Resourcing a curriculum area
Wot was it?
Identify an aspect of the curriculum (e.g. a unit of work or topic, or part of a unit of work or topic) in a school with which you are familiar that is not adequately resourced by the school library, but where the situation can be appropriately addressed by the addition of ten new resources (this situation should be factual, if possible, but can be hypothetical).
This assessment task gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of collection building, needs assessment, selection and acquisition (subject objectives 1-3 and part of 4). by applying the knowledge you have acquired through your studies to a pertinent practical situation The task requires you to reflect upon the importance of these steps in effectively resourcing a curriculum area
My reflection
I never even considered there would be things such as lists of books for librarians to go to. And not just random lists but lists by curriculum area, reviewed, with all sorts of filters you can put on. I mean, why not, it makes perfect sense and logically if i was king librarian i would have deemed the creation of such lists too. Hmm.
Found it hard to slip out of teacher mode and into librarian mode. Kept thinking of all the good resources I’d used as a teacher and wanting to recommend them, simply because I knew them. Never thought that there would be a wider and maybe better range to choose from. Hmm. I suppose this means I have the advantage of being able to understand a teacher’s perspective. However thinking like a teacher is probably going to narrow my ability and perception as a TL. Better be conscious of this.
The importance of being in touch with the learning community also came home to me. If you’re not, the stuff you recommend or even purchase may be completely inappropriate, or not fit, and could lay gathering dust or wasting money for ages.
Also the importance of having a resources collection and management policy hit home. There is none at my school. Consequently there is a jumble of resources in the library, some repeated, some holes, there are no procedures for purchasing resources or weeding them. This rails against my desire for organisation and established procedure.
The details of wot it was
o Provide a clear, pertinent overview of the chosen aspect of the curriculum, and clearly and analytically overview the nature of the resources needed to meet the goals, support the content, and achieve the desired outcomes of the selected aspect of the curriculum.
o Clearly and analytically identify any other information/resource needs created by the characteristics of the school, the students who study this aspect of the curriculum and the teachers who teach it.
o Provide a clear, pertinent overview of resources already available through or within the school library that are relevant to this aspect of the curriculum. Clearly and analytically identify how these resources do not adequately meet the needs of the chosen aspect of the curriculum and/or the needs created by the characteristics of the school, the student body and the teachers. Drawing upon your studies for this subject, determine, apply, describe and justify the selection and (potential) acquisition processes employed to select and make accessible ten resources to appropriately resource the selected aspect of the curriculum within the context given in part A.
o These processes should clearly reflect the considered use of appropriate professional literature and a range of professional tools. Your selection processes should clearly identify and describe the use of any lists of resources, bibliographies, or collections of online resources drawn upon in selecting and acquiring the ten resources that was provided with, or already created for, the selected aspect of the curriculum. (15 marks)
o Clearly identify the ten resources by giving a bibliographic description of each item using the APA style you are using for referencing
o At least six of the resources should be available for use online. They may, for example, be digital learning objects, digital collections, e-books or e-journals as well as websites.
o Clearly identify the sources where these resources can be currently accessed or acquired from and why these sources would be used. Clearly specify how these resources (individually or as a group) will adequately complete the resourcing of the selected aspect of the curriculum within the context given in part A. (10 marks)
