Exploring with Ms. Burbage

Background

Kelly Burbage is the Teacher Librarian at Mitchell Math and Science Elementary School. Mitchell has 320 students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. As a math and science-focused school, students are encouraged in their core and related arts classes to explore various topics and much of the learning is student-centered with inquiry-based activities. The library runs on a fixed schedule and students rotate through once per week. Students can also come into the library in the morning and afternoon for reader's advisory and checkout.

The Standard

The AASL defines the competency of Explore in the following way:

"Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection"

How She Does It

As a math and science school, there are plenty of opportunities for Kelly to use student-centered activities for her students to explore. One challenge she discussed was the difficulty for her to co-plan with teachers. She said that it's just not possible on a fixed schedule. 

Instead, she works to keep up with what they're doing in each of the content areas but has had to "be intentional" about reaching out to the teachers. 

To promote exploration in the library, Ms. Burbage does a variety of STEM activities that promote critical thinking and making. 

She will often pair a read-aloud with an activity where the students have to create something that relates to the story. One of her favorite activities was about shoes. After reading books about shoes (Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelt & Whose Shoes are These by Laura Salas) she showed them a video about shoe manufacturing. The students then used Intelligent Stix to create a machine that would attach to their shoes and then they demonstrated it to the class. 

She states that she "love(s) when a class comes into the library and recognizes the subject (she's) reading about from their classroom instruction. It helps them to understand that the classroom isn't a bubble".

Final Thoughts

Kelly Burbage is an absolute treasure for the students and staff of Mitchell Math and Science Elementary. She has established the library as a place to learn, make, tinker, refine and fix and students clearly feel safe; learning from their mistakes as they explore the standards and the world around them. 

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago: American Library Association.

Explore. (n.d.). photograph. Retrieved from https://standards.aasl.org/shop/