I am now going to be using this blog for a different course--LIBR 285: Research Methods in Library and Information Science. Sounds exciting, no? I actually do think it will be kind of exciting. The course (I think) focuses on doing primary research, which I have no (or practically no) experience with. In real-world terms, this translates in to me learning how I can research my own practice as a Teacher-Librarian (or even as a classroom teacher) and translate my findings into quantifiable data. This is important to me because the reality of public education is that TL's have to justify their presence in schools. If you can't show administrators and taxpayers that what you do impacts student learning, then you probably won't have a job for very long. Like it or not, TL's have got to advocate for themselves.
Beyond advocacy, approaching my practice with a research mindset will no doubt improve my practice. Research, or perhaps more accurately the analysis of that research, is by its very nature reflective. I challenge anyone to fail to improve their performance when they are truly reflective about what it is they do on a daily basis.
For now, I know very little. Perhaps I should complete some of the assigned readings and learn some more.
I hope this blog can continue to be a record of my growth during my quest for the TL credential and my MLIS. Originally I'd planned it to be only for the one course (Instructional Design), but I'm kind of excited to use it for this class and maybe others in the future, whether that is assigned or not. I guess I'm just nerdy that way. :)
