Australian School Library Association > Teachers and Teaching

Teachers and Teaching

In the 'knowledge society' increasing emphasis on independent, integrated resource-based and technology-based inquiry learning requires teachers and teaching teams to have access to an expanding range of curriculum information. Lifelong Learning Associates (1999) and the EdNA School Advisory Group (2000) identify the following key 'stakeholders' in the learning process:

• students
• teachers, specialists and leaders
• the school's community - parents, local community, and school-business partnerships.

Collaborative technologies facilitate project-based learning and global knowledge networking. In learning environments, that are increasingly characterised by flexibility and diversity, teaching teams are best able to cater for the differences in the needs and learning styles of students when they have:

• wide knowledge of curriculum planning and implementation strategies;
• access to recent relevant curriculum information;
• access to information sources and services within the school, local, State, national and global communities;
• opportunities to collaboratively plan, teach and evaluate learning programs that integrate information resources and ICTs;
• professional development opportunities to develop related skills and knowledge;
• professionally managed information resources that facilitate the achievement of student learning outcomes and literacy levels.

Teaching teams, including Information Services staff, develop the potential of learning ICTs in the teaching and learning process by adopting a collaborative approach to curriculum design and incorporating information and ICT literacy as a cross-curriculum perspective.

When teachers are effective and informed users of information services and ICTs they will influence the information-related learning outcomes of students. This requires consideration of:

• the range of curriculum resources available to enable teachers to develop effective programs;
• teachers' current knowledge of how information systems, services and ICTs provide access to information;
• existing opportunities for previewing information resources and for professional collaboration amongst the teaching teams;
• opportunities for teaching teams to plan, develop, teach and evaluate resource-based learning programs;
• opportunities for professional development in the effective integration of new information sources and ICTs into learning programs;
• the availability and appropriate access to professional information.

(Learning for the future: developing information services in schools, Second edition, p. 20 & 21)

Publications

Click here to read more about Learning for the Future

Last updated: 2001