Rainbows in the Stacks: Many Ways to Meet the Needs of LGBTQ Library Patrons — Articles Editor’s Note: This commentary by librarian Anna Call is part of our special focus on LGBTQ issues for the month of June. Thirty years ago, which is within my lifetime, we would not even have had this conversation. People knew that there were gay and lesbian people visiting their libraries, but most would not have gone out of their way for them even if they’d known how. At best, their response may have been ambivalent. We serve all people, they might have said. People can look up homosexuality in the card catalog if they’d like, and that’s all we can do. But the library role has evolved with our sensibilities. Libraries are havens and sources of information for this demographic, disproportionately valuable to the point of being crucial. To compound the problem, research into LGBTQ library patrons is a slippery proposition. And yet, despite the absence of tons of data, opinions bloom rampant among librarians as to what to do. Safe Conduit of Information You already have LGBTQ patrons.
FILLING THE TOOL BOX The above ads are generated by Google and FNO does not endorse the products displayed in any manner. From Now On The Educational Technology Journal Classroom Strategies to Engender Student Questioning © 1986 by Jamie McKenzie, Ed.D. and Hilarie Bryce Davis, Ed.D. all rights reserved. Most of the strategies described below have been developed and tested by teachers in Princeton, Madison and elsewhere. As one of the primary goals of education is to develop autonomous but interdependent thinkers, students deserve frequent opportunities to shape and direct classroom inquiry. 1) Beginning A New Unit (K-12) If a class is about to spend several days or weeks studying a particular topic or concept, traditional practice and unit design gives the teacher primary responsibility for identifying the key questions and the key answers. Try starting a new unit by asking your class to think of questions that could be asked about the topic; "What questions should we ask about the Civil War? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Useful Tips on Writing Essential Questions written by: Keren Perles • edited by: Wendy Finn • updated: 9/11/2012 Essential questions can make the lesson planning process more effective, but many teachers struggle to write quality essential questions for their lessons. Read on for a step-by-step guide to writing essential questions. 1. Writing Lessons and Mini Lessons The mini lesson is an often overlooked tool that teachers can use to teach basic writing skills. Using Essential Questions in the Classroom for the Best Learning Ever When we first put the driving question of a lesson to the students, the goal is to begin a lively discussion with them. In this discussion, we guide them beginning with what they think or “assume” they already know about what the question is asking. Encourage them to speak openly and share ideas about the issues that are being posed by the question. The students begin to realize that finding an answer is not always easy, but certainly not impossible with the right mindset. What do we know (or believe we know) about what this question is asking? A good exploration of our learners’ assumptions will foster curiosity for the question. Giving the Question Ownership to Learners In any inquiry- or project-based challenge, we want to shift responsibility for the learning to the students. When we pose the essential question, it’s meant to help students achieve an understanding that both involves and extends beyond the curriculum. Shifting Gears All the best is ahead of you and your students.
Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning Into Your Class In the shallow end of the Types of Student Inquiry pool, Structured Inquiry gives the teacher control of the essential question, the starting point—for example, “What defines a culture?” or “What is the importance of the scientific method?” These questions are not answered in a single lesson and do not have a single answer, and, in fact, our understanding of an essential question may change over time as we research it. In Structured Inquiry, the teacher also controls specific learning activities, the resources students will use to create understanding, and the summative assessment learners will complete to demonstrate their understanding. In Controlled Inquiry, the teacher provides several essential questions. Learners unpack several resources predetermined by the teacher to provide valuable context and rich meaning relative to the essential questions. How Are the Types of Student Inquiry Helpful? Inquiry is most successful when strongly scaffolded. Second, think big and start small.
A Brilliant Question Not Essential There is a difference between essential questions and brilliant questions. While essential questions touch upon the most important issues of life, they are rarely brilliant. Essential questions touch our hearts and souls. They are central to our lives. Most important thought during our lives will center on such essential questions. What does it mean to be a good friend? In contrast with essential questions, brilliant questions are important for their power to unlock mysteries and open doors. What will it take to win her heart? Brilliant questions may also be essential, but they almost always deal with strategy and change of some sort. A Vivid Example In studying important figures from history we might ask the essential question, "What kind of person was Joan of Arc or Matthew Flinders?" But all this gathering may not bring us to the heart of the matter. Here is where the brilliant question comes into play. Where did Joan go wrong? Brilliant Questions on the Web More Examples
Why Kids Need Data Literacy, and How You Can Teach It Samantha Viotty’s activity for visualizing data networks has gummy bears representing people and toothpicks signifying their relationships. Photo courtesy of Samatha Viotty Data is all around us, from the output of your Fitbit to interactive maps that track voters to the latest visualization of the New York Times front page. With the rise of mobile devices and wearable technology, data is more available to general audiences, and the amount being generated has also exploded. According to IBM, 90 percent of the world’s data has been created in the last two years. This vast pool of information is being used to advocate for change, justify decisions, and suggest personal action plans—such as the U.S. One reason data literacy is vital is that “[i]n what some are calling a ‘post-truth world,’ students seem to focus on numbers a lot,” says Jo Angela Oehrli, learning librarian/children’s literature librarian at the University of Michigan Libraries. What are data literacy and data science? U.S.
10 Tips For Launching An Inquiry-Based Classroom Transforming teaching practices is a long, slow road. But increasingly schools and teachers experiencing success are sharing their ideas online and in-person. Science Leadership Academy opened as a public magnet school almost ten years ago in Philadelphia. The educators that make up the school community have spent nearly half that time sharing best practices through a school-run conference each year and more recently by opening a second school in Philadelphia. Diana Laufenberg was one of the first SLA teachers and has gone on to help foster inquiry at schools around the country, most recently by starting the non-profit Inquiry Schools. It takes time to build up a strong inquiry-based teaching practice, to learn how to direct student questions with other questions, and to get comfortable in a guiding role. 1. Every teacher has a “bucket” of stuff she is responsible for teaching her students, known as standards. 2. 3. 4. 5. She doesn’t think it’s that different from history. 6. 7. 8. 9.
The Great Question Press Why should teachers nurture potent questioning skills and behaviors? As a practical matter, students need to be able to read between the lines, infer meaning, draw conclusions from disparate clues and avoid the traps of presumptive intelligence, bias and predisposition. They need these thinking skills to score well on increasingly tough school tests, but more importantly, they need these skills to score well on the increasingly baffling tests of life . . . how to vote? how to work? Drill and practice combined with highly scripted lessons stressing patterns and prescriptions amount to mental robbery - setting low standards for disadvantaged students so they end up incapable of thought or success on demanding tests. This approach contributes to high dropout and attrition rates - early school departures and millions of children left behind.
How Do We Ready Kids for the Next Generation of Fake News? | The Tyee Telling the difference between real and “fake” news can be tricky for even the savviest media critic. But it’s about to get much harder, thanks to new technologies that may be sophisticated enough in manipulating video and audio that you’d be hard-pressed not to believe former U.S. president George W. Bush had a facial tick. WNYC’s RadioLab podcast takes a dire look at these technologies, including new software that the company Adobe hopes will be the Photoshop of audio editing. But the show’s producers were unable to find a media critic, creator or scientist with an easy answer to detecting this new kind of news fakery. The only offered “solution” is to rely on the tech savvy teenagers of today to find the answer. British Columbia’s new kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum has a strong focus on “media literacy.” So how does the new curriculum help prepare our future fake news detectives? And learning shouldn’t end when class gets out. Fewer librarians to teach Teaching the teachers