One Lesson at a Time Podcast: Season One with Courtney Pentland

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SLC's podcast One Lesson at a Time: Season One, hosted by school librarian Courtney Pentland, packs inspiration for your library lessons into its in-depth explorations of effective learning experiences for students. These high-energy, fun conversations between Courtney Pentland and her guests bring you into the creative and problem-solving minds of your fellow librarians. Dive in to one of the past episodes by following the links below. Launched in the fall of 2021, One Lesson at a Time is updated in the middle of each month during the school year and available exclusively through School Library Connection.

Episode 09: When Good Lessons Go Bad with Steve Tetreault

Published May 16, 2022

Illustration of a man in business attire balancing on a rising, looping arrow, symbolizing growth, progress, or overcoming challenges. The background includes abstract plants and clouds.

In this episode, Courtney wraps up the first season of One Lesson at a Time with a conversation with next season's host, Dr. Steve Tetreault about, about what happens when good lessons don't go quite as smoothly as planned—and how to be prepared for this eventuality when it comes around.

Episode 08: Using Text Sets to Generate Questions with Katie NcNamara

Published April 15, 2022

Illustration of two human profiles with gears inside their heads, symbolizing thinking, against a background filled with large question marks.

In this episode, Courtney chats with California librarian Katie McNamara, who has created a simple but effective lesson to help students craft questions in response to different types of texts, from essays, to social media posts, to photographs—and kickstart deep research projects in the process.

Episode 07: The Soundtrack of History with Erika Long

Published March 15, 2022

A close-up of a vinyl record partially in view, with its grooves visible, resting against a collection of vertically stacked, colorful record sleeves in the background.

Courtney Pentland talks with Nashville school librarian Erika Long about using music to help students learn about the context and perspectives surrounding important historical events. After learning about the civil rights movement in class, Erika's students created a soundtrack to illustrate specific moments of this history.

Episode 06: Students Improving Communities with Dustin Hensley

Published February 15, 2022

A diverse group of young adults standing in a line outdoors, all wearing white T-shirts with "VOLUNTEER" printed in blue, smiling at the camera. One person in front holds a clipboard. Trees and blue sky are in the background.

Courtney Pentland speaks with Tennessee librarian Dustin Hensley about using Project Based Learning in library instruction and how he inspired his students to both learn about and celebrate their community's history by reinventing its walking tour for visitors.

Episode 05: Bats in the Library with Amanda Jones

Published January 14, 2022

A bat with large eyes and light brown fur is flying at night with its wings spread wide. Dark, out-of-focus foliage is visible in the background.

Join Courtney Pentland as she chats with Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian in Louisiana who drew inspiration from a casual conversation with a classroom teacher and crafted a unique learning opportunity for students to meet and interact with a real scientist, collaborate with each other to learn new technology, and get to know a particularly intriguing nocturnal animal.

Episode 04: Building Bloxels Stories with Whitney Howton

Published December 15, 2021

Pixel art scene of a superhero in red and yellow armor facing a large, gray robot with red eyes in a grassy, outdoor setting with trees and health bars above both characters.

In this episode, Courtney speaks with Whitney Howton, an Alabama middle school librarian who took on the challenge of learning how to use Boxels, a tool that uses physical blocks to create narrative-based video games. Hear about how Howton and a fellow educator created an ingenious student activity that teaches problem solving skills while simultaneously meeting English/Language Arts standards.

Episode 03: Description Detectives with Fallon Farokhi

Published November 15, 2021

Cartoon of a detective wearing a red plaid hat and coat, holding a magnifying glass to his eye, looking at a large open book on a blue background.

In this episode, Courtney's guest, elementary school librarian Fallon Farokhi, shares a lesson that not only helps further students' writing skills, but enables collaboration between students in different schools. Listen as Courtney and Fallon talk about how students can work together to become Description Detectives—and how this lesson can fit into the fun of any holiday season.

Episode 02: Two Truths and a Lie with Melissa Thom

Published October 15, 2021

Several light bulbs are shown against a dark background; the central bulb glows with the word "fact" inside, while surrounding dimmer bulbs display the word "fake" inside them.

In this episode, Courtney Pentland sits down with Connecticut middle school librarian Melissa Thom to learn about how Melissa took the classic game "Two Truths and a Lie," and turned it into a fun and effective lesson to help teach students information literacy.

Episode 01: Launching Peeps with Mandy Peterson

Published September 22, 2021

A yellow marshmallow treat shaped like a chick, known as a Peeps candy, sits upright on a white surface with visible sugar coating and black eyes.

In this episode, Courtney Pentland chats with librarian Mandy Peterson and learns about a creative STEM lesson involving marshmallow peeps and student-made catapults.

MLA Citation

"One Lesson at a Time Podcast: Season One with Courtney Pentland." School Library Connection, September 2021, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/2271286.

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