INSIGHT
‘‘ School libraries
School Librarians: Teachers of sense-making skills
do school librarians need to understand it when teaching through inquiry?
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In order to answer this, we first need to recognise what we mean by inquiry. Stripling and Toerien defined it as “A stance of wonder and puzzlement that gives rise to a dynamic process of coming to know and understand the world and ourselves in it as the basis of responsible participation in community” (2021). Most of us will recognise the importance of the “dynamic process”, of giving students a structure of learning skills to work with, but what about a “stance of wonder and puzzlement”? How do school librarians support this, and is this the “sense-making skills” bit? Do you see yourself as an inquirer? When was the last time you used your inquiry skills? When was the last time you went through the range of emotions surrounding finding out something for yourself and could truly say that you finally understood and could explain it? Barbara Stripling touched on this in Inquiry: An Educational and Moral Imperative (SLA, 2021) when she explained that we have to work with the whole child when supporting the inquiry process, so not just the intellectual side but the social, emotional and cultural experiences too, and I wonder how school librarians can support students to become inquirers if they are not travelling this journey themselves? Inquiry is a fundamental human activity leading us to engage in life in a
48 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
hat does the term ‘sense-making skills’ mean to you, and why
more productive way. School librarians have an opportunity and an obligation to help develop and model inquiry skills within our students, making the instructional role of the school librarian vitally important. This is all easy to say, but how on earth do school librarians do this? Close your eyes and visualise that one student who was really excited about a project they were doing. The one who was full of awe, wonder and puzzlement and you could not find enough resources for. The one that had that lightbulb moment where they truly were learning something new for themselves and could not wait to tell you what else they had found. Now ask yourself, when was the last time you were that excited about teaching research skills? Knowing that what you are teaching was going to make a difference in your student’s lives? Not just through teaching them that specific skill at that moment, but helping them to become a different person because of what they have learnt.
Your journey as a teacher of sense- making skills is so much more than the daily battles you have with teachers and SLT, it is so much more than the problems with not having enough time and even more than the lack of budget. I believe it is about making a difference on a daily basis through being truly excited by your role and becoming an inquirer yourself.
Ok, so excitement and passion is one thing, but school librarians can’t do this alone. It is about finding the resources and tools you need to do this well. I believe I have found this through the IFLA School Library
Elizabeth Hutchinson (@Elizabethutch
ehutchinson44@gmail.com) is an Independent Adviser and Trainer for school libraries.
www.elizabethahutchinson.com
Inquiry is a fundamental human activity leading us to engage in life in a more productive way.
Guidelines, FOSIL (Framework Of Skills for Inquiry Learning) and a growing group of like-minded people on the FOSIL forum. Once you have found what works for you the rest will fall into place. Teachers will begin to see your value across the curriculum, your SLT will understand why an increased budget is important and you may even find yourself with a library assistant to support you. I can hear you all laughing! We have tried many things over the years and nothing ever changes. Change begins with a vision and passion, and I believe that school librarians have this in spades. Now we have the tools too, so is it time to get excited about inquiry and become teachers of sense- making skills? IP
July-August 2021
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