impact the story may have on the reader and if it improves our understanding of an issue. Also how can we classify it. "Relationships" was recommended. Promotion of literature that is from the "Relationships" genre is straightforward and can be easily applied in my practice.

One matter raised during the day was the amount of censorship or concerns that have been raised about books and how they may "misrepresent" certain groups or issues in society.  Even great and bestseller books have been listed as doing so, even though the intention is to provide an insight into their world but also help society understand their needs and issues in a positive way. I would not be surprised if these concerns are being raised more by the "politically correct" or "woke" groups in our society in terms of outing the faults in books, and not realising the debate and discussion and positive change that has stemmed from the publication of the book.

I am currently a Metropolitan Representative on the School Library Association of NSW Management Committee.

A real sign of normality

On Monday, public health orders meant that cohorting groups by grade ended in New South Wales schools. For school libraries, it has meant the end of restricting access to students e.g. One year group utilses the library at lunch time on one day and another year group the following day.

I felt good that anyone who wishes to use the library, especially during break times can do so again. It has been challenging having to turn students away simply because they were not in that grade. Some students have not enjoyed this, because they love the library as a space to undertake private study or simply to escape the activity that occurs on the playground. 

The bigger challenge will be if the hordes return, which is common in many schools. Will students feel comfortable to visit the library when there are alot of their peers around?

Being in a secondary setting, I believe it is important to establish a rapport with the incoming Year 7 cohorts. We lost four weeks and it was their first four weeks of high school. This did not happen at this time last year. They are keen to make use of what the school has to offer, including their library. They are curious as well. They want to see what they can borrow and read. I will need to identify ways to bring them in, but I was encouraged by their turnout during their designated times in cohorting. 

Recommending Books to Students

Last Tuesday, I attended a webinar faciliated by SLANSW focusing on recommending books to students and it was encouraging to listen to see how other teacher-librarians support students in recommending books.

One teacher librarian who works in a secondary Catholic College near Newcastle shared how she is using reading ambassadors to encourage students to read. She has asked 10 students who are passionate readers to be part of her initative. The students have an opportunity to read new books before they are available for students to borrow along with them being allocated to a specific Year 7 English class. 

They also share with other students their favourite books, genres and what they currently read along with their personal recommendations.

I thought the approach was excellent because I have believed strongly that students are more effective at recommending books to their peers than teachers. While as teachers, we may know our students well and their preferences, students like to do other students do. With reading, students are more likely to read if other students read.

It could be something that I would like to do down the track with a group of students because I think it could yield rewards long term.

I was also introduced to the 'book bots' which have been introduced in a number of primary schools. I am hoping they will become available in secondary schools because I think it will simplify the process of choosing a book from the library collection and has proven to engage even the most reluctant readers in reading. I do have a link which explains how a 'book bot' works.

A new school....

This year, I begin a permanent full-time role as a Teacher Librarian and 2022 is the start of the next stage in my professional journey. I am based at a secondary girls' school on Sydney's Upper North Shore.

It is a thrill to be in this role and should be very rewarding in the years to come.

School has only been open a week and I am in the "swing of things" and adjusting to the routine that comes with this role.

I will continue to share and reflect on some of the initatives that I undertake and reflect on any professional learning that I engage in.

COVID-19 has sapped alot out of us but I did make good use of this time to brush up not just on school libraries, but also my broader role as an educator.

It is great that schools are open as normal even as we in Sydney experience our third and worst wave of the pandemic but also the fact that infection rates have dropped in time for the school year. Yes, there will be a rise a cases, but we will be on top of it.

It's great too to be working within the library space itself. Working from home can have its limitations for people like us. 

Professional Development for Casual Teachers

Casual Teachers find access to professional development to be challenging, even at the best of times. This would also involve forgoing work and income just to complete any professional development that is essential to their work.

Fortunately, even before COVID-19 stretched its tentacles around the world, there were providers already providing on-demand professional development for casual teachers.

I am going to share three providers that will provide professional development to casual teachers. Some of these providers are also available for full-time teaching staff. Some full-time staff may even find courses for casual teachers useful in their everyday teaching. Win/Win.

Relief Teachers Association

Yearly membership is $99 but there may be offers that allow for reduced fee membership. It is the main provider of professional development for casual teachers. While there are some curriculum and technology offerings, options may be limited. Curriculum offerings are limited across all key learning areas and focus on essential skills, pedagogies and technology that is provided as part of the curriculum. However courses relating to classroom management are excellent. Some courses are also NESA accredited. Those seeking more in-depth professional development may need to go elsewhere.

Teacher Learning Network (TLN)

At this stage, a yearly subscription costs $350 but they do charge pro-rata rates after March 31. If you can hold off until after March 31, and you have the time, it becomes better value for money. Even at the full rate, I believe its great value for money. I signed up early this term after finding it while investigating on-demand PD options and have completed nine courses so far. Some of the areas covered include leadership, professional network/learning, diverse learners and technology. For casual teachers, there is also a portal with even more courses available designed for casual teachers. The courses featured are initially presented live to members but are available for viewing up to two years after they have been presented. Certificates are available on request and will be handy for a professional portfolio.

TTA

Do not let the $299 annual fee deter you from accessing this site but caters to all key learning areas. You can attend individually but note that individual courses cost the same as a yearly subscription. All courses are delivered online. I am exploring taking a one year subscription.

Finally, did you know its easy to become an Apple Teacher. All you need is an iTunes account and you can complete modules to become a certified Apple Teacher. I took it this year, and though good with technology, discovered some new ways that I can intergrate technology into my teaching.

Click here to visit the Apple Teacher Website.