Online Learning Journal creation & Blog Task1

A Teacher Librarian has many roles within a school, but the focus for this reflective piece will be to identify the TL’s role with regard to the TL practice of Principal Support.

Fundamentally, the TL’s (media specialist) role with regard to the TL practice of Principal Support is to ensure collaboration and support occurs between the classroom teacher, teacher librarian and Principal. As stated by Morris (2007, p. 1) “Principal support is the key to successful collaboration between classroom teachers and media specialists.” This collaborative and supportive work environment, as the research suggests, is also directly related to enhanced student achievement.

 “Collaboration is a trusting, working relationship between two or more equal participants involved in shared thinking, shared planning and shared creation of integrated instruction. Through a shared vision and shared objectives, student learning opportunities are created that integrate subject content and information literacy by co-planning, co-implementing, and co-evaluating students’ progress throughout the instructional process in order to improve student learning in all areas of the curriculum.” (Montiel-Overall, as cited in Haycock, 2007, p. 26). It is important for the teacher librarian to maintain this collaborative and supportive work environment with class room teachers and Principal to enhance students’ achievement.

Everhart (2006, p. 38-51) highlights the effect a Principal’s support has on effective media programs run by the teacher librarian and states that a lack of support from the Principal can be to the detriment of these programs. Everhart’s study investigates the frequency and type of evaluations used by some Principals to evaluate the effectiveness of the school library and media specialists. This study highlighted that school Principals tend to use their own methods of evaluation rather than reports from their TL (media specialist) making it important for the TL to ensure that collaboration and support occurs so that the roles of the TL are understood by the Principal. As Lesley (2007, p. 60) indicates, many Principals do not understand the role of the TL.

Haycock (2007, p.32) identifies collaboration between staff members as the single professional behaviour that most affects student achievement and leads to growth of relationships improving experiences of all members of the school community. I believe that the TL is the catalyst to this effective collaboration and students’ achievement and should promote their unique skills and competencies to the Principal and classroom teachers to obtain their support and trust.

Morris and Packard (2007, p. 32) also identify Principals as being crucial to the success of a media program run by a teacher librarian and that the Principal has a responsibility and ability to develop a school environment that enables collaboration to exist as a teaching and learning strategy. Research has also identified that student achievement improves when collaboration occurs between Teacher Librarian and classroom teachers (Morris & Packard,  2007, p. 37). This increase in students’ achievement, I believe provides evidence for the TL to actively seek out the Principal and other staff members and promote a supportive and collaborative working environment.

Therefore, from the readings and research conducted and the evidence collated that provides a direct link between collaboration and enhanced student achievement, I believe a TL’s role in regards to the TL practice of Principal support is to ensure effective collaboration occurs within the school community between all staff members and the Principal.

 References:

Everhart, N. (2006). Principals' evaluation of school librarians: A study of strategic and nonstrategic evidence-based approaches. School Libraries Worldwide, 12(2), 38-51.

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.

Morris, B.J. (2007). Principal support for collaboration. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 23-24

Morris, B. J., & Packard, A. (2007). The principal's support of classroom teacher-media specialist collaboration. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 36-55.