My views of the role of the teacher librarian (TL) have changed as my knowledge of the role expanded to include such concepts as evidence based practice, collaboration, principal support, time management, conflict resolution skills and much, much more! Most importantly I have come to realise that it is not enough for a TL to encourage a love of reading. It has become critical for the TL to implement an information literacy (IL) program to ensure students learn the IL skills to enable them to find and use information effectively.
I never just thought, “All Librarians Do Is Check Out Books, Right? (Purcell, 2010, p30). I also thought TLs encouraged children’s love of reading, ordered, accessioned and shelved books, exposed children to different genres and taught ‘research skills’ to students. I believed the job was mainly about fostering the love of reading. I agreed with Catherine Nunan (24/02/11, ETL 401 Messages) when she wrote, - “I am excited about starting my TL studies as I love books and sharing that love with children.”
Like Jaclyn Green (25/02/11, ETL 401 Messages ) “I enrolled in my Masters and have realised what vast gaps there are in my information technology skills”! Having never used a database in my life, I launched myself into a crash course on how to use them. “I found the EBSCO tutorial much easier to follow than the INFORMIT tutorial.” (Fisher, 14/03/11 Topic 1 Subforum). Mare Maticevski (25/02/11, Topic 1 Subforum) summed up how I felt about my new skills, “ I love that I now know how to be more specific, where to go, what fields to enter and how to hone in very specifically to access articles of relevance.”
On the forum I read that it was useful to create a folder on the databases. Initially, (Fisher, 14/03/11 Topic 1 Subforum), my reaction was, “I'm not convinced I will use folders much”. Before too long I was back online posting, (Fisher, 15/03/11 Topic 1 Subforum) “I take it all back! Have successfully created a folder and have decided it's a great idea!!!” I had not realised that teaching children how to access and use databases effectively could be so important.
I am now staggered by the complexities of the TL role. I thought of ‘management’ as managing people. I never for a moment thought that it could also mean managing myself! Samantha Spano, (17/05/11, Topic 6 Subforum) stated “The one term that involves management that I found especially important was that of time management”. Strategies such as “the four criteria for successful time management: •Decide what to do •Start it •Finish it •Accept it” (Urquhart, 17/05/1, Topic 6 Subforum ) and “the idea of working on a project everyday from the day after you have found out about it” (Fisher, 19/03/11, Lifelong Learning Blog)- were an epiphany to me. These essential time management practices have changed the way I work.
It is obvious that conflict can have negative results but I had not realised the importance for the TL of negotiation and conflict resolution. “I was surprised that conflict can actually have positive outcomes”, (Fisher, 19 /03/11, Lifelong Learning Blog), offering “opportunities for change, for people to adapt and grow” (Sanders, 2004, p127). Importantly, to enable the process of conflict resolution to have a positive outcome I learnt that, "negotiation requires preparation" (Fisher, 19 /03/11, Lifelong Learning Blog).
Before enrolling at CSU I had never heard of TL ‘Standards’. Analyzing the Standards made me realize how extensive the role of the TL is. I did feel however, “there was a danger of teachers being overwhelmed and demoralized because they are standards of excellence –and therefore not easy to achieve.” (Fisher, 24 /04/11, Lifelong Learning Blog). I found it illuminating when Judy O’Connell (10/03/11, Topic 2 Subforum) described the “professional standards as the overarching framework for the purpose of our work.”
I believed I understood the role of principal support. “I think it is fairly obvious that principal support is linked to the effectiveness of the TL.” (Fisher, 22/03/11, Lifelong Learning Blog). I hadn’t realised just how isolated the TL could be, however, and I had to consider the implications this had for principal support. I also hadn’t realised the extent to which principal support was important to the success of the TL’s role in a school. “Teacher Librarians have to be proactive, we have to engage people and we have to have outstanding interpersonal skills. We have to be someone the principal WANTS to support!” (Fisher, 22/03/11, Lifelong Learning Blog).
I vaguely understood that the TL role included IL, what I didn’t realise was how essential these skills were for students. I knew that the TL collaborated with classroom teachers to support teachers with resources. I didn’t realise that it is also considered best practice to collaboratively plan and deliver units of work (linked to the curriculum) incorporating IL skills and that TLs must be IL leaders within their school.
“I am beginning to realise what a wonderful network it is belonging to a group of TLs”. “It is a wonderful sense of 'belonging' -that there are people out there happy to help you out.” (Fisher, 19/05/11, Lifelong Learning Blog) On the CSU forums students ask for help and often receive many replies or simply post information they think others will be interested in -collaboration in practice indeed! Having experienced it both at work and at CSU now, I truly appreciate the support and the ‘camaraderie’ which, to me, is an unexpected benefit of becoming a TL.
As an Early Years teacher, I constantly use evidence to inform my planning and teaching practice. From Priscilla Curran (22/03/11, Topic 2 Subforum) I learnt a valuable point. “I do think teacher-librarains (sic) today need to be taking the lead, and using evidence-based practice (Todd 2003) to inform principals (and the rest of the school) about the differences they are making, and can continue to make, to student learning. As Oberg (2006) points out teacher librarians need to "work to advance school goals" and show the principal how they are doing so. To me, this is a key way to gain and maintain principal support.” I hadn’t seen a connection between evidenced based practice and principal support, but I do now!
Now, at the conclusion of ETL401, I have a much better understanding of the intricacies of the TL role. While my examination of the Standards broadened my understanding of the role of the TL, my research made me realise not only the enormity but also the importance of the role of the TL in implementing an IL program. I now understand the TL must be proactive and has to be not only someone the principal wants to support, but somebody the staff wants to collaborate with or the effective implementation of an IL program will not occur.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
I can't believe how much hard work is involved in doing an assignment! When Jordan was home form Uni last Easter he commented that he didn't know what all the fuss was. He said he and his friends wrote an essay in a week, unlike me, who took about 5 weeks of constant work to complete the last assignment! I did point out it was 30 years since my last essay, it didn't seem to make him any more sympathetic though!
I am beginning to realise what a wonderful network it is belonging to a group of TLs. One of the Librarians at my school just emailed us all this link of the Draft IL Framework for Wales. It was just published in March 2011. I really like their definition of IL:
They have adopted the definition by CLIP (2004) "Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner."
The whole document is easy to read - very user friendly. If you are keen to have a look here is the link:
http://library.wales.org/information-literacy/national-information-literacy-framework/
For some reason the link doesn't seem to work while I am on the 'editing page' of the blog. Hopefully it will when it's published. If not just copy and paste it onto a word documnet and it should be fine.
I don't start my job as TL until August, but already helpful people in the TL network are emailing me authors who are visiting Singapore in the next 12 months. It is a wonderful sense of 'belonging' -that there are people out there happy to help you out. I am also lucky enough to be moving into a wonderful team of people at my school. I can't wait!
I am beginning to realise what a wonderful network it is belonging to a group of TLs. One of the Librarians at my school just emailed us all this link of the Draft IL Framework for Wales. It was just published in March 2011. I really like their definition of IL:
They have adopted the definition by CLIP (2004) "Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner."
The whole document is easy to read - very user friendly. If you are keen to have a look here is the link:
http://library.wales.org/information-literacy/national-information-literacy-framework/
For some reason the link doesn't seem to work while I am on the 'editing page' of the blog. Hopefully it will when it's published. If not just copy and paste it onto a word documnet and it should be fine.
I don't start my job as TL until August, but already helpful people in the TL network are emailing me authors who are visiting Singapore in the next 12 months. It is a wonderful sense of 'belonging' -that there are people out there happy to help you out. I am also lucky enough to be moving into a wonderful team of people at my school. I can't wait!
Sunday, 24 April 2011
My previous post was written a couple of weeks ago -I had written it one evening -just put my thoughts down on paper and then had to go out so didn't actually post it. Then I was sick for ages and couldn't face any work and forgot all about it. I suddenly thought today that I had better look at my blog and realised I had fogotten to actually post my last thoughts. Anyway, it's on now.
Next term is going to be more challenging for me. I am still doing my usual job - teaching 24 wonderful 3-4 year olds, but will also be studying, getting my reports in, doing some work in the library after school once a week and also meeting with the 8 Year 2 classes -introducing myself as the TL for next year as part of their transition process from Year 2 to Year 3.(Our school year ends at the end of June.) A busy time ahead!
I was reflecting this morning on what I have achieved so far in this course. I have learnt...
* how to search data bases
* how to blog
* that this is a shared learning process and that you can post a request for help on the forum and people will help you out
* there are differest styles of referencing and what APA involves (even though I'm not sure I followed it strictly enough in my last assignment)
* about the myriad of issues, such as collaboration, that are essential to the success of the TL
* that Standards can both be harmful and helpful to a TL
and much, much more.
This morning I listened to James' podcast (though I do find it disconcerting looking at an orange witch's hat instead of the person speaking as you do in a vodcast) and found it great listening!
Amongst all the ideas James presented I found 2 particularly interesting:
1. The implications of IL in the workforce, whether those skills, so useful at school, are transferable to the workplace. So far he is saying it really depends on the job. I agree but I think that the IL skills learnt at school might still have life implications for the person concerned even if they don't emply those skills at work. (ie they might still use some of those skills- but in their pursuit of leisure activities)
Also I think you can't dismiss the confidence those skills have given the person.
I see education as being layers of learning. As you go through life more and more layers are put on top of the ones underneath.None of it's wasted -it just goes to make up the whole person's capabilities/skills/confidence/persona.
2. The concept of reflection of skills resulting in transference -whether students are analyzing which skills have proven useful in past work and which of those useful skills might be relevant to use in a new assignment. James raises the issue of whether skills are being transfered across the curriculum or not.
I can't believe I ever thought this course was going to be dull! I love finding out all these interesting ideas!
Anyway, I have a plane to catch tomorrow, a husband who is feeling neglected so must go!
Next term is going to be more challenging for me. I am still doing my usual job - teaching 24 wonderful 3-4 year olds, but will also be studying, getting my reports in, doing some work in the library after school once a week and also meeting with the 8 Year 2 classes -introducing myself as the TL for next year as part of their transition process from Year 2 to Year 3.(Our school year ends at the end of June.) A busy time ahead!
I was reflecting this morning on what I have achieved so far in this course. I have learnt...
* how to search data bases
* how to blog
* that this is a shared learning process and that you can post a request for help on the forum and people will help you out
* there are differest styles of referencing and what APA involves (even though I'm not sure I followed it strictly enough in my last assignment)
* about the myriad of issues, such as collaboration, that are essential to the success of the TL
* that Standards can both be harmful and helpful to a TL
and much, much more.
This morning I listened to James' podcast (though I do find it disconcerting looking at an orange witch's hat instead of the person speaking as you do in a vodcast) and found it great listening!
Amongst all the ideas James presented I found 2 particularly interesting:
1. The implications of IL in the workforce, whether those skills, so useful at school, are transferable to the workplace. So far he is saying it really depends on the job. I agree but I think that the IL skills learnt at school might still have life implications for the person concerned even if they don't emply those skills at work. (ie they might still use some of those skills- but in their pursuit of leisure activities)
Also I think you can't dismiss the confidence those skills have given the person.
I see education as being layers of learning. As you go through life more and more layers are put on top of the ones underneath.None of it's wasted -it just goes to make up the whole person's capabilities/skills/confidence/persona.
2. The concept of reflection of skills resulting in transference -whether students are analyzing which skills have proven useful in past work and which of those useful skills might be relevant to use in a new assignment. James raises the issue of whether skills are being transfered across the curriculum or not.
I can't believe I ever thought this course was going to be dull! I love finding out all these interesting ideas!
Anyway, I have a plane to catch tomorrow, a husband who is feeling neglected so must go!
The assignment is handed in. I don’t even want to think about getting the grade back! After all the work I put into it I couldn’t bear to fail. However, I am a very positive person so I’ll think optimistic thoughts. I really hope that the feedback is constructive criticism so I can learn how to improve my skills.
I found it difficult to compare Purcell’s (2010) article with Herring’s (2007) chapter. There were just so many points that could be made – but the word count was so low that I had to ditch many of them. I also had to find ways of re-arranging sentences to make them briefer without losing the impact of the language I had originally chosen.
To compare an article to a chapter in a book is difficult. There is obviously going to be a lot more depth in a chapter. That was really what I said. Every comparison between the two authors showed that Herring (2007) justified his points with examples based on research whereas Purcell (2010) just stated her points. Purcell also restricted herself to a solitary source whereas Herring gave an overview of several authorities’ definitions of the information literacy role of the TL. Herring was also a lot more concerned about ICT and accompanying issues such as plagiarism. I guess, reading through it now, the main point was that Purcell was just writing for the American market, whereas Herring’s book has a global audience. Wish I’d thought to include that in my assignment!
Something I found very interesting in Herring’s (2007, Chapter 2, p.8) work was his controversial idea that a library where works of fiction predominate does not address, “the total curricular needs of the school community.” It sounded to me like he believed a school library should have a weighting of nonfiction resources in favour of fiction. He said that, “school libraries are not mini public libraries but learning centres” (Herring, 2007, Chapter 2, p.8). However, I believe, very strongly, that much can be learned through the rich language experience that works of fiction provide and, as Paul Jennings (2003, p.52), wrote, “Stories help make us honourable members of the human family and tell us that dreams can come true.” As a parent I think most parents in school communities would probably believe that shaping a child’s character to become an “honourable member of the human family,” (Jennings, 2003, p.52), would be at the very least as important as acquisition of information through nonfiction resources. As we all know, nonfiction resources are vitally important in a child’s journey through life these days. However, I think a balance of both fiction and nonfiction resources is essential to the whole child- that is if the child is to be considered a ‘whole child’ not merely an ‘academic’ child.
Anyway, I thought Herring’s point of view was very interesting. I don’t agree with him, but that’s what’s great about democratic society –he can have his point of view and I can have mine. I’m sure he feels just as passionately that he is justified in his opinion as I believe I am justified in mine. I loved the fact that I know I don’t HAVE to agree with him.
I will say this though….if you don’t have it already; get Paul Jenning’s Book the reading bug and how to help your child catch it. It is fantastic! It is so readable –great for parents. Next year when I start my new job I plan to have several copies in the library for parents to borrow.
I found it much easier to analyse / criticise the standards. Even though the standards are really good, I thought the language they used could be a lot stronger to make the teacher librarian (TL) role more proactive. I also thought there was a danger of teachers being overwhelmed and demoralized because they are standards of excellence –and therefore not easy to achieve. I liked Herring’s point (2007, Chapter 2, p.3) that in the Canadian standards, “standards for excellent, acceptable and unsatisfactory levels of service are provided.” This would be a great alternative and would clearly indicate to TLs and Principals the level of provision they were achieving, give TL’s manageable goals to work towards, and, if they were found to be working at the unsatisfactory level, a shot of adrenaline to force them into action to improve!
Standard 2.1 Learning environment (ASLA/ALIA, 2004, p.3) I thought, failed to emphasise the importance of actively attracting learners to the library. Derr and Rhodes (2010, p. 90) stressed “we cannot rely on a captive audience – we must actively strive to be a desired destination for these library users.” I thought that was a fair point. As TL’s we do have to be proactive in attracting people to the library. If we owned a shop we wouldn’t think of just sitting back and letting whoever walked past our door wander in. We would be using marketing and advertising strategies to get those punters through the door! If we don’t attract people to the library it could easily be perceived that our services are no longer needed and we could be out of a job! I also think the School Library Association of South Australia in their SLASA Teacher Librarian Role Statement (2008, p.2) make an excellent point when they state the TL must “Provide a friendly learning environment”. The word friendly would have been a valuable inclusion to the learning environment standard. If the library is not a friendly environment it will not attract students.
I was also surprised there was no mention of the physical environment under Standard 2.1 Learning environment (ASLA/ALIA, 2004, p.3) When considering the learning and teaching role of the TL, I would have thought that part of that role would be to provide a (physical) environment conducive to learning. The book that links to the ASLA/ALIA Standards, Learning for the Future- Developing Information Services in Schools (2nded.) has a section devoted to the physical environment, so I don’t understand why it didn’t warrant a mention in the Standards. I am sure there must be an excellent reason for it-just not one that was apparent to me.
When analyzing Standard 2.2 Learning and teaching, I was surprised there was no mention of the importance of teaching children about online safety or an explicit statement of ethical use of information. Farmer (2010, p.21) noted the AASL Standards (2007) advocate that learners need to be taught how to use information ethically. He went on to discuss intellectual property and cyberbullying, all of which are important issues that should be addressed by the standards. This is such an important issue I think should have been explicitly spelt out that TL’s must ensure students use the internet responsibly and ethically.
I had almost finished the assignment when I realized I really needed to sort out the referencing. I had done my referencing as I worked, which was what was recommended to us, but hadn’t paid attention to the fact that it had to be done in a specific way. I had noted the author, date and title but didn’t realize that I needed to actually get the APA citation from the source and list the database and date. So unfortunately I had to go back to almost every source and access the citation. I won’t make that mistake again! It took me forever to do it properly!
It really is a learning journey!
I was so glad to hand my assignment in. As soon as I did though, my thoughts turned to the next one! I have actually sometime off though, to recharge! We are about to go on school holidays. I do have to start writing my school reports though. I’ll have to be very disciplined and try to work for a couple of hours each day on my reports AND the next assignment!
I found it difficult to compare Purcell’s (2010) article with Herring’s (2007) chapter. There were just so many points that could be made – but the word count was so low that I had to ditch many of them. I also had to find ways of re-arranging sentences to make them briefer without losing the impact of the language I had originally chosen.
To compare an article to a chapter in a book is difficult. There is obviously going to be a lot more depth in a chapter. That was really what I said. Every comparison between the two authors showed that Herring (2007) justified his points with examples based on research whereas Purcell (2010) just stated her points. Purcell also restricted herself to a solitary source whereas Herring gave an overview of several authorities’ definitions of the information literacy role of the TL. Herring was also a lot more concerned about ICT and accompanying issues such as plagiarism. I guess, reading through it now, the main point was that Purcell was just writing for the American market, whereas Herring’s book has a global audience. Wish I’d thought to include that in my assignment!
Something I found very interesting in Herring’s (2007, Chapter 2, p.8) work was his controversial idea that a library where works of fiction predominate does not address, “the total curricular needs of the school community.” It sounded to me like he believed a school library should have a weighting of nonfiction resources in favour of fiction. He said that, “school libraries are not mini public libraries but learning centres” (Herring, 2007, Chapter 2, p.8). However, I believe, very strongly, that much can be learned through the rich language experience that works of fiction provide and, as Paul Jennings (2003, p.52), wrote, “Stories help make us honourable members of the human family and tell us that dreams can come true.” As a parent I think most parents in school communities would probably believe that shaping a child’s character to become an “honourable member of the human family,” (Jennings, 2003, p.52), would be at the very least as important as acquisition of information through nonfiction resources. As we all know, nonfiction resources are vitally important in a child’s journey through life these days. However, I think a balance of both fiction and nonfiction resources is essential to the whole child- that is if the child is to be considered a ‘whole child’ not merely an ‘academic’ child.
Anyway, I thought Herring’s point of view was very interesting. I don’t agree with him, but that’s what’s great about democratic society –he can have his point of view and I can have mine. I’m sure he feels just as passionately that he is justified in his opinion as I believe I am justified in mine. I loved the fact that I know I don’t HAVE to agree with him.
I will say this though….if you don’t have it already; get Paul Jenning’s Book the reading bug and how to help your child catch it. It is fantastic! It is so readable –great for parents. Next year when I start my new job I plan to have several copies in the library for parents to borrow.
I found it much easier to analyse / criticise the standards. Even though the standards are really good, I thought the language they used could be a lot stronger to make the teacher librarian (TL) role more proactive. I also thought there was a danger of teachers being overwhelmed and demoralized because they are standards of excellence –and therefore not easy to achieve. I liked Herring’s point (2007, Chapter 2, p.3) that in the Canadian standards, “standards for excellent, acceptable and unsatisfactory levels of service are provided.” This would be a great alternative and would clearly indicate to TLs and Principals the level of provision they were achieving, give TL’s manageable goals to work towards, and, if they were found to be working at the unsatisfactory level, a shot of adrenaline to force them into action to improve!
Standard 2.1 Learning environment (ASLA/ALIA, 2004, p.3) I thought, failed to emphasise the importance of actively attracting learners to the library. Derr and Rhodes (2010, p. 90) stressed “we cannot rely on a captive audience – we must actively strive to be a desired destination for these library users.” I thought that was a fair point. As TL’s we do have to be proactive in attracting people to the library. If we owned a shop we wouldn’t think of just sitting back and letting whoever walked past our door wander in. We would be using marketing and advertising strategies to get those punters through the door! If we don’t attract people to the library it could easily be perceived that our services are no longer needed and we could be out of a job! I also think the School Library Association of South Australia in their SLASA Teacher Librarian Role Statement (2008, p.2) make an excellent point when they state the TL must “Provide a friendly learning environment”. The word friendly would have been a valuable inclusion to the learning environment standard. If the library is not a friendly environment it will not attract students.
I was also surprised there was no mention of the physical environment under Standard 2.1 Learning environment (ASLA/ALIA, 2004, p.3) When considering the learning and teaching role of the TL, I would have thought that part of that role would be to provide a (physical) environment conducive to learning. The book that links to the ASLA/ALIA Standards, Learning for the Future- Developing Information Services in Schools (2nded.) has a section devoted to the physical environment, so I don’t understand why it didn’t warrant a mention in the Standards. I am sure there must be an excellent reason for it-just not one that was apparent to me.
When analyzing Standard 2.2 Learning and teaching, I was surprised there was no mention of the importance of teaching children about online safety or an explicit statement of ethical use of information. Farmer (2010, p.21) noted the AASL Standards (2007) advocate that learners need to be taught how to use information ethically. He went on to discuss intellectual property and cyberbullying, all of which are important issues that should be addressed by the standards. This is such an important issue I think should have been explicitly spelt out that TL’s must ensure students use the internet responsibly and ethically.
I had almost finished the assignment when I realized I really needed to sort out the referencing. I had done my referencing as I worked, which was what was recommended to us, but hadn’t paid attention to the fact that it had to be done in a specific way. I had noted the author, date and title but didn’t realize that I needed to actually get the APA citation from the source and list the database and date. So unfortunately I had to go back to almost every source and access the citation. I won’t make that mistake again! It took me forever to do it properly!
It really is a learning journey!
I was so glad to hand my assignment in. As soon as I did though, my thoughts turned to the next one! I have actually sometime off though, to recharge! We are about to go on school holidays. I do have to start writing my school reports though. I’ll have to be very disciplined and try to work for a couple of hours each day on my reports AND the next assignment!
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Well, I finally feel like I have things more under control. I worked for several hours last Saturday and then for 12 hours on Sunday working my way around the CSU website, familiarising myself with its format and reading through Topics One and Six. Yes…… I was way behind –I was travelling for the first week of the course (I was on a train at one stage travelling through Dunbar in Scotland which I believe is where James Herring lives) and then was so jetlagged in my first week back in Singapore I just couldn’t face doing any study. Finally I managed to devote the weekend to getting up to speed. My husband was working in South Africa that weekend, my 17 year old son was studying so I had lots of free time.
I had prepared myself for what I thought would probably be very “dry” reading but actually I found the work really quite interesting. Okay – I must be completely honest here working my way through databases is not something that really appeals to me –it’s more a means to an end. However Topic 6 was great!
I loved the argument of Stephen Covey's - that the most effective people are those who practise interdependence. I’m sure we have all worked with people who are "micro managers" and won't let anyone else make a decision. I have always believed a good manager involves all members of the team in decision making whenever possible. I don’t think it’s always possible I might add. If everyone in a team debated everything all the time decision making would take up too much time. Also sometimes there are hard decisions to be made that are the responsibility of the team leader and when I say responsibility –I also mean it literally. Those big decisions need to be made by someone who is being responsible and fair.
I also take Todd Gilman's point that we "do not listen to one another." Too true. I often catch myself busily formulating a response in my mind to someone who is still speaking to me! I am turning over a new leaf! I will work hard at really listening to people's suggestions rather than preparing a speech to justify my own. It has made me think about my own classroom. I have two teaching assistants who work for me. We plan the "continuous provision" of the classroom together and share the decision making well. However, upon reflection I realise I plan all of the "next (academic) steps" for the children (and as the trained teacher the ultimate decisions are my responsibility) - but my Teacher Assistants could contribute to that as well. It is hard as a teacher I think to "let go!" This Thursday when I plan the following week's "next steps" for the children (sorry for the jargon –I work in a British school) I will involve my TAs in deciding on the next academic steps for my children and really listen to what they believe each child needs.
In the R. Sanders article on Conflict Resolution I was surprised to read that conflict can actually have positive outcomes. I was also interested to read that "negotiation requires preparation". I will, hopefully, be doing some management training next year for my new role as Teacher Librarian so I will look forward to learning more about conflict resolution. I am, however, hopeful that I have a harmonious team next year and won’t actually need to use it! One thing I will be doing though –if I do need to arrange a meeting to mediate an issue, I will be reading through those notes and making sure I am prepared.
The article on Effective Time Management for Teachers is, I think, essential reading for all teachers. I wish I had had access to it when I was training! I loved the idea of working on a project everyday from the day after you have found out about it. It stops the project from dominating your life! By taking control and chipping away at it, the problem is not really a problem at all! I have really taken this advice to heart –I have been devoting some time every day this week (except for last night when I had 12 people coming over for Bunco and didn’t have time.) I also liked the point about accepting what you have achieved and not being such a perfectionist. I tend to waste a lot of time being very fussy about what I do.
My next goal? 3 folders for my email!!
Inbox
Backlog
Action
....I feel liberated even thinking about it!!
As I said ...LOVED Topic 6 -there were so many practical suggestions in those articles. I hope all the topics are this good!
I had prepared myself for what I thought would probably be very “dry” reading but actually I found the work really quite interesting. Okay – I must be completely honest here working my way through databases is not something that really appeals to me –it’s more a means to an end. However Topic 6 was great!
I loved the argument of Stephen Covey's - that the most effective people are those who practise interdependence. I’m sure we have all worked with people who are "micro managers" and won't let anyone else make a decision. I have always believed a good manager involves all members of the team in decision making whenever possible. I don’t think it’s always possible I might add. If everyone in a team debated everything all the time decision making would take up too much time. Also sometimes there are hard decisions to be made that are the responsibility of the team leader and when I say responsibility –I also mean it literally. Those big decisions need to be made by someone who is being responsible and fair.
I also take Todd Gilman's point that we "do not listen to one another." Too true. I often catch myself busily formulating a response in my mind to someone who is still speaking to me! I am turning over a new leaf! I will work hard at really listening to people's suggestions rather than preparing a speech to justify my own. It has made me think about my own classroom. I have two teaching assistants who work for me. We plan the "continuous provision" of the classroom together and share the decision making well. However, upon reflection I realise I plan all of the "next (academic) steps" for the children (and as the trained teacher the ultimate decisions are my responsibility) - but my Teacher Assistants could contribute to that as well. It is hard as a teacher I think to "let go!" This Thursday when I plan the following week's "next steps" for the children (sorry for the jargon –I work in a British school) I will involve my TAs in deciding on the next academic steps for my children and really listen to what they believe each child needs.
In the R. Sanders article on Conflict Resolution I was surprised to read that conflict can actually have positive outcomes. I was also interested to read that "negotiation requires preparation". I will, hopefully, be doing some management training next year for my new role as Teacher Librarian so I will look forward to learning more about conflict resolution. I am, however, hopeful that I have a harmonious team next year and won’t actually need to use it! One thing I will be doing though –if I do need to arrange a meeting to mediate an issue, I will be reading through those notes and making sure I am prepared.
The article on Effective Time Management for Teachers is, I think, essential reading for all teachers. I wish I had had access to it when I was training! I loved the idea of working on a project everyday from the day after you have found out about it. It stops the project from dominating your life! By taking control and chipping away at it, the problem is not really a problem at all! I have really taken this advice to heart –I have been devoting some time every day this week (except for last night when I had 12 people coming over for Bunco and didn’t have time.) I also liked the point about accepting what you have achieved and not being such a perfectionist. I tend to waste a lot of time being very fussy about what I do.
My next goal? 3 folders for my email!!
Inbox
Backlog
Action
....I feel liberated even thinking about it!!
As I said ...LOVED Topic 6 -there were so many practical suggestions in those articles. I hope all the topics are this good!
Friday, 4 March 2011
Celeste-Lifelong Learning
Hi Everyone,
I titled my blog Lifelong Learning for a myriad of reasons. I know it is a popular 'buzzword' currently in education but, more than that, I believe that today's students face a future where, due to market forces, they are likely to need to change direction in their profession many times over the course of their career. They will need to have the skills to learn independently throughout their life. I believe that the Teacher Librarian,in conjunction with the classroom teacher, plays an important role in empowering children to become independent lifelong learners.
Upon reflection I have had a life with many twists and turns and much learning has taken place along the way. I began my career as a primary teacher in Fiji on a Rotary Fellowship, then taught at Double Bay and Mascot in Sydney before moving to Singapore where I commenced teaching in the Juniors (Primary) at a British International School. Consequently I had to become familiar with the British National Curriculum. Several years later I moved into Infants and began teaching Nursery children. (Nursery children in the British system are 3-4 years old.) This involved more learning as I realised my teaching needed to accommodate the needs of three year old children who generally don't like to sit still for long!Then, two years ago my school decided to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This was a steep learning curve for all Early Years teachers. Finally, after many, many inservice courses and support from an Early Years' specialist from the UK the EYFS programme has been successfully implemented at my school.
Now, after applying for a Librarian position at my school (something I have always wanted to do) I am embarking on yet another Learning Journey. Life, I have decided,is one long journey of learning. The challenge for me, however, is using new forms of technology -like blogs, podcasts etc as I have not needed to use them to date in my career. This is my first blog!
Celeste Fisher
P.S My youngest son (Mackenzie) and I are currently in England visiting my eldest son (Jordan) who is at Durham University studying Economics. We have just had a pub dinner and they have just explained to me how they cite sources in the essays they write for school/university. I think I'll be asking them for lots of help!
I titled my blog Lifelong Learning for a myriad of reasons. I know it is a popular 'buzzword' currently in education but, more than that, I believe that today's students face a future where, due to market forces, they are likely to need to change direction in their profession many times over the course of their career. They will need to have the skills to learn independently throughout their life. I believe that the Teacher Librarian,in conjunction with the classroom teacher, plays an important role in empowering children to become independent lifelong learners.
Upon reflection I have had a life with many twists and turns and much learning has taken place along the way. I began my career as a primary teacher in Fiji on a Rotary Fellowship, then taught at Double Bay and Mascot in Sydney before moving to Singapore where I commenced teaching in the Juniors (Primary) at a British International School. Consequently I had to become familiar with the British National Curriculum. Several years later I moved into Infants and began teaching Nursery children. (Nursery children in the British system are 3-4 years old.) This involved more learning as I realised my teaching needed to accommodate the needs of three year old children who generally don't like to sit still for long!Then, two years ago my school decided to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This was a steep learning curve for all Early Years teachers. Finally, after many, many inservice courses and support from an Early Years' specialist from the UK the EYFS programme has been successfully implemented at my school.
Now, after applying for a Librarian position at my school (something I have always wanted to do) I am embarking on yet another Learning Journey. Life, I have decided,is one long journey of learning. The challenge for me, however, is using new forms of technology -like blogs, podcasts etc as I have not needed to use them to date in my career. This is my first blog!
Celeste Fisher
P.S My youngest son (Mackenzie) and I are currently in England visiting my eldest son (Jordan) who is at Durham University studying Economics. We have just had a pub dinner and they have just explained to me how they cite sources in the essays they write for school/university. I think I'll be asking them for lots of help!
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