Professional Placement Assignment

Yes, I think were going to see a fair few posts as I do this assignment as I get my thoughts into order.

I'm taking notes for Part D where the question states:

Reflect on the value of the placement experience in your development as a teacher librarian and a member of the wider library and information profession.

Obviously as a starting point, this means answering this question going back to ETL401 (Teacher Librarianship).

What is a teacher-librarian?

I answered this question in late 2010 here on this blog.

... the role of teacher librarian is to act as a leader in education. They advocate, develop and enhance lifelong learning amongst learners, applying their knowledge of education theory and curriculum, working collaboratively with classroom teachers and the wider school community to provide quality teaching and learning experiences for students to achieve student learning outcomes. They are responsible for the effective management of library and information services, including Information and Communication Technology. It is a role of leadership requiring commitment to the wider school community to ensure effective implementation of the school’s vision.

What do I think in 2012 and how this relates to the question at hand.

I'm thinking the placement has reinforced my viewpoint of teacher librarian as I listed back in 2010. It has made me appreciate it more.

But why?

Here are my reasons:

• I acted as a leader in education - I advocated, developed and enhanced lifelong learning amongst learners. This was shown through my ability to guide students in developing their information literacy skills via identifying and selecting suitable resources for learning tasks, either in a one on one basis or as part of a class group.
• I applied my knowledge of  curriculum. My lesson plan (will be uploaded soon) for a research session involving Year Nine History Elective will demonstrate how I have applied my knowledge of the curriculum to guide students in completing an assessment task by listing learning outcomes and their relationship to the syllabus
• I provided a quality teaching and learning experience for students to achieve student learning outcomes. The lesson plan as mentioned will also demonstrate this.
• Through weeding the vertical file and the commencement of digitisation of remaining files, I gained greater understanding of my responsibility to provide effective management of library and information services.
• Commitment to the wider school community as illustrated through my involvement in school activities such as assembly, pastoral care initiatives and the athletics carnival,.

Obviously this will have to elaborated on in my final draft but this is a good start to tackling Part D. A good set of notes hopefully.