Looking
back over ETL 402 I strongly believe this subject should be mandatory for the
Masters of Education (Librarianship) course, as it has taught me so much. My
only criticism is that I feel ideally this subject should span two semesters to
do the reading justice.
ETL
402 has strengthened my faith that children’s literature will flourish and
broadened my understanding of evolving contemporary formats. As Teacher
Librarian (TL) I now realise I must keep abreast of trends in literature and
formats, evaluating the quality of both the writing and the format as well as
whether resources meet student needs (forum post, topic 1: 1).
Through
ETL 402 I have become more analytical in my evaluation of fiction. Using my new
knowledge of Post Modern literature,
for example, I saw Bamboozled by
David Legge in a new light, noting for the first time the continuous interplay
of text and images to create irony. My picture book analysis has therefore
broadened to include the use of literary devices to achieve effect (forum post,
topic 2: 2).
I
have learnt not to reinforce stereotypes; that stories should concern
individuals, not the general behaviour of a group of people (Lane &
Garrison, 2013). Through learning about Black Voice, (forum post, topic 2: 5) I became
aware that my PowerPoint lessons should also have images selected to promote
multiculturalism and Black Voice and
have altered my work practice accordingly.
Censorship
is a contentious issue and I now recognise that my selection of resources is
influenced to a certain degree by who I am, my values and my community’s values (forum post, topic
3: 4). From my reading regarding censorship, I learnt that ‘balance’ in
relation to collections means diversity of resources – rather than a balance of
fiction and non-fiction books (ALA, 2014). Consequently my awareness has been
raised for the need for diversity when selecting library resources.
I
knew little about GNs before ETL 402 and they were a much neglected collection
in my library (blog post, 2014, July 19). Importantly I have learnt that GNs
need careful evaluation because they vary in quality and also because their
graphic content can be violent or sexual in nature (blog post, 2014, September
07). I learnt too that GNs are best promoted through being displayed face-out
(Fisher, 2014) 2014, July 30. Now GNs are flying off my shelves! I have also
learnt that carefully evaluated GNs can be useful as an additional resource for curriculum support (Fisher, 2014) 2014,
September 10. I have learnt that although GNs appeal to many students, the
complexity of the interplay between text and image means that it is important
students are taught visual literacy skills in order to fully understand them
(Fisher, 2014) 2014, September 09.
Above
all, however, what I enjoyed most about ETL 402 was investigating the research which
proves that quality stories have the capacity to improve learning across the
curriculum.
References
American Library Association (ALA). Diversity in collection development: An interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. (2014). Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014, July 19).
Last but not least…ETL402 [Web log post]. Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014,
July 30). Graphic Novel Display [Web log post]. Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014, September 07). Fiction and Graphic Novels ...now I know. [Web log post]. Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014, September 09). The Value of GNs To Students. [Web
log post]. Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014, September 10). The TL and Graphic Novels. [Web log post]. Retrieved from
Fisher, C. (2014, July 20). [Online
forum comment]. Topic 1 Post 1 (T1P1). Retrieved from
http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL402_201460_W_D/page/5b6fcbed-6026-4233-8047-f2919d65b1aa
Fisher, C. (2014, August 02). [Online forum comment].Topic 2 Post 2
(T2P2). Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL402_201460_W_D/page/8a9f0dae-d32d-4885-8010-f9c5bee4e51a
Fisher, C. (2014, August 06). [Online forum comment].Topic 2 Post 5
(T2P5). Retrieved from http://forums.csu.edu.au/perl/forums.pl?forum_id=ETL402_201460_W_D_Sub5_forum
Fisher, C. (2014, August 13).
[Online forum comment].Topic 2 Post 5 (T3P4). Retrieved from http://forums.csu.edu.au/perl/forums.pl?forum_id=ETL402_201460_W_D_Sub6_forum
Fisher, C. (2014, September 16).
[Online forum comment].Topic 4 Post 2 (T4P2). Retrieved from http://forums.csu.edu.au/perl/forums.pl?forum_id=ETL402_201460_W_D_Sub7_forum
Lane, D. & Garrison,
K. (2013). Literature across the curriculum [ETL402 Module 2 p.9]. Retrieved
September, 30, 2014, from Charles Sturt University website: http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL402_201460_W_D/page/86e3d47c-bfab-4c68-801e-029ce5ebb841
Legge, D. (1994). Bamboozled. Gosford: Scholastic
Australia Pt Ltd.
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