Welcome!
The true power of school libraries and librarians is not in the resources that we amass, but in the relationships that we build and the connections that we foster. On this page, we will highlight ideas for collaborating with various stakeholders and explore ways to ensure that these experiences are effective and meaningful. By sharing the models and best practices implemented by other librarians, my hope is that you will be inspired and find fresh ideas to take back to your community as conversation openers for potential collaborations. I invite you to visit this page throughout the year for more ideas and updates as we connect across our shared professional community. Thank you for joining me!
Suzanne Sannwald
Teacher Librarian, West Hills High School, Santee, CA
Suzanne Sannwald
Teacher Librarian, West Hills High School, Santee, CA
New Ideas for STEM Collaborations
by Suzanne SannwaldRreflecting on this recent school year, I have forged new STEM-related collaborations born from pandemic disruptions that will hopefully translate into continued opportunities. For instance, when our manufacturing classes lost access to their large workshop, the teacher and I collaborated to develop at-home projects such as having students research how to design and build small xylophones. The results were amazing. Read More >>
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![Ambassadors of Discovery: The Librarian's Role in Open Educational Resources and Practices [24:54]](https://schoollibraryconnection.com/assets/mediaserver/SLC/2265/2265075s.jpg)
Suzanne Sannwald sits down with three experts to talk about the new frontier of Open Education Resources (OER). Susan D. Ballard, Gerard L. Hanley, and Pamela C. Harland share insights on how librarians can serve their schools as "ambassadors of discovery," helping teachers discover new ways to implement these readily available resources and practices in their classrooms.
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![Establishing Roots for STEM Collaboration [31:08]](https://schoollibraryconnection.com/assets/mediaserver/SLC/2264/2264261s.jpg)
In this insightful video chat, Suzanne Sannwald talks with fellow SLC topic page editor Melissa Thom and district science supervisor Michael Rollins to learn how their unique collaboration has resulted in creative methods of STEM instruction.
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In this article from Edutopia, Chris Anderson and Ben Owens discuss the need to make STEM education more inclusive by shifting our focus to authentic, interdisciplinary lessons that speak to student interests.
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In this article, Melissa Braaten describes her decade-long work in the field of science education: designing, testing, and refining tools for supporting ambitious and equitable science teaching. The result? A dynamic new framework for creating exemplary science learning experiences for students.
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Students should understand their power as proactive citizens who can take individual actions that have the ability to prompt and/or promote change.
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One of the most difficult aspects of beginning to collaborate with math teachers is the perceived gap between the two; both sides tend to assume that the librarian has nothing to offer the math classroom. Celebrated school librarian Stacy Gilbert has been on both sides of that equation, and can attest that there is tremendous potential for librarians to collaborate with math teachers just as often as with other subjects.
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As digital curators, K-12 librarians are needed now more than ever to research, locate, and organize digital materials to support teaching and learning goals and grow student engagement.
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How will we continue to reach our community, encourage connection, and support learning while physically apart from one another? Stacy Brown shares strategies for achieving all of the above in a time of distance teaching.
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Infusing maker activities into books, offering design challenges, and collaborating with teachers to integrate making into research assignments are a few ways librarians can tap into the maker movement and provide new options for student inquiry.
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This article offers two perspectives on the goals, activities, and learning experiences of this model: first, that of the Coordinator of Community Education and Engagement at the CREATE Lab and then that of a school librarian who participates as an educator partner in the CREATE Lab Satellite Network
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What happens when a librarian participates in a scientific expedition? Samuel Northern writes about his experience as a Teacher at Sea, courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, describing how the 10-day excursion gave him an understanding of the vast ecosystem, and helped him bring the ocean to life for his students back at home.