Assignment 2 Reflective Critical Analysis

The role of the teacher librarian is often confused by teachers and administrators and until I commenced my study of the masters course I too was misinformed. ETL 504 – Teacher Librarian as Leader has changed my thinking and has extended my knowledge and understanding of the role of a Teacher Librarian and has opened doors to possibilities and opportunities. This shift in mindset has already unleashed my potential and started the essential conversations with colleagues regarding the vision and possibilities for the future of the library.(Orridge ,2009). It is beginning to imprint in the mind of school leaders and staff as I begin to gather my team and promote my ideals and beliefs. Sinek, (2009) states “ People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it!”  My potential for leading from the middle through shared leadership has already grown. 

My initial view of not seeing myself as a leader was also due to the fact that I had difficulty defining my leadership capacity. My predisposed idea of leadership had always been from the traditionally structured, organisational and hierarchical perspective. At school, I viewed leaders as being the Principal, and executive, positions that reinforce and promoted a sense of power (Collay, 2011 ;Youngs, 2009).  The readings within this subject have highlighted the many aspects of leadership that I did not realise. The Transformative leadership models appear more effective when working in teams (Kotter, n.d), as distributed leadership capacities empower and support staff. I have begun to move away from servant and instructional leadership style to a transformative model. I am ensuring that I take on a more proactive role rather than a more traditional support role. Teacher librarians must lead learning and avoid reinforcing the role of resource provider.

 

This assignment in particular has highlighted the importance of becoming professionally visible and credible and the need to promote my role of Teacher Librarian as leader, the expertise of library staff and the library as a learning hub for the school community (Sergiovanni, 1984). I feel that the conversation has at least begun and am aware that I face challenges ahead with affecting change. It will be my role to change the mind set of others regarding the teacher librarians role. I am already facing initiative fatigue, passive resistance and opposing views to technology but am able to identify these as a normal part of the process and work gradually at changing others perceptions. (Reeves, 2009).

Through participation in study, professional development and developing learning networks I can continue to develop the professionalism, credibility and accountability of the Teacher Librarian’s role within the school community. I am placed in a position to support staff to develop their skills through professional development.

Through a creation of a shared library vision and strategic plan I hope to make other staff members feel a sense of ownership that allows them to actively participate in creating positive change. The readings have highlighted the importance of having a well written vision statement which supports and complements the schools overall mission and vision (JISC Infonet, 2012). Additional to the vision statement is the importance of a library strategic plan which aligns itself with the schools overall strategic direction. A strategic plan sets the library’s future direction and details how this can be achieved. I have developed a better understanding of how a library strategic plan can demonstrate an image of professionalism, credibility and accountability.

The readings detail the processes of Environmental scanning, STEEP, SWOT and SMART. These have provided helpful guidelines of how these tools can be utilised to implement change and strategic planning in a systematic and effective way. (Halfpintofwisdom, 2011; Olsen, 2008).They have allowed me to see the important step of preliminary analysis and the manageability of all aspects when broken down into smaller chunks which become clearer  and more readily overcome.  I have increased my confidence to develop and refine the strategic direction of the school library to meet the needs of the learning community in a constantly changing environment.

Another of my enlightened moments whilst completing this assignment has been the value in the critical reflection process. I have struggled with this component but I am finally starting to get it after four subjects. I am taking this skill with me wherever I go and applying it to the real life contexts whether it be BYOD, politics or inequity. I have increased my use of this practice at school with my students and with my own children. They are engaging in these conversations and deeper thinking which is reflected in the questions they are asking.

Overall, the major impact on me is the idea of leading from the middle and how a teacher librarian can effectively engage in leadership within the school community (Haycock, 2010). Effective leadership combines personal ideals, beliefs and qualities that draw others in to your vision.(Braxton,2013 ). It promotes collaboration and a desire to move collectively into the future.

As a Teacher Librarian, I have ample opportunity for leadership and will continue to display and develop those skills across a wide range of activities within the school community. It will be necessary for me to work slowly on changing attitudes and proving  effective leadership in  supporting  change. I feel my confidence has grown and I now have a clearer understanding, direction and knowledge base which will contribute to further developing my skills and expertise as a Teacher Librarian.

Reference List

Braxton, B.(2013). 500 Hats. The teacher librarian in the 21^st century. Retrieved from: http://500hats.edublogs.org/author/barbara288/

Clark, L (2014a). ETL 504 Teacher Librarian as Leader. Topic Three. Leadership for Learning. Forum Post. Charles Sturt University.

Collay, Michelle (2011). Everyday Teacher Leadership : Taking Action Where You Are. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Ebook

Halfpintofwisdom, (2011). Strategic Planning for School Libraries. Slideshare.net. Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/halfpintofwisdom/strategic-planning-for-libraries

Haycock, S. (2010). Leadership from the Middle: Building Influence for change. In Coatney, S. (Ed.). The many faces of school library leadership. (pp. 1-12) Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited.

JISC infoNet, (2012). Defining and articulating your vision, mission and values. JISC infoNet. Retrieved from http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/mission-vision-values/

Kotter, J. (n.d). Kotter International – Innovative Strategy Implementation Professionals. Retrieved from: http://www.kotterinternational.com/our-principles/changesteps

Olsen, E. (2008a). SWOT Analysis: How to perform one for your organisation. On Strategy HQ. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNXYI10Po6A&list=PLF47BA7BC6BDA46B1

Olsen, E. (2008b). How to set SMART goals. On Strategy HQ. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uThBb3kGf4k&list=PLF47BA7BC6BDA46B1#t=15

Orridge, M. (2009). 75 ways to help sustain organisational transformation. Change leadership 

developing a change-adept organisation (pp. 35-52). Farnham, England: Ashgate Publishing Group.

Reeves, D (2009) Leading Change in Your School : How to Conquer Myths, Build Commitment, and Get Results. Association for School Curriculum Development, Alexandria.

Sergiovanni, T.J. (1984). Leadership and Excellence in Schooling. Educational Leadership, February, 4-13. Retrieved from, http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198402_sergiovanni.pdf

Worldbank, (n.d). Strategic Planning: a 10 step guide. Retrieved from: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRREGTOPTEIA/Resources/mosaica_10_steps.pdf

Youngs, H. (2009). (Un)Critical times: Situating distributed leadership in the field. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 41(4), 377-389. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/00220620903211588

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson

Video by Steven Johnson about creativity and innovation.

He asks "What spaces show innovation?"
 Libraries come to mind readily.
" Because they create a space where ideas could mingle and swap and create new forms."

Recurring patterns of creativity and innovation:

•  The slow hunch
•  time to evolve and mature 
• collision with other ideas

This is a visually interesting take on these concepts and highly relevant to inquiry learning in libraries. Fantastic illustrator!

BYOD - Bring Your Own Device

There are many issues associated with BYOD .

•  Firstly the cost. Will many parents be able or willing to pay for these devices including  the insurance for potential damage or theft.
•  Parents may be increasingly concerned about the overuse and reliance of technology and the distraction it may promote during class time. 
• What happens if students do not or cannot provide a device? The school must have enough for all students to allow for equity and access. 
• Which device? laptop,  ipad or android. What happens if there are different devices. Will there be compatibility issues. Will the device provided  by parents be the most optimal for learning?
• Will all devices be able to be recharged? Where and how?
• Teaching implications - including knowledge and training  
•  Adequate education – digital citizenship and information literacy

For more detailed information about BYOD here is a link provided by the NSW  Department of Education  and Training.

BYOD in Schools Literature Review 2013:

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/technology/computers/mobile-device/BYOD_2013_Literature_Review.pdf

Vision vs Mission

Post 2 – Vision vs Mission - Locate your schools vision and mission statements as well as your library's statements if you have them. Can you tell the difference between them? Is there a clear delineation?

I cannot locate a clear mission or vision statement for my school. I looked at the school website and then to our annual school report. I found what I consider to be more of a description or a context and a latin motto meaning “moving forward with with all ones might’ . There is no existing mission or vision statement for the library I am working in. I guess that is a job for my school and I. I have sent an email to my colleagues asking for their assistance with the strategic plan and vision. I am also going to seek assistance from my principal to see if we can set aside a session in one of our Training and development slots in order to provide some time for staff to adequately consider this.

My understanding of mission is it provides a clear purpose for what and why the library exists presently.

What we are now .

The vision is where we see ourselves in the future .According to Bruce Johnston . It must be inspirational and aspirational. It is future based. We want others to want to be a part of it.

What we want to become.

Reference:

Johnston, B .(2012)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2MyaR0gMo0

Strategic Planning - Applying STEEP

Post 1 - apply the environmental (scan) tactic of STEEP to your situation and discuss your results.

Social – The school in which I work  is relatively small, therefore the library is a only open three days a week at lunchtime. One of those I lunchtimes I am rostered on playground duty as there are not enough staff to cover. A  classroom teacher uses the library during this lunchtime  to teach chess club. This means I am unavailable  to assist students with library needs. Students use the library to read, play games, draw and use computers during the other two lunchtimE.

Technological – the library has a lab of 30 desktop computers which are used regularly throughout the week even when there is no TL available. There is a Connected Classroom attached which is used infrequently. Staff do not have enough confidence or experience to use and are unaware of what possibilities exist. Wi fi is being installed sometime this year and a class set of  laptops. There are no i pads available apart from staff’s personal I pads used in their own in class. There are no e books  or e readers available although staff are beginning to request their availability to use on smartboards. There are one or two teachers passively resistant to technology use.

Environment – There is minimal consideration of environment. Recycling paper and limiting air conditioning use. Perhaps consideration of solar power could be a possibility for the future with more energy use planned. My last school received some sort of grant for solar panels which seemed successful some years ago. Purchasing good quality second hand books assists with recycling.

Economic – Budget is always a bit unknown at the beginning of the year . A ‘Spend til I say stop’ mentality exists. This makes it hard to plan and budget. There does appear to be a fairly generous budget allocated to supporting Australian Curriculum and new technology.  Purchasing  of quality  second hand books assists with budgeting also. There is a strong marketing push to retain and gain new enrolments so money spent on new ( visual) improvements is met with positivity. These include grounds and facilities. Lower socio economic community means often user pays options are not achievable. We have a limit to what we can expect parents to pay for. We are not always able to maintain equity and access for all students unless fully or partially  funded by the school. 

Political – I think some schools, particularly smaller and lower income community schools like the one in which I work, tend to have more of a wait and watch approach. They often look to the models of more affluent schools to see what works and what is achievable. I see this with my own children’s school which are planning to implement BYOT ( bring your own technology) for primary from next year. Their vision is to be one of the leading schools for technology in our area ( I believe). The school in which I work would not be able to implement this due to restrictions of  family circumstances and limited incomes.  There would need to be some sort of government scheme or financial assistance to support the school in implementing such initiatives .