Student Choice & Student Voice

 

Imagine your school space was slated for a renovation. What would you change and why? Because our school library is slated for a renovation in the district’s facilities plan, we wanted to hear what students would change. For that reason, students were tasked with redesigning the school library to better equip students and staff to meet the changing demands of education in the 21st century.

In the open phase, school librarians designed a one period class involving multiple activities geared to get students curious about what exactly a 21st century library should look like and what additions, deletions or modifications would be necessary in their minds to create an innovative space.  

For Immerse, students spent time observing what happens in their school library before or after school and then took a field trip to three local libraries. First was another school library in the district, second was the central branch of the Lexington Public Library, and third was a state of the art university library. This activity helped students notate (and in many cases, photograph) layout ideas, furniture options, technology implementation, etc. To prepare for this important step in the process, the school librarians designed an observation sheet that students filled out to compile (and guide) their notetaking. One of us helped chaperone the trip too!

Exploring in any inquiry unit is key, and this project was no exception. The school librarians designed four stations for students to explore all things related to a school library. Within these stations students took notes on various symbols and floor plan designs, notated technology items and furniture options that may be beneficial for their proposal. One station even included a Symbaloo webmix created to help students brainstorm various elements of a 21st century library.

Students were given latitude in identifying which part or parts of the school library they would address in their proposed renovation and the classroom teacher often used Google Forms to collect this data.

Days were set aside for students to Gather whatever they needed to formulate a strong renovation plan. Each time this was done in the library. It was in this phase that students measured the library, worked on calculations, and revisited Explore station materials to determine what would be needed to make their individual renovation projects a success.

Ultimately, students Created a presentation which included (but not limited to): a Request For Proposal (RFP), a scaled model or drawing of their renovated space, and a budget, however, the format in how that presentation was created was entirely up to students.

Share presentations took place in the library so that librarians, classmates and guests could better visualize the renovation recommendations. Fish tanks, comfortable seating with electrical outlets, a skylight, an additional second floor, a cafe, new paint, updated computers and 3D printers were among the students’ proposals. More on this in the next blog post so stay tuned!

And just like any other unit, assessing learning is essential. That’s why there were several layers of Evaluation with this project. Math content standards were assessed in the scaled model/drawing, the budget and calculation page submissions. Speaking & Listening standards were addressed in the presentation rubric which was designed with input from the students. Writing skills were evaluated with the RFP rubric. And let us not forget self-reflection as this not only helps students to process their learning process but it is great information for teachers and librarians to use to modify and tweak instruction for the coming years too.

Our core learning team for this unit included one math teacher and the school’s two school librarians. Between the three of us, we collaborated, designed instructional experiences, co-taught lessons and served as a support to one another and our students throughout the entire project. Our extended team included the librarians at local libraries in the community and initially an art teacher. Due to a conflict between the timing of the project and the arrival of a baby in the family, this partnership didn’t work out this year, however, we will definitely include it in future years!

As always, thanks for reading the 52 Weeks of Guided Inquiry blog! Please leave comments on the blog or contact me directly on Twitter using @HCHSLibrarian. I’m always eager to brainstorm GID ideas and work to make existing units better.

Sincerely,

Amanda Hurley, National Board Certified Teacher

Library Media Specialist, Henry Clay High School

1 Comment

  1. Wow! What an exciting time for you! And what a wonderful way to use the process to engage students in the changes! I can’t wait to see what they came up with!
    Leslie

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