Teacher librarian as mentor: A vision for improving school outcomes

Just as the best teachers differentiate teaching and learning for each cohort of students, effective school leaders seek to create systems that support personalised professional learning for their staff. Impactful professional learning is tailored to the zone of proximal development of the learner (Loughland and Ryan, 2022), and in a busy school environment, the teacher librarian (TL) can contribute to this goal in unexpected and exciting ways. Importantly, reduced school library staffing and previous poor experiences of more traditional interpretations of the TL role mean that not every school leader has had the opportunity to experience the outcomes that a strong school library led by a proactive TL can (and should) achieve (Lupton, 2016). The TL brings specialist expertise that complements and enriches the work of classroom teachers and, through collaboration, TLs can mentor teachers in many ways, including through the co-design of creative and innovative curriculum and assessment. This paper demonstrates why this unique type of mentoring is worth developing for staff and students. The quotations included in this paper come from teachers who engaged in collaborative planning and team teaching with teacher librarians at Lake Tuggeranong College in Canberra. This first quote underscores the collaborative relationship that exists between teacher librarians and teachers.