Excerpt from Capping Paper Part 1

THE ESSENTIAL TEACHER-LIBRARIAN:

CLARIFYING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF TEACHER-LIBRARIANS TO THE

DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS IN 21^ST CENTURY LEARNERS

The following is an excerpt from the Introduction of my final capping paper for my MEd at the University of Alberta Teacher-Librarianship by Distance Learning Program.

This excerpt appeared in the Spring issue of the MSLA Journal.  

The Literacy with ICT Continuum

In 2006, Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth (MECY) published the Literacy with ICT (information and communication technology) Continuum.  The document defines literacy with ICT as “choosing and using ICT, responsibly and ethically, to support critical and creative thinking about information and about communication across the curriculum,” (MECY, 2006b, p. 8).  After attending an in-service on the Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b), I finally realized the link between this document and the inquiry process that I was learning about in my EDES 542: Inquiry Based Instruction course.  The role of the teacher-librarian in Manitoba suddenly became clear to me.  The Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b) with its organization based on the inquiry process and its content based on information literacy skills was obviously the document that could provide those guidelines I was so desperately in need of.  I was surprised none of my teacher-librarian colleagues had pointed this out to me. 

Unfortunately, the Literacy with ICT (MECY, 2006b) document defines information literacy in terms of technology use only, and in fact does not use the term ‘information literacy’ at all.  I realized there was much confusion in my school division regarding the multiple definitions of information literacy in the 21^st century and uncertainty about the role of the 21^st century teacher-librarian.  This resulted in a perception that caused teachers, administrators and other divisional staff to interpret the Literacy with ICT (MECY, 2006b) document as something to be addressed by the “technology department” only, leaving a glaring gap in the ability of teacher-librarians to address the information literacy needs of students. 

Through further investigations and involvement in local and provincial professional associations, I came to realize that it isn’t just the teachers in my school and division that struggle with the role of the teacher-librarian; it is our entire provincial education system. Teacher-librarianship in Manitoba is in a state of confusion. 

With a government mandated continuum comes funding.  As a result of the impetus to infuse technology throughout the curriculum through the use of the Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b), school divisions have spent a lot of monies on technology.  There exists a perception that the technology departments of school divisions have been quite well funded at the expense of libraries which have suffered cost cutting measures such as reduced staffing.  Regrettably this opinion and its implications have caused much uncertainty about who should be helping teachers to implement and integrate the Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b).   

Teacher-librarians have been left in the cold with regards to information literacy programming in Manitoba, yet hope exists for our renewed role in schools.  The inquiry and information literacy structures that exist within the Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b) can allow teacher-librarians in Manitoba to re-establish their expertise with information literacy and clarify their roles as both teachers and leaders in our schools. 

What is our Role?

For teacher-librarians to clarify the essential nature of their position in Manitoba schools, it is first important for the role of the 21^st century teacher-librarian to be well defined.  A clear definition of our role in information literacy instruction and our expertise with inquiry based learning will lead to an understanding of how our role coincides with the Literacy with ICT Continuum (MECY, 2006b).   To that end my capping paper examines the question How can the role of the 21^st century teacher-librarian be clarified and defined within the context of the already existing curriculum structure in Manitoba?

            To help me answer this question I investigated pertinent professional and academic literature to answer the following questions:

·         How is information literacy defined in the 21^st Century?

·         What is unique about 21^st century learners and the essential skills necessary in the 21^st century?

·         What role does inquiry-based learning play in information literacy programming and instruction?

·         What is the role of the 21^st century teacher-librarian?

After reviewing the literature I reflected on how teacher-librarians can define their role within the context of the already existing curriculum structure in Manitoba.  Additionally I included implications of the literature review for various stakeholders in Manitoba.

A summary of my literature review and a list of the implications will be published in the Fall MSLA Journal.  For a complete copy of this capping paper please visit the Manitoba School Library Association website.    

Christine Robinson, MEd