trishatempleton

The challenge is real – Module 5.3b

There are many challenges to teachers implementing guided inquiry lessons into their teaching and learning. They include among others; a misunderstanding of what inquiry learning is; inability to implement their own teaching activities; inability to collaborate with colleagues, lack of time and fear.

The first reason is that teachers (not teacher librarians who know better!) often confuse guided inquiry learning which is deep in knowledge, rich in skills and meaningful to the student, with a superficial regurgitation of facts that accompany a traditional research task (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014). Students are exasperated, teachers are frustrated, yet the loop of insanity continues from kindergarten to year 12. Maniotes & Kuhlthau (2014) says STOP this insanity!

Freedom to implement authentic teaching and learning practices is often hampered by the hierarchy within schools. Whilst many teachers are given the flexibility to plan their own lessons and thus choose their pedagogical practices, they are often bound by the school and departmental parameters in regards to timelines and assessment (Templeton, 2019). This is very evident in high schools where there are department heads and year level coordinators that manage assessments and their timelines for historic reasons, often completely unknown to anyone in this century. These obstinate teachers are unwilling to adapt and or modify their teaching practice with the advent of an information society. The adage, “but we’ve always done it this way”is a common theme (Templeton, 2019 & Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014). These parameters translate to an inability to structure longer guided inquiry units of work as teaching hours are crammed with explicit content instruction aimed at superficial tests and mindless research tasks that no one wants to do and even fewer want to mark.

Lack of collaboration is often blamed for ineffective teaching practices by both teachers and teacher librarians. These intransigent educators are reluctant to participate in collaborative practice and balk at co-creating teaching and learning activities (Ezard, 2019). Often these stalwarts of inflexibility are also the ones that struggle to hand over the reins of learning to the students and or willing to practice team teaching. This loss of controlling the learning is often translated as loss of control of a class, which is a complete contraindication of what a guided inquiry unit is. A vibrant class that is engaging with learning task is going to be noisy as noise usually is entwined with social discourse. It does not mean that the students are disrespectful, nor does it mean that there is disharmony. Learning is a social construct and students learn better when engaging with their peers (Kools & Stoll, 2016). Teacher librarians need to understand that the resistance to guided inquiry is often due to the unwillingness of collaborative practice and not themselves as individuals (Ezard, 2019).

As mentioned previously time is an issue in schools. Teachers lack the time to collaborate with their peers to co-create inquiry tasks, and they often also lack time to allow actually put a guided inquiry into practice. But what teachers often forget is that guided inquiry does not have to be a long unit of work that ends in a presentation. Guided inquiry can be as long as a term or as short as a week. Ideally, the practice does require time to build and teach skills, but the flexibility of the framework allows the teacher to guide the lesson as much as the students require. The true point of a guided inquiry task is to TEACH the skills, not the content. Learning of these skills is a cumulative effect that requires constant practice across all classes and year levels.

The last reason that inhibits the implementation of guided inquiry is fear. Fear of the unknown; fear of rebelling against the system; fear of unemployment due to the previous rebellious behaviour; fear of losing control of a class; fear of failing to meet expectations; fear of not achieving learning outcomes; fear of trying something new; fear of failing.

References

Ezard, T., (2019) Leading the Buzz in your school. ASLA 50th Conference. Canberra

Kools, M. and Stoll L. (2016), “What Makes a School a Learning Organisation?”, OECD Education Working Papers. No. 137, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jlwm62b3bvh-en

Maniotes, L.K, Kuhlthau, C. (2014) Making the shift. Knowledge Quest. 43(2) 8-17

Templeton, T., (2019) Rantings of an emerging teacher librarian. I lost my mind 3 children ago. Retrieved from … lost weblink.

Module 5.3a – Information Literacy

How might the TL help the school move towards integrated information literacy instruction?

The change in societal expectations of students has meant that students need to have strong fluency in information literacy and the inclusion of inquiry learning within the curriculum was the ACARA’s response to this change. Information literacy is cumulative and needs to be embedded across the curriculum and year levels. Unfortunately, information literacy is not integrated into the curriculum, but rather aspects of it can be found within some subjects and their inquiry strands. This disjointed learning means that the skills that inquiry promotes are taught in a haphazard manner instead of being practiced in sequential and regular intervals. Information literacy is cumulative and thus requires it to be embedded across the KLAs and year levels rather than in ad hoc stand alone units (Lupton, 2014). Therefore, IL needs to be part of the content, structure and sequence of learning.

Fitzgerald & Garrison (2017) reinforce that consistency is important and a school wide focus is important. The central position of the library within a school allows a teacher librarian to have an holistic view of the school’s teaching and learning. This holistic vision means that a TL is able to liaise and collaborate with their colleagues to implement a framework for inquiry learning within the school so that those essential skills can be practiced at regular intervals (Kuhlthau et al., 2015). This framework, once designed by the TL, can be then adapted by the classroom teacher and or TL to suit the needs of the subject and or year level. As the keeper of the framework, the TL is also able to differentiate the scaffolding to suit the learning needs of the students in anticipation of the unit of work.

What challenges lie in the way of such instruction?

The biggest challenge for the implementation of inquiry units is time, or the lack of time. The curriculum is already very crowded and with the prevalence of standardised testing and the emphasis on traditional assessments, there is insufficient time to properly run inquiry units at regular intervals. Additionally, whilst inquiry units are popular in primary schools and in lower secondary, it is deemed less rigorous in senior years. This is a fallacy, but old habits often die hard. The other challenges for inquiry units are lack of collaboration within the teaching staff and reluctance for students to work in collaborative groups. As mentioned in other posts, many teachers struggle to work collaboratively with their colleagues for numerous reasons. Teacher librarians are often excluded from curriculum planning and assessment design due to the presence of subject silos within schools. This inability to collaborate often leads to poorly designed and implemented guided inquiry units that fail to engage students and provide lacklustre results. This inability for teachers to collaborate effectively is then often transferred to their reluctance to let students to work in similar groupings. Inquiry units are best done collaboratively as learning is enhanced when based within social constructs. These groups are often called inquiry circles or focus groups. Unfortunately some teachers are reluctant to have their students working in groups as they differ from the traditional classroom setting and upset their preferred teaching style.

How teacher librarians and teachers might encourage students to transfer information literacy skills and practices from one subject to another?

The library is often a neutral zone and utilised by all subject areas. Therefore, students are able to view the TL as the ‘inquiry teacher’ regardless of the subject that the task is for. This means that it is plausible that students would be able to transfer their skills in inquiry learning from one subject to another simply because the teacher teaching the subject has not changed. Additionally, the TL is already aware of the learning needs of the students and thus can scaffold them appropriately. This scaffolding can be tailored individually to allow all students to participate to varying degrees. Fitzgerald & Garrison (2017) point out that reflection within an inquiry unit forces students to contemplate their learning and ruminate on the processes they used to achieve their goal. This reflection helps students determine their strengths and weaknesses for future tasks and thus be more conscious of their learning. This cognisance of learning is an essential part of the process and can be used as feedback as well as determining the zone of proximal development (Fitzgerald & Garrison, 2017).

Doyle, A., (2019) The hard skills employers seek. The Balance Careers. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-are-hard-skills-2060829

Fitzgerald, L. & Garrison, K. (2017) ‘It Trains Your Brain’: Student Reflections on Using the Guided Inquiry Design Process. Synergy, 15/2

Kuhlthau, C.C., Maniotes, L., & Caspari, A. (2015) GI: Learning in the 21st Century. 2nd editon, Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Lutheran Education Queensland (n.d.) Approaches to learning. Inquiry based learning. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1360/lutheran-education-queensland-inquiry-based-learning.pdf

McLeod, S., (2018) Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Symbiosis – Module 3.3

Teacher librarians and Principals have a symbiotic relationship in which each person’s role is intricately woven into each other (Farmer 2007). Principals are the leaders of a school. Their role is to create a culture of learning that enables effective teaching practice and promotes learning that is independent, enthusiastic and with life long potential. Teacher librarians collaborate with principals to make this vision into reality by taking this vision of academic integrity and making it real. How do T/L do this?

We collaborate with heads of departments to embed the general capabilities into the curriculum across units of work and year levels (Haycock 2007). We work with individual teachers in creating units of work that are creative and inspire deep thinking. We work with the inclusive education department to help structure modified units of work that promote equality and equity. We resource the library with materials that encourage students to engage with the content, promote literacy via recreational reading programs, and we do it wearing co-ordinated twin sets with pearls (Lipton 2016).

Principals enable teacher librarians by enabling the teacher collaboration that is essential for TL practice. They agree to school wide reading and digital literacy programs. They minimise or eliminate teaching lines so that we can dedicate our days to assisting our colleagues in their professional practice. Principals who need teacher librarians give them time and money to do their job. Teacher librarians need principals who value and respect them, their roles and their positions in the school.

References

AITSL (2017) Principal Standards. Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/lead-develop/understand-the-principal-standard/unpack-the-principal-standard

Farmer, L. (2007). Principals: Catalysts for collaboration. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 56-65.

Haycock, K. (2007). Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 25-35.

Lupton, M. (2016). Adding value: Principals’ perceptions of the role of the teacher librarian. School. Libraries Worldwide. 22/1 49-61

Its the standards that matter – Module 3.1

I recently moved from provisional /graduate teacher to proficient teacher whilst I was working as a Teacher librarian. I’ve only ever taught as a casual teacher for about two years and only just scraped my 180 days minimum as TQI required in the ACT when I moved to proficient. Gathering evidence for my ATSIL standards was ridiculously hard when you never have had a class to yourself. So the thought of having to even think about ASLA TL standards was enough to make me avoid this task for a week.

Then I spent a week assisting the RE co-ordinator and his 2IC plan next semester’s units from Years 7-8. Using their unit plans I worked with the teachers to embed the general capabilities curriculum firmly into the teaching and learning. I used scootle to find resources that would promote critical and creative thinking, inter cultural understanding and ICT. I assembled a range of fiction titles that would support the units of work, including locating an audio-book for our visually challenged student. I also looked for interactive websites and videos that would enhance the learning process. Then I collaborated with the inclusive education team to work on modified programs for the students with learning needs. It took us all day but we came up with several scaffolded tasks that could be used interchangeably.

It was then the TL standards made sense. The standards set the benchmark of professional behaviour of what teacher librarians bring to the school community. I am too new a teacher and definitely too new a TL to be proficient at all the standards. But what I can do is achieve each one slowly, bit by bit.

2.2 Learning and teaching

Excellent teacher librarians:

• collaborate with teachers to plan and implement information literacy and literature programs that result in positive student learning outcomes

• ensure that their programs are responsive to the needs of learners in the school community

• support learning and teaching by providing equitable access to professionally-selected resources

• assist individual learners to develop independence in their learning

• teach the appropriate and relevant use of ICTs and information resources

Module 2.1 – The Porridge Pot

This section has changed my perspective on the concept of information. Prior to this unit, I had seen this word to be simply informative. A transmission of knowledge from one to another. The continuum was very helpful in understanding the difference between raw data, information and knowledge. I particularly liked how the types of knowledge was described. It made me think of oral traditions of many cultures, that transmit vast knowledge and traditions across generations via story telling. In the eras of near universal illiteracy, information was communicated via stories and tales by tribal elders. Even now, Indigenous peoples across the world maintain their societal traditions and cultures by a rich history of oral traditions.

It was interesting to describe information as a commodity. Arguably, one could use schooling as an example of information as a commodity, as it is transmitted from experts to apprentices at a cost. The very nature of information and its ability to be transferred from one person to another without loss to the original person makes it an excellent business practice. In fact, one could go further and suggest that education systems use information and its inherent properties as an unending source of income. I find this rather amusing as it reminds me of the story of the magic porridge pot by the Brothers Grimm.

In the children’s story, the porridge pot overflowed and overwhelmed the town. This is very similar to what is happening with the information quantities present in society today. The attributes of information that make it such a viable commodity also means that it is being constantly created and this ‘self multiplication’ is leading to an glut of material. Combined with technology that is rapidly changing and expanding, this overabundance of knowledge is increasing dramatically as our ability to produce information is also increasing.

‘NATIONAL SORRY DAY’ – Annotated bibliography

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY of

CLASSROOM AND TEACHER RESOURCES

FOR

‘NATIONAL SORRY DAY’

UNIT OF WORK.

Appropriate for students in

Mainly STAGE 4 & some STAGE 5

Appropriate for History, English, Drama, Visual Art, RE and Mathematics subject areas.

Appropriate for students who identify as Indigenous people across Stages 4 & 5.

Citation 1	Various Authors (2011) Yarning strong guided reading series. Oxford University Press, Australia.
Format Licencing Owned/Subscribed	Mixed formats print/audio/images. Copyrighted for person and educational use but not for distribution. Owned.
Description	This is a set of novels, graphic novels, anthologies and a teacher kit that covers issues such as identity, family, law and country. The anthologies include poems, images as well as a teaching kit.
SC	1A 1B 1C 2A 2B 3A 3C 4A 4D
SA	Booktopia
T&L Evaluation	Recreational reading TR Std 2.4 OI – 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 The box set is aimed at Indigenous students as they would identify with the storylines and characters and thus be more likely to engage with it. The language is colloquial and could be considered a Hi-Lo series for older readers. Since many Indigenous teens have lower literacy than their non Indigenous peers, it is important to have books that cater to their ability and interest (AIHW, 2017) The resources allows for development of a subtle and covert knowledge and understanding of indigenous peoples. Authenticity and perspective has been maintained as all stories have been compiled by Indigenous authors and anthologies led by tribal elders.

Citation 2	Pascoe, B., (2018) Little Red Yellow Black Book. 4th Edition. Aboriginal Studies Press. Australia
Format /Licensing	Book = owned and with copyright attached.
Description	This book has been written from an Indigenous perspective and thus assists with encouraging appreciation and reconciliation between both non Indigenous and Indigenous Australians. It makes strong connections to the concept of Country and culture. The stories within, cover a range of socio-political issues and this edition also will challenge stereotypes and educate the reader as to the contributions made by ATSI peoples in past and present times.
SC	1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a,
SA	Better Reading blog
Evaluation and use	TR and/or RECREATIONAL reading TS: 1.4 & 2.4 OI: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9 This book is excellent at initiating educators to Indigenous culture and histories especially those who have had limited exposure to Australian and Indigenous culture such as overseas born staff and students. There is an accompanying website listed in the book with additional materials. It is aimed at adults as a teaching resource, but can be read recreationally by both staff and senior students.

Citation 3	Manning, N., (1994) Close to the bone. Currency press. Australia
Format/licencing	Class set currently in collection. No production permissions purchased.
Description	This play is about the forced removal of a young Aboriginal child from her family and the reawakening of her Indigenous identity twenty years later. An excellent story about the importance of identity and kinship ties.
SC	1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a,
SA	Part of current collection
Evaluation and use	Stage 4 – Drama – (ACADRR046); English – (ACELT1806) (ACELT1806) (ACELT1806) Stage 5 – Drama – (ACADRR053); English – (ACELT1772) (ACELT1636) GC – Lit, CCT, ICU, PSU OI: 2, 5, 8 This play, whilst dated, can be used as a culmination for National Sorry Day or similar units of work. The themes may be distressing for younger students, so class discussion is essential. The play uses common language that resonates with the reader. It can be analysed from an Australian perspective and it can be performed to a groups as informative drama or as a dramatic reading. Good for kinesthetic learners.

Citation 4	ABC Education (2018) National Sorry Day. Retrieved from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/digibook/618742/national-sorry-day
Format/ licencing	Digibook – chapters and videos Downloading/editing/embedding with citation permitted
Description	This eBook is embedded with videos showcasing interviews with various stakeholders detailing the political and social events that eventuated at the Rudd Apology in 2008 and the ongoing process of Reconciliation.
SC	1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4b,
SA	Scootle – TLF-IDM019082
Evaluation and use	Stage 5 History – ACHMH072 and (ACDSEH106) And. (ACDSEH023) (ACDSEH104) (ACDSEH134) (ACDSEH149) OI: 2, 4, 5, 6,7,8,9 This resource is heavy in learning outcomes, capabilities and ATSI CPP. The multimodality will support teaching and learning in discrete lessons and as part of NAIDOC week and National Sorry Day. The resources are appropriate for a school setting and are of mixed literacy ability and an inclusive school. The main downside of this digi-book is that it does not belong to the school and there is no guarantee of its continuance.

Citation 5	AHRC (1997) Bringing them home report. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf/social_justice/bringing_them_home_report.pdf
Format/Licencing	Digital PDF – CC 4.0 International.
Description	This report offers insight to the scant schooling, systemic abuse and trauma that affected several generations of Aboriginals, and offers understanding to the current gap in education and health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. There are very confronting stories of physical and sexual abuse within. It also elucidates the loss of culture, tradition and language.
SC	1a, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b
SA	Reconciliation Australia
Evaluation and use	Stage 5 – History – (ACHMH072) (ACHASSK013) GC – PSC, ICU, CCT OI: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 This report has a narrow use in a school setting. It is NOT to be disseminated to the students but rather excerpts used in specific teaching and learning practices. Teacher discretion required. For example, to provide ‘voices’ for a yarning circle as a classroom exercise which would highlight the importance of oral traditions for Indigenous peoples and thus in turn, the significance of mother tongue. Or as stimulus for class discussion and debating targeting CCP and CCT.

Citation 6	Behind the news (2018) 10th Anniversary of Stolen Generation Apology – 13/02/2018. ABC ME. Retrieved from https://online.clickview.com.au/exchange/videos/6054563/10th-anniversary-of-stolen-generation-apology-13-02-2018
Format/ Licencing	Interactive Video. Licence permits sharing and embedding.
Description	This short video is an excellent introduction to the CCP and is accompanied by a worksheet that can be done individually or in collaborative groups.
SC	1a, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a.
SA	Clickview
Evaluation and use	Stage 5 – History – (ACDSEH020) As this video is short it can easily be used to introduce this topic to elicit discussion. The video is aimed at upper primary, and its interactive aspect has low level Bloom’s questioning so can be used as an activity for students with learning needs. The theme of reconciliation would be useful in an RE context too.

Citation 7	Screen Australia (N.D) Australian History Timeline. Retrieved from http://www.aushistorytimeline.com/
Format/licencing	Interactive website. Can be used but not amended.
Description	This interactive graph gives snapshots of information of Australian history major events such as the Mabo decision and the Apology. It is easy to use, multi user ability and has good graphics.
SC	1a, 1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b.
SA	Scootle TLF ID M012862
Evaluation and use	Stage 4 & 5 History (ACHASSK086) (ACHASSK108) (ACHASSK135) GC: ICT, ICU OI: 1,6,9 This website is strong on digital literacy due to the depth and layers present. The embedding of videos, images and hyperlinks work seamlessly to inform the view of events significant to Indigenous and non-Indigenous history. This tool would be great to use across the History KLA but also for the ATSI CCP in identifying key dates. Additionally, data can be searched for by date, event and decade. Whilst the language used is stage appropriate, digitally illiterate students will need guidance due to the multi-layering of information.

Citation 8	Noyce, P., Olsen, C., Winter, J., Sampi, E., Sansbury, T., Monaghan, L., Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Firm). (2003). Rabbit-proof fence. Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Film Finance Corp. Retrieved from https://online.clickview.com.au/libraries/videos/2754037/rabbit-proof-fence
Format	Interactive video
Description	This movie is about three girls, removed from their family in WA based on legislative assimilative policy and sent to a mission to train as domestic workers, from which they escaped and followed the infamous fence home.
SC	1a, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b,
SA	Clickview
Evaluation and use	Stage 5 – History (ACHMH072) (ACDSEH106) (ACDSEH104) (ACDSEH143) Stage 4 – English (ACELA1541) (ACELT1619) (ACELT1806) GC – ICU, CCT, OI: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 This interactive movie is rated for 13+ and whilst appropriate for Stage 4 students, it can be used in both History as a social viewpoint or in English (without interactive) from a technical language perspective. The video, with embedded questions would be a great choice for homework and the resulting critical and analytical collaborative discussion held in class. The book is also in the collection already.

Citation 9	ABS (2018) Estimates of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3238.0.55.001Main%20Features1June%202016?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3238.0.55.001&issue=June%202016&num=&view=
Format	Interactive website/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Description	This summary commentary summarises the ATSI statistics for Australia on population, population growth, age structure, state and region prevalence as well as additional documents about birth and death rates. As this resource is free, the narrowness of its applicability is accepted.
SC	1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b 2c, 3a, 3b, 4b.
SA	Mathematics HOD suggestion
Evaluation and use	Stage 4 – Mathematics – (ACMSP169) (ACMSP171) (ACMSP172) (ACMSP284) Stage 4- Geography – (ACHGS048) (ACHGS051) (ACHGS052) Stage 5 – Mathematics – (ACMSP227) (ACMSP283) (ACMSP253) GC: Numeracy, CCT, ICT. OI: 1, 6, This document and accompanying materials are ideal for statistical analysis activities. The students could analyse the raw data and account for variances as well as question the disparity. The resource would also supplement HASS/Geography as it would provide evidence for discussion/analysis. Stage 4 will need scaffolding which licencing permits, whereas Stage 5 could criticise and evaluate the raw data. It would also provide good material for test papers or as an extension supplement for advanced students in all KLAs. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Questioning can be used in its varying formats with this resource. An example would be the age structure breakdown analysis – Indigenous lifespan graph has no bell curve graphically – Identify reasons why and justify with evidence.

Citation 10	Songlines – Tracking the Seven Sisters Exhibit. (2018). Canberra: National Museum of Australia.
Format	Touring exhibition by the NMA
Description	This is an excursion/incursion which will lead attendees on a journey through the Dreaming stories via art, multimedia and integrated displays.
SC	1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2c, 3a, 4a, 4b.
SA	Teacher referral
Evaluation and use	Stage 5 – Science (ACSSU188) Stage 4 Arts – Visual art ACAVAM125 ACAVAR131 Stage 4 – RE – World religions Stage 4 – English ACELA1552 GC – Literacy, CCT, PSC, ICU. OI 1,2,3,4, 5, 7, 8, ,9 The exhibit will be exemplify the importance of Country, kinship and oral traditions to attendees and thus the ramification of the stolen generation had on communities then and now. It will challenge both students and teachers in their perceptions of the ancient culture. The oral traditions during the exhibit use powerful imagery and evocative language to complement the paintings and thus force the viewer to engage deeply with the subject matter. Educators can use this multidisciplinary exhibit as stimulus, a unit of work itself or culmination for a unit of work. The supporting text resource will provide background to the exhibit and guide the educator in understanding the imagery present within the artefacts. Whilst this excursion is expensive, the multidisciplinary nature and CCP coverage makes it valuable.

Information literacy, education and elections

It is evident that literacy is an important skill for navigating life’s journey. From a rudimentary age, reading and writing are methods in which people, including children learn to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Naturally, oral communication is the first skill a child learns. Why? Well from personal experience and basic understanding of anthropology (I like the TV show Bones) …. I have learned that children are all masters of oral literacy. Well, all my children were adept at saying “NO!” before they were toilet trained. But aside from that unnecessary anecdotal story, literacy is more than just being able to read and write.

ACARA has clearly defined literacy as “Literacy involves students listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts”. Literacy is no longer just the domains of text. It is a domain of skills.

In previous years, information literacy was sometimes known as information skills and or digital literacy. But that shortened the scope of the term to just the mechanics of it rather than including associated behaviours and attitudes.

Some could argue that information literacy is restricted to the domain of academia and that the average person has no need of it. Well after the debacle of yesterday’s election I can clearly say that the information literacy is sadly missing in Australian adults.

Information literate individuals would realise that 70% of popular Australian media is owned by the same organisation that funds one of the political parties.
Information literate individuals would also realise when there is bias
Information literate individuals would realise that there is misinformation and how to identify it.

But we don’t live in an information literate world. Information literacy is a life skill that everyone needs. Otherwise, we doom ourselves, our nation and our future outcomes.

#note – I have very strong political leanings and I am not apologising for them.

Its more than just a place for books. Its a place of safety.

Lunchtime in`my school library is always an interesting event. We have 1500 students from years 7-12 on a single co-educational campus. On some days, we would easily see 500-600 bodies wander through our doors. Most lunchtimes we average about 120-150 students per day but on busy days, the numbers peak at around 220 during the lunch rush. We obviously host various members of the whole school community but the main people that find joy in the library include, our senior students; lunchtime minecrafters, gamers and social misfits.

Our library is a haven for many of our students. They seem to find refuge within our walls. Our biggest clientele are our seniors; who have the freedom to wander to the local shops, cafes and parklands but somehow prefer to be sprawled across the beanbags retellíng fart jokes (or worse) or playing Uno or Chess in their study area. I’d like to say they were coming as they love my company, but I’d be lying. What they do love is our temperature controlled climate, our beanbag zone and free wifi. Whilst some of our seniors do study in their frees/study lines; most of them tend to play on their phones and or watch videos on their devices. We used to rouse on them… reminding them that study lines were for study. But then we realised that the reasons our seniors visited us was that they felt safe and happy here; and not because they wanted to use the resources. For these students – the library was a source of wellbeing.

AdultsOnlyMinecraft / Pixabay

Another demographic that truly enjoys the library are our little minecrafters. These little year 7 & 8 boys (mostly, with the odd girl) race to the library before school, recess and lunchtime EVERYDAY to play minecraft. They get so excited when they line up outside our cyber room. I tend to walk VERRRYYY slowly up to them drawling my Hellos and social chatter. Their impatience is palpable. You can see their little shoulders rising and hands itching to log on. So I stop, ask them about their day, query the state of the weather or some small talk; only to have one of them finally ask;

“Miss! Can you please just open the door and then talk?”.

“OF COURSE boys!! Silly me… just jabbering on like a turkey on thanksgiving. Have… “

“Miss!! The door!!”

Then I open the door and in whoooooooooooooooosh go all the boys (and odd girl). They speedily log on and start to build stuff and kill each other (online only) in Minecraft world. The happiness in that room is patently visible and a better beacon of hope than any Patronus that Harry could ever make.

I have a very astute department head that saw a need for a wellbeing space within our school and set up a section of the library to fill the emotional buckets of our students. We currently own about 10 different types of board games, 10 packs of uno cards and another 10 packs of playing cards. Well we start every semester with those numbers…. They do get lost, misplaced… go on walkabout, etc … BUT, our games are so popular that they fly off the shelves as the kids bolt in at the start of lunch. The seniors tend to take most or all the UNO cards, till I discovered some year 8 girls were hiding sets under a shelving unit between lunch breaks to get ahead.

SHHEESSH that was sneaky… admirable.. Yet sneaky… well done girls!

Our board games range from the classics such as battleship, scrabble and chess to other games like dungeons and dragons, connect 4 and backgammon. We have now added a puzzle corner (a 5000 piece work in process, that i think may amuse the staff more than the students) and a box of lego for our sensory kids.

As I sat at my desk last Friday afternoon after school, I watched my usual suspects lounge around the beanbags. A great sense of protectiveness rose from me about their welfare. I know Tom# is having a rough time at school as he has argued with his mates. I know James# is exhausted from footy training 3x week and is barely keeping up at school (he naps in the cushions most afternoons and I have to wake him up when I close the library up). I know Alice# is unhappy about having to move interstate next semester; Ethan# is angry that he didn’t get picked for the football team; Sophie# broke up with the boyfriend; Andrew’s# anti depressants are wearing off; and Gina# is not getting along with her mum. I also know that Steve# drinks too many energy drinks and Miki# has fallen in love with another idiot boyfriend.

For some of our students, the library staff are the ones that see them the most frequently. I know with my usual crew, I see them before school, recess, lunch and after school. Then you can add the number of free periods they spend in the library plus the classes they play truant for whilst they spend time within our walls. This means, that it is highly likely that we are the most frequently seen adults in their life after their parents. And for many of our students who have busy households; I may just be the adult that they see the most often.

Libraries are a place where you can find and use information. They are also a place of recreation and wellbeing. A school library is a place where students should be able to read, study, learn, recreate and relax. My department head said that there are four fundamental aspects to being a school teacher librarian. The first is Research – which is understandable as TL are information specialists. The second is Resources – obviously as libraries have collections. Collaboration is the third pillar. TL need to collaborate with their colleagues to ensure that teaching and learning continues to thrive. And lastly, Wellbeing. Libraries are a place of wellbeing for students. Besides providing resources for learning, we also need to provide resources to improve student wellbeing. Think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs…. Unless we address the needs of students to feel like they belong to a community, then we cannot expect them to reach self actualisation.

So when the little darlings are bumming around in the library telling another ‘fart joke’ that obviously isn’t funny to my middle aged brain, I take a deep breath. I certainly do not want them to feel like they cannot come back to their safe place. I don’t want to rouse on these kids if they like to chill in the library, sprawled across the beanbags like giant squid. So instead of getting cranky when I hear bad jokes or when they play battleship, I only tell them to quieten down so they don’t disturb others. The thing is that I only cranky if I can HEAR them play the game. Afterall, what I cannot see nor hear, I can’t get upset with 😉

#student names have been changed.

Who am I? What do I do? – When an identity crisis occurs.

What do I do all day?

To my mother, I read books all day and tell people to shush!

To my husband, well he is only concerned that I am happy (and I can still manage my children’s school drop offs and pick ups). Oh and there is no need for vacation care. Winning!!

To my children, mummy goes to work in a library and reads books and then comes home with more books all the time…. Oh and mummy is home in the holidays.

To my colleagues, I am that Energiser bunny that nabs you in the corridor asking to come into the library to work on your next task; the idjit that goes to departmental meetings and ‘volunteers’ to help with planning. I am also that nutter that gets over enthusiastic during Book week, Roald Dahl day, Harry Potter day, Jane Austen day

To me. Well, I am a teacher of information. I teach students (and their teachers) how to find, seek, use and create information. I find resources that support the curriculum and wellbeing of my students. I teach students how evaluate their sources, protect themselves online, be aware of the legislation around copyright and academic integrity. I help students and teachers in their teaching and learning by co-creating units of work that promote critical thinking and reflection. I create lesson plans and collate resources to commemorate special events such as Reconciliation week, Anzac Day, Eid, Diwali and Samhain.

Each teacher librarian will have different priorities depending on the school they are attached to and the personality they were born with. Some TL are brilliant at curriculum planning and get heavily involved with the co-creation of units. Other TLs are great collaborators and involve themselves with the teaching and learning aspect. Some TLs are fantastic at resource collection management and development. Their collections are constantly evolving with the community’s needs. Each TL’s practice will differ from the TL next to them, the one down the street, the next suburb, or interstate. That’s the beauty within the practice of teaching. Each practice is unique as it is the individual’s interpretation and implementation of the teaching standards that leads to such distinctiveness.

Each teacher, in their own sphere has an impact on their students, peers and community. Individually we cannot change the world, but we can change the experiences of the people around us. We can change how our students learn about internet safety, about how to use online information ethically. We can teach the skills to differentiate fake news from real news (and in an election week… OMG!). We can show them how to seek, identify, use and create information that is meaningful to them and others.

How we do it will vary… but the point is that teacher librarians are trained and equipped to teach others the skills to survive and thrive in an information society.

We can show the next generation how to become active citizens in this digital world.

Guided Inquiry Design – An analysis

The world is changing before our eyes. I have previously expounded upon Information society and the literacy that is required in order to engage with this new society, so will not go on about that now. As teachers we can see the declining literacy ability of our students. We can see their lack of engagement and motivation. We know that this disengagement and apathy leads to poor behaviour within the classroom and consequently, poor life choices externally. Many students fall through this gap, citing boredom and disconnection to the school paradigm. This is even more true for low achieving students and or students in low socio-economic zones, where education is paramount to break generational cycles of dysfunction. Some schools focus their teaching and learning to address standardised testing (Kuhlthau et al., 2015). Whilst those schools may test high, their students struggle to translate their learning to an out of school context. As teachers we are frustrated and hamstrung by the politics of school.

Guided inquiry is a method of teaching and learning that has changed how students learn. Rather than a behaviourist method with stand alone teacher, GI promotes a constructivist team approach to teaching practices (Garrison & FitzGerald, 2016). This style of pedagogy promotes students to gain a deep understanding of the curriculum content and learn valuable skills in the process (Kuhlthau et al., 2015). The benefit is its fluid nature and this allows a flexible approach to learning which can be applied for all abilities and styles, as it seeks to explicitly teach skills rather than content. This is simply because skills are transferable and therefore of a higher value to both students and teachers. After all, in this information age, everyone can find out anything, provided they have the skills to do so.

A guided inquiry teaching and learning activity is designed to engage students in the content using their own intrinsic motivation (Maniotes, 2019). By utilising the 3rd space of learning, teachers can challenge students to connect to the curriculum content. This connection, based upon a constructivist ideology, allows students to question, explore and formulate new ideas based upon their own knowledge and perceptions (Kuhlthau et al., 2015, p.4). The learning itself is involves students finding and using a variety of information, to address an aspect of the content through an inquiry approach. During this process, students pose questions, make decisions, develop areas of expertise and learn life long skills (Kuhlthau et al., 2015, p4). As an educator there are two steps to GI. The first step is to apply the GI design framework when creating units of inquiry. These units incorporate curriculum content, literacy goals and information literacy concepts (Kuhlthau et.al,, 2015) and have specific learning goals as well as skills that will be addressed during the activity. The second step is to guide students through this learning with interventions, assessments and strategies (Kuhthau et al, 2015). It is quite common for teachers to explicitly teach ‘just in time’ skills during this process as teaching them any earlier usually has less relevance to them (Maniotes, 2019).

There are seven stages in GID unit. The stages go from an introduction phase through immersive, gathering, creative and sharing. As students progress through these stages they develop a whole range of skills and undergo a variety of emotional stress. It is this emotional stress and achievement over stress that assists with overall competence and self esteem. This figure shows the changing affective stages of an inquiry task.

Inquiry learning has many forms including project based learning; blended learning, International Baccalaureate programs and expeditionary learning. In Australia there are several IL models including Herring’s 2004 PLUS, NSW information search process, Newman’s 2014 iLEARN and Big6. But the superior form of inquiry learning is Guided inquiry design as it has a research based framework to substantiate its method of practice and the design understands the importance of affect in student behaviour. This affect is important to understand as it indicates to educators where motivation is and where guiding becomes important.

Whilst students are guided through the project, they get to pose their own question and explore ideas. This posing of question, is formulated from their own experiences, reflection and understanding. It acknowledges their learning is valid and promotes self esteem and self efficacy. Guidance can be tailored to individual students needs thus allowing for differentiation. As this process is a collaborative, students work with their peers in creating and investigating together. This sense of ownership and accomplishment leads to independence, expertise and competence (Kuhthau et al., 2015). Unfortunately, like all skills based learning, regular practice is required to maintain competency. Kong (2014) points out that classroom integration of IL leads to an increase in competency. Therefore, GI needs to be part of the learning and teaching across all grades and curriculum. It cannot be taught as a single subject in an ad hoc method as information literacy is cumulative (Lupton, 2014).

One of the many positives of Inquiry learning is that it promotes critical thinking skills (CCT). CCT, as part of the Australian curriculum’s general capabilities, needs to be embedded in teaching and learning practices. These skills are essential for participation in modern society. Within inquiry learning – CCT assists students in five major components. Curriculum content, information literacy, learning how to learn, literacy competence and social skills (Kuhlthau and Maniotes, 2010, p.19; Kong, 2014, p.2). All these skills are interwoven throughout the whole activity and an educator can choose which skill to assess at any given time.

The other interesting aspect of GI design unit is that the task comes halfway into the unit. Unlike current pedagogical practices where students get given a summative task at the beginning of the unit and then ‘do what is necessary’ and submit it a few weeks later. Inquiry tasks take students on an exploration of the unit. They are immersed in the unit of work either with field trips or excursions. They browse broadly among the literature, gaining various perspectives BEFORE the question is even posed. This means that when the question is posed by the student is truly authentic (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014). It comes from what they DON’T know about a topic, rather than a regurgitation of facts. This process forces student to engage with the unit of work or they simply become mired in an information overload. This information overload occurs commonly outside school, where adults of all backgrounds, refuse to participate with something because they do not know or understand it. GI teaches students how to persevere and understand what the information is saying.

Collaboration is key to guided inquiry for both teachers and students. As the creation and implementation of GI units is multifaceted and complex, a team of teachers is required (Kuhlthau & Maniotes 2010). Ideally, this unit has three teachers co-creating the unit with additional experts involved as required. This team approach has the benefit of collaborative learning, in that many minds are better than one. It also models to students how collaboration occurs in the workspace. Students use the teaching team as role models for their interactions with their peers. These interpersonal skills are essential.

Figure -1 – KUHLTHAU, MANIOTES, CASPARI, 2012

The genius behind GI is that it is based up the information search process model which compares feelings, thoughts and actions of students as they progress through the unit. This understanding of student’s behaviour is of great insight to the educator. Teachers can predict when students are suffering from confusion and doubt and assist them in finding their way. I am musing if Marcia’s work on Erik Erikson’s theory of identity development is related to this process. After all, Erikson’s theory about adolescents facing moments of crisis and their response to the crisis shapes their identity. So theoretically, students who have their moment of crisis during an inquiry task move through to identity achievement, in that they have made a commitment to a value or role (David, 2014). Then once they have formulated a question or concept, students feel a sense of confidence, a sense of purpose. This sense of purpose and confidence translates to other aspects of learning and thus builds self efficacy.

The problem with the Australian curriculum is that IL is not embedded within and across the curriculum in all KLAs. Information literacy is cumulative. To have an IL education, sustainable development is required across all years and areas of study. It is should be part of the content, structure and sequence of learning; and definitely not the outcome of a single subject (Lupton, 2014). There has been some attempt by Bonanno & Fitgerald (2014) to map the Australian curriculum to the Guided inquiry design by Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari (2012). The scope and sequence suggests the introduction of inquiry skills, which could be adapted throughout the curriculum. Lupton (2014) correctly surmised that inquiry strands are only currently within science, history and geography KLAs. Whereas Bonanno & Fitzgerald (2014) try to extend those skills in different areas of the curriculum. This is definitely possible as these ‘skills’ are transferable and there is no reason why one can pose a question in History that leads to an insightful understanding of the unit, but cannot do the same in math.

In summary, GI units of work are designed with the student in mind. They are student centred and place the onus of learning upon the student rather than the teacher. This is a seismic shift in pedagogy from a behaviourist to constructivist perspective. Students will engage with content if it is in their third space. They will commit to a task if they have a vested interest in the outcomes. They will learn more in collaborative groups. Mostly, they will work at their level of cognition and thus achieve a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed. We talk a great deal about student centred learning, about making the student the centre of the pedagogy. Well… lets just do it then.

Bonanno, K. with Fitzgerald, L. (2014) F-10 inquiry skills scope and sequence, and F-10 core skills and tools. Eduwebinar Pty Ltd.

David, L., (2014) “Identity Status Theory (Marcia),” in Learning Theories. Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/identity-status-theory-marcia.html.

Garrison, K., and FitzGerald, L., (2016) ‘It’s like stickers in your brain’: Using the guided inquiry process to support lifelong learning skills in an Australian school library. A school library built for the digital age.

Kuhlthau, C., and Maniotes, L., (2010) Building guided inquiry teams for 21st century learners. ZZ School library monthly. Volume 26: 5.

Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L. & Caspari, A. (2012) Guided inquiry design: A framework for inquiry in your school. Libraries Unlimited.

Kuhthau, C., Maniotes, L., and Caspari, A., (2015) Guided inquiry: learning in the 21st century. 2nd Edition. Libraries unlimited, USA.

Maniotes, L., and Kuhlthau, C., (2014) Making the shift. Volume 43:2.

Lupton, M.(2014) Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6, Access, November

Maniotes, L., (2019) Guided Inquiry Design: Creating curious inquirers. SYBA Academy workshop. Sydney

Walton, G., Cleland, J., (2016) Information literacy. Empowerment or reproduction in practice? A discourse analysis approach. Journal of Documentation, Vol. 73 Issue: 4, pp.582-594, https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2015-0048