Module 5 Environmental Scan STEEP

By viewing the internal and external factors within the school I currently work in using the STEEP process, many emerging issues were highlighted .Most concerning is the gap that appears with the technology available to students through the school and the technology that student are exposed to at home. Through thoughtful planning, collaboration and evaluation this concern can be identified and goals and processes can be put in place to help close this gap.

Digital Literacy

There are elements of digital literacy in the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. Map your current understanding of digital literacy to the General Capabilities.

My understanding of Digital Literacy has now expanded to not only include effective and safe use of ICT (word processing, web tools and social networking) but to include the components of information and critical literacy as stated by Wall and Ryan (2010, p. 31). These components include, defining, locating, selecting, organising, presenting and evaluating information and questioning, problem solving and reflective thinking.

DL is linked to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2013, p. 61). The elements that relate to digital literacy include (ACARA, 2013, pp. 61):

•             Recognising intellectual property

•             Using ICT to safely create, communicate and share information

•             Information literacy: locate, access, generate, organise, and analyse data

•             Selecting and evaluating the integrity and value of information sources

•             Generating ideas, plans and processes

•             Generating solutions to challenges and learning activities

•             Collaboratively constructing knowledge, sharing and exchanging

•             Applying technical knowledge and skills to efficiently and securely manage digital data

•             Understanding of context

Furthermore DL is linked to the Critical and Creative Thinking Capability and the elements which relate to digital literacy (ACARA, 2013, p. 78):

•             Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas

•             Seeking solutions and putting ideas into action

•             Reflecting on thinking and processes

•             Transfer knowledge into new contexts

•             Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures

 

•             Draw conclusions and design a course of action

How would you develop a digital literacy framework for your school in the context of the Australian Curriculum?

•             Through collaboration with staff and personnel with expert knowledge identify key aspect of DL that is nationally recognised to incorporate into the framework.

•             Use the ICT and Critical and Creative Thinking capability framework from Australian Curriculum General Capabilities as foundations to develop the DL framework.

•             Use Personal and Social Capability as well as the Ethical Understanding Capability to guide in the creation of the DL framework.

•             Create authentic learning opportunities with the use of technology.

Reference:

ACARA. (2013). General capabilities in the Australian curriculum.  Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/General-capabilities-in-the-Australian-Curriculum

Wall, J., & Ryan, S. (2010). Digital literacy : a resource for learning. Resourcing for curriculum innovation (pp. 31-35). Camberwell, Vic.: ACER Press

Conflict Resolution Questionnaire

After completing the Conflict Resolution Questionnaire my approach to managing conflict was identified as COLLABORATING (above average assertiveness, believe in two people working together can produce better results than individuals.

I thought and still think of myself as being assertive, perhaps not above average, and I do believe that two heads are better than one. Furthermore, I believe avoidance is part of my conflict management repertoire that I need to work on as an aspiring Teacher Librarian.

Collaborative Curriculum Programs Module 3 post

The element of leadership practice in collaborative environments that I would like to explore further that also already exists in the school I currently work in is the practice of collaborative curriculum design mentioned by Collay (2011, p. 92). I would like to explore this practice further as I believe this would  develop my content knowledge and allow for professional dialogue to occur with more senior and experienced staff members further enhancing my Instructional practice. Furthermore, I perceive I don’t hold leadership qualities such as my colleagues and this type of collaborative, professional development practice with allow me to develop these qualities and permit me to effectively communicate my own ideas and practices to the entire school, where appropriate.

Looking into the future, I would like to explore the approach of collaborative inquiry as Goodnough (2005) mentions. This approach serves a dual learning purpose as it will develop my own inquiry and instructional practices and help student to obtain a better understanding of the content while solving ‘real’ or significant problems.

Reference:

Collay, M. (2011). Teaching is leading. Everyday Teacher Leadership: Taking Action Where You Are (pp. 75-108). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Goodnough, K. (2005). Fostering Teacher Learning through Collaborative Inquiry. Clearing House, 79(2), 88-92.

Leadership for Learning Topic 3

‘Leadership for Learning’ is a complex and dynamic theme that supports the numerous forms of leadership styles that exist. It focuses on practice, connects all levels of leadership allowing followers to shape the leadership practice (MacBeath & Dempster, 2009, p. 44). L for L creates connections to numerous people from varying positions within a school and its community (social capital), prompts monitoring, regulation and evaluation of how we learn (Agency) and driven through the behaviours, actions and the conditions we create for students, teachers and parents, stimulating continuous improvement (Moral purpose) (MacBeath & Dempster, 2009, pp. 46-47).

Instructional Leadership is the most popular form of leadership in educational settings. Smith & Andrews identify four dimension of IL; Resource provider, instructional resource, communicator and visible presence (Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2005, p. 18). This type of leadership to me encompasses a teachers role in an education setting.

From my own experiences I believe that as a teacher I use a range of Piaget, Vygotsky, Skinner and Bruner theories. Rewarding students (Skinner), nurturing environment allow for social interaction (Vygotsky), student centred activities targeting student prior knowledge (Piagets) and considering cultural aspects and learning outside of school (Bruners) (Moore, 2012, pp. 5-23).

The theories that support instructional learning include Behavioural Learning Theory, Constructivist Learning Theory and a new digital theory, Connectivist Theory. Behavioural Theory is predominately teacher directed, Constructivist theory is based on learners creating their own knowledge from interactions and experiences and Connectivist Theory is comprised of collaboration and connections in the knowledge building process and the way information is displayed (Starkey, 2012, pp.23-27). These theories mentioned can incorporate technology, are outcome based and allow for teacher centred and student centred activities to occur. Furthermore these theories allow for collaboration and reflection, supporting instructional leadership in the 21^st Century.

Reference:

MacBeath, J. E., & Dempster, N. (2009). Leadership for learning. Connecting leadership and learning: principles for practice (pp. 32-52). London: Routledge.

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005). Some theories and theorists on leadership. School leadership that works: from research to results (pp. 13-27). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10089219

Moore, A. (2012). Theories of teaching and learning. Teaching and learning: pedagogy, curriculum and culture (2nd ed., pp. 1-30). London: Routledge.

Starkey, L. (2012). Knowledge and connectivism. Teaching and learning in the digital age (pp. 20-28). New York, NY: Routledge.

Assignment 1 Part B: ETL504 – Teacher Librarian As Leader/Critical Reflection

Word Count: 542

Prior to studying ‘leadership’ as an aspiring teacher librarian I was unaware of the vast styles of leadership mentioned throughout the modules. These include Transformational, Transactional, Servant, Situational, Instructional, Authentic, New genre, Strategic, Distributed and Sustainable leadership and the numerous forms and factors that characterise the behaviour of these leaders (Marznao, Waters & McNulty, 2005 p. 13-18, Avolio, Walumbwa & Weber, 2009, p. 423, Hargreves, 2007, p. 224). I was also unaware of the prominent theorists that exist and became particularly interested in Warren Bennis, Michael Fullan and Stephen Covey (Marznao et al., 2005, p. 19-22) and the notion of self-concept presented in Avolio et al.,(2009, p. 425). I believe teacher librarians as leaders can administer these ideals effectively into an educational setting as they reflect my understanding of transformational leadership as being best practice, as it assumes to produce results beyond expectation and convert followers to leaders (Cheng, 2002, p. 66).

My understanding of leadership has grown considerably from my original forum post (Edwards, 2014) of “self-sacrifice, communication skills, flexibility, effective communicator taking in differing opinions, morals and ethics to take the best course of action”, to include other aspects that potentially impact my aspiring role as a teacher librarian. The aspects that have impacted my understanding of leadership most significantly include vision, change facilitator, knowledge of staff, modelled behaviour and personal attributes. Adopting these aspects into my understanding of leadership has broadened my knowledge and highlighted the key roles and challenges teacher librarians have within a school. Implementing a shared vision, ability to facilitate and adapt to change, knowing staff’s strengths and weaknesses, modelling expectations and having a level of emotional intelligence, as a teacher librarian, I believe are skills required to motivate others and essentially achieve educational goals.

Another significant impact on my newfound knowledge of leadership includes the hierarchical nature of leadership in an educational context. My previous thoughts indicated a hierarchical structure with the top tier being of most importance and the bottom tier of least importance, reinforced by Avolio et al., (2009, p.430) and the concept map I produced for this assignment. Placed at the top of the mind map is what I believed to be of most importance ‘Mission Statement and Vision’ and placed at the bottom what I believed to be of least importance ‘Personal Attributes and Modelled Behaviour’. However, I now feel that both aspects are of equal importance as they are vital in linking and making connections between each of the other aspects presented on the leadership mind map.

My upstanding from further readings and module discussions placed leadership in an educational context as central to educational outcomes. This is displayed on the ‘Leadership Capability Framework’ (ACEL. n.d) where ‘Leading Learners’ is centrally placed surrounded by three key sections and eleven sub sections, and a forum comment ‘Once you have their trust, you can begin to lead them from the middle’ (Combes, 2014). As an aspiring teacher librarian, leadership that is central allows for shared vision, opportunity to collaborate with staff from all levels of leadership, the opportunity to know staff personally and professionally, effectively facilitate change, demonstrate exemplary behaviour and build personal attributes that will help develop leadership skills and empower followers.

Leadership, like the role of a teacher librarian is multifaceted, complex, ever changing, and numerous in aspects. This means teacher librarians as leaders need to continually learn, be passionate, transparent and share knowledge to ultimately meet teacher learning and student outcomes and help students to become effective 21st century leaners and contribute positively to society.

Reference:

ACEL. n.d. Leadership capability framework. Sydney: Australian Council for Educational. Retrieved from https://secure.acel.org.au/teacher_survey/docs/ACEL%20Leadership%20Capability%20Framework.pdf

Avolio, B., Walumbwa, F., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions. DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/managementfacpub/37/

 

Cheng, Y.C. (2002). Leadership and strategy in education. In Bush, T. & Bell, L. (eds.). Educational management: Principles and practice (pp.51-69). London: Paul Chapman.

Combes, B. (2014, March 5). Good Leadership [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL504_201430_W_D/page/0e386e66-d989-444a-80b2-2e5e4e1f1390

Edwards, S. (2014, March 10) Post 1[Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL504_201430_W_D/page/0e386e66-d989-444a-80b2-2e5e4e1f1390

Hargreaves, A., & Fink, D. (2003). Sustaining Leadership. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(9), 693-700.

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005). Some theories and theorists on leadership. School leadership that works: from research to results (pp. 13-27). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved  from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10089219

Leadership in Schools: Mind Map.