{"id":46580,"date":"2019-01-17T12:26:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T20:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=46580"},"modified":"2019-01-17T12:26:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T20:26:20","slug":"ten-ways-teacher-librarians-improve-literacy-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/ten-ways-teacher-librarians-improve-literacy-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten ways teacher librarians improve literacy in schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nAustralian schools constantly strive to improve the literacy outcomes of their students. Supporting literacy achievement for struggling readers is particularly important because these readers have their disadvantage\u00a0compounded<\/a>: capable students develop \u201cricher\u201d skills through continued exposure to reading, and the gap between them and struggling readers widens.<\/p>\n

The number of Australian students deemed \u201clow performers\u201d in reading literacy proficiency has been\u00a0rising over time<\/a>. Our percentage of high performers is shrinking \u2013 nearly one in five adolescents are in the low performer category.<\/p>\n

With school about to start for the year, we should consider how we can optimise support for struggling readers. Young people\u2019s literacy attainment\u00a0significantly shapes<\/a>\u00a0their academic, vocational and social potential.\u00a0More than seven million<\/a>\u00a0adult Australians have their opportunities limited by their literacy level.<\/p>\n

Research suggests the presence of qualified library staff in school libraries is associated with\u00a0better student performance in literacy<\/a>. But until now, little was known about what specifically they do to achieve this. My\u00a0new research<\/a>\u00a0gives us insight into these key practices.<\/p>\n

What do they do?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 2018, I visited 30 schools in urban and rural sites as part of the\u00a0Teacher Librarians as Australian Literature Advocates in Schools<\/a>\u00a0project. I interviewed teacher librarians to explore a range of questions, including the role they play as literacy educators.<\/p>\n

There are 40 recurring literacy support strategies used by teacher librarians. But my recent paper focuses on ten strategies that have a particularly strong link to supporting struggling readers:<\/p>\n

1. Identification of struggling readers.<\/strong>\u00a0Teacher librarians support the timely identification of struggling readers through the data they collect on student performance. The sooner struggling readers are identified, the sooner the school can help them.<\/p>\n

2. Providing age and skill-appropriate materials for struggling readers.<\/strong>\u00a0Teacher librarians match students with\u00a0age-appropriate<\/a>\u00a0materials they can manage and topics and genres they prefer. The more a student enjoys and is interested in reading, the more likely they are to keep it up.<\/p>\n

3. Teaching students how to choose books they like.<\/strong>\u00a0Both children in\u00a0primary<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0secondary<\/a>\u00a0schools have suggested they would read more if it were easier to choose books that appeal to them. Teacher librarians teach students how to do this.<\/p>\n

4. Support for students with special needs and readers at risk.<\/strong>\u00a0For example, Hannah, a teacher librarian, described working with \u201ca young boy who is dyslexic, and I was reading to him and made a dyslexic error, and went back and explained what I\u2019d done and he said, \u2018Yeah, I do that, too.\u2019\u201d She then connected him with age and skill-appropriate materials, and he went on to read \u201can enormous amount\u201d.<\/p>\n

5. Matching struggling readers to appropriate books for their skill level.<\/strong>\u00a0Research suggests<\/a>when struggling readers have texts matched appropriately with their ability and personal interest, they are more persistent, invested, and use more cognitive skills. Teacher librarians show expertise in making good matches.<\/p>\n

6. Promoting access to books.<\/strong>\u00a0Access to books<\/a>\u00a0is positively related to reading motivation, reading skills, reading frequency and positive attitudes toward reading. Teacher librarians make their books accessible. Francesca described regular use of a pop-up library:<\/p>\n

We take [it] out into the wilds. And you know, kids will come up and go, \u2018oh, what have you got, what have you got.\u2019”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

7. Making books and reading socially acceptable.<\/strong>\u00a0Where young people believe books are\u00a0socially acceptable<\/a>, they\u2019re more likely to read and have a positive attitude toward reading. Reading frequency is associated with literacy benefits, so this is ideal. Teacher librarians use a variety of strategies to enhance how books are viewed socially in their schools, including facilitating peer recommendations.<\/p>\n

8. Reading to students beyond the early years.<\/strong>\u00a0Reading aloud offers a\u00a0range of benefits<\/a>\u00a0in the early years and beyond, including an increased enjoyment of reading and increased motivation. Libba described reading aloud to the teenage boys in her classes as a wonderful experience that was very well received. One boy even stated: \u201cthat was beautiful\u201d.<\/p>\n

9. Facilitating silent reading time.<\/strong>\u00a0Though opportunities for silent reading at school may be\u00a0limited<\/a>, for some struggling readers, it\u2019s\u00a0the only book reading they do<\/a>. Teacher librarians act as keen advocates for silent reading in their library and more broadly in the school. And something is better than nothing, especially for readers who struggle.<\/p>\n

10. Preparing students for high stakes literacy testing.<\/strong>\u00a0Achievement on high-stakes literacy tests is essential for\u00a0graduation<\/a>\u00a0in Western Australia, a controversial move which has seen\u00a0graduation rates<\/a>\u00a0slide. A similar initiative has been\u00a0explored but rejected<\/a>\u00a0in NSW.<\/p>\n

Teacher librarians supported struggling readers to achieve this essential academic goal through a range of initiatives. For example, teacher librarian Stephanie supported students to use practice online testing programs in her library, which gave students the practice they needed to sit both NAPLAN and\u00a0online literacy and numeracy assessment<\/a>\u00a0(OLNA) tests.<\/p>\n

Why does this matter?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Teacher librarians in Australian schools are a valuable resource often taken for granted. They have faced significant budgetary cuts in recent times, despite a\u00a02011 government inquiry<\/a>\u00a0into school libraries. Teacher librarians noted they play an important educative role in our schools.<\/p>\n

Recent findings<\/a>\u00a0suggest teacher librarians\u2019 morale and related sense of job security may be low. If schools and policy-makers wish to improve students\u2019 literacy outcomes, they should invest in school libraries and our\u00a0dual-qualified<\/a>\u00a0teacher librarians.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Margaret Kristin Merga is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Edith Cowan University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian schools constantly strive to improve the literacy outcomes of their students. Supporting literacy achievement for struggling readers is particularly important because these readers have their disadvantage\u00a0compounded: capable students develop \u201cricher\u201d skills through continued exposure to reading, and the gap between them and struggling readers widens. The number of Australian students deemed \u201clow performers\u201d in […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":46581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[269062],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-46580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-teacher-librarians"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTen ways teacher librarians improve literacy in schools - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/ten-ways-teacher-librarians-improve-literacy-in-schools\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ten ways teacher librarians improve literacy in schools - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australian schools constantly strive to improve the literacy outcomes of their students. Supporting literacy achievement for struggling readers is particularly important because these readers have their disadvantage\u00a0compounded: capable students develop \u201cricher\u201d skills through continued exposure to reading, and the gap between them and struggling readers widens. 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