Yr 7 Program

At present, I am volunteering at St Patricks Catholic College in Sutherland on a weekly basis currently assisting the learning support staff in a program that they undertaking with a group of Year 7 students.

I am doing this for two reasons:

1. Improve my employability - It has become quite difficult to seek a job as a teacher.
2. I want to apply what I am learning in this course within a classroom setting.

I also like helping kids that aren't doing so well in the classroom and may have a learning disability that may result in weaker academic results.

I couldn't attend their first session late last term which was a "getting to know you" session because I was called in to teacher elsewhere, but I really didn't miss anything.

Session Two was yesterday and the focus was on remembering information and identifying strategies. It had alot to do with learning styles, which is an issue that has constantly appeared in my studies, particularly ETL503 last semester.

It was obvious from my observations that many are visual learners because they needed to visualise the information. That was reflective of the research which shows that many students are actually visual learners.

There was an exercise where 20 objects were put on the table and the students were allowed to touch, stare, talk or use the items. After they were put away, they had to list as many items as possible. Also they had to explain how they build a sandcastle. They read the text and then on a blank page, presented that information. Many of them drew pictures, again another sign.

I also spoke with one student afterwards. Jasmine (not her real name) told me she also drew on her experiences of building sandcastles. I asked her "Is that how you normally build a sandcastle?" which she replied to as "yes". It pretty much affirms the need too, as a teacher and teacher librarian that we also consider the real life experiences of our students in teaching. If they can relate a concept to their own experience, they will understand, and will find their learning more engaging.

The next session will look at infering information, something that even the best students can lack strength in at the best of times.

Welcome to Semester II

Here we go again another semester!!!

With ETL503 and ETL504, the good news was that I passed both units easily. I worked hard and deserved it.

This semester I am doing:

EER500 - Introduction to Educational Research
ETL411 - ICT Experience

What I like most about this semester is that I will have alot more control particularly since we get to create our own topics form our assessment. That should motivate me to work hard and hopefully get some higher grades.

I'm buckled up and ready to go.

What did I learn in ETL504 this semester?

Unlike ETl503, I felt that I didn't learn that much because it didn't really focus on what leadership is about in my professional role. It tended to be more workplace oriented and did not address the teacher librarian side adequately.

Some thoughts on what I learnt.

• Online collaboration does not work. It has to be face to face as much as possible. You need communication, where people can actually express their emotions and feelings. I can understand people better if they show emotions and feelings.
• Effective leadership requires good skills in problem solving, collaboration and communication.
• As a TL I need to be proactive and engaging. If I do nothing, I get nowhere. I do not need to be afraid of seeking support from others because they can help me achieve my goals. I have always been taught to "ask and you shall receive". There is no shame in seeking help. Not accepting help actually makes life harder.
• Assignment II achieved little in terms of learning - My vision was poorly created and I feel that I have been unable to explain how I want to achieve my goals. .The theory and application could not be linked. There was little out there that related specifically to my role. I had to piece information from readings and sources that I have compiled over the past 12 months to just get any idea of what was needed?

Saying that I have a few questions that need to be answered:

• What leadership qualities does a teacher librarian need? How does this compare to the skills and qualities required by teachers and adminstrators
  
• Undertaking effective strategic planning? What has worked? What doesn't work?
• The inter-relationship between leadership qualities and how they work together to produce a good leader.
  

What did I learn in ETL503 this semester?

Here are some of the concepts and skills that I learn't from "Resourcing the Curriculum"

• How to construct a collection development policy - I had no idea of their existence and the features that it would contain e.g budgeting, selecting and acquiring resources, dispute resolution.
• Weeding and disposal - This had to be the area that fascinated me most. It isn't that bad to weed books from a library collection. My blog posts will pay testament to that!!!. I have to admit even as amateur photographer, it helps me decide which photos to keep, and which photos to delete. This skill is applicable to anything. If I need to do a spring clean, I know how to do it.
  
• The process of selecting and acquiring resources - I thought the best aspect had to be the professional tools able to assist me, particularly the Teaching and Learning Federation and Scan. Assignment 1 enabled me to recommend resources, and justify their inclusion.
  
• Collection Evaluation - As a user of a library I can understand why librarians expect us as patrons to not engage in particular activities e.g. not restock shelves. It is not merely measuring how many books are borrowed or returned, it is how they are used.
• Role of digital and electronic resources in the collection - It bought me up to date in this and how useful they are.
  

Some might ask what I might want to learn more about?

• I want to learn more about e-learning - What is the impact of that on providing a balanced collection? How can library resources be effectively used in the classroom to cater for smartboards etc. The Catholic Education Office here in Sydney has placed huge emphasis on it.
• The future of print resources in a library collection - Students prefer electronic formats, but does it take away from the printed experience?
  
• If a book scanned is a book read? Senior debators in the Catholic Schools Debating Association (CSDA) had to debate this topic last friday night for round 4. I attended the debates between Waverley College and St Ursula's College Kingsgrove. I couldn't adjucate the senior debates as I am accredited for years 7-10 at present. It raised curiousity from parents and teachers waiting for debates, and I think it would been a key talking point.
  
  

The Weeding issue comes up again

Yet another university is examining discarding print resources - Sydney University

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/you-can-judge-a-book-by-its-dust-test-as-university-library-cuts-its-staff-and-stock-20110511-1ej0z.html?from=smh_sb

As you may notice, I am personally not a big fan of discarding books. I have to admit I love print books for the tacticle experience that they offer and can be invaluable to anyone who uses them.

What about professionally?

I have come a long way this semester on this issue. ETL503 (Collection Management) does look at the issue of "weeding" or removal of books which also helps me understand the situation occuring at the University of New South Wales as blogged two months ago.

I can understand the need to weed the resources by the university. There are some resources that are not "popular". Some resources are outdated. New editions are available or information no longer relevant or appropriate. What surprised me was that they accepted discarded books from other libraries - maybe a sign of improper selection and acquistion.

I hope they approach it on a book by book basis. Obviously some of the items to be weeded don't need to be. There will still be relevance and usefulness. Otherwise, the rest need to go. It can be painful. It is like the librarians in "The Day after Tomorrow" when they debate which books need to burned first to heat the room that they and the survivors are using.

This Week (ending May 6)

Constructing a Vision for a library and explaining how to undertake is proving to be quite tough. It is even harder when you are not presently employed in a library.

As the end of the week approaches - have I learnt much about the organisational theory or leadership element of it?

I am feeling that I learnt little at all this week. Alot of the resources that I have viewed and will use for the ETL504 Assignment are from ETL401 (Teacher Librarianship). I know what the role of teacher librarian is and how they can contribute towards the school community, but I am finding that identifying the stakeholders and how to explain how I am going to achieve the goals is difficult.

There seems to be a lack of useful professional resources out there to assist me in compiling my paper to demonstrate that I do use a variety of resources, particularly as I was deemed not to have done so in Assignment 1 for the same unit.

I did feel encouraged by L. Welsh writing " Groundwork: The Situational Anaylsis" In "the Other 51 Weeks: a marketing handbook for librarians". which guides me through the process of setting goals, objectives and then implementing the strategies. At least that will make a good table. Articles on identifying stakeholders is hard to find as well because I want to back it up with valid evidence.