Introduce Yourselves!

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hi, y'all -- Some of us know each other face-to-face, others through Twitter, blogs, or Facebook. Tell us a little bit about who you are.

And then hop over here and add yourself to the connectivity chart. Let's see how information traveled and connected you to this book club!

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

I think the dorm libraries are in a transitional period. They had them in the early 00's, but it seems like they're being revamped. See http://www.housing.umich.edu/residencehalls/westquad/

That used to be a sweet gig while in school, if I remember right. I wanted to work in the East Quad Benzinger library as an undergrad but either messed up the Dewey test or wasn't hip enough ... probably the latter!

[Joan Upell]

It was Strauss Library when I was there. I had an "apartment" in the basement with 900 freshmen living above me. It was an adventure and great experience as I had a staff, budget, etc.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Nice! I remember that it was a much-desired position when I was an SI student. I'll have to ask some of the LIS faculty about how/when things changed.

[Joan Upell]

I tweet @Wowapi (means book in Lakota)

[Suzanne Neuman]

Hi everyone,

My name is Suzanne Neuman and I'm a Teacher Librarian at a middle school in Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado. (I just finished my Masters in Information and Learning Technologies (School Libraries) from U. of Colo. Denver.

I am passionate about finding ways to engage students in meaningful learning adventures and therefore this book group seemed perfect! (Thanks to Leslie K. Maniotes for the heads up!)

This is my first year as a full time TL, and the learning curve has been very steep. Therefore, I haven't been able to incorporate as much inquiry learning as I'd like. Additionally, there are some teachers in my school who are very content oriented (not surprisingly since we are a very test-driven district and state).

I would love to be able to speak more persuasively, clearly, and eloquently about inquiry learning and collaboration, and am hoping that this discussion group will be a springboard for that and many collaborative lessons in the future.

I live near Boulder, CO (thank my lucky stars every day!) with my husband and two daughters, 17 and 12. The older one has struggled academically due to dyslexia and ADD, and has really opened my eyes to the limits of our traditional educational system. Finding ways to engage ALL learners is part of my personal mission.

I can't even begin to classify my own inquiries - I'm such an inquiry-nerd! Every day I can't help myself, I google away about this or that. Mostly about the interface of technology and education - but one never knows what I'll be reading about. I'm just finishing listening to Mayflower, by Philbrick. On deck is a short story by Doris Lessing for my in-person book club, as well as a book about brain-based learning. I also need to learn a bunch of Adobe software over break. My to-do list is always way too long!

I look forward to getting to know all of you and collectively becoming teachers who put inquiry into action!

[Beth Friese]

Hi Suzanne. I'm going back through everyone's intros now that we are moving into the book - sounds like we have several things in common. I especially appreciate the perspective of a parent, and how it changes one's views of our education system. As an educator and as a parent, it's a lot to think about. Oh, and I'm an inquiry nerd too. :)

Beth

[Gretchen Hazlin]

Hi! I'm Gretchen Hazlin (@libraryms). I am in my fourth year as a middle school librarian with Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. I was a librarian in the outside world prior to coming to education -- I worked in libraries at Johnson & Johnson, The New York Academy of Medicine, and Grey Worldwide (advertising). I have found my HOME in school libraries. I love the potential for inquiry learning in middle school and am constantly amazed at the way my students think.

My family is my major outside interest -- I have two boys (4.5 years old and 11 months old) who keep me and my husband pretty busy! They are active and energetic and our older son lives his life as one big inquiry learning project -- it is so enjoyable to be able to experience life through his eyes. (The baby participates in his own sort of inquiry learning: "Hmm...look at this shiny Christmas ball...I wonder how it tastes [lick]...what happens if I squeeze it? [smash!]...*smiles with glee*)

I also love to read young adult literature (I'd be doing this even if I didn't have to for work). And, to get some zen in my fairly crazy life, I try to do yoga as often as I can (which definitely isn't as often as I'd like)!

I look forward to learning more with all of you and figuring out the best ways to work with my teachers to show them that inquiry learning should be part of the curriculum and can fit in with all of the demands of their curriculum. We can and should use this to prepare the students for our Standards of Learning test and more importantly, for life!

Gretchen

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hi, Gretchen --

In my former life I spent two summers working for Wolf Trap!

I agree with what you say about young children and inquiry. I notice this in my niece (2.5 years) and nephew (4.5 years), how their entire day is spent exploring, testing theories, and looking for patterns.

I'm really interested in how we can keep that inquisitiveness going when kids get to kindergarten/1st grade and whether or not it means we step outside library resources to do that.

I co-authored a book on science inquiry and it really got me wondering about whether our role is "we do inquiry, but only if you use our resources" or if it's "we do inquiry, and it doesn't matter what arena you're doing it in. We're interested in the process. So if you're doing science inquiry, we wanna be there."

On my desk at school there's a big pile of science artifacts loaned to us by our Environmental Center - geodes, a fossil imprint, a deer skull, etc. -- We're thinking of creating a Wonder Table (like in the new Stenhouse book A PLACE FOR WONDER) or maybe finding a way to create a Wonder Suitcase that 1st graders can take out into the hall of their classroom to pursue questioning with concrete objects instead of text.

(I say this as a librarian in a small elementary school - those of you in big schools will be in different situations.)

[Gretchen Hazlin]

Wolf Trap is right in the middle of my commute -- about 10 minutes from home, 10 minutes from work. A wonderful place! (And, I spent a great day there at an "Educators Day in the Workplace"...but I digress...)

I really think that our role as librarians is not about "our" resources but rather about the skills -- so, as you say, it should be "we do inquiry...we're interested in the process...we want to be there..." I cannot be in every classroom, every time a teacher does anything inquiry-related (and if I am able to do that, well, then in my school of 1000+ students it's not happening frequently enough)! But, I am working on my teachers, asking if I can come to them ("Oh, I didn't know a librarian could leave the library..."), asking if I can just come see what's going on (to help with the control issues), and just easing into things.

I LOVE the idea of a Wonder Table and/or a Wonder Suitcase for every first grade classroom. The contents could even change throughout the year. So COOL! Hmm...I wonder how could I apply this to my 7th and 8th graders...

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

"I didn't know a librarian could leave the library" - you hit it on the head! How many teachers don't ask because they don't know this paradigm shift?

Here's the link for A PLACE FOR WONDER (but it's really for lower el students). You can, if you're patient, read the whole book online for free!

http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9176&idc...

One of my grad students, who works at the Ann Arbor District Library, told me about the AADL's Bi-Folkal kits. Maybe they could work in some way with middle schoolers?

From AADL's Web site:

"Bi-Folkal Kits provide all the materials and many hands-on ideas needed for activity directors and older adults to make their own good time! Older adults carry a rich history inside them. By choosing one of several themes to reminisce about, looking at historic photos and mementos, and singing familiar songs, a group can quickly create connections by sharing their stories with one another. These kits are also easily adapted to intergenerational settings, religious groups, scouts, or schools.

"Every kit contains the following items:
Program Guide for different ability levels
DVD slide show
25 large print songbooks
CD for singing along
Familiar items to touch and smell

"...and some also include:
Black & White photographs
Actiphile activity pages
Planning Your Bi-Folkal Event"

http://www.aadl.org/services/bifolkalkit

My students told me that hair pomade is one of the "smell" objects.

Could be cool for 20th century history, tying in oral history with an older generation with textbook/SOL information.

[Joan Upell]

In my experience you go where the inquiry goes (as much as possible)... a few years ago my second graders explored dinosaurs and ammonites. We happen to live in an area where they can easily find the fossils of both and we have very cooperative local ranchers, amateur paleontologists, and a great historical society. With some help from the high school science teacher, we put on our goggles, went outside and went to work. For the rest of the year they checked out every rock they could find, many of which ended up in our library display (with the proper permission) for everyone to see and touch.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Awesome, Joan! That's my belief as well ... and we're working on it! Ultimately, if it's the process we value, then we have to let go of "come use our stuff." It's particularly potent for K-2 students -- their inquiry is so focused on the "see and touch" variety.