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Develop tools to help teachers incorporate more student choice and passion projects into their classes.

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: How can the school librarian best support teachers in inquiry? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: How can the school librarian best support teachers in inquiry? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: What are some new ways I can spark joy in my classroom? In the library? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: What are some new ways I can spark joy in my classroom? In the library? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: How do minority students experience my Psychology 1 class? What can I do to incorporate more empathetic, multicultural instruction into this class?

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: How do minority students experience my Psychology 1 class? What can I do to incorporate more empathetic, multicultural instruction into this class?

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: As the school librarian, how can I foster more multicultural connections and empathy by leaning on the expertise of our ELL staff? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: As the school librarian, how can I foster more multicultural connections and empathy by leaning on the expertise of our ELL staff? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can I foster more opportunities for passion projects in classes at my school? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can I foster more opportunities for passion projects in classes at my school? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I infuse an existing Psychology project with a music component? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I infuse an existing Psychology project with a music component? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I inspire more curiosity and a love of learning in my students? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I inspire more curiosity and a love of learning in my students? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: In what ways can Monday PLC's inspire teachers to foster more student choice and creativity in lessons? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: In what ways can Monday PLC's inspire teachers to foster more student choice and creativity in lessons? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: Where can I incorporate more student choice in lesson plans? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: Where can I incorporate more student choice in lesson plans? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: Will student achievement increase with the incorporation of more passion projects in classes?

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: Will student achievement increase with the incorporation of more passion projects in classes?

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What can I do to expand the idea of the school librarian as a leader? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What can I do to expand the idea of the school librarian as a leader? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: How can I provide pathways for students to be more empathetic toward other people facing challenges around the world? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: How can I provide pathways for students to be more empathetic toward other people facing challenges around the world? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What activities would entice more teachers to utilize the CHS library? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What activities would entice more teachers to utilize the CHS library? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: How can I encourage CHS teachers to collaborate with me in the library more? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: How can I encourage CHS teachers to collaborate with me in the library more? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can active listening build a more positive classroom environment? How can I more quickly facilitate this in a semester-long course? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can active listening build a more positive classroom environment? How can I more quickly facilitate this in a semester-long course? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What are the roadblocks teachers see to collaboration and co-teaching? 

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TAKING ON A NEW CHALLENGE: What are the roadblocks teachers see to collaboration and co-teaching? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can my Psychology class & the library help reduce anxiety in the overall student population? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: How can my Psychology class & the library help reduce anxiety in the overall student population? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: What new community and school resources should I seek to incorporate into the library as we move to a career pathway model? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: What new community and school resources should I seek to incorporate into the library as we move to a career pathway model? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What new courses might I be willing to teach or help facilitate under the district's new career pathways model? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What new courses might I be willing to teach or help facilitate under the district's new career pathways model? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I encourage students to develop an appreciation for history? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How can I encourage students to develop an appreciation for history? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: What programs could I create or implement to help grow a community of readers at my school? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: What programs could I create or implement to help grow a community of readers at my school? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What is the relationship between student choice/passion projects and increased student achievement (ie-passing grades)? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What is the relationship between student choice/passion projects and increased student achievement (ie-passing grades)? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What is the relationship between increased staff reading and student reading? 

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DELVING INTO YOUR CURIOSITIES: What is the relationship between increased staff reading and student reading? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How does showcasing student art and music in the library lead to a more positive school climate? 

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EXPLORING A PASSION: How does showcasing student art and music in the library lead to a more positive school climate? 

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: What happens when the library becomes a hub for students at lunch and through activities like the Art Show, D&D Club, chess, Maker Space?

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AIMING FOR A GOAL: What happens when the library becomes a hub for students at lunch and through activities like the Art Show, D&D Club, chess, Maker Space?

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What programs and activities can I incorporate into my classroom and school library to best support student achievement and engagement?

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Using the author's own experiences as a teacher in both American and Finland, this book contains strategies to incorporate outdoor learning, music, and technology into American schools. In addition, student choice and passion projects are explored as ways to spark student curiosity and foster a love of learning. Walker also stresses the importance of collaborating with colleagues to avoid teacher burnout.

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Develop new SEL lessons and Socratic seminars to encourage a stronger community of listeners.

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Explore new anti-anxiety lesson plans and activities to be utilized in my Psychology class, the library, and among the entire CHS community.

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Learning Goal: Collaboration with the Library

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Learning Goal: Collaboration with the Library

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Identify opportunities for the library to partner with teachers and students to make curricular connections and build a more cohesive school community.

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Identify opportunities to support the transition to career academies by fostering community partnerships with the library.

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Utilize existing Professional Learning Communities to build engaging new lesson plans that incorporate music and student choice into existing projects.

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My school has a wealth of new and veteran teachers I'd love to observe, both so I can find new doorways for collaboration between teachers and the library, and also so I can borrow ideas to incorporate into my new lesson plans and projects. I have already observed several classes this year and aim to observe classes from my PLC group members after Spring Break that incorporate new projects with our focuses of student choice, passion projects, and music.

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As my school and district begin to move to an Academy model next year, we'll all navigating new academic waters. I'm unsure how the library can best support this move and new career focus--it seemed like interviewing our designated Academy coach was good starting point to discover whether I should be allocating library funds and resources toward career books and subscriptions. The library can also sponsor and host guest speakers, which could be helpful during this new phase of our school. I've spoken with our in-building Career Academies coach and it now looks like we'll have a Business & Education pathway, which makes the library a natural hub for those students.

One new goal that has come from this is further developing our library computer lab into a business hub. I just received a $5,000 grant to purchase iMac minis for this upgrade and now just have to find funds for the other 20 computers and monitors.

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Using SLED, Alaska's online digital library database, I direct many of our classes and students toward academic articles and studies, especially pertaining to student learning, engagement, and library collaboration. These are available from EBSCOHost and a variety of other education sources and periodicals that generally have paywalls.

SLED is also a great tool for me to use when collaborating with teachers on research projects as many are unfamiliar with navigating the site, but appreciate that these are vetted sources with a built-in MLA citation builder for students to use. I've already used this in conjunction with a few of our U.S. History classes and several English classes this semester.

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Resource 5: Inside Mental Health podcasts from Psych Central

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Resource 5: Inside Mental Health podcasts from Psych Central

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This series of 30-minute award-winning podcast episodes aims to explain practical information regarding mental illness. This podcast aims to make even the most complex mental health issues more understandable and accessible to a wide variety of listeners. This supports some of my goals pertaining to my Psychology class and incorporating empathy and student curiosity.

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Resource 6: The Science Behind Brain Breaks

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Resource 6: The Science Behind Brain Breaks

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This Youtube video from Edutoptia is brief but helpful for outlining the science behind the benefits of brain breaks, especially for younger children. I shared this with CHS teachers and admin to persuade them of the benefits of utilizing brain breaks, especially during our long block periods on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. This has led to brain resets and an increased ability to concentrate when students resume learning. Depending on the brain break, it might also lead to more joy during class!

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Resource 7: Brain Breaks Brainstorm Lists

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Resource 7: Brain Breaks Brainstorm Lists

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This is a list I compiled of many online brain breaks lists so I have a one-stop shop for tons of brain break ideas. I shared this with teachers in my building and particularly my Professional Learning Community to reinforce the idea of brain breaks increasing student learning. Our school moved to a modified block just a few years ago, so we're still building our teaching-in-the-block toolboxes.

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This book has really been the best guide for Aiming for a Goal and Taking on a New Challenge sections of this inquiry plan. I read the entire book and then cherrypicked certain chapters to share with my Professional Learning Community on Monday mornings. These focus on student choice and margin, passion projects, incorporating music into lessons, getting students outside, and collaborating with colleagues over coffee. My hope is that my PLC will now use our district's professional learning protocols to workshop ways to infuse our classrooms with these ideas. We'll then share lesson plans and student work samples before sharing out to the entire school staff during an April staff meeting. Hopefully our work--which was inspired by this inquiry project--will inspire other educators in the building to borrow some of our ideas!

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I used Padlet a couple times during online Covid teaching in order to have students brainstorm ideas about certain historical topics, but I've never used it for a large-scale brainstorm on a single inquiry project. I do feel like the platform was able to capture my ideas, but honestly, if I had the chance to re-choose which tech I wanted to use, I think I would have chosen differently simply because I found myself irked by the lack of organization of such a large planning space. (And there aren't enough color options to keep everything separately color coded!) Something like GoogleSlides would have felt more organized and logical as I could have kept each portion of the inquiry project separate and organized. However, I do enjoy trying new technology with an eye for how I could incorporate such tech to enhance lessons.

I did appreciate the ability to link one post to another. That was a new feature I wasn't aware of and it was really helpful to create a mental mind map and keep things a little more organized.

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I found this self-directed inquiry project to be both fulfilling and frustrating. The process of generating questions and potential sources was straightforward and I felt like I accomplished what I set out to do. However, the middle section was a bit of a struggle as there is so much here that a plan for action feels a bit nebulous and overwhelming.

That said, I appreciate this challenge and opportunity to undertake an open-ended project with a concerted effort to enact change in my library. One of my school's challenges for both staff and students is to keep a growth mindset--while I don't think I'll be able to address all 25 of my questions, finding ways to address my big question of "What programs and activities can I incorporate into my classroom and school library to best support student achievement and engagement?" is fulfilling.

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I appreciate that this inquiry project allowed me to capture where I feel like there are holes and opportunities in both my roles as a teacher and a librarian. Some of these feel extremely relevant to the remainder of this semester--those related to my Professional Learning Community, lesson planning, and collaboration with colleagues--which others may be more pertinent in future school years.

I really enjoyed the ability to capture this screenshot of what I'd like to ponder and potentially pursue. I also appreciated the nudge to try out Padlet in a new way with this mindmap, which was both challenging but also fulfilling as I'm always looking to expand my teacher-toolbox. I often use sticky notes to keep track of to-do lists and ideas of things I want to accomplish--this felt very similar in a slightly more in-depth format.

I also enjoyed coming up with a potential list of sources without having to fulfill a specific list of actual sources before the deadline. For example, interviewing my school's career pathways coach will be extremely helpful when planning ways the library can support this colossal shift in my school and district, but right now he is waiting of many district decisions before we know which career pathways our school will be assigned. As such, this inquiry project will be a reminder to Future-Me as to which goals and sources I could pursue so the library can better support this new vision.

In the same vein, classroom observations will be extremely helpful with my Professional Learning Community group as we develop lesson plans implementing ideas from Teach Like Finland, but we're still in the planning stages of these projects, so student work samples and observations are a few weeks out.

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I actually really enjoyed the process of brainstorming 25 questions of possible items to focus on for this inquiry project, or really, just a wish list of activities I'd love to incorporate into my library and class. It felt a little like Christmas to generate a list of questions without having to know the answers or have a plan already in place of how to put the questions into action.

One thing that surprised me was when I reshuffled the questions out of the initial four pillars (Exploring a Passion, Aiming for a Goal, Delving into Your Curiosities, Taking on a New Challenge) and found that they actually did fit into new categories (Collaboration with the Library, District Career Pathways, Hands On Lessons, Freedom & Student Choice). I also found as I started generating source ideas that there were often potential sources that would address multiple questions. And there are some questions I know I won't get to this semester but that will make excellent focuses in future school years to come.

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I felt like the initial question brainstorm was really a gathering of goals I'd like to accomplish in the next few years, both in the library and my classroom. Many of these connect to putting the library at the forefront of a developing school culture that is more accepting and seeks to highlight student achievements. However, the main focus for so many of these ideas is collaboration with the library.

Our area was struck by a 7.1 earthquake in November 2018 which closed a neighborhood middle school for rebuilding and meant that our school housed 500+ middle schoolers. We had two libraries squished into our existing library, plus two middle school classes permanently relocated into the library. Teachers stopped bringing classes to the library during those two years, and then COVID hit. So, many of my goals and inquiries in the past two years have focused on rebuilding a culture of library usage at my school. Thus, it makes sense that many of these questions and learning goals fall under that umbrella.

I'd like to really focus on goals attached to Teach Like Finland--those encompass active lessons and learning, plus a lot of collaborative opportunities--while also diving deep into components about art and music. Our district is still exploring which career pathways each comprehensive high school is going to be assigned for the upcoming school years, so those questions and goals seem like natural contenders for the start of the next school year.

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My PLC members and I each chose one new type of brain break--in addition to trying unstructured brain breaks--to incorporate during one week of blocked classes. My choice was brain teasers, which it turns out are incredibly popular with my Psychology class! After the week of incorporating them into our 80-minute classes, they wound up asking me for more, so brain teasers are now a permanent part of our brain breaks, which were already great for student engagement and refocusing our attention once we come back together as a class.

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Learning Goal: Collaboration with the Library

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Learning Goal: Collaboration with the Library

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Enhance last year's staff & student show while also collaborating with the art teacher to build a new showcase space in the library for rotating art exhibits (in addition to already existing display cases).

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I created a new Youtube channel to share this project with my Professional Learning Community, CHS administration, and also my EDT561 community through the University of Maine.

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After receiving feedback from my team, I adjusted my resources to reflect their use over the course of the past seven weeks. A few--SLED, interviewing our career academy coach, and peer observations--are ones that will be ongoing through the course of this semester and even beyond into next year, especially as we transition to academies.

While I enjoyed trying Padlet and sticking with it even when I became frustrated with the sprawling layout and lack of colors, I've decided I won't use this platform for similar projects in the future. I feel like this project would have been more streamlined had I used GoogleSites or a Canva presentation with multiple pages. However, I'm familiar with and already use those platforms on a regular basis, so I do appreciate that I tried something new.