I'm not sure about you, but sometimes it takes me a while to understand something. As you may know, I have worked with Darryl and FOSIL for years now, and my learning on this is constant. It sometimes feels like I almost get there, then something changes direction, and I've lost my grasp again. This is not a bad thing; in life, we should always keep learning, and as we do, our ideas and understanding evolve.
In this short blog, I want to share a lightbulb moment I just had because it feels like a huge leap forward for me. I have to admit that if I had had my eye on the ball, this is something that Darryl shared in an article not so long ago, but it took a few things to fall into place for me to understand the importance of what he was writing about.
The article I am referring to is called Re/Discovering the Promise of Freedom through Inquiry, which Darryl Toerien and Lee Fitzgerald wrote for The Journal of the Australian Library Association, ACCESS.
In it, they write:
"Inquiry is more than a set of skills, more than an information literacy model, but rather, is a pedagogical model aligning the content taught in a school to one of the very limited number of models that truly deal with inquiry learning as a whole-school pedagogy."
So why is this so significant to me? I have often talked about the importance of speaking in 'teacher speak'... as we know, librarians speak a different language, and it is important for us to make ourselves understood in the world of education. Pedagogy is a word that I knew about but didn't really think was important—until now.
What is pedagogy? ChatGPT told me this when I asked:
"Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. It encompasses the methods, strategies, and practices that educators use to facilitate learning. Pedagogy includes not only the techniques for delivering content but also the understanding of how students learn, including factors like motivation, cognitive development, and social interaction. A well-developed pedagogical approach considers these elements to create effective, engaging, and inclusive learning experiences."
Then, without me asking it to, it gave me this:
"For example, using FOSIL (Framework of Skills for Inquiry Learning) as a pedagogical approach means incorporating structured stages of inquiry that guide students through asking questions, finding information, and reflecting on their learning—helping them become independent, critical thinkers."
Now I know it has been learning from me. I have told ChatGPT about FOSIL, so it's not surprising that it linked the two, but here's the thing...
I was talking to my son, who is a teacher, about the importance of pedagogy and the fact that although many teachers talk about it, there are not many schools that follow a structured approach across the school. Now, I may be wrong on this, so if you are a school reading this that does, please reply in the comments and tell me about it. Anyway, I digress...
It makes complete sense, in my head, that schools should have a pedagogy, and having a structured one that guides students to become 'independent, critical thinkers' seems important, especially with AI in the picture. So here is my thinking...
Bringing FOSIL and School Pedagogy Together
Schools need a pedagogical approach to learning, school libraries need a solid foundation to share their skills and we have FOSIL, which is a structured pedagogical approach to learning. FOSIL was created in the UK by Darryl Toerien, a man who has dedicated his life to ensuring that it is built on solid foundations and has made it freely available under a Creative Commons license. This is a framework that runs from reception to year 13, ensuring that our students have the building blocks in place to become independent, critical thinkers. Is time to bring FOSIL and school pedagogy together here and now?
It would be amazing to have some conversations with people who are interested in exploring this further...
If you want to know more about FOSIL check out The FOSIL Group Website
If you are looking for training or interested in learning more - contact me
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