It’s been a busy month for SLAV professional learning with a major curriculum-focussed conference, AusVELS: Constructing new Learners in March, followed by Libguides and Kevin Hennah workshops. This broad range of events from curriculum, to delivery of online resources, through to library design, are an indication of the diverse professional learning required by school library staff.
2015 theme Students at the Centre of Learning was reflected in the AusVELS: Constructing new Learners conference. Regardless of all other change in school libraries, focus cannot stray from student learning and the collaborative relationships necessary for success. The Storify of #slavconf tweets below provides an insight into the day, however, for a more complete experience see presentations and notes on the SLAV website.
Main presentations were:
- Curriculum Update: Setting the scene, Dr David Howes, VCAA (changes to AusVELS that teacher librarians can tap into)
- Teachers changing practice in their schools – implications for school libraries, Dr Rosemary Abbott – Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak (Rosemary’s PhD research provides a compelling argument for strong communication between teachers and library staff)
- The Information Experience: Introduction, Professor Christine Bruce, QUT (Christine’s knowledge of how students learn and interact with information is a beacon to all educators and particularly teacher librarians).
Members sharing effective practice through a range of workshops was also an important part of the conference. Learning with and from each other at events such as this is a great help in building community and getting to know each other as members of the the school library community. Well done.
