Thursday, May 22, 2014

ETL 504 Assignment Two: Part B-Reflective critical analysis, blog post.

Reflective critical analysis

At the beginning of this unit I believed leaders were simply people who managed to get others, known as followers, to do things. Saints and bullies could both be leaders. One leads through inspiring acts; the other leads through coercion. I also assumed some people were "born leaders", those with well developed people skills. Furthermore I thought leadership was a hierarchical, top down system. This still occurs in Australian schools, however a more collegiate system of leadership can occur, where leadership groups report to one another (Bush and Middlewood, 2013, p. 73).

This subject has extended my knowledge and understanding of the role of the TL as leader as I have now come to realise that leadership is an activity or a process, not a position (MacBeath & Swaffield, 2008, p. 38; Haycock, 2010, p. 2). I have also come to understand that teachers are all leaders, simply by virtue of their profession (Collay, 2011, p. 75).

Haycock (2010, p. 1) argues that TLs lead from the middle, establishing good relationships with colleagues and the principal. Furthermore if TLs manage to be visible in formal leadership roles, such as curriculum, budget or professional development (PD) committees, they become well regarded and supported by principals (Haycock, 2004).

Collaboration is one area where TLs as teachers can take the lead especially in areas of developing Project Based Learning throughout the school and also presenting PDs to staff. Many teachers fear collaboration as they see it as a waste of time and effort and they may view it as a competitive exercise (Semadeni, 2009, p. 28; Bush and Middlewood, 2013, p. 138). However the advantages of collaboration far outweigh these negative misgivings. Collaboration is powerful because it forges good work relationships and maintains staff (Aguilar, 2012). It also develops interesting units of work and stretches student achievement (Kuhlthau, 2010, p. 3).

The module on PDs has inspired me to put a lot of effort into this field. As Livingston (2012) states, in-house PDs are cost-efficient, effective and best suited to the needs of individual teachers. Promoting such PDs will need to be focussed and measured to target potential learners.

As  the TL promotes an inclusive service he/she needs to be aware of the different personality styles and how these can manifest.  I believe this unit has given me the understanding of being able to recognise resistant folk such as those Belisle (2005, p. 76) terms cynics and "sleepy types". It has also equipped me with some strategies in working with such people. These include presenting ideas over time in small chunks so as not to intimidate people. Listening skills are also paramount and this is an area I need to work on (Montgomery, 2014a).

In this unit I learned that tools in the planning process such as STEEP and SWOT are worthwhile instruments for  a TL to use. It is important to know what your school library looks like and how it performs, here and now, if you are to make any changes. These tools help the TL to set out the positive and negative characteristics of the school library or a particular program so that measured realistic steps can be taken to turn challenges into opportunities. Similarly the seven step process outlined in the video by BNet Video (2011) was inspiring and something I aim to utilise.

The detailed explanations of the difference between a vision statement and a mission statement were enlightening. I have personally found these statements to be vacuous waffle and it was pleasing to hear that the shorter they are, the better (Montgomery, 2014b). I can only assume that my jaded viewpoint is coloured by having read too many poor ones which ramble on. I believe my ability to craft a tight mission statement and a punchy, moderately ambitious vision statement has been improved by this subject.

I enjoyed learning about strategic planning. Public libraries use them as a vital planning tool which can be easily adapted for school libraries (State Library of Queensland, 2009). The step by step, measurable objectives line up with the vision statement to show how the library will achieve its goals over a set time. If I obtained a TL position I would make use of strategic planning to document and implement changes to the school library.

I found module four, relating to communication to be the most interesting part of the unit. The conflict resolution questionnaire I took showed me as a 'teddy', who uses an accommodating style. It was clear that I need to work on my assertiveness skills. I also need to be a more attentive listener as discussed in my blog comments (Montgomery, 2014a).

At the end of this unit, and now the whole course, I feel I can take a more professional approach towards my work in the public library. If I ever obtain a school library position I feel I will be well equipped to fully advocate for the profession in terms of student outcomes. I will also be an enthusiastic member of staff who is passionate about collaboration and developing a modern school learning centre.

 

 

References


Aguilar, E. (2012). Effective Teams: the key to transforming schools? retrieved 10 March 2014 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-teams-transform-schools-elena-aguilar

Belisle, C.H. (2005). The teacher as leader; Transformational leadership and the professional teacher or teacher-librarian. School Libraries in Canada. (17108535)., Vol.24 Issue 3, p 73-79.

BNet Video. (2011, June 8). 7 Step Problem Solving. [Video file] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZXDGQSuF9I

Bush, T. and Middlewood, D., (2013). Leading and managing People in Education. (3rd Ed) Los Angeles CA: Sage

Collay, M. (2011). Everyday Teacher Leadership: Taking action where you are. Hoboken: Wiley

Haycock, K. (2010). Leadership from the middle: Building influence for change. In S. Coatney The many faces of school library leadership Ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO

Haycock, K. (2004). Priority setting: the tough work. Teacher Librarian, April, Vol. 31, Issue 4, p. 6.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2010). Guided Inquiry: School libraries in the 21st Century School Libraries Worldwide, Jan, Vol. 16, No. 1, (pp. 1-12)

Livingston, K. (2012). Approaches to professional development of teachers in Scotland: pedagogical innovation or financial necessity? Educational Research,  54:2, (pp. 161-172) DOI:10.1080/00131881.2012.680041

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

Montgomery, E. (2014a, April 18). Mods 3 and 4 ETL504 Retrieved from http://bethsbiblioteked.blogspot.com.au/

Montgomery, E. (2014b, April 29). Mod 5 ETL504 Strategic Planning Retrieved from http://bethsbiblioteked.blogspot.com.au/

Semadeni, J.H. (2009). Taking charge of Professional Development: A practical model for your school. Alexandria: ASCD

State Library of Queensland [SLQ] (2009). Your Library Strategic plan: a guide to its development Retrieved from www.slq.qld.gov.au