Good news!
Hines Middle School Library was awarded the It Gets Better Project Grant. Read below to see what this grant will fund!
This project was made possible with support from the It Gets Better Project, a non profit organization working to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe.
Our Library was awarded the Instructional Innovation Mini Grant that will allow us to implement STEAM stations during library classes!
Traditionally, libraries are thought of as a place for books and readers. However, as our world continues to change and evolve, libraries must present themselves as a place for information and learning and it has become imperative to acknowledge that information and learning happens in a variety of contexts, not solely from books. To make our library more future ready, we need to create a place where students can find and explore information in ways that are best for them. The STEAM activities in this proposal both introduce and expand upon science, technology, engineering, art, and math concepts and they do so in a way that resembles play. Our library will be able to better support our students’ as they gain the 21st century skills that they need to be college, career and citizen-ready. During library class time, students that are not interested in checking out books will be able to participate in educational activities as they wait for their classmates, eliminating any unproductive use of time. Our library will be able to reach more learners once we are able to bring in a variety of makerspace activities.
Currently, English classes visit the library on a bimonthly basis to receive a short library lesson as well as allow time for students to browse and check out books (these are 15-20 minutes in length). Inevitably, there are students that are uninterested in checking out books or students that have too many overdue books and therefore are unable to check out more books. These students end up sitting and waiting for their peers for the majority of library class time. If the library is able to acquire these makerspace activities, those students would be able to explore the activities and create as they wait. The makerspace activities will be rotated so that students are exposed to a variety of topics. These makerspace activities will be laid out and presented as stations where students will choose where they spend their time and rotate to other stations (if time allows). The purpose behind these stations is to encourage students to explore and learn during their down time rather than use it unwisely.
The effectiveness of these makerspace stations will be determined based on trackable observation data as well as student surveys. Ideally, having engaging stations available to students will mean that more students are engaged in what the library has to offer and fewer are being disruptive, destructive, or disengaged and on their cell phones. After classes have visited the library, students will be sent a survey asking about their experience with the library stations as well as what ideas they have for library stations. The survey data as well as the observational data should help us to determine if students see their library time with the addition of makerspace stations as a positive and educational experience.