Slide 1:SQUARE PEGS, ROUND HOLES AND JIGSAWS Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Sally Todd Sarah Pavey


Slide 2:“THE NORMANDY QUESTION” : Exploring concepts of school librarianship F R A N C E Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 NORMANDY


Slide 3:Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 COLLABORATIVE WRITING


Slide 4:Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 WORK IN PROGRESS


Slide 5:Elizabeth Bentley BA DipLib DipEd MCLIP Librarian, Northbrook Church of England School Elizabeth has been a school librarian since 1981, originally with the Inner London Education Authority and then in Lewisham. She founded and has run the School Librarians' Network, an online community, for over 10 years. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 6:Sarah Pavey BSc MSc FCLIP Senior Librarian, Box Hill School and Consultant, Access-It Software Sarah has worked in state sector and independent schools for over 16 years following careers in information science, market research and financial libraries. She has spoken at several conferences and has contributed articles to the library press. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 7:Sue Shaper DipLib MAEd FCLIP Director of Library Resources, The Broxbourne School Sue started her career with Hertfordshire and then Barnet public libraries. She worked in secondary schools in Havering, Barking & Dagenham and Wandsworth before moving to her current post in Hertfordshire. Sue was chair of SLG (London & SE) for six years and is now chair of Cilip’s SLG’s national committee. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 8:Sally Todd BA MAEd MCLIP FRSALibrarian and Archivist, St John's School LeatherheadSally  has worked in School Libraries in the Independent Sector for over 15 years   Prior to this she gained valuable experience working in University, Public and Government Libraries in London.  She was elected a Fellow of the RSA in 2005. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 9:Carol Webb BA MA FCLIP Librarian, Forest Hill School Carol has worked in school libraries for 17 years. Before settling in the education sector she spent five years in public libraries preceded by a Chartership experience based on work in hospital libraries. A CILIP fellowship was received in 2007 in recognition of work on reader development and its impact on student attainment. Carol is currently engaged in Doctoral Studies focussing on different approaches to learning and their impact on the relationship between librarians and teachers. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 10:Sharon Markless BA PGCE MAEd HonFCLIP Consultant, Information Management Associates and Senior Lecturer in Higher Education, King’s College London, National Teaching Fellow Sharon taught in secondary schools, further and adult education before becoming a Senior Lecturer in Professional Development at Canterbury Christ Church University College. In addition, she was a Senior Research Officer at the National Foundation for Educational Research for six years. Her main research interests are teaching information literacy; the impact of library and information services on teaching and learning; and developing professional practice through action research. She is a consultant to the Global Libraries Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is contributing to the development of impact evaluation methodologies and methods. Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 11:WHO IS THE LIBRARIAN? Professionalism & the school library How others see us Bridging the gap Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 12:YOUR COMMUNITY FROM PERCEPTIONS TO PRACTICE Identifying & understanding your community Making a positive response Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Communities of practice “ Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge or expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis ” ( Wenger 2006 )


Slide 13:MOVING FORWARD Inspiration Becoming integral to teaching & learning Innovation Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 14:REFLECTIONS We are an all female writing group – no male egos!! We have previously published articles as a group, so we are used to bouncing ideas off each other We respect each others ideas We trust each other and invite constructive criticism We have known each other for over ten years We meet regularly three or four times a year to discuss current issues and concerns We keep in touch via a dedicated e-mail group and a group wiki RESPECT AND TRUST Pathways to success Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 15:REFLECTIONS Another key factor is the role of Sharon Markless as our leader. A Senior Lecturer in Higher Education, she has steered our discussions, encouraged us to write and publish collaboratively and provided us with a focus and feedback on our writing. She also wrote the section on Managing Change in the final chapter. Our writing saw a different type of editing, as this was a continual process over two years, which made the final edit much shorter. COLLABORATION WITH HIGHER EDUCATION Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 16:Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 17:Context and Constraints INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS IN THE UK for 13 – 18 year old pupils Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 18:Some background...Google Babies Playing First computers Being read a story Watching adults Reading Schemes Fiction in the Library Information from computers Presentation 0 - 5yrs 6 - 9yrs Pavey, S.J. (2006) Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 19:10 - 13yrs EXAMS ...but also Information Literacy Project Work Reading The School Library 14 - 16yrs EXAMS Pavey, S.J. (2006) Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009


Slide 20:UK CURRICULUM YEAR 9 ( age 13 ) Early GCSEs Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 YEARs 10 & 11 ( ages 14 - 16 ) GCSEs YEAR 12 ( age 17 ) AS Level YEAR 13 ( age 18 ) A2 Level More GCSE Information More AS/A2 Information


Slide 21:THE ENVIRONMENT – THE CHALLENGES Teaching to the test Timetables Money buys all Role of the library Role of the librarian Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Is the librarian a square peg in a round hole ?


Slide 22:TEACHING TO THE TEST Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 “We are amazed to find that children no longer find joy in learning and discovery and that teachers teach solely so that their charges can gain maximum scores...and in doing so reflect glory upon themselves and upon their schools by an improved league position“ Symonds, M. Headmaster, Bedstone College (2009)


Slide 23:TIMETABLES Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 “Children note they have no ‘free time’ at school where every part of the day, including playtime is under adult control” Mayall, B (2007)


Slide 24:MONEY BUYS ALL Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 “At GCSE, 95.1% of independent school pupils gained A* to C compared to 62.4% nationally. At A level,50% of candidates at independent schools were awarded the top A Grade compared to national average of 25.3%. Over 92.9% of Sixth Form leavers from independent schools go on to Higher Education.” Hayman, R. (2008) CREDIT CARD CULTURE CHOOSING TO BUY NOT BORROW


Slide 25:ROLE OF THE LIBRARY Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 PARENTS SMT/GOVERNORS STUDENTS LIBRARIAN Is the librarian a square peg in a round hole ? Where our children can study quietly Good PR for the school It’s what parents expect to see A space of our own where we can relax and escape Independent learning centre and reading for pleasure


Slide 26:ROLE OF THE LIBRARY AS A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Supervised study Silent Intellectual reading matter Austere Traditional Independent learning Appropriate noise level Accessible reading matter Welcoming Modern Is the librarian a square peg in a round hole ?


Slide 27:ROLE OF THE LIBRARIAN Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 CUSTODIAN OF BOOKS ? EDUCATOR ?


Slide 28:DICHOTOMY Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 “Students from independent schools appear to consistently do less well than students from other schools and colleges, when compared on a like-for-like basis. For all but those students attending the most highly selective institutions, we would expect a student from an independent school to achieve as well as a student from an LEA school who has between one and four fewer A-level points.” HEFCE, (2003) “Students may be encouraged by teachers to read around a subject and get a feel for the period but this may seem irrelevant if they believe they can get a good grade without” Howells (2003) Should we be educators in independent learning skills ? Should we accept the status quo ?


Slide 29:DEALING WITH THE DICHOTOMY Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Communication Assertiveness “The librarian we’ve got is very good at putting herself into the school structure and making her presence felt, and telling people what she can do for them....she’s got a higher status [than previous librarians] because she’s put an awful lot of herself into the job.” (Valentine & Nelson, 1988) Collaboration “ We need to establish formal and informal groups and alliances to deliver effective teaching and learning in information skills.” (Webb & Powis, 2004) Green Shoots


Slide 30:Class management Time & Energy Quality of learning Student immaturity Safety Thinking skills Curriculum restraint Support Materials Baker, WP et al (2002) Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 ENQUIRY BASED LEARNING


Slide 31:How much am I willing to surrender? How much am I willing to learn? How much am I willing to share? How much am I willing to contribute? How much am I willing to control? Keefe, EB et al (2004) Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 COLLABORATIVE TEACHING


Slide 32:SWOT ANALYSIS librarian at an independent 13 -18 school following the UK Curriculum Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Good budget Library PR for the school Supervised study area Academic / Support staff debate Timetable pressures Curriculum restrictions/ Age of students Curriculum changes Library PR for the school Working with the willing Opposition from SMT/academic staff Lack of support


Slide 33:SOLVING THE JIGSAW Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 LIBRARIAN SMT / TEACHERS STUDENTS RESOURCES LEARNING ?


Slide 34:REFERENCES Baker, W.P. et al (2002) Classroom Management for Successful Student Inquiry Clearing House 95 (5) pp 248-52 Hayman, R. (2008) Introduction to the Independent Educational Sector in the UK . London, Gabbitas Education [available from] http://www.gabbitasrecruitment.com/pdfs/Gabbitas_IndependentEducation.pdf Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), (2003) Schooling effects on higher education achievement [available from] http://www.hefce.ac.uk/Pubs/hefce/2003/03_32.htm#exec Herring, J. E. (1996) Teaching Information Skills in Schools, London, Library Association. Howells, G. (2003)  Gladstone spiritual or Gladstone material ? A rationale for using documents at AS and A2 , Teaching History Journal, Thinking and Feeling Edition , August Keefe, EB et al (2004) The four “knows” of collaborative teaching Teaching Exceptional Children May/June pp 36-42 Kulthau, C, et al. (2007), Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century, Westport, Libraries Unlimited.   Learning Resources Action Research Group (LRARG) (2006) Developing student self-assessment of information skills Update 5 (12) pp 28-30 Markless (ed) et al. (2009) The Innovative School Librarian: Thinking Outside the Box, London, Facet Publishing Mayall, B. (2007) Children’s lives outside school and their educational impact, Research Survey 8/1 Institute of Education, University of London Pavey (2006) School librarians and the Google generation ALISS Quarterly 2(1) pp3-7 Symonds,, M. (2009) Testing..Testing...Independent Schools Magazine , June Valentine, P & Nelson, B (1988) Sneaky Teaching: The Role of the School Librarian: Teachers’ and School Librarians’ Perceptions, Library and Information Research Report 63, Boston Spa, The British Library.   Webb, J. & Powis, C. (2004) Teaching Information Skills, Theory and Practice, London, Facet Publishing.   Wenger, Etienne. (2006) Communities of practice a brief introduction. [available from] http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm Wenger, Etienne (2002) Cultivating communities of practice a quick start- up guide. [available from] http://www.ewenger.com/theory/start-up_guide_PDF.pdf


Slide 35:QUESTIONS Sally Todd & Sarah Pavey 2009 Should more practising school librarians consider publication ? Who is it for ? Why do we do it ? Does it help our own practice ? Given your own experiences, what more could independent school librarians in the UK do to integrate the library into the learning curriculum, given the constraints in this specific 13 – 18 year old environment ? Would dual qualification make a significant difference to the status of school librarians in the UK ? Would this impact on the design of the learning environment ?