Inquiry and Design in the SLLC
Hello again!
In my most recent post I shared some online, digital tools to support inquiry in the early years. This week I have shifted my focus to consider how best to foster inquiry and design within the physical space of the School Library Learning Commons.
While the school library has evolved to encompass digital learning in a virtual environment, we must ensure that our learners also have access to the physical tools and resources necessary to be successful in the 21st century. In a post-industrial society, no longer is the goal of education to pump out factory workers in an assembly line. On the contrary, we want to challenge students to think creatively, critically, collaboratively, and independently. "Concurrently, voices are getting louder and louder that advocate the idea of the world of creativity, making, inventing, thinking outside the box, becoming an entrepreneur" (Loertscher, 2014, para. 3). The SLLC has the opportunity to play a large role in the inquiry and design aspect of a student's education.
The Purpose of the SLLC
The modern school library should no longer a place in which students must silently retrieve information independently or listen patiently while the library disseminates knowledge. Instead, students should be free to explore, create, construct, and discover based on their individual interests. We must first begin the transition from a traditional library to an SLLC by changing our perspective of the purpose of the library.
Libraries enable users to construct knowledge through the provision of access to information (Weisgrau, 2015). In an elementary school library, this may include access to picture books, novels, non-fiction books, graphic novels, magazines, comics, and, of course, technological tools (e.g. iPads, computers, etc.). However, the library may also be used as what is known as a "makerspace."
"Makerspaces provide access to physical resources typically regarded as materials for crafting, engineering, design, robotics, or media. They encourage blending these specialties in the service of learning any academic or traditionally non-academic disciplines" (Weisgrau, 2015, para. 3). By merging the applications of the traditional library and the modern makerspace, teacher-librarians can help foster their students' sense of inquiry and design.
The teacher-librarian may aid students in their learning by providing various materials, resources, and spaces within the learning environment which lend themselves to inquiry and design.
Students should have options within the SLLC conducive to various types of learning. These options may include but are not limited to:
1) Tables for collaboration
2) Quiet, cozy area
3) Individual study spots
4) Space for construction
5) Instructional area
Next, students should have access to information which may come in various forms:
In my most recent post I shared some online, digital tools to support inquiry in the early years. This week I have shifted my focus to consider how best to foster inquiry and design within the physical space of the School Library Learning Commons.
While the school library has evolved to encompass digital learning in a virtual environment, we must ensure that our learners also have access to the physical tools and resources necessary to be successful in the 21st century. In a post-industrial society, no longer is the goal of education to pump out factory workers in an assembly line. On the contrary, we want to challenge students to think creatively, critically, collaboratively, and independently. "Concurrently, voices are getting louder and louder that advocate the idea of the world of creativity, making, inventing, thinking outside the box, becoming an entrepreneur" (Loertscher, 2014, para. 3). The SLLC has the opportunity to play a large role in the inquiry and design aspect of a student's education.
The Purpose of the SLLC
The modern school library should no longer a place in which students must silently retrieve information independently or listen patiently while the library disseminates knowledge. Instead, students should be free to explore, create, construct, and discover based on their individual interests. We must first begin the transition from a traditional library to an SLLC by changing our perspective of the purpose of the library.
Libraries enable users to construct knowledge through the provision of access to information (Weisgrau, 2015). In an elementary school library, this may include access to picture books, novels, non-fiction books, graphic novels, magazines, comics, and, of course, technological tools (e.g. iPads, computers, etc.). However, the library may also be used as what is known as a "makerspace."
"Makerspaces provide access to physical resources typically regarded as materials for crafting, engineering, design, robotics, or media. They encourage blending these specialties in the service of learning any academic or traditionally non-academic disciplines" (Weisgrau, 2015, para. 3). By merging the applications of the traditional library and the modern makerspace, teacher-librarians can help foster their students' sense of inquiry and design.
It becomes a matter of mentoring rather than another top-down teaching plan. Such an idea is probably foreign to most, but perhaps it is something to brainstorm our way through and develop a possible proof-of concept experiment. The expectation for the library learning commons behavior is that I go there to explore, think, create, do, participate in, perform, and come into command of my own learning.
(Loertscher, 2014, para. 14)
Inquiry in Action
The teacher-librarian may aid students in their learning by providing various materials, resources, and spaces within the learning environment which lend themselves to inquiry and design.
Students should have options within the SLLC conducive to various types of learning. These options may include but are not limited to:
1) Tables for collaboration
2) Quiet, cozy area
3) Individual study spots
4) Space for construction
5) Instructional area
Next, students should have access to information which may come in various forms:
(McIlmoyle, Murray, Nichol, Parsonson, Pulice & Watkinson, 2019)
Finally, the SLLC should provide open-ended materials which inspire curiosity, creativity, and critically thinking. These materials are typically referred to as loose parts and can be easily manipulated to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct. Examples include, but again, are not limited to items such as lego, building blocks, glass beads, seashells, playdoh, buttons, feathers, pebbles, and pinecones.
Final Thoughts
The purpose of the SLLC has changed so the learning environment and materials available should reflect that. If our goal is to encourage inquiry and design, students need to be provided with tools and resources that inspire and engage them. By offering students a flexible learning environment, access to information both online and in-person, as well as loose parts, we can support them in their personal interests and discoveries. It is the responsibility of the teacher-librarian to guide our tiny humans in their inquiry and design.
References
Loertscher, D. V. (2014). Makers, self-directed learners, and the library learning commons. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 35-35,38,71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1548229909
Weisgrau, Josh. (2015, September 24). School libraries and makerspaces: can they coexist? Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-libraries-makerspaces-coexist-josh-weisgrau
(Source: http://static.wixstatic.com/media/e13275_56c04bf98ad944dd86760ead088903d9~mv2.jpg_srz_523_223_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz)
The purpose of the SLLC has changed so the learning environment and materials available should reflect that. If our goal is to encourage inquiry and design, students need to be provided with tools and resources that inspire and engage them. By offering students a flexible learning environment, access to information both online and in-person, as well as loose parts, we can support them in their personal interests and discoveries. It is the responsibility of the teacher-librarian to guide our tiny humans in their inquiry and design.
References
Loertscher, D. V. (2014). Makers, self-directed learners, and the library learning commons. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 35-35,38,71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1548229909
Weisgrau, Josh. (2015, September 24). School libraries and makerspaces: can they coexist? Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-libraries-makerspaces-coexist-josh-weisgrau
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