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Teacher-librarians are used to serving the needs of library users, as the library of the 21st century is a learning commons, after all. In order to have a successful student-led writing group, teacher-librarians take the role of facilitators rather than controllers.
A student-centred approach means that:
- The students decide how the group will operate
- The teacher-librarian acts as a ‘guide on the side’ and avoids making unexamined assumptions about the abilities and interests students
- The group itself takes shape and evolves rather than sticking to a rigid schedule or structure.
Allowing young people to drive their learning culture provides myriad skills that will serve them into the future (Jenkins, 2009). With a commitment to raising literacy levels across the school, teacher-librarians are well-placed to facilitate a student-led writers club, by providing both the space, and the literacy know-how (Oddone, 2016; Australian School Library Association, 2019). The teacher-librarian should serve as the 'anchor' or 'touchpoint' for the writing group, but otherwise remains largely invisible (Kunzel & Hardesty, 2006, p.7). The young people will be in the driver’s seat. A great example of a student-led writing club in Queensland can be found here.
This will involve the teacher-librarian negotiating with the students about the structure and operation of the group, as well as dialogue about what the students need from the teacher-librarian. This requires responsiveness rather than a pro-forma plan or structure.
References:
Australian School Library Association. (2019). What is a teacher-librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. The MIT Press.
Kunzel, B. & Hardesty, C. (2006). The teen-centred book club: readers into leaders- Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young Adult Librarians Series. Libraries Unlimited.
Mt Saint Michael’s College. (2020). MSM Writers Club. https://msmnews.msm.qld.edu.au/msm-writers-club
Oddone, K. (2016). The importance of school libraries in the Google Age. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-98/the-importance-of-school-libraries-in-the-google-age/