The new NSW
Syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum present exciting opportunities for
teacher librarians. As specialist information literacy (IL) teachers, the
skills of the TL will be in high demand. IL is particularly important in
the new inquiry-based K-10 Syllabus documents (Board of Studies NSW, 2012)
Science & Technology, Geography (draft) and in particular, History. TLs are in fact uniquely positioned to deliver
effective, practical PD to classroom teachers.
Information literacy and the New Syllabus Documents
Firstly, what is information literacy? I'm a fan of the definition offered by Annemaree Lloyd (2010). It is sufficiently broad to be applicable to any workplace setting, yet comprehensive enough to address the complexities of IL as a sociocultural practice. Lloyd’s concept of ‘information landscapes’ allows for an understanding of the complexities of information contexts and the importance of social and cultural practices within such landscapes. Every school is different and this makes context important. Also, Lloyd’s sociocultural approach is holistic and takes into account multimodal sources of information, not just the written word. It also incorporates a critical element- requiring a questioning of what is deemed valuable by others in the community and why. Such a definition could be fittingly applied to the professional development of teaching staff in an educational setting.
While there is no specific mention of information literacy in the NSW syllabus documents for the Australian Curriculum (Board of Studies NSW, 2012), there are aspects of IL present. The NSW History, Science and the draft Geography syllabus documents, for example, all make heavy use of inquiry learning, providing an ideal platform from which to embed information literacy into teaching practice (Lupton, 2012). Also, ‘general capabilities’ (Australian Curriculum, 2014) such as the Information and Communication Technology Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking and Ethical Understanding have been embedded in the NSW documents and are all fundamental to the development of IL.
In particular, the History Syllabus lends itself to the incorporation of information literacy pedagogy and practice. As stated in the rationale, students will:
“..develop problem-solving, research and critical thinking skills…..learn to critically analyse and interpret sources of evidence and….engage in research involving traditional methods and ICT, including evaluating web-based sources and using a range of technologies for historical research and communication”
(Board of Studies NSW, 2012, K-10 History, Rationale, para.3).
Significant Challenges & Issues
Delivering IL
professional development opportunities based on the new NSW K-10 History Syllabus to teachers in both primary and secondary sectors will present
challenges.
The complex learning required by the demands of the new syllabus means that PD will have to be delivered to scale and in an innovative manner. The traditional skills based model (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2007) of IL is no longer adequate. Lloyd states that it is important to avoid teaching IL as a “decontextualized and abstract process” (Lloyd, 2010, p. 33). Context is important and the contextual landscapes of primary schools differ greatly to those of secondary schools. Furthermore, Lloyd argues that the PD should be designed in such a way that initial text-based information is followed by the necessary social and physical modalities. This in turn will lead to the deep and complex IL development which will ensure improved teacher practice (Lloyd, 2010, p.38).
The target audience presents its own set of challenges. Teachers are a diverse group. While teachers in regional areas tend to be more experienced; many of the smaller rural and remote schools are staffed by beginning teachers. This diversity also extends to academic qualifications. While many of the secondary teachers have history as a major in their undergraduate degrees, many primary school teachers have not studied history as a subject in any great depth and would not be familiar with the concepts and skills underpinning the new K-10 History Syllabus ('contestability' is a good example). Providing PD that is relevant and authentic and designed in such a way that it is supportive, job-embedded, instructionally focused and collaborative to such diverse learning communities, will prove challenging.
By interacting in their own information landscape and communities of practice and by using other modalities of information besides just text; TLs are in a position to improve teacher IL proficiency and classroom practice, ultimately giving them a deeper knowledge of the new NSW History Syllabus and improving learning outcomes for their students.
The complex learning required by the demands of the new syllabus means that PD will have to be delivered to scale and in an innovative manner. The traditional skills based model (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2007) of IL is no longer adequate. Lloyd states that it is important to avoid teaching IL as a “decontextualized and abstract process” (Lloyd, 2010, p. 33). Context is important and the contextual landscapes of primary schools differ greatly to those of secondary schools. Furthermore, Lloyd argues that the PD should be designed in such a way that initial text-based information is followed by the necessary social and physical modalities. This in turn will lead to the deep and complex IL development which will ensure improved teacher practice (Lloyd, 2010, p.38).
The target audience presents its own set of challenges. Teachers are a diverse group. While teachers in regional areas tend to be more experienced; many of the smaller rural and remote schools are staffed by beginning teachers. This diversity also extends to academic qualifications. While many of the secondary teachers have history as a major in their undergraduate degrees, many primary school teachers have not studied history as a subject in any great depth and would not be familiar with the concepts and skills underpinning the new K-10 History Syllabus ('contestability' is a good example). Providing PD that is relevant and authentic and designed in such a way that it is supportive, job-embedded, instructionally focused and collaborative to such diverse learning communities, will prove challenging.
Given the challenges, how can TL's help with the implementation of the new History Syllabus...
By interacting in their own information landscape and communities of practice and by using other modalities of information besides just text; TLs are in a position to improve teacher IL proficiency and classroom practice, ultimately giving them a deeper knowledge of the new NSW History Syllabus and improving learning outcomes for their students.
Lloyd, A (2010). Lessons from the workplace: Understanding information
literacy as practice. In Lloyd, A & Talja, S ( Eds.,) Practising
Information Literacy: Bringing together theories of learning, practice and
information literacy together. Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information
Studies, 29-49.
Lupton, M. (2012). Inquiry skills in the
Australian curriculum [online]. Access, Vol. 26, No. 2,
12-18.Availability: http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=584040093322031;res=IELAPA ISSN:
1030-0155. [cited 28 Sep 14].
NSW Department of Education and Training (2007). School Libraries and
Information Literacy. Information Process Chart. Retrieved
from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/teachingideas/isp/
