TL as a leader

Forum Entry on Donham

I appreciated a number of references in the Donham (2005) article. They include those referring to journaling, using the planning guideline from the AASL (1999),  using your passion to maintain enthusiasm and the list of characteristics of a leader.

1.     Journalling: She said that we should ask the following questions when we journal – “What did I learn today? Whom did I nuture today? What challenge did I confront today? How did I make a positive difference today?”

2.     Using A PlanningGuide for Information Power: Partnerships for Learning (American Association of School Librarians ) 1999.

This, she writes, involves setting a direction and writing steps out describing how to reach set goals. This spoke to me as we have just finished writing a mission statement at school, which refers to  21^st

learning.  It has inspired me to incorporate this into my planning for the library.

3.     Passion My passion is technology and its uses in teaching and learning. This article gives me permission to pursue this and hone my skills in this area.

4.     List of characteristics of the leader She refers to Warren Bennis (1999) who lists a number of ways a leader can be described. He included: “technical competence…conceptual skill…people skills…. Judgment…(and) character.

This article has given me a framework to move forward with my work as a TL. It has done this by putting into context and giving a reason for  many of the things I was already doing or could do better.

 

Donham, J. (2005). Leadership. In Enhancing teaching and learning : a leadership guide for school library media specialists (2nd ed.) (pp. 295-305). New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers.

A Fresh Start for the New Year

I have just finished writing my program for this term. Now that I am half way through my Masters I finally am developing a sense of what it is I am supposed to be doing. While teaching Stage 2 about different religions and Stage 3 about Mt Kosciuszko National Park, I am teaching the skill of notetaking. Later in the units I will be asking the children to ask themselves if the notes they have taken are sufficient or appropriate for their needs.
I am using a book called The Thoughtful Researcher by V. Rankin (1999). It is quite old but it breaks down the teaching  of information literacy into usable chunks. This is what I was looking for. I am considering buying it for the library or at least for myself. Some of the information relating to using the internet is too dated to use, however, the content on note taking and analysing information is very useful.