ETL503 Assignment 1: Critical Reflection

The first assignment for ETL503 focused on identifying an aspect of the curriculum not adequately resourced by the school library, and then finding 10 new resources for this area. Simple enough, I though initially. It didn't take me long to identify an area of the curriculum where resources were lacking. Halfway through the year I had to teach a unit of work on Darwin and the theory of evolution for a teacher on leave. The textbook work was boring so I went to the library only to find there was nothing suitable. I still had my copy of the program so I used that. Next step - find 10 new resources - not a problem. I went online, hunted around Tale and some of the usual places. Easy! Then I re-read the assignment, read a few forum posts and went OMG! There was a process to follow and it was actually the process that was more important for this assignment than the end product. Didn't that change things! I think I was relying more on my experience with the curriculum and the students to find resources, which is probably fine when you know that aspect of the curriculum well, but what if you don't. That was something I hadn't considered.

And what is the process for resourcing the curriculum? This how I think it goes :

1. Identify an aspect of the curriculum (which is not well resourced);
2. Look at the teaching/learning program and/or syllabus. Identify outcomes.
3. Consider the teachers who teach this and the students they teach? Do they have any particular needs?
4. How do the current resources fit in with all this? What aspects are not covered by the current resources?
5. Choose and use various selection tools to find suitable resources.
6. Describe and justify the potential acquisition of these resources.

I think I was doing steps 1-5 already but without really thinking about it. With this assignment, we had to break the process down into individual parts so that we go to understand how the process worked. When I was acting TL earlier in the year, I didn't have to justify any resources the library acquired to anyone. Upon completing this assignment, I realise that no matter how well you "know" an aspect of the curriculum, if you can't explain how a resource fits into the program or how it fulfils a need, what good is it? It simply wont be used if it is not useful. As a teacher, I know that I wouldn't use a resource if I couldn't see how it fit into my program.

Looking back, I found reviewing the subject's syllabus very helpful because it gave me more than just outcomes to consider. The school program only gave me a small view of the aspect of the curriculum I had chosen to resource, whereas the syllabus showed me where it fit in the broader picture. I could consider values and attitudes outcomes, as well as skills and knowledge outcomes.

Next assignment, I plan to read the question a lot more carefully.